Big TINY Experience

As I sit on my little grey couch and gaze past the white shiplap walls and out the tall picture window at the trees and sky, I am filled with peace. I am finally here. Nearly a year later than anticipated, but hey, who’s keeping track? Sigh. But I am here! I am in! I am… SO excited! My tiny is all I anticipated! I moved all my things over last week. I did it all myself and that actually worked very well. Not only did I think there wasn’t enough to move (always more than you think!) to get help from a friend, I HAD to do it one car load at a time. Because I had to find homes for all the stuff before I could bring in more stuff. So several cars showing up at once with all my items would have been very hard to handle. There is no garage or even a covered area to have things sit outside until I had room to bring it inside. Although I was wiped out by weeks end, it was what needed to happen. And I had FUN doing it!

FIRSTS!
First shower (plenty big) and first morning walk (new trails to explore). I used my oven for the first time. Great! I used the washer/dryer combo too. Not as great as it squeaked and smelled funny. Not a good sign. I have a call in on that one. First use of my new wheel barrel, boot brush (the mud here is out of control!) and machete - lots of blackberries to hack through! It is wild and untamed land. Which is cool, but the blackberries- sheesh! They are resilient little buggers! I also re-heated my first meal without a microwave. I pulled items out of my cute little Unique brand fridge about 40 min. prior, then on low heat in a small fry pan, reheated the chicken, then swapped it out and added the left over roasted veggies. Worked better than the microwave in this case as it didn’t mush the veggies nor dry out the chicken. I have been heating my milk on the stove for my Chai Latte - it’s actually frothier and more fun than heating milk in the microwave. Go figure!

It is so cute and fun to be in this cozy space! It is like playing house, or the playhouse out in the yard I never had as a child. I used to love to make forts as a kid. Whether inside using couch pillows and blankets, or out in the woods using downed tree branches or behind a bush. I was always building a little home! I also feel like a kid when I am up in the lofts. Remember when you crawled around in spaces as a kid? It just kind of makes you want to giggle! And the view from up high in the loft - so fun!

I just loved making up this space. It was like a game of tetris finding places for everything. And I would put things away, bring in another load and have to pull things out and rearrange to fit in the additional items. Very much a puzzle. But things are well organized and there are not many things here that wont get used. I hope. I do have a nice set of plastic dishes that never got used over the last 2 years because of the pandemic and not hosting any big gatherings. I will enjoy making a fire pit and burning up some of the fallen tree pieces that came down in wind storms this winter. I can envision friends pitching tents in the field and laughing into the night around a roaring campfire. And using my plastic plate set, finally!

It has become very apparent to me that you have to be much more mindful and in the moment in a tiny house. Things are close so you will bump into things if you are not careful. Things are tucked away, so you have to move things to get to other things. You go up or down the stairs or ladder to the lofts, carefully with focus so you don’t get hurt. I healthier way to be - present and aware, not lost in the mind and on autopilot. Then there is the need to squat down a lot, as things are stored even in low spaces. I am trying to squat rather than bend over. I think making each grab an intentional strength move is healthier for my back too. I am making a point to go up into the loft to sit and work now and then to change up where I am and to move around more. And I get outside more! All good and healthy things.😃