I lost my job. Not sure whether to follow that with a happy or sad face emoji… so I just won’t put either.
My husband, the architect/woodworker, retired about 2 years ago. We sold the only house we’ve ever owned together and moved to “the country.” In full disclosure, we’d been planning this move for a while, but with the loss of my job, we decided to go full tilt and start building the next house on our 10 acres of land.
A little history… about 18 months ago we started “the barn.” It’s really hub’s woodworking shop, but it was an experiment — well, many experiments. Can we really work together on a job site (aka can I take direction)? Do we really like it out here? How fluid are we on the plans? Are two “retired” people able to co-exist after living in the corporate world for so long? I’m happy to say, all of the answers have been a resounding “YES”!!! Here’s “the barn” as it is today – still needs shutters, siding on the back, deck on the far wall… and more, but basically, it’s a go… AND WE DID IT ALL OURSELVES! (except for the roof).
As these posts evolve, I’ll include the barn raising story, but for today, the excitement is all about breaking ground on the TINY house.
Our 600 square foot house will be close living quarters, but I think the most challenging part will be a single bathroom!
Our inspiration…
What’s the goal? Well, given our record of a pretty slow pace, it’s “this year.” Given, we are renting, “it’s 4-5 months” until occupancy and giving up our rental. Maybe putting that goal out into the world will give us a greater goal, and we’ll “make it,” otherwise, we’re still renting!
The great part in building a tiny house when you haven’t built a “big” house, is that it’s practice:
building walls (check on the barn, done that)
building decks (check on the barn, done that)
picking out cabinets
picking out lighting
picking/installing flooring
downsizing… do you really need 45 t-shirts when there’s only 7 days in the week?
Oh yeah, we also upgraded to a Toro 60″ deck, zero turn mower… I’ve always loved mowing (thanks dad)… but I hated my first time mowing and accidentally taking this “big” guy out… I never saw him (thank goodness), else I’d been doing a wheelie back to the barn on the mower…
Next up… I’m trying a hay bale garden