View Full Version : I've Finally Resurfaced, Here Is My Tiny Home Beautiful Tour!
I have never uploaded a YouTube clip before so let me know if it actually works!
https://youtu.be/W5kN4MrWnxw
iris lilies
8-27-16, 11:30am
Wow! I love it, so New Mexican!
Is thereva water spiggot outdoors? If so, I might be tempted to set up dish washing operation out there for some parts of the year.
Very cozy and homey.
Madrid is tiny--I looked it up. You're going to be a big fish in a small pond, I bet!
catherine
8-27-16, 12:13pm
That SO made me smile!!! I'm so happy for you. Thank you for bringing us on your whole journey! People do these big life changing events sometimes, but we don't always see the full gamut of emotion and thought process that goes into the decisions. I feel you were led to this and you clearly and courageously overcame your barriers to make it happen! That is so cool.
rosarugosa
8-27-16, 12:21pm
Thanks for sharing, and please invite us back once you've done the patio. I'm eager to see what you do with that space!
AHHHHH! So wonderful! Thanks so much for posting this...I'm so excited for you and am thrilled you won't have to put up with Michigan winters anymore! New Mexico is one of my favorite states in America. I've been up the Turquoise Trail and know Madrid...you're going to have a terrific time there. Happy Housewarming! :)
Love it!!!! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful adventure. So glad that Youtube technology lets one do this. You did it at exactly the right speed of moving through the space with no vibration so it is even more impressive.
Looks perfect, I'm sure you'll really enjoy living there. Good for you for making the jump!
freshstart
8-27-16, 3:58pm
Your the first person I "know" with a tiny house. I love it, I hope they become more popular, I think I could easily live in one someday. I love your BR sink, so pretty. I look forward to seeing how the patio comes along, it's a decent sized space out there. Thank you for sharing. One question, could you fit a dog?
awakenedsoul
8-27-16, 4:20pm
Well done, congratulations. You are such an artist. It's really pretty, and full of style. I admire your tenacity.
congratulations! Thanks for the peek into your new life and home.
Gardenarian
8-27-16, 6:09pm
Cool! Thanks for taking the time to share :)
That was fun! It's nice to hear your voice. I love your little home.
Lovely! I'm envious, even though I'm quite current with my own life changes. Adorable small space, with just the essentials, nothing more, a patio ready to be re-done, and your work right there. And the weather! It's getting into fall here already. Thanks for sharing.
Love it! Just a suggestion for dishwashing. What if you took a plastic dish tub, put it in the bathtub, and did your dishes that way? That is, if your back can take the crouching over the tub. I've done that when I've had plumbing issues in previous apartments.
Wow, what a pretty little space! I think it works well how you are using it. I also liked hearing your voice after 'knowing' you online for so long.
So happy for you! The space looks so cheerful. And a new beginning is always exciting. Especially when the plans all work out as well as yours seem to have.
Good idea, Tradd, but I don't actually have a bathtub. It is a really large shower though. Right now I haven't had hot water for two days, as the inspector failed the hot water heater safety protocol. It's supposed to be fixed tomorrow. There are some weird things I have to put up with for the time being as they get fixed and reinspected. The propane tank for heat is being replaced as well because the current tank is too big and too close to the house. Madrid kind of reminds me of the UP of Michigan - a lot of stuff is patched together and not always in the correct way and when a state inspector comes around, things fail their inspection...I can't get the propane filled until they replace the tank with a smaller model. The owner is well aware and is going to pay for all the fixes. My hope is that it is done in a timely manner, before it gets too much colder! After all, I have moved to the Land of Manana, as they say. It is very different from the uptight Midwest!
Ah yes, adjusting to what we call "beach mode" when dealing with the slowness of fixes. It's good meditation practice.
It's 6.5 years and I'm still adjusting to the slower culture of the southwest.
Is the southwest like the south? Kind of laid back about schedules and appointments?
Loved the tour, Siouxie! It looks perfect for you, and I'm really excited for you!
Yes - easy going, friendly, slower.
So glad you posted. I was hoping you would. Can't wait to see the improvements you make in the garden/patio area.
For easier outdoor dishwashing, could put a fish cleaning table right outside the door, with a tin roof over it. Cabelas, Kotulas, and Walmart have them for about seventy dollars. It gives you a table, a sink, and you hook it up to a garden hose.
Then, where the water drains down out of the sink, you could hook up a pipe to use the grey water to irrigate the plants in your patio, since water is so valuable there.
We have our washing machine rigged up to send the grey water out into our watermelon patch. We use pvc pipe with holes drilled into it.
For easier outdoor dishwashing, could put a fish cleaning table right outside the door, with a tin roof over it. Cabelas, Kotulas, and Walmart have them for about seventy dollars. It gives you a table, a sink, and you hook it up to a garden hose.
Then, where the water drains down out of the sink, you could hook up a pipe to use the grey water to irrigate the plants in your patio, since water is so valuable there.
We have our washing machine rigged up to send the grey water out into our watermelon patch. We use pvc pipe with holes drilled into it.
That's a wonderful idea! Not being an angler (like my father's mother was), I had no idea there was such a thing.
Can't get the photo to copy but here's a link
http://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-DELUXE-FOLDING-FISH-STATION/1883697.uts?productVariantId=3997576&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=04012263&rid=20&gclid=Cj0KEQjw3ZS-BRD1xu3qw8uS2s4BEiQA2bcfM0-ybLFVGLZR7gkarjykZHm3Uqz6obma2J9p_QzVUjwaAol48P8HA Q&gclsrc=aw.ds
iris lilies
8-30-16, 1:31pm
That's a wonderful idea! Not being an angler (like my father's mother was), I had no idea there was such a thing.
We are toying with the idea of building a vegetable cleaning station outside with a set up like fish cleaning: table, sink, hose powered washing, runoff to vegetable garden. The volume of produce DH grows is pretty amazng.
Our kitchen sink area gets crowded now that we are both retired and and around all day.
Enjoyed the tour!
If you put some gallons of water out in the sun, they will heat up and you can get hot water.
If you take a two liter bottle and put nail holes in the top rounded part, then mix hot and cold water to shower temperature you can turn the bottle upside down in the shower and shower with it. Rinsing yourself off with poured water rather than the sprinkle bottle gets soap out of hair better. Cumbersome but frugal.
If it's going to be awhile, the camping shower bag that you hang in the sun and then hang in the shower to shower with is faster. If you have a 5 gallon shower bag, the indoor and outdoor hooks need to be able to hold 50+ pounds of weight plus more to handle the surge as the full bag drops onto the hook.
I'm sure the neighbor would love to see me shower outside! I am having ongoing water problems in general, it turns out several things on the property were not up to code. It all started with trying to get the propane tank filled for the winter. It turns out the propane tank that's been here is too large and too close to the house so it failed state inspection. But in order comply with that, the hot water tank had to be inspected as well, and it was found to be so dangerous that the plumber turned it off immediately a week ago Friday. Then it's been all week getting the estimates (VERY expensive, as it wasn't just the hot water tank itself, it was the "shed" it was housed in) and getting approval from the owner for the necessary repairs. All this take lots of time in the Land of Manana...
So they finally came out yesterday to do the extensive work - they poured a new concrete floor to hold the water tank up, got all the necessary vents up to code, had my part-timer test the water and everything thing seemed good. I got home from Santa Fe expecting to finally have a hot shower after a week of no shower, and all I got was a meager trickle, and no water in my one and only sink. At least the toilet has been flushing. So after all sorts of calls back to the plumber and the village water guy and the owner, today supposedly it is all going to be remedied. Something about the sediments in the tank got dislodged when they were working on it yesterday (it had been somewhat tipped for years when the old floor of the shed collapsed, so now that it is upright, it stirred up a lot gunk which is now clogging the pipes to the bathroom). Or so that is the latest diagnosis...
There is a small growing part of me that is wondering just what the hell I have gotten myself into...
You must be so frustrated. Do your feet and back hurt? Remember how you felt working at Whole Foods on shifts? This will get solved faster than your shift work. Breathe!
iris lilies
9-2-16, 11:10am
OP, hang in there. The plumbng will evenutally get fixed.
Then there will be somethng else that breaks, no doubt. But that's the value of having a simple place, there is far less to break than with your averager American property.
I too give encouragement - this will be over soon. I'm still enjoying your adventure vicariously. 😊
Well, after a very long day of plumbing problems that seemed to keep on increasing exponentially as they remedied one thing, it invariably led to another problem, I now have hot water that flows at a decent rate. However, there is a lot of sediment flowing through these old pipes, so it is not fit to drink (not that I was drinking it anyway). However, I am looking forward to taking a nice long hot shower.
Some weirdness with all of this, regarding my boss/owner of the property. I know he needed to vent his frustration with this whole thing (which was really due to benign neglect of a very old house), but I really do not want to be put in the middle of it between him and the plumbers. At one point today on the phone he was so livid and ugly it kind of made me feel sick to my stomach, as in, I sure didn't sign up for this at all. I know I didn't cause any of it and I am not responsible, but it sure is a sucky feeling to be the one in the middle who lives at the property. No, I am not being charged rent, as it is part of my employment package, but I still expect to have water services. I did go a week without hot water and dealtwith it because I had to, but it is not my fault that this stuff wasn't taken care of all along. Apparently he is coming up tomorrow to check things out and I have no idea what kind of mood he is going to be in. He just spent about $4,000 on this water problem...and I have to hand him receipts for items I purchased to run the gallery and also for the refrigerator I bought for the place, though maybe I'll save that receipt for later when this all blows over.
It is an awkward position....The thing is he would have to address this plumbing issue eventually, I'm just sorry you are feeling so uncomfortable and apprehensive. I hope it goes well.
It's not your fault. He's lucky to have you there, so he just has to deal with it. It's unfortunate that he seems to be shooting the messenger, here, but this too shall pass. I can't imagine that there will be any other catastrophes in such a small place, so hopefully this will be your baptism of fire and all will be well. (reading this over, I apologize for the profusion of cliches, but all I want to say is, every cloud has a silver lining, so try not to cry over spilt milk ;)
You should give him all the receipts to date, including the refrigerator.
If he is going to go off and make you uncomfortable, then I would rather know sooner rather than letter, in case I needed to arrange for somewhere else to live. I'd hate to see you modifying your behavior and creeping around in fear of someone's temper; that is really concerning and really not okay; I would not go down that path.
(Spoken as someone who spent much of life doing that around violent alcoholics.)
If this living arrangement is going to prove unsatisfactory to you, best to find it out sooner rather than later. You have done absolutely nothing wrong; he has. He should be apologizing and offering to put you up at a motel, imo.
Good to find this out sooner rather than later? There are other places to live in Madrid or Santa Fe.
This will all get resolved. Your employer needed to address this whether you were there or not. Just think about the freedom you have to create and to go to bed and wake up when your body is ready to. Take a hike :D and enjoy the countryside. This, too shall pass.
iris lilies
9-3-16, 12:31pm
OP, do not underestimate your own value to the gallery owner. Here he has you, someone with years of retail customer service experience, knowledge of art, artists, and the creative world, runnng his gallery while he is off site. Most importantly, you are reliable and mature and trustworthy. You wont steal from him, you wont do majr drugs and turn the place into party central.
$4,000 isnt very much in delayed maintenance, really. While I realize that properties there probably arent worth much and that is a big bill when compard to the overall value of the property, plumbing is expensive. The next expensive thing is HVAC systems, then electrical wiring, then the roof. . The rest of it is cosmetics or small jobs. Here's hoping none of that stuff goes bad any time soon.
iris lilies
9-3-16, 12:46pm
... After all, I have moved to the Land of Manana, as they say. It is very different from the uptight Midwest!
Back when I lived in New Mexico, I came to the Midwest for a holiday. On my return, friends picked me up at the airport and as I walked quickly ahead of them they commented "oh yeah, she has been out east you can tell by the way ahe is walking"
What Tybee said -- give him the receipts. I would personally make a spread sheet listing the receipt, the amount, and if appropriate the reason (not "because I like cold food" type reasons --those things are obvious -- things like "X to replace broken Y")
I think it's best to be straightforward and non-apologetic. If there is negotiating to be done, no point in starting from a position of apologizing.
It is a business transaction going both directions and it helps to have everything in writing going both ways. That way there are fewer misunderstandings. Don't just give him a handful of receipts and try and talk to him about the reasons for each. Mary B. has the right idea.
None of this is a reason for you to apologize. If anything, he should apologize for not having fit and legal accommodations already waiting for you. Remember, this is a business transaction. You are his employee and tenant. He is your employer and landlord.
I agree about keeping meticulous records here. Can't hurt.
None of this is a reason for you to apologize. If anything, he should apologize for not having fit and legal accommodations already waiting for you. Remember, this is a business transaction. You are his employee and tenant. He is your employer and landlord.
exactly this
iris lilies
9-3-16, 1:55pm
It is a business transaction going both directions and it helps to have everything in writing going both ways. That way there are fewer misunderstandings. Don't just give him a handful of receipts and try and talk to him about the reasons for each. Mary B. has the right idea.
None of this is a reason for you to apologize. If anything, he should apologize for not having fit and legal accommodations already waiting for you. Remember, this is a business transaction. You are his employee and tenant. He is your employer and landlord.
Yep!
It's all on him. I agree with the above several people and underline their ideas. You owe no apology. He is the one who should be sorry and embarrassed.
he should also be thinking in the back of his head that if he doesn't get it all fixed, he could easily lose a very good employee
Also keep copies of all the receipts and the spreadsheet for yourself. You may need to show a copy of the receipt if something goes wrong with the fridge at some point for instance. Ask the owner to also save all the originals in case an original is needed at some point.
Also agree that the owner should be given all the receipts that you have so far. It's important for him to know exactly where things stand financially. Also that he gets in a pattern of reimbursing you promptly.
As a backup plan, and also in case there is a power outage at some point, you could join the Planet Fitness gym in Santa Fe. The membership fee is only 10 a month for the lowest level or 20 for the one with all the perks including reciprocal privileges at all the other PF's which could be useful if you are camping places without showers.
However much your neighbors might enjoy you taking an outdoor shower, I was thinking of getting the water warm outside, then bringing it inside to the shower and using it there. :-)
A Quick Update: all seems to be hunky-dory here in The Land Of Manana. The husband and wife team dropped by earlier today and were both in good moods and loved the way I redid the gallery showroom. The anger about the repair seems to have blown over. He even asked for the receipt for the refrigerator, so I know I will get reimbursed very soon for it. He will be around the next few days anyway because I need to be trained on the end-of-the-month stuff for the business, and there are some maintenance projects to due around here. I will now have the go-ahead to call the propane people and get them out here to replace the tank with a smaller version. AFTER all that is done, the final inspection will take place. Here's hoping for smooth sailing with that.
On a another note, I need to make a new category in my personal spreadsheet: BEER! I have been drinking a LOT of it lately. It's not like I get drunk or anything every night, but after the galleries close for the day it seems like everyone ends up at the tavern for a few drinks. I was getting a good local draft each time, but that gets pricey after awhile if you do it several days in a week, so lately I've switched to lowly PBR's...yee gads. I look at it as a necessary way to meet people and to become familiar to them. It's way more than I've imbibed in the last few years though, at any rate! My other thought is to be relaxed about the money part of it. I had patterned my entire frugal life for a long time to get myself to this point of reaching my "goal" of living a freer, more sustaining life; I don't think I want to sweat spending a bit more in this category. If it becomes a problem money-wise or health-wise, I will just pull back from it. I had a good time tonight listening to music and talking to people, getting to know them a little more.
I'm glad to hear the money/repair/landlord is working better. Keep in mind all the advice about receipts, spreadsheets or some documentations, prompt payment, and what you are doing to benefit the landlords! As for the tavern time...water is always and option- one beer the rest water.
That socializing sounds fun, and glad things back to normal with landlord!
Sounds like everything's working out! Glad to hear that the boss/landlord is being reasonable. I have to admit, if I were in his shoes I'd probably react the same way. Stormy over the initial bad news and then I'd get over it quickly and move on with my life.
And glad to hear that there's a social scene. As has been mentioned, you don't have to drink several beers per night. Or you don't have to always go. Unless you want to, of course! Personally, even though i'm an introvert and would not normally seek out such events, I've come to realize that social activities like that can go a long way towards building the glue that makes the rest of life/work/whatever so much easier and more enjoyable.
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