I have great plans for you.

God has been intimately involved in every aspect of our tiny house journey. He was involved way before it was even a twinkle in our eyes. It brings tears to my eyes as I reflect back on the last year. God has validated every step along the way, however, I did not see that.

When our kids were in high school and we contemplated our future as Empty Nesters, we were intrigued by the thought of traveling the United States in a RV. We went to RV shows and researched the lifestyle. We could not seem to see how this would be a reality in our lives. There were some enticing aspects of RV’ing, but we wanted it to be more than a recreational lifestyle. It is nearly impossible to live in an RV year round in the frigid Minnesota winters. We tabled the idea, but it continued to nag out our hearts. We believe God put that desire in our hearts from the very beginning.

Since that time, the Tiny House Movement began. I loved watching the shows about tiny houses, looking at pictures and reading about those who lived in them. Again, we looked at all the reasons it would not work, but the idea never completely left our mind.

Fast forward to a year ago. John and I separately felled the strong urge from God that it was time to sell our house. The sermon at church that day again validated that this was from God. We thought it might be to provide a sober house to those coming out of addiction. Those plans fell through, but the yearning did not. We knew something bigger than us was at work, but what? We have been through some unique challenges in life, which we feel called to help others through.

Shortly after that, we heard about a Tiny House Open House. We knew we had to go. After touring some tiny houses, we just knew we wanted to pursue this lifestyle. Should we build on a foundation or on wheels? Where will we park it. We met with the couple who hosted the Open House and thought maybe this is where we should build. Although we did not end up choosing to live in their tiny community, we were divinely led to them. They were an amazing couple and they had similar experiences that we did. The next day, we shared with some friends that we were pursuing building a tiny house and they were shocked because their friends lived on hobby farm and wanted to have someone park their tiny house on it. Hmm. More options. Where did God want us? We met the couple and instantly fell in love with them. Guess where we are parking our house? On the hobby farm. We were divinely led there. You see, I had just completed a certification in integrative nutrition where I felt compelled to live a life of sustainability and minimalism. We will have access to organic food.

So many things have fallen in place along the way that continued to encourage us that we were part of a greater plan. We found an amazing builder who is local to Minnesota and is custom building our home to meet our specific needs. Thank you Ryan Ott, from Midwest Tiny Living. We found a wonderful realtor, who guided us to do the hard, but necessary tasks to get our house ready. Our house sold the first day it was on the market. We found the best professionals to help with the big stuff. And we cannot adequately thank our friends who have given up time, energy, muscle to help us. They also provided moral support and prayers. Once again, God is so good. He has been so faithful to us.

God gave me the desire to use more natural, chemical free products in my home. I started using essential oils to make my own cleaning products. I had no idea at the time that I would become an oil addict. I use them every day and not just for cleaning. They have helped me stay grounded as well as manage my emotions during this chaotic time in my life. They are so important to me, that I am having a special shelf designed to store them. I need my tiny essentials (oils that is).

Are you hearing whispers from God? Do you feel the nudges? What about those crazy dreams and ideas that do not go away? My best advice is to be still and listen for the next step, the right step. God has big plans for all of us. I am so thankful to be following my divinely inspired path. I wish that for you as well.

The journey so far has not been all sunshine and roses. I have more than once lost sight of the fact that God is in control of all this. He had this plan long ago, even before tiny houses existed. We do not know with certainty what big thing is unfolding, but for now we are leaning on God to reveal the who, what, when, where. I believe the why is to support other baby boomers through the many life transitions they face.

Remember, God has big plans for you.

P.S. This blog brought to you by Balance.

http://doterra.com/US/en/p/balance-grounding-blend-oil

Barb

Tiny Fest Midwest

Last weekend we attended the Tiny Fest Midwest, a tiny house festival in Omaha, Nebraska. What is a tiny house festival you ask? It is a gathering of those who live tiny, build tiny, aspire to live tiny or are just plain curious.  Just like any festival there were food trucks, vendors, camping and live music. Did I mention that it was outside and the weather was nearly 100 degrees.

Three tiny house festivals occurred that weekend. They were hosted by Tiny Houses Across America. Festivals were also held in California and Virginia.  This was a historic moment for the tiny house movement

 

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There were tiny house builders and DIYers. There were great speakers and workshops. It was exciting to see two Minnesotans on the main stage sharing their tiny journey. They shared the ups and downs and gave tips on tiny living. One message we heard over and over was that the journey can be hard, but well worth it. Those who now live tiny keep inspiring us that our journey is worth every step we take. We are so thankful for those that have gone before us. We also feel excited about setting an example for other boomers to take the jump.

One of the best things of all, was touring other tiny houses. It was great to see the creativity of each home. The fact is, each home is truly unique.  Even though the space is small, you never know how each inch will be used. The creativity adds charm and intrigue to each house.  We were also able to see Skoolie Homes which are converted school buses. They were amazing. There was a company that donates all its proceeds to provide tiny homes to veterans, disaster victims or those in need. We even saw a tiny medical clinic. It was so great to connect with people on the same journey.

We really enjoyed our time in Omaha. It was so good to put the past few months behind us. We were able to reconnect with each other, enjoy great food and chill in front of Netflix. We are rejuvenated and ready for the next leg of this journey. Next year when we attend the festival, we will be tiny home dwellers.

Live Simply,

John and Barb

Embrace the Adventure

When we began this tiny adventure we were so excited. We enjoyed every step, from finding the perfect builder, to the custom design, to finding the perfect place to park it. It took a while to get the design just the way we wanted. Being baby boomers, we did not want to sleep in a loft and climb ladders or steep stairs, so our bedroom is on the main level. Our trailer foundation is extra long(34 feet) and was custom made.

We were so caught up in the fairy tale, we did not even think about the in between. Our bubble burst pretty quickly when we started doing the hard work of preparing our house to sell, which turned out to be all worth it (to be shared in a future blog). It has taken months to prepare it to sell but that all worked out. We know God has been with us every step of the way.

We sold, donated or junked most of our belongings since it did not make a great impression for potential buyers. It was an unavoidable reality.  Right now, we are sleeping on an air mattress.  It is a self-inflatable queen size bed and even feels better than our old mattress. I went on a shopping excursion to find big fluffy pillows to support our aching backs at the end of the day. They work pretty well, but the bed likes to slide away from the wall and that leaves us sinking. We have to make sure we inflate it daily or we feel like we are sleeping on a water bed. We have certainly had our laughs about this.

After a grueling day working on the house, we could not wait to sit down in our comfy chairs and watch the Food Network. Oh yeah, we got rid of our comfy chairs. We did keep a rolling office chair and some camping chairs. You can sit in them, but they do not ease your weary bones. The camping chair feels like you are sitting in a bucket and is hard to get out of. One of our priorities in our tiny living area, is to have super comfy chairs. We can’t wait!!!

Eating a meal together has been a challenge since we sold our table. No problem, we put together our TV trays and voila, it’s time for dinner.  Metal chairs to boot. You do what you have to do.

Our clothes are in big plastic totes. It takes us a while to remember where we put some of our important things, but hey, it’s all part of the adventure. We could decide to be miserable and complain, but we have chosen to embrace the adventure. It will make the end destination, so sweet. Keeping our sense of humor has been key in all of this.

The past 9 months has been more than we imagined.  Who knows what is ahead.  We believe something very good is waiting for us and we look forward to it.

Live Simply,

John and Barb

The Rocking Chair

When you downsize significantly, you need to part with a lot of stuff. It is so freeing to donate, sell or throw things away. Some things are much harder to part with. We were not prepared for the feelings of loss and emotionally detaching from gifts, mementos, etc. We sold a lot of our furniture since it would not fit in our tiny. We had an old rocking chair in our basement family room that John was not ready to let go of. He measured it and tried to convince me that somehow it would not take up space in our tiny living area. It was over 20 years old, a little tattered and I just could not understand why he was so insistent that we keep it. He revealed to me that he had such good memories of rocking our kids in that chair and holding them in his lap. I could certainly relate to that feeling since other things evoked those same emotions in me. Finding old artwork from the kids or reading papers they wrote held deep memories of special times with them.

We decided to declutter in stages. You cannot do it all at once. The loss is too big. We have a box for things we know we cannot part with. That box is pretty full. We also included items that we were unsure about. Maybe they didn’t hold as much significance as others, but we just could not decide at the moment. I’m sure when we move in to our tiny, we will let go of a few more things. Saying goodbye emotionally to objects, is much harder than we anticipated. This adventure has been like a roller coaster ride with ups and downs, twists and turns, and even stalled rides. It is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. We know it will be worth it, but why is it so hard now?

As for the rocking chair, our son took it with him when he moved out. What peace it brought to John that it would live on for awhile.

Live Simply,

John and Barb

Creating Debt to Get out of Debt…

One of the benefits of “Going Tiny” is freedom from debt. However it is not as easy as it sounds. We have acquired more debt since we started this journey than we ever imagined. How did this happen? Initially we thought we would just pay for the tiny build with the proceeds we made from selling our current house. All we really needed to do is make a few repairs, paint some walls, add new carpet and call it a day. Were we ever in for a big surprise. Even though we did all we could, some unexpected and expensive repairs came our way.  We had to call in a five experts to do the work.

Second, we didn’t think about the fact that in order to pay for our custom build, we would need to pay in advance. We had to find creative ways to do this. First we went to a bank to get a loan, right? Wrong! We were surprised how difficult it was to get a loan for a tiny house. We would qualify for loans but were denied when they learned the money was needed to finance a tiny house. If we were offered a personal loan, it was far less than what was needed.  If the loan was approved the interest rates were outrageous. How in the world were we going to do this? God was looking out for us. The same day we had our last rejection we received some information in the mail about a special loan available to pharmacists.  In a short time we were approved for more than we  needed at a reasonable rate.

Third, we failed to account for the day to day expenses including our current house payment.  Living check to check was  a harsh reality.

The good news is, when our house sells, we will pay off a considerable amount of debt including our new build. Once we are living tiny, our expenses will significantly decrease. Right now, it is a little stressful. We have had our moments. One thing that keeps us going is to keep our eyes on the end goal. This is not always easy, but the encouragement comes at exactly the right time.

Who would have thought you would have to create so much debt to reduce debt?

Live Simply,

John and Barb

 

 

 

 

Let The Build Begin

It has been a while since we posted. We have been busy getting our house ready to sell. It is challenging to psychologically detach, but we are there. We are so excited that our foundation trailer is ready. It is time to start the build. Ryan Ott from Midwest Tiny Living, LLC is doing a custom build for us. Our trailer is 34 feet which enables us to have our bedroom on the  main level. We will be posting more updates and pictures in the coming weeks. Thank you for taking this journey with us.

Live Simply,

John and Barb

Friendship

In mid November we had an unexpected house showing. We have many projects planned that will take a few months to finish  So we asked for help.  With just one request we had seven friends show up.  We have an acre of land with many mature trees. Five of us conquered the yard in a few hours.  Our deck needed a major cleaning. So we had friend bundled up and power washing away.  Last of all we had couple replace our over the stove microwave.

When the couple came, the house and yard looked amazing.  These acts of kindness are a blessing that we will never forget.  And by the way, if your looking for a house…

John

Do you deliver?

Anyone who has tried to sell things on Craig’s List or Facebook Marketplace can relate to some common scenarios.  Sometimes an item might sit out there without a response. Or you may have a taker that doesn’t show up.  But there is the dual satisfaction of putting some cash in your pocket and ridding your house of something that is no longer needed.

We recently had an offer for a $10 household item.  Receiving an offer is always a good feeling especially when they are willing to pay full. price.  The only problem with this transaction was that they asked us to deliver it to St. Paul.  We live in Minnetonka!

John

On the same team?

Lately we have had more conflict than usual.  We are seeing first hand the stress of me putting in a lot of hours at work and Barb developing her new business as a health coach.  The real breaker though is getting our house ready to sell.  There are a number of big jobs to do.  Some are things I have never done such as roofing and sheet rock but I know they will be completed.  Yesterday we discussed the need to talk and listen everyday.  To understand each others needs and have a plan that works.  I’m sure we will hit other hurdles but I am glad that we are on the same team.

John

 

Infinitely Finite

This was the term our builder gave me.  It was offered when I shared with him the challenge of creating a rough sketch for the blue prints.  A house built on a trailer is finite in size but how in the world do you fit in all the things you need?   The variations are infinite,  but like any other house there has to be a flow.  Even though it is small, roughly 7 and a half feet from wall to wall it has to feel open.  The key we found was to create the feeling of openness.  Without the confinement of a loft the ceiling is 10 and half feet high.

Most tiny homes are built with a loft as the primary sleeping area.  We have a loft for storage but created a rambler style home on wheels. Everything we need is on one level. In the past we talked about retiring in a home like this.  We just never imagined it would be on wheels.

John