The things we lost in the purge

Deciding to live small (and move across the country) means seriously simplifying so we've spent weeks trying to ditch the clutter, mess, unnecessaries and inessentials.

Jay made a rule that we had to get rid of an item per day. It became a new form of entertainment to watch people come over to visit and leave with a dart board or speaker system. I thought I'd be sad to see our stuff go but it turned into more of a game where the goal was to end up homeless with no possessions and only the clothes on your back.

What I lost and don't need to find:

1 Queen size bed - I gave it to some street-youth who just got their first apartment

All pit-stained tee shirts and holey toed socks

12 speed bicycle - Gave this one to a bicycle-less bicycle courier (he needed it more than I did)

VCR - remember VCRs?

A bunch of other stuff ... I guess you know the purge was the right decision when you can't even remember it a week later

The best bit - without all that shit in the way, there is tons of open space for Wayne to get his beauty rest.

I wish that I knew what I know now ...

It doesn't matter what size your mobile is, it's small. Which means that every time you choose to add a shelf, chest, rack, or set of drawers for storage, you're using up valuable floor space that you can no longer use for things like dancing, somersaults, yoga or wrestling. Because the ability to yoga-wrestle in my own home is so important to me, I went on a hunt for some good lookin storage solutions. And I wish on a fish that I'd thought of these earlier:


(http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/organizing/modern-spaces-small-space-storage-gallery-021315)


(JeremiahCollection.etsy.com)


(Garrendenny Lane)


(DoorCountyWoodworks.etsy.com)

Not to worry though, we've decided to buy and possibly rehabilitate another mobile home - in BC! Because once you've got the fever ...

We`re going mobile, but the trailer stays where it is

Grand tally: 11 days of work in
$1000 (approx) spent on supplies and materials
$451 spent on beer
Injuries sustained: not a one

Time left to finish the job: none. We`re moving to BC at the end of next month. Where we will be approximately (exactly) 2396 km from the trailer in Ontario.

But ask me if I`m in love.
All I can do is try and tell you what it feels like.

It`s like a breath of fresh air. Rolling downhill. Letting water run down your back. Taking a warm bath. Hitting snooze. Biting into a fresh steak. Rolling into a bed still warm from the body that was sleeping in it just a few minutes ago. Like a place that càn`t help but feel like home. Where I can decompress and wash the city off me, drop my stress at the door, stretch, yawn, and be happy.

Trailer and error

So my boyfriend bought a trailer.

And we committed to turning the craphole into a castle. First stop - walk in and immediately assume fetal position on the floor thinking about all of the work ahead of you. Second step - get rid of that stench. The carpet gone, the windows open (the windows that do actually open that is: 7 windows in the front end and none of them do), the rotten patches cut out of the floor, the mold cleaned out of the fridge, the whole job a lot bigger than we thought it was going to be. Time consuming, affordable, and slightly less than manageable when working full time 5 hours away from our weekend getaway. Difficult, but never a bad idea.

These guys could do it:


(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/the_mini-home_f.php)

And we sure tried. End result: that photo at the top that we took when we first got there, it still looks just like that. It looks nothing like the masterpiece that Dan Hall and Andy Thomson created above. Inside, things have gotten much better. We hardley ever go fetal anymore.

(Not) For sale (anymore - we bought it): a piece of heaven Asking price: $5000

When someone offers to sell you a home for $5000, ask them where it is. If it's that one sitting in the middle of the trailer court with the windows broken, some guy peeing on the back door and a tree poking out of the roof, say no. But if it's a trailer sitting in the middle of the woods, surrounded by lakes, rivers and wildlife, think about it.

While you're thinking, rather than considering the million reasons why you can't find work in a town of 800 people, and why you would rather not make a daily one-hour commute to the next town, consider whether or not you like the view. Ask yourself if you enjoy the water. Think about the possibility of owning your summer cottage outright, with no mortgages, minimal utility bills and land taxes, with nature waiting, literally, at your doorstep. And if you can say no to that, slap yourself in the face and consider it again. While you're at it, think about the number of people who spend hundreds of thousands on their summer getaways.

And when you realize that it doesn't get much better than this, say yes.