Tiny living

I am really starting to like living back in the RV again. I have to admit that it has been a bit of a culture shock after three years in a nice one bedroom apartment. I have to admit that I kind of want to just hook up the RV and do some traveling. But for the winter at least I am stuck where I am so that I can figure out where I want to go and how I am going to do it. The down side will be leaving my Jeep behind, as I can’t drive two vehicles at the same time.  I also have quite a bit of stuff to go through and get rid of.  I will be setting up an e-Bay store to help make a little bit of money in the process. We will see how that goes.

Moving back into the RV had the challenge of downsizing, yet again, and I got through that all well  Just to name a few things there are so many other things that have had to be done.

She needs a bath!

and good. The other challenge is that when you stick an RV into storage for so long that when you pull it out there are a lot of little, and not so little, things that need to be fixed. My list has included everything from replacing missing cabinet door handles, bay door locksets, seals and clamps, scrubbing walls, to replacing busted vent covers, and re-caulking nearly every seam on the outside of the trailer.

On this particular weekend the vents got replaced, and hopefully the caulking of the exterior fixtures and the roof seams on the slide will stop the water from getting into the RV all together. I am crossing my fingers on that one as every time I have caulked something it has not seemed to help. I think at some point I am going to have to strip all of the caulk, rubber sealant, and spray rubber off the RV and start with a completely blank canvas. Having to do this will suck as I admit that I have an aversion to heights. Luckily my ex-husband has been nice enough to drive down from Maryland and assist me with all the roof stuff.

Part of my living room

On the interior I was happy to enter on that first day to find all the furniture, with the exception of my kitchen table, gone from the trailer all together. The blank canvas allowed me to pull in most of the pieces from my apartment to create my new space. The key to adding the furniture from the apartment is that it has had to be bolted down to the floor and to the walls. Not a major thing to do but does take a hot minute to complete. “L” brackets have been a godsend! I also invested in a few packages of Museum Putty that allows me to tack down things to the desk and the bookcase so that I am not constantly putting things away and pulling them back out every time I move the RV. 

The best experience from moving back into the RV is that I do know a few design things that I do not want in my tiny house when I build it. For starters I want much better windows, and a lot less of them! Wall space in my RV is at a premium and I have a lot of things that I would love to be able to hang up, unfortunately I cant. So in the Tiny Home I will have to make the space to hang pictures and things. I have had the thought of stripping the RV down to just the trailer and building my tiny house on that, I do plan on just buying one of the tumbleweed trailers though.

But for now, my story continues…

Feels like Christmas!

This week I got some much needed tools in the mail, my pressure canner, food sealer, and my juicer that I ordered on Amazon, my next purchase is a food dehydrator. I found the cutest idea for making dried food meals, kinda like my days on Nutrisystem, only I have more control over the contents. In looking further into this I deemed it a great way to make and create meals for my daughter on the days that I have class, she is getting better in the kitchen and I think it would be a great way to spend  time together creating such delicious concoctions. 

My next plan to dive into food storage will be a tomato soup that I am dying to make! I can't wait. Wish me luck!

YouTube… Great source of information!

View full post for links at the bottom.

            I have been doing a ton of research over the last couple days, Having a few days off from school has been awesome, although I have some family issues that have surfaced, mainly two family members in the hospital, one awaiting a new heart, and one with other heart/blood thinner, related issues.            Things are a little tough at the moment but everything happens for a reason.

            Anyway, In my down time I have been addicted to You Tube looking for information on gardening, farming, canning, Cheese making, off grid living and many more things. I wanted to share some of the links to my most favorite and the most useful videos that I have found. There are so many more and I will post the best ones as I find them.

You Tube Links:

            Magazines on my Ipad:

            Backwoods Home Magazine: I really like this magazine, Got the Chicken back issue and it is awesome!

http://www.backwoodshome.com

Gardening:

            This is the best gardening youtuber that I have found, I really like this channel!

            http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUnFheTbVpASikm0YPb8pSw

Butchering a Pig:

1)   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsoK0gcG9as&list=TLSqrqvJVsGJo

2)   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJy7nGS11VY&feature=share&list=TLSqrqvJVsGJo

3)   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEWFbdOCZMY&feature=share&list=TLSqrqvJVsGJo

Chicken Processing:

            Awesome videos for Chicken Processing, The system they sell is not that expensive and I am thinking of purchasing one when I go off grid!

           

            http://www.youtube.com/user/buckley02

Planning Stage

Well I have continued to design the buildings for my site. The latest one is for my grand mother. I hope that she likes it. I have two more mini houses to design, my work shop, a green house. So much to do still and that includes finding land, but I am working on it. My savings plan is coming together although I don't have as much in it as I would like. I was set back by an expensive trip to the Vet's on my puppy. and I spent way too much at the gun range on monday. but I am trying to gather supplies and ammunition for the time being. I don't have much but I really do like going to the range. 

My daughter has been home for two weeks and I am glad to have her back here. She is helping me to put the plan together and get things working. I also have to admit that I have switched over to the snotty side of coffee making thanks to the purchase of a french press. Really good coffee and really low energy consumption!

I splurged and got a few more New Yankee videos for my collection. I think that after I have completed creating the living spaces I am going to work on some furniture design. but for now I trot along with school and prepping for the future.

More Cabin Pictures

 Only thing missing is the roof! I have to admit that I have been having a bit of fun putting these together and creating them. I added a second story set of lofts, the walls are four feet tall and will have a simple roof. I plan on adding a window to the front top of the house and a few in the sleeping loft. The front loft as well as the bathroom have pocket doors for access, there is a small wrap porch, and Sliding glass doors that I am considering making french doors, as that is what my daughter requested.

I think I am going to do a video and talk about my design choices. It still has a lot of work to be done on it.

Click on the image below to see in larger view.

People Make me laugh

The looks that I get from people that I have not known for a very long time when they here me talking to understanding friends about my plans to buy land and build my home just cracks me up. What most people do not know about me is that I have owned many pieces of property over the years, some were primary residences and others were rentals. HGTV has always been a weakness and watching it usually entails walls disappearing and things popping up in my homes. I think it will be awesome to actually build a home. Now with that said there are some things that I am studying that I know I have no chance in hell of accomplishing on my own, Roofing to be one! I have this height thing that will make that impossible! I have been watching hot to videos on YouTube, I have ordered books on the subject, and I hope like hell that I can find someone that will do a good job and wont screw me... Just my house! 

I also gave my self a refresher course on how to make concrete counter tops. How to frame walls, doors, and windows. Pretty easy peezy, I cannot wait til I have it all together. This class I have been doing in Vector works has me sketching  ideas for homes on paper and soon to be creating them in the computer.  I am pretty handy with a computer and a hammer go figure lol. I just ordered books on solar power as I honestly know nothing about it. I need to also figure out my distribution center as well as other things like wiring. 

I am not opposed to a composting toilet as long as I could have running water. I also want to create a grey water filtration system that would allowed me to recycle the grey water for things like gardening and the like. So many things that I need to figure out! I am so excited. I feel my creativity bursting out again after being trapped for so long. More on this tomorrow:) 

In Need Of a Simpler Life.

            It is no big surprise that I have wanted a simpler life, as I get older. I have to admit that I am wanting more and more to move away to some secluded place where I can write and just be left to myself, well aside from family and close friends.

            Lately I have been taking trips back to the days of ole where I would sit in the kitchen with my mother and grandmother while they would cook, and can fresh fruits and veggies. I remember one time when I lived in Ocean View that my mother showed up with bushels of corn. We had to blanch and freeze all of it in the short time she was at my house. This was quite the feat in my little one bedroom apartment with the tiny galley kitchen. However, I nonetheless find myself these days, long after my mother has passed on, going back to those days of canning and blanching.

            Recently I have pulled out the old recipe books, Broken out my Martha Stewart caning pot, Purchased almost everything I would ever need to can food and have set off to do just that. I have started with the simple things like Jams and Jellies. On my list is a pressure canner so that I can get into the harder things. I am still in a tiny one bedroom but this time I am all to myself.  I also find myself utilizing my Kindle Fire to download books on gardening and canning. As well as books on Off grid living.

            Off grid living is something that I have though about for years. And lately it is appealing to me more and more. I have been researching the “tiny house” movement, solar power, and looking into untainted land for sale. I have a year at most from the start of this month to figure out what it is that I want to do after graduation. To be honest I am thinking that maybe prepping for something so drastic as going off grid may be right up my alley.

            It should also come as no surprise that I am a prepper! Yes, I do believe that something is coming that will drastically change the way we as a civilization live and function these days. And I have started with the Canning, and recently moved on you Gun ownership. And I have to admit I am quite good with a pistol, and a rifle! I go to the range every week, Purchase Ammo and spend time on the range practicing with paper targets.  I have also recently gotten me a dog that is becoming my best friend these days. She is still a puppy, and I hope to have her around for quite a while.

            So now I am starting this blog to chronicle my transition from City apartment dweller to living full time off of the grid! I am hoping to meet some fellow sustainable living enthusiasts along the way and learn a whole lot more!   

            In a perfect world I would hit the lottery and be able to do it all at once. However, the world is far from perfect, and I must do this as I can afford too.