De-clutter...the beginning...or maybe the middle

Hi Y'all! The weather this week has been interesting and so have my Ticklebelly activities.  I have a very short to-do list in the tiny house now.  I got the smoke alarm and the CO alarm put up.  There are only so many places in a tiny house that either of those can go.  The CO alarm is supposed to be on an inside wall, which only gives a couple of options, and the smoke alarm is supposed to be out of air streams that could prevent smoke from entering the alarm.  Hmmmm.  The number of windows in the house provide lots of cross-breezes.  In the end I put the smoke alarm on the ceiling in the storage loft near the peak of the ceiling.  I put the CO alarm down low on the bookshelf/stairs.  If anyone has any suggestions on where else they could go please leave comments below. 

I also started cleaning up the fender-outside wall junctions.  I'm putting eco-bond in the junctions.  Then I'll paint it so it isn't noticeable.  Got the starboard side ready to paint, the port side needs one more round of eco-bond.  And then the rain started, so that isn't crossed off the list quite yet, but at least no moisture will get into the walls. (no pics just yet due to rain)

And last but not least the down-sizing has begun, or is continuing... I've actually been downsizing for about six years.  I down-sized my own stuff when I moved to Utah to care for my mom six years ago.  If it didn't fit in my Jeep, I didn't bring it, knowing Mom had two (or more) of everything a body could ever need.  I think it is actually more difficult to down-size my mom's stuff.  And she doesn't only have her stuff, but my grandparents' stuff too.  SO down-sizing three generations of stuff...wow!  That is all I have to say on that topic for now.

But look!! Three empty totes! (Not to mention the 5 boxes that went to charity and the two times I emptied the recycle into the outside bin.)

If any of you are beginning the down-sizing process or have even thought about it, don't be afraid!  Remember, the easiest way to finish something is to begin.

I'm back!

Took a little break to take care of some family business, but now I'm back and heavy into the downsizing in preparation for moving into Ticklebelly Bungalow.  Also been working on fixing up my big house. My little brother, Brian (hehe, he's not that little) and his wife, Jo, helped me with the honey-do list. A GIANT thanks goes out to them! There is only one more thing on it, but it is a biggie that I'm sure will require a professional.  

Here is one of our little projects.  This idea came from another blog, and I apologize for not taking note of it so I could link it here.  All you need is cinderblocks (donated by my neighbor), paint (the most expensive part of the project) and a couple of 4X4's.  We had one left over from our fence repair, bought another to match it and then used two old fence posts (with the rot cut off).  For the cushions I used a foam mattress cover (cut to size) and a sheet for the covers which I left open on one end so I could take out the foam and wash the cover if needed.

Painting the cinderblocks

Brian glued the cinderblocks together

 

All put together

With the cushions

I think it might be time for a marshmallow roast and Ticklebelly Bungalow open house!  I'll keep you updated about dates and times.  

San Diego EarthFair 2015 and San Diego Living

Before we get to the pics...a funny.

Since I usually don't schedule myself to go places early in the morning, I was a little nervous about waking up on time to arrive and set up at the EarthFair.  I set two alarms one on the phone, one on the iPad.  Well, I woke up before either alarm rang. Dark outside, checked the clock 5:15am, tried to go back to sleep.  6:15am, still dark outside, couldn't go back to sleep so decided to get ready to go and show up a little early...couldn't hurt to be a little early...supposed to be there right around 7 to set up and only takes a few minutes to get there.  6:45 still pretty dark outside, but beginning to show signs of daylight.  I hop in the truck after double checking lights, hitch, etc, turn the key in the ignition, console in the truck comes on, and the clock reads 5:45.  Then it hits me!  My phone and iPad don't automatically change time zones, because I changed that particular setting.  I was already awake and ready to go, so I figured I'd just go.  It all worked out just fine, but NO WONDER it was SO dark outside!!  

So on to the pics

Rolling up to our booth spot

Inside the packed but very happy house...

Outside the packed but very happy house

People waiting in line for a tiny tour of my tiny space.  Most of the day there was a line of people waiting to come in and see.  We let in 5-7 people at a time, most people were inside for about 2-3 minutes and it was a steady stream! So in the 8 hours of the fair between 1200 and 1500 people walked through my house.  Each one had a smile on their face as they walked through the door, and the kids were so fascinated by the lofts!  A lot of them got to climb the stairs and sit on the bed.  I loved seeing their excited little smiling faces.  SO FUN!!  It was really great to hear people say, "I could live in this!" or "You built this?" Me: "Yes, I did and so can you!" Then I could see the wheels turning as they thought about the possibilities, being inspired by standing in my tiny space! 

The instructions about closing booths at 5pm are pretty strict and understandably so.  If not, they'd never get everyone out of the park.  At 4:45 someone came in and told me we had 15 minutes before we had to close.  I was a little shocked! The time had gone by so quickly!  We finally let everyone in line crowd in so they could get a little view of the inside, and at 5 we had to shut the door.  Bummer.  We walked out onto the porch and pulled the door closed, then I had a slow motion moment.  You know when you lock your keys in the car, and the door is half an inch from closing and there is nothing you can do to keep the latch from clicking?  Yeah, one of those moments. And yeah, I locked the tiny house door key in the tiny house!  Good thing the windows were open!  So then this happened...

Danielle's brave daughter went in through the kitchen window to save us!

Her first house break-in!

All in all I would call the day an amazing success! 

Monday morning...here we go again!  Off to the TV station to be on San Diego Living.  Driving in a bit of morning traffic was interesting...driving in ANY traffic is interesting. I love the looks and thumbs up and peace signs and rushing to get out the phone for a pic. It is almost as good as driving the topless jeep with Nellie riding in the back wearing her doggles.  ANYWAY, if you'd like to check out our TV appearance click on the link below.

http://www.sandiego6.com/san-diego-living/real-estate-home/House-Trends-Living-Tiny-300689661.html

And here's us in the backlot.

Well, that's all for now.  I'm headed to the beach for a little while.  Can't come to San Diego and NOT go to the beach.

 

   

TB has left the yard!

Some fun things so far about this adventure...

See in Beaver, UT  "Fast friendly service...... Quality Gasoline!!  #1 RESTROOMS!!!!  Guess we have our priorities straight.  ;D

People are drawn to the bungalow!  Every stop I made, except my midnight sleeping stop, people wanted to see and talk about tiny houses!  I LOVE IT!

Here are some new friends in North Las Vegas.  Stopped for gas and met a very nice family!

At the EarthFair today we had a constant line of people waiting to take a peek inside.  I was a little surprised at the interest and excitement.  We had 1500 business cards promoting the Tiny House Enthusiasts Meetup group and they were all gone by early afternoon.  Such a fun day sharing my little house with San Diego!  Time went by so quickly and I was quite shocked when someone came in and said we had 15 minutes left and then we had to close our booth.  WHAT? IT IS QUARTER TO 5?  Wow! Fastest 8 hours I've ever lived through I think.  I'll post more pics later.  Tomorrow it is off to the TV station for San Diego Living on Fox channel 6. Live TV and I'm a little bit nervous. It will be very fun.

 

Tuesday accomplishments! 3 days to San Diego!

Quite a productive day!  It was very warm this morning, so I figured I'd get an early start.  The screwdriver batteries were all charged up and ready to go.  First came the tub!  I also cut space in the shelves for the propane pipe in the cupboard under the cooktop, but didn't take pics of that.

There's a hole in my bathtub, Dear Liza!

With a drain...:)

I added a mirror to that wall even though the shower curtain will cover it.  But I put in a clear shower curtain, so the mirror will still reflect some light and give a little depth.

Attached the drawer fronts to the drawers under the tub.

Finally decided on how to keep my pantry from emptying itself when rolling it open and closed.  I cut about half an inch into both ends of a dowel to make a flat surface, then attached them to the pantry...see below.

Thought I might get fancy pantsy artsy fartsy and paint them all cool, but it didn't work in the end. Here I'm drilling holes and starting the nails.

Can you find the rail that is up?

Here they are mostly up...had to glue the bottom one back together because the hammer landed just right and broke the dowel.

Painted white, and now they look much better.

A closer shot.  The ends of the dowels were cut flat so I could attach them.

I also began the clean up project!  I took all the extra wood and flooring to the shed, as well as many tools.  I emptied the storage loft and vaccuumed most of the floor.  Just working on getting it into presentation shape.  Lighting in the kitchen is the next priority.  We'll see how tomorrow and Thursday go.  I still need to add some trailer lights to the porch so I'm legal.  :) 

Despite starting out very warm, we finished the day with snow.  I think it will still be on the grass in the morning.  Must be spring!

The Bathroom!

With the bathroom walls finished, it was time to paint this week.  Amazing how a bit of white paint can make a space feel much bigger than it actually is.  Quite a few little things also got a coat of paint.  For example, the composting loo got another coat, the tub platform, the trim in the kitchen, the ends of the loft storage, and two little blocks that live at the bottom of the stairs to the loft.  By the end I was looking for anything that I had said to myself that I would "paint it later when I paint the bathroom."  I also got out the blue and painted the flange on the gas line.  So, to the pics!

Bathroom port side before...

Bathroom port side after one coat...

And finished!

With the fixtures...

Bathroom starboard side before...

After one coat...

And finished! Also put up TP holder and the medicine cabinet. I was originally going to build a medicine cabinet, but decided to purchase one instead. Glad I did. 

Put a shelf above the medicine cabinet and a mirror inside. 

I also hung the blinds in the kitchen...

My drill batteries both gave out mid-drilling the drain hole in the tub, so that is at the top of the list for this week.  The countdown to San Diego is at 5 days!  I leave this Friday!  WAHOOOO!!  There will be lots to post next week!  There might even be an extra post or two so as to not overwhelm anybody.  :)

Big week for finishing stuff

This week has been good for finishing things. Like the sleeping loft storage

Hinges ready

In place on the starboard side

In place on the port side

Then the bathroom walls are all put up

All filled in and ready for sanding...

Sanded and trimmed, ready for painting.

The big windows were missing a finishing piece below the sill, so there were big holes between the sill and the wall where the shims live.  So that got finished too!

Before

After...now they look finished to me.  

This week the goal is to finish up the painting, and install the tub with the drain.  Bonus items are pantry rods, towel racks, TP holder, dish rack in kitchen, and medicine cabinet for bathroom.