ADU, Travel, Community
Lina Menard
Maui, Hawaii

After A Week Long Send Off, My Round the World Trip kicked off with eight days in Maui visiting my sister Sarah who has split her time between Hawaii and Alaska for many years. What an epic way to start this adventure! There was mist falling when my sister greeted me at the Kahului airport on Maui a week ago, so she teased me about bringing the rain from the mainland. We headed straight for Paia where she presented me with a young coconut and a lei, accompanied by the chant for the gifting-of-a-lei.

Maui, Hawaii
Tiny House, Travel, Planning
Lina Menard
Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla

A number of circumstances collided recently to compel me to move the Lucky Penny to my property in Walla Walla where I have a ground bound small house called Valencia Cottage. So on Tuesday trusted tiny house movers Linh and Stephanie Pham helped me move the Lucky Penny safely from Portland to my place in Walla Walla.

Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla
Minimalism, Workshop
Lina Menard
Downsizing Tune Up

As I packed up recently in preparation to travel cross country in my Honda Fit, I did some downsizing… It was harder than it had been during my last couple of moves because this time I had more stuff. I’d been living in a bigger space…My apartment was a studio, but it was still about 6 times bigger than the Lucky Penny! I talked with several people about the experience and a handful of them said “oh my goodness, I need to do more of that!” So I’ve decided to offer a 6-week Downsizing Tune Up…

Downsizing Tune Up

electric heater

Top 10 Reasons to Pick Envi Heater Over Propane Marine Heater

Envi electric heater After a recent tiny house workshop in Portland, one of the participants followed up to ask why I prefer my Envi electric heater over a Dickinson Propane Marine Fireplace. I gave him my top 10 list and realized I should share it here, too.

1) Electric heater is silent. Propane heater fan makes lots of noise and it doesn't seem to heat well without the fan on. 2) Electric heater is so slim and unobtrusive most people don't even notice it. Propane heater takes up considerably more room and requires clearances. 3). Electric heater can be installed in moments and packed away for the off-season (though I probably won't bother). Propane heater is mounted there permanently, even during the off-season. 4) Electric heater requires a nearby outlet but no other pre-planning. Propane heater requires a gas line run to the spot and planning during the design for proper clearances. 5) Electric heater requires no venting or penetrations of the house's thermal envelope. Propane heater requires penetrations through the roof. 6) Electric heater uses 475 watts of electricity and in the Pacific northwest most electricity comes from renewable sources (dams have their own issues, but still...) Propane heater requires fossil fuel.

Dickinson Propane Boat Heater

7) Electric heater does not exacerbate my slight pyrophobia. Propane heater is sometimes tricky to light so flame makes me kinda nervous. 8) Electric heater is cool or warm to touch but not hot. (I do occasionally hang a towel on a hook above it to pre-warm the towel.) Propane heater gets hot so I can't set things on top of it, but there's a nice little flat top on it so it's very tempting to set things down there! 9) Electric heater can be plugged into a timer. Propane heater cannot be plugged into a timer. Electric heater can also be left on when I'm not home or need to run an errand so that the house is warm when I get back. Propane heater can't be left on when I'm away. 10) Electric heater retails at $130. Propane heater retails at $1119.

The main advantage of the propane heater over the electric heater is ambiance. The flickering flame is cool! So I run the electric heater and light candles for ambiance.