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Thread: Official part-time resident of the great state of Vermont!!!

  1. #11
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Williamsmith View Post
    Enough mirrors to make it feel like a 1400 square foot home.

    And congratulations...Vermont is the most permissive state in the union regarding gun laws. You can carry a gun concealed or openly without a permit! And it doesn’t matter if you are a resident or non resident! The United States Constitution is your carry permit! And if that wasn’t good enough, no city or municipality can restrict firearms further. As an example, Burlington tried to ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines......NO CAN DO!

    So if I were you, I’d get an AR 15 with a 30 round mag and a Glock 26 and excercise my second amendment right as often as possible. Being from New Jersey this no doubt will seem like you landed on Mars.

    Im jealous.
    Interesting! We can all go visit catherine with our guns.

    I like that, “the U.S. constitution is your carry permit” in Vermont. Brilliant!

  2. #12
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Congratulations! It's always exciting to move to the next phase of one's life.

    In answer to your question, when SO and I moved from NJ to San Francisco 9 years ago we went from a 1300 sq foot 3 bed/2 bath house to a 700 sq foot 2 bed/1 bath apartment. We picked it purely because of the insane view of downtown and the rooftop deck outside our front door. It worked out fine for us because it also came with a 1 car private garage where we could store all the things that just don't fit in a bedroom closet or kitchen cabinet. The garage was 4 levels down (SF is really hilly...) and around the corner, but it was fine for storing things like toolboxes and small electric tools, bike, my beer brewing stuff, extra boxes of kitty litter, bags of clothes waiting to be donated, winter coats that we'd only need if traveling, etc. Since you have outbuildings I wouldn't be worried at all.

  3. #13
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    Every piece of furniture should have drawers or shelves. Bedside tables? Use small low dressers. Coffee table? Mine is a trunk stores my off season clothes. End tables in living? Drawers or doors. I keep my childhood chiffarobe in the kitchen. 4 drawers and a door.
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

  4. #14
    Williamsmith
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    If I could be serious for just a second.......I am very happy for you Catherine and I wish you many happy years in your Thoreau like abode. I would love to send you and your DH a house warming gift....something small but useful....

  5. #15
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    We just moved into our 385 sf basement while we remodel the kitchen. I find that if I hand wash dishes as we go that very minimal dishware is needed - two of everything with perhaps a box of extras packed away somewhere out of the way. We have a tiny wet bar with about 16" of counter on one side. I am keeping silverware and small knives in a little teakwood caddy rather than using up drawer space since I only have one drawer. I have a toaster oven, microwave and electric kettle and can add a crockpot if needed. If I didn't have a fridge upstairs temporarily placed in the sunroom, I would purchase a tiny fridge. The only furniture we have is a small two shelf metal and glass coffee table and a loveseat. Tiny round dining table with two chairs. TV is hung on the wall to free up space. A useful thing if you have wall space is a little table top that attaches to the wall and can be raised up when not in use (may be IKEA). In the bedroom, there is a full-sized bed, reading chair with a floor lamp and two small bedside tables. You could also mount swing-arm style lamps on the wall next to your bed rather than table lamps. I will learn as we go and pass on suggestions that work. Seems like looking up tiny homes to see their interiors would be helpful too.

  6. #16
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    So I am thinking 700 sq ft isnt all that small, because I lived in 600 for 12 years, and a little over 400 for the last year and a half. I think the key really is small scale furniture. For instance, my desk was once a console table in the entry hall of a much larger home. It's 42in x 20, and has 2 drawers, just right for storing a laptop computer, a few papers, pens, etc.

    My dining table is 48x30. Its very comfortable for 2 people. I have 2 extra (folding) chairs and can make it work for 4 people.

    Nightstands are 2-drawer. Bed is a full size. Because i have dogs, i wanted to maximize floor space. So my 2 living room chairs are Ikea Poang chairs, with open frame bottoms. I have a loveseat rather than a 3-seat couch. I wish it had storage underneath, and am keeping an eye out for something to swap it with. Living room and bedroom both have wall lamps.

    Kitchen is about the same space as I had in the 600 sq ft apartment. I do have extra serving dishes/ party stuff in a couple of bins. They are in the shed now, but were on the deck during the good weather, because that is where I entertain.

    So, yes, it is very doable. As well as comfortable, and easy to clean, a lovely simple life

  7. #17
    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    Congrats Catherine! I think one thing that is very important for a small house is to have places to put things away and not out in view or on counters. In a small house it's easy to look cluttered.

    Personally I'd rethink the spices on the frig. Not just for the clutter reason but also light breaks then down quicker.

    I second the idea of flexible Ikea furniture that can fold up when not in use.

  8. #18
    Senior Member flowerseverywhere's Avatar
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    Congratulations.
    Before you acquire any electrical appliances or gadgets think about this. In 1925 only half of the homes in the US had power. All of our gadgets are a very recent phenomenon. Think about that for a bit

    we spend about 30% of the year in an small RV and you have to get in your mind what you don’t really need.for instance, I would not acquire a coffeemaker strictly in case company came. Tell them you have tea. If they really want coffee they will figure it out. How many dishes do you really need? Glasses? Towels?

    You can cook marvelous meals on a stovetop and in an oven, or on a grill. Also, think multi purpose. If you must have an end table in the bedroom, or a coffee table,get one that will function as storage. A tv can be mounted on a wall. A kitchen table can have fold down leafs. For me a comfortable bed is #1. A table with good wooden straight chairs, and a few comfy chairs to sit and read would be my priority to acquire in that order.

  9. #19
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sweetana3 View Post
    Spend some time at IKEA. They are genius at storage ideas and small spaces. Love their room set ups to see how things are used. Prices are decent too.
    Funny. My son, on one of his many moves here and there, in which he'd dump stuff in our garage on the way, left this IKEA table. We've been bemoaning the fact that it has taken space up in the garage and we were going to get rid of it, but whew! One instance in which NOT getting rid of something probably paid off. This is a fantastic gate leg table that will be so functional, and I LOVE the 8 little drawers it has.

    And I had NO idea, until I googled it to show you the link, that it's worth almost $1k!!! And to think I almost curbed it for the garbageman!
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  10. #20
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Williamsmith View Post
    If I could be serious for just a second.......I am very happy for you Catherine and I wish you many happy years in your Thoreau like abode. I would love to send you and your DH a house warming gift....something small but useful....
    IMG_3935.jpg

    Thanks, Williamsmith!

    Thoreau-like is true! We went out there to see it before the closing--could only see it from the road above because it hadn't been plowed, but from that vantage we could see that it's the wee-est house on the block. And those houses are already wee! But that's what I love about it.

    As for the guns... if I ever wind up single, and if I ever wind up without a dog, and if I ever decide to stick it out in the winter with no neighbors, and if the crime rate ever gets above 2 a year in Grand Isle, THEN MAYBE I would consider one of those firearm benefits Vermont bestows on its citizens, and THEN I'd have to take a big chance that I'd actually be able to use the darn thing without killing myself accidentally. But I get what you're saying. Vermont is a strange dichotomy of die-hard rugged individuals who will NEVER give up their gun rights, and Bernista/Bernisto progressive liberals.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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