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

hook ups

Tiny House on the Move

tiny house on the road again! My tiny move only took me a few hours. Packing was a piece of cake. My to do list read like this:

  1. Wrap breakable kitchen items (dishes and mason jars of rice, lentils, oats, etc.) in towels and put them into a storage tote
  2. Snug shiftable things (spice rack, olive oil, office supply basket) into laundry hamper
  3. Take wine bottles out of rack and tuck them into dresser drawer (ditto with candles)
  4. Strap kitchen drawers and refrigerator closed with a bungee cord

Since I was taking my whole house with me there were all sorts of things

drawers & fridge strapped shut

I didn't have to pack up at all. My jackets remained on the rack, my shoes in their basket, and my pots on their shelf. My bed stayed made up and ready for another night's sleep. I left all my clothes in their dresser drawers and just strapped the drawers shut with a bungee cord. For me the last step of feeling settled in a new place is getting art up on the walls, but this time it was already there!

tuck breakables into clothes in dresser drawers, bungee closed

A few neat tiny house details made the move simpler, too. I have a little shelf with a bar across the front for my empty mason jars (read: drinking vessels, aka glasses), so I left them where they were.  Since my dishrack hangs on hooks I knew it would likely sway a little but that nothing would fall and break. So I just left the dishes drying in the rack. I even decided to just leave my Christmas cactus hanging from its hook on the ceiling! No problems there. As I design a tiny house for myself that will be more mobile than this one, I will try to remember these little tricks made hitting the road much quicker and easier.

pulling the tiny house into its new parking spot

Once I knew everything was secure inside I headed outside to disconnect the house from its utilities. I unscrewed the water supply hose and disconnected the waste pipe from the corrugated drainage pipe of my greywater system. I unplugged my electrical cord and unscrewed my propane line and wrapped the lines up with zip ties so they wouldn't drag along the way. Then I closed the shutters so they would protect the windows in transit. I removed the wheel covers and tire blocks. With the propane tank, front steps, and jacks safely tucked inside the house, we were ready to roll.

We got the tiny house parked in its new spot, stabilized on jacks, and hooked up to water, power, and propane. Simplest move I've ever made!

A Tiny Move for a Tiny House

it's been a great parking spot for a tiny house A new tiny house is moving into the parking spot I've enjoyed for the past seven months, so the tiny house I'm living in is moving on down the road. Literally. I found a new parking spot just three blocks away, so tomorrow morning I'll be packing up my breakables, strapping down my shiftables, and unhooking my utilities. We'll open the gate, hook my tiny house up to a neighbor's 3/4 ton pick up truck, and move the tiny house three long blocks to a new spot where I'll live for the next two months. After that Britt's Bungalow is on its way back up to Olympia where it will be a vacation rental for the summer. It's a tiny tester for people interested in living in a tiny house (or just curious about them).

I feel so lucky to have been a long-term tester of Brit's Bungalow. It's totally Lina approved. I love it! And I've really enjoyed the spot I've been parked, too. Today I'm savoring the delights of this place: the bamboo grove, the clover patch, the chicken coop, the garden, the view through the tree tops, the covered bike parking. It's been a perfect parking spot for a tiny house.

Then This House Dropped Out of the Sky...

We have been joking about how it seems like my tiny house dropped out of the sky like Dorothy's place in the Wizard of Oz. One day there was an empty space in my landlady's yard and the next day it was occupied by a cute-as-can-be tiny house on wheels. Brittany drove her tiny house Bayside Bungalow from Olympia to Portland with me as her copilot. Dylan manned the follow car and kept us posted via walkie-talkie about the reactions we received from passersby. It was amazing how many people completely failed to notice the tiny house on wheels cruising down I-5, but we were glad when Dee Williams called to say she saw us go past. When we stopped at rest stops and went over the scales we got plenty of attention.

We were all a little nervous about getting the house backed into its spot, but Brittany did an excellent job and it's amazing how nicely it fits in. Serendipitously the tiny house colors are exactly the reverse of the colors of my host house! Brittany and Dylan helped with getting the house jacked up and Brittany walked me through all the hook ups and then they headed home and I was left to marvel at how it's all coming together.
Moments later my sisters Amy and Aurora called to say they were on their way. They came by with Lynette's kids forming a fantastic work crew to help me pile my belongings into the wee house: 1 foam sleeping pad, 2 dressers, 2 sets of sheets, blankets, 4 towels, 1 black plastic garbage bag of clothing, a basket of office supplies, 12 books, 3 pots, 1 pan, 8 bowls, 8 plates, 6 sets of flatware, basic toiletries, sleeping bag and pad, a tent, a couple backpacks, my beloved cordless drill and driver set, craft supplies, and 5 boxes of food. They teased me about how most of my stuff was food, but I explained this is the most important part to making my house a home.
Unfortunately, I wasn't set up to cook yet so we headed out to the Alberta Arts district to enjoy a little food cart culture. We dined at the Grilled Cheese Grill and then they bid me good night. I can see Cassiopeia through the skylight of my sleeping loft! It feels like I'm in a wooden tent. So cool!
Tomorrow... unpacking.