Downsizing

Because tiny homes are...

I haven't been able to finish that sentence yet because I'm still debating it. 

Let's start from the beginning shall we?

I've been M.I.A. from G+ for a while because, well, I've been M.I.A. from anything that doesn't have to do with work or buying a house. They've been all consuming and I fear they're going to continue to be until the 27th of May. 

What's the 27th you ask? 

It's our closing date. I'm crossing my fingers it  happens before that, but that is our contracted date to be given over the keys and deed. 

YES! We found a home! 

And this time we're pretty sure there's nothing going to stop us from buying it. *Knock on wood*. The inspection has been done and the property was found to be beautiful. The well inspection has been done and there's some slight things but they can easily be fixed. All that's left is the appraisal. 

So, let's get to the fun stuff!

That's the view from the kitchen/dinning room. The house you see across, is pretty far away and that huge gap between? That's a fairly large river, jam packed with steel-head and river otters. 

Now this? This is the front of the home. You see how it's divided by a breezeway? Here's where the Tiny Home reference comes in.

It's actually two pods. In one pod it's a kitchen and dinning room. In the other pod it's a bedroom, office and bathroom. 

Is it odd? Yes. Do we love it? YES. 

The whole house is about 700sqft. 

That's all folks. 

Now, before you go buggy eyed, you have to know, it's on an acre. And that it is just my husband, myself and our two (smallish) dogs. We don't want children and we are not planning to expand in any other way. 

Although we have lived in small spaces before, we've lived in 1200+ sqft for the past three years. In those three years, I have accumulated a few things that I am very fond of. So fond of, in fact, that yesterday my husband and I had our first tiny home fight. He basically wants to dump everything and start over since we'll have to custom build every piece of furniture so that we get the most out of it (my husband builds custom furniture). My poor, little, hoarding heart couldn't handle it. 

But what about all the records and the record player? 

What about the beautiful antique roll top?

What am I going to do without my wrap around office desk?

HOW THE HELL DO I COPE WITH GETTING RID OF MY CUSTOM BOOKSHELF?

Yeah, it got serious. 

I do understand they're just things, really I do. But they're things that mark memories in my life. How will I remember the old man neighbor we met when we first moved in here? The one who had cancer and passed away? The one who before he died, knew I'd wanted an old record player and given me his along with his lifetime collection of records? What will remind me of the first project my husband and I ever built together if I don't see it holding the precious books of my childhood? What about the grand staircased bed we made for our old dog? The one with his name stitched into the sides?

It's silly to think that I'll forget, but I will. It will turn into, "oh, I remember that" instead of, "You see that piece there..." 

But they can't go. There isn't room and no amount of wishing is going to make that place grow. 

So why don't you find a different house, you say.

Have you ever walked into a place and the smell, the light, the soul of it, just made you feel like home?

That's why. 

This house is a piece of Washington that we remember from our childhoods. A place where there's more trees than people. Where it's a one lane road in or out and all you can hear is water. It's the heart of my homeland and I don't want to let it drown out with the rest of the progressing world. More than anything I want to keep this piece of the Pacific Northwest mine for as long as I possibly can. I would giveaway every memory to keep just this one.

It doesn't make it hurt any less but I do believe it'll be worth it. 

That's why I've decided to document the fights, the trials and the success of moving into this space. There's so many things we want to do with it that I haven't done since childhood and I know it's going to be a hell of a ride. So, naturally, I'm sharing it with you. 

Here's to growing up wanting the things you grew up hating. 

:)