Changes Part 2: Tiny House Changes
For the last half of 2016, Jordan and I worked on the tiny house to make adjustments and improvements to help us have a better, happier winter season. This year we enjoyed the most drawn-out, warm, beautiful fall ever. We delighted in keeping our windows open til late in the season, being outside more often longer in the year, and having Lil Blue continue to crawl with bugs....oh wait. We hated that last part. Living on a farm and in a tiny space means that we share our 160 square feet with lots and lots of bugs! Spiders, mosquitoes, flies, Lady Asian Beetles, and unidentifiable insects crawl along our ceiling (which slopes to inches above our faces at night), form webs over all of our windows and alongside our house, and form little pulsing hives to thrive during the winter in our shed.
Well, having gone through a year of seasons and figuring things out, we had a much better grasp on what to do this fall to prepare us for a better winter. We started with the bugs. We knew where to look for the hives (Lady Asian Beetles are our worst culprit) and stayed on top of them throughout the fall and early winter.
We painted all wood surfaces that had been left untouched last year (like our built in bench over our water tank) so we wouldn't have mold issues again this year. We built a little frame for our mattress to sit on in our loft so we could have more air circulate between the kitchen and the mattress to help decrease moisture levels. We purchased something to help take out moisture in the air so when we have extreme temperatures in the house (super hot and humid inside from cooking vs. freezing cold outside) it would help keep the condensation down, thus also keep the mold down.
We temporarily removed one side of our built in bench and replaced it with a love-seat. It is not nearly as cute (it's larger, takes up more space, and is an unattractive brown color) but it is soooooo comfortable to sit on! When we're cooped up during the colder months it will be really nice to sit on something softer to hang out and watch movies on.
Lastly, we had to give away Foxy Brown. We loved her and it killed us to do it but it just turned out to be too small of a space for the three of us to share. I know many other tiny house people who have kids and/or big dogs, but I have no clue how they do it. We had kitty litter in our bed sheets and the fur could NOT. BE. CONTAINED! We knew it'd be too rough come winter when we're also suffering from cabin fever and living on top of each other.
All of these changes (and a beautiful, mild winter!) have made for a pretty comfortable season. We are able to enjoy the beauty of our space without having to stress out about the temperatures and moisture. Round 2 of winter in Lil Blue is entirely different (and more manageable and enjoyable) than Round 1! Thank goodness!
So these, in part with my post yesterday about my job and school, all add to the changes we've been experiencing these last five months. But there is still one BIG change to come. Look for that next post!