My Tiny House Experience (so far)

Since my most viewed blog post is from way back in April when I talked about tiny houses, I figured I'd do a little update on my experiences thus far living in a tiny house.  Once we realized we had to start out renting, finding a little house (720 square feet) was pure luck.  This was about the size that we planned for our own tiny/small house, so I consider this a practice run in organization and space saving.

We could probably go a little smaller if we didn't have a need for a guest room.  Our second bedroom probably makes up about 20% of our house, and isn't currently used for much.  It is, however, an absolute requirement now that I am living so far from my family and friends.

Do I think I could have transitioned into a small house as easily if I hadn't sold nearly all of my belongings before we moved?  Nope.  

Being on a limited budget for furniture purchases required us to be creative with what we did have.  The toy chest as a coffee table was a no brainer - now we don't need a separate coffee table, and the chest stores all of our board games in an easily accessible location.  We don't have room to keep all six chairs at the table in the kitchen, so I'm using one as an end table near the couch, and the other as a bedside table.  Easily moved should we have dinner guests and need the extra seating, and fully functional in the meantime.

I'm also hopeful that the small space will help us considerably as we try to stay warm this winter.  To conserve energy, Karl and I always keep our thermostat pretty low.  With our house heating up so quickly once the furnace kicks on, we're able to push it even further.  We're shooting for 60 degrees when we're home, and 50 degrees overnight or at while we're out of the house.  The great part about the small house living is that I can always crank up the thermostat for 5-10 minutes to get the chill out of the air if I'm feeling a bit on the cold side.  However, the more you get used to keeping the thermostat low, the less you will realize you need it to be any higher.  If it's 72 degrees in your house, 35 degrees outside will feel much colder than if you already feel warm at 60 degrees.  Plus, who doesn't love snuggling under a blanket?

We're also becoming much more conscious of the food we keep in the house.  When you only have one cabinet to store everything, you can't really tuck too much food away and not plan to eat it in the near future.  This will hopefully reduce our grocery bills a bit, which is good when a trip to the Alaskan grocery store is enough to want to stop eating altogether when it's time to pay the bill.

My struggles so far?  The closet.  I'll admit it, I have a minor obsession with clothes and shoes (mostly shoes) and nowhere to put it all.  Everything is kind of packed in like sardines, with more shoes stuck in the corner of the bedroom.  I have no solution.  I'll let you know if I figure it out (doubtful).

My favorite part?  The house is so much cleaner than I would have ever expected.  I hate to vacuum, I hate to dust, and I really hate washing dishes.  However, a small house allows you to vacuum in a just a few minutes, and the lack of counter space necessitates dishwashing several times a day.  The small spaces motivates me to spend just a few minutes a day tidying up, and I'm rewarded with a neat, clean house almost all of the time.

Living in a small space certainly isn't for everyone, and you have to be in the right frame of mind to look at it for it's potential versus what you feel you're missing out on.  The first step is to realize that you don't need the majority of what you have stuffed in corners and closet.  The second step is making that a reality.  The third step is enjoying the simpler life!  I can say without a doubt that I am enjoying my small house a hundred times more than our house in Pittsburgh that was three times the size, so it was definitely the right choice for us.

And finally... The Kitchen!

This isn't the greatest picture in the world - the afternoon sun shines right in the kitchen window!

Our kitchen is pretty tiny, which has presented it's own challenges.  I'm glad we were able to fit our dining room table in, even though we had to take the leaf out.  You can't really access the chairs near the walls either, unless you pulled the table out.  Oh well, I don't know anyone to invite over for dinner anyhow!  The back door was a disaster when we moved in - half of the paint was missing, leaving the brown door underneath exposed.  The whole kitchen looked bright once it had some fresh white paint!

I was so excited to put my place mats and dish towel out - thanks, Terese!  They made my kitchen feel homey right away!

The kitchen has a tiny alcove with some shelving, so I was able to store most of my larger kitchen supplies there.  I also got a great deal on this kitchen cart, which stores all of my serving and baking utensils, as well as spices and other random things.  My mixer sits so nicely on top!  It's on wheels, so I can drag it over to the counter whenever I'm doing some baking and my two feet of counter space aren't going to cut it...

Speaking of counter space - booo!!  It's nice to have a big sink, but I'd rather have another foot of workspace!  Oh well, the benefit of having such a small counter is that the dishes are basically always washed and put away.  There just isn't the room to leave them sitting out for even a short time.

We installed this shelf above the stove to hold the microwave - obviously, there was nowhere else to put it!  My cookbooks fit perfectly on the end, along with my recipe box.  The shelf is a big higher than I would have liked, but I wanted plenty of space above the stove for working.  It's only a problem when  whatever is in the microwave ends up in the back because the turntable was spinning - I have to keep turning it until it comes back to the front!

Well that's the end of our house tour!  I still have the guest bedroom, but there's no furniture in it!  I decided that I will not be purchasing a bed until my first lucky guest has booked their plane ticket!

My favorite room in the house!

The living room!  I adore how the light shines through my curtains and gives the whole room such a sunny feeling!  Amazingly, I had 3 matching curtain rods that I had brought with me so I didn't even have to shell out any extra money.  My awesome dad sent me Joann's gift cards for my birthday, so theoretically, my window treatments were free!

The living room is my favorite place to be so I like to keep all of my important things there.  I think this is why small house living suits me so well.  I could surely set up the guest room as a craft room of sorts, but I wouldn't use it.  I'd just end up dragging everything into the living room as I used it, so it might as well be there to begin with.

My table is a perfect size to hold my sewing machine, but still large enough to use for other projects without having to take everything off.  There's my lovely photo boxes with my craft supplies so neatly organized! (Except for everything crammed in the closet...)  The large sewing chest on the floor was my Grandma's and came all the way with me from Pittsburgh!  It holds all of my sewing patterns, scissors, rotary cutter, buttons, pins and needles, and other odds and ends.  Imagine my excitement when I found its baby sister on Craigslist!  The little one has been designated as the storage for pens and pencils, office supplies, stationary, and other necessities.  I still need a chair for the table - I've been dragging the toy box over which is not particularly back-friendly.

Here's Willow enjoying a bone on her new bed in her new house.  I decided to use my old pop bottle crates as storage as well as decoration - they're actually full of Karl's video game accessories!

Here's the other side - The cabinet against the wall is another Craigslist find.  It holds 200 of Karl's video games, and I don't even have to look at them!  I still have some photos to hang on the wall, but that is my least favorite chore ever.  No matter how many times I check it with my level, they still hang completely crooked...

Here are two of my favorite things in the living room:

You said it, moosie!

Both were awesome finds at the Alaska State Fair!  I'd been eyeing up the chainsaw carved animals since my very first visit to Alaska.  Unfortunately, they were usually well over $200.  This cutie only cost me $75 and I love it!

Sitting in my own living room makes me so happy, especially after all we've been through these last few months.  What a wonderful feeling, sitting here on my big, comfy couch, snuggled under a blanket and next to Willow, and typing up my blog to share with all of my friends and family!

The kitchen is our last room in the tour - check it out tomorrow!

A peek at our new home

Here it is, our first place to call our own in Alaska!  I've learned that Alaska appears to be the land of duplexes, so I'm very excited that we were able to get a house all our own.  Yes, that is a terrible towel in the front window!  We have a driveway too, and I think we'd probably be able to fit three cars in it.  Hopefully Karl will be able to bring his Mustang over so he can drive it next summer!  The two windows that you see on the left are in the living room, and the one on the right is in our bedroom.

 Here's our cute little fenced in backyard.  We need to do something about the fence to block Willow's view of the 37 dogs that appear to live in the neighboring yards, but she's already happy to have her own little patch of land!  The window on the far left is is in the guest bedroom, the one in the middle is in the bathroom (actually in the shower - weird, right?) and the one on the right is in the kitchen.  The door on the far right is actually just a tiny storage area, which will be great for shovels, camping supplies, and other stuff that doesn't need to take up space inside.

And here's our bedroom!  This is the only room that is even close to finished, so it's the only one you get to see for now.  You may wonder why we decided to live on the edge and get a white comforter with a stinky black doggie - I had actually fallen in love with this comforter a few weeks ago, but it was far too expensive considering we usually have to buy a new one each year due to excessive slobber and dirty feet (and that's just Karl - ha!)  In any case, when we were buying some bathroom linens Karl came across the comforter in the clearance section and it was only $40!  Works for me!

We finally brought the last of our stuff in from Wasilla on Wednesday night, so now we just have to put everything away... We're getting there though, and it's definitely starting to feel like a home.  We seem to be having some considerable trouble in getting anyone to provide us with television service, so we've been watching every single episode of Family Guy on DVD!

Check back next week for some more photos!  I'm hoping to hit Joann's this weekend and get a shower curtain made and finally have the bathroom 100% finished.  Once the rest of the house is done, we'll get started on the guest room - then I'll be taking reservations for all of my lovely family and friends to come visit!!

Home Sweet Home!

I apologize for being MIA the last few days, but at least my silence this time was due to some good news!  We were FINALLY able to move into our rental house in Anchorage last Friday, so we've been frantically getting things cleaned up and moved in.  We finally told the management agency that we were willing to sign a lease before the work around the place was finished, and that we'd handle the painting ourselves.  We just couldn't wait any longer for them to get it done on their own.  The only frustrating thing now is that we could have decided to move in way back when we first looked at the place and it would have been the same amount of work!

I was a bit nervous about this house just because it looked a little rough around the edges when we came to check it out.  Karl assured me that a fresh coat of paint would do wonders and boy, was he right!  I chose a beautiful shade of blue to replace the Aquafresh toothpaste color that was previously on the walls.   I had to work throughout the weekend, so I left Karl in charge of painting when I headed to work Friday. Our hope was to finish the living room that day so we could start moving some things in over the weekend.  Karl worked like crazy and had the living room, bathroom, and bedroom all finished by the time I got home!  I finished up the kitchen that night, and we headed out to Wasilla on Saturday and Monday to get some of our things.  We also picked up a brand new mattress (which was heaven to sleep on!) and a couch over the weekend, so it's really starting to feel a bit like a home!  It's almost weird using the word 'home' because I've gotten so used to saying 'Karl's dad's house' and 'the motel' over the last few months.  It's such a wonderful feeling to be able to say 'let's go home' and not mean heading back to Pittsburgh!

Pictures will be coming shortly, but I've been too busy to even open my camera case - Actually, I'm not really even sure where it is right now!  We finally went grocery shopping today, so we can actually cook ourselves some food too!

In other exciting news, Karl got a job last week!  He'll be working at a bank, which is exactly what he was hoping to do here in Alaska.  He's pretty excited because he gets his own desk, which he's never had before!  He has a little photo of Willow set aside to take with him - how cute!

I'm so excited to be able to write a happy blog post again!

I agree with Willow!

The hotel IS boring!

At least we have some beautiful birthday flowers from Karl to enjoy!

No news yet on a potential place to live... Hopefully tomorrow?

It's my birthday!

Happy birthday to me!  I told Karl that the pressure was really on because he's the only person within a few thousand miles that gives a crap about my birthday.  Unfortunately, it's a bit hard to celebrate from a hotel - that is, unless you're on a fabulous vacation somewhere.  Which I am not.  Hmm, maybe I'll get a cake once we're moved in somewhere...

In good news, I got a job for my birthday!  I'm finishing up my final paperwork today, and I'll start tomorrow.  Woohoo!  I am also desperately looking forward to interacting with people other than Karl. Is it being greedy to hope that I get a house to live in for my birthday, too?

It's so hard being away from all of my friends and family for my birthday and it makes me realize how miserable the holidays will be.  Perhaps I will be more adjusted by then?  I can only hope!

Hotels seem to be losing their allure...

Well here we are, back in a hotel - this time in Eagle River.  We opted to find a place closer to Anchorage as it is likely that I will be starting work before we will be able to move into the place we'll be renting.  Most of the inexpensive hotels in Anchorage seemed a bit too shady for my tastes, so staying about 30 minutes away is fine with me.  I am glad I had the last couple of months off of work, because now I am SO ready to go back.  I'm not sure I can handle watching any more television...  Of course, the time off would be so much easier if I was in my own space with my various projects and crafts.

I am so nervous that the house we plan to rent will fall through, but I don't really have any reason to believe that other than my paranoia that things won't actually improve.  We're waiting for it to be repainted and have a few minor cosmetic issues fixed, but we were told it will be ready at the end of the week.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I took this photo last night, which was our last night housesitting for Karl's cousin.  The moon seemed huge!  There's so much less light pollution up here that it really makes the night sky seem that much more brilliant.  It's also getting colder and colder at night, which usually means the clouds are starting to clear just a bit.  I can't wait until I get to take photos of the Northern Lights!  That will be the one thing to look forward to when we hit subzero temperatures!

Rough Times All Around...

This week has been an unfortunate reminder of what a struggle life is sometimes.  Several people I care very much about are going through difficult times, and I feel so helpless to offer my support from so many miles away.  It's even harder knowing that this won't be the only time that loved ones are in need and all I have to offer are words from the other side of the continent.

However, I do remember all of the words of encouragement, support, and faith that I've received in these last few weeks.  I do remember how grateful I was for every single word, and how lost I would have been without them.  So to anyone having a difficult week, I'm thinking of you from all the way up here in Alaska.  Adversity makes us stronger, makes relationships more resilient, and reminds us of everything and everyone we have.

Here's to hoping that babies are healthy, beloved pets are remembered fondly, medical issues are sorted out, and that the days to come bring happiness and resolution.

I love all you guys!!

I LOVE good news!!

After feeling pretty confident about my second interviews last Thursday, I didn't know how I was going to wait ALL the way until Monday to hear back.  Seriously, my patience is pretty lacking on a good day, and job interviews have transformed me into a 2 year old.  Good thing my new supervisor seems to be the same way - She called me Friday morning to tell me she had picked me for the position!  Still waiting for the official offer to come from HR along with the exact salary, but I have a job!!  I don't think I have ever been as excited about anything in my life - This is the first job where I really feel that I was selected over other applicants, and it's a job that I am incredibly excited about.

Needless to say, this made for a wonderful start to the weekend!  We were immediately able to hit Craigslist and start checking out places to rent.  Unfortunately, this put a bit of a damper on the mood...  It is so difficult to find a place that meets our specifications - allows dogs (big dogs... dogs that are pitty bulls...), and preferably has a fenced in yard.  We also decided that we'll be moving into Anchorage since that's where I'll be working - gives us lots more places to look at, but really limits the number of actual houses for rent.  Honestly, I don't think anyone in Alaska has even considered living anywhere other than a condo or a townhouse.  There's also some MAJOR sticker shock when looking at apartments here - the cost of housing is almost double what I'm used to in Pittsburgh.  That also limits our options a bit, because we need something we can afford temporarily on just my income (and that we'll be approved for), and can comfortably afford once Karl finds a job.

Against all odds, we were able to check out two houses on Saturday.  The one was probably too expensive, but the other was a perfectly adorable little house in what seemed to be a nice neighborhood.  The real clincher - it had a doggie door and it was just Willow's size!  We'll drop off the application on Tuesday when we're in Anchorage for another job interview for Karl, and cross our fingers!  I'm already decorating it in my head, so I hope we end up getting it!

I am SO excited to unpack my stuff - I told Karl that I think this may be the first time in the history of the world when unpacking a ton of boxes will be such a joyous occasion.  Karl, being the wonderfully generous person he is, told me that he would allow me to unpack everything just so I could be as happy as possible.  I, however, can also be generous, and would surely not keep it all to myself!

Things just might be looking up...

I'm finishing out this week on a pretty good note.  I had two second interviews yesterday and I am so hopeful that at least one of them will turn into a job offer.  My references were called about five minutes after I walked out of the office for one of my interviews, so I think that's a good sign!  After about two months off of work, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.  Aside from being able to apartment hunt as soon as I have a source of income, I'm REALLY looking forward to getting to talk to people other than Karl!

Karl's had some luck with job interviews as well, and has several more coming up.  The direction he goes will really depend on whether I'm hired somewhere before him.  We've applied for jobs over a relatively large geographical region, and we'd like to work somewhat close together so we have more options in where to live.

We're currently housesitting for Karl's cousin, and it is so nice being in a place that feels so home-y and welcoming.  Pictures on the wall, knick knacks all around, a big fuzzy blanket on the couch - These things were sorely missing at Karl's dad's house and I never realized what an impact that can have on your mental well being.  I cannot wait to decorate my own place!

I had a friend ask me whether I enjoyed living in Alaska.  I had trouble answering, because it still doesn't really feel like I LIVE here.  I don't think I'll really know until I feel like I've been able to settle in.  Here's hoping that's sooner rather than later!

Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend - Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The Luck of Labor Day?

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!  Hopefully the spirit of Labor Day will bring luck and Karl and I will have employment in the very near future!  I start at my part time job on Wednesday, and I'm hoping I didn't waste our luck on getting on job offer on a minimum wage, 10 hour a week job.  All of our interviews went really well on Friday, and we're both crossing our fingers that we'll hear something positive in the next week.  The wait is absolutely killing me, and I'm frustrated because I really think I've run out of places to apply if these organizations don't work out.

In any case, we've made a pretty good temporary plan and are doing alright up here.  I know my friends and family are thinking of us, and I certainly don't want anyone worrying!  The stress is pretty difficult, but we're getting our basic needs met just fine.  Keep up the good thoughts though - I'm sure the positive energy will make a difference!

This is some SERIOUSLY simple living!

Today was actually a really good day, and I'm so grateful for the support I've gotten from friends and family in such a difficult time.  Times like these really make you realize who is there to support you and who you better not rely on.  I'm not one to ask for help much, but the kind words and good thoughts are so helpful!

To make a long and upsetting story short, Karl and I were no longer able to stay at his dad's house as of a couple days ago.  He wanted us to put Willow to sleep if we wanted to continue staying at his house.  Those of you that know Karl and I know that Willow is basically our entire life and we couldn't possibly get rid of such a loving pet.  Willow is basically my shoulder to cry on every time I'm upset or homesick, so I couldn't possibly imagine handing this move without her.

No sooner were the words out of his dad's mouth when we both said we wouldn't be coming back that night.  We headed out to take care of a few errands and came back a few hours later to pack some overnight bags.  We didn't want to waste any money, so we planned to camp for the night.  We headed down the Palmer Hay Flats, which is basically a parking lot for the hunting trails.  Camping is permitted, however, so we thought it was a good choice.  Because it wasn't an actual campground, we decided against setting up the tent and instead set up our sleeping bags in the back of my car.  In hindsight, this was a really bad idea for my emotional health.  Waking up the back of my car made me feel like I was truly homeless and made me want to crawl back in my sleeping bag and cry.

We decided to get a hotel last night so we could get showers and use the free wifi to crank out some serious job applications.  We both felt like we'd applied for just about every job we were qualified for and went to bed hoping that today would be a day of phone calls.  We were pretty successful and Karl has interviews on Thursday and Friday, and I have two on Friday.  I am so hopeful that of these four interviews we'll walk away with at least one job offer!

I'm also feeling a lot better about the potential living situation.  We are housesitting for a cousin of Karl's for about ten days starting next week, and have two low cost options for afterward.  We are meeting a guy about a one room cabin available on a month to month basis tomorrow night, and have also located a hotel with a VERY reasonable monthly rate.  These are both options we could afford with the part time job I'm 99% sure I've secured, and would only require us to dip into our savings a bit.

For now, we're staying in the hotel again so we can be pretty for our job interviews.  We'll likely camp over Labor Day weekend, because hotel rates are likely to be a bit more expensive and even a cheap nightly rate tends to add up!  I've learned my lesson though, and we'll be staying at a campground with a fire pit and we will be purchasing hot dogs and the fixings for s'mores!

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures to add - we had amazing views at the Hay Flats and this hotel is directly on the lake, but I haven't been in the mood to even take my camera out for the last few days.  Thank you for reading my sob story, and thank you for your well wishes!  I'm convinced that your prayers are what have made things start looking up!

One Month Alaskaversary!

Today marks one full month that Karl and I have been in Alaska!

Time has really flown by!  It does seem like a really long time since I have seen any friends or family, but I can't believe I've already been in this state a whole month.  We've gotten a lot accomplished - we have Alaska driver's licenses, our cars are registered in the state, we've changed addresses, and Karl has changed his cell phone to a local number.  We've each applied for several jobs, but no response to anything so far.

We are still living in Karl's dad's house, which is certainly challenging at times.  We're in an interesting position, because we can't pay rent if we aren't working, but we're really enjoying the freedom to travel, camp, and generally explore the state without the commitment of a job.  I'm still feeling burned out from my last job, and can only imagine going back to work if it's in a slightly different environment.  I'm hopeful that we'll be able to find jobs within another month or two, so we can get our own place sooner rather than later.  It's really hard to feel settled when 95% of all of my belongings are still boxed up and hard to even access.  It's also frustrating knowing that I can't even start harassing people to come visit until we are living in our own place.

Karl is happy to be back with his family and friends, and it's so nice to see him in his own environment.  I try to think of that when I'm feeling a bit out of place, and hope that it's only a matter of time before I can consider Alaska home.  Willow is quite content, although she's generally pretty easy to please.  She will probably be devastated once we are working again, because she's gotten very used to us both being around all of the time.

We have had so many opportunities to travel around the state, and there are still so many places to explore.  It's been very exciting to find a place I like and realize that I can go back whenever I want.  It's also so much less pressure, because we're not trying to fit 10 years worth of experiences into a 10 day vacation.

In short, life here in Alaska is still very new to me and I have my good days and my not so good days.  I am really looking forward to having a place to call my own and friends that will come to visit.  Until then, I'll just have to suck it up and keep visiting all of the beautiful places in Alaska!

Blueberry Week will start tomorrow - I couldn't ignore my Alaskaversary!

Journey to Alaska - Day Eight & Nine (Videos!)

And here's the last two to finish out the video diary of my trip!

Journey To Alaska - Day Five (Video!)

Here's the video for day five - finally!

Journey to Alaska - Day Seven (Video!!)

Better late than never!  Here's Day Seven!

Journey to Alaska - Day Nine

Day Nine was a much shorter day compared to the previous eight!  We had a few hundred miles to get to Karl's dad's house, and even the numerous construction stops didn't slow us down.  We stopped for lunch at the Eureka Lodge, which is really in the middle of nowhere at the top of a mountain pass.  We were sitting down for less than a minute when Karl's two cousins pulled in for lunch as well!  Karl was really happy to see family so soon into the trip and really exemplifies why he wanted to come back to Alaska.  Not many pictures from today - it was a short drive and it was pouring down rain the entire day so you could hardly seen the scenery.  Here's one photo from near the mountain pass - these poles are there to mark the road for snow removal crews because it gets so much snow here!

Journey to Alaska - Day Eight

On day eight, we made to to Alaska!!  We got up from our campsite and traveled to Tok, Alaska, which is about 90 miles from the border.  The Alaska Highway is an interesting stretch of road, and got progressively worse the closer you got to Alaska.  Lots of gravel patches and road construction, but we made really great time considering we had a LOT of distance to cover to make it over the border.  Here's some photos!

Outside Whitehorse, YT

The gravel parts of the road kicked up some serious dust - this isn't even too much compared to some.

The Alaska Highway 

This water was as blue as the Caribbean

Feel like you're on a beautiful island?

The pup

And we're in Alaska!!

Journey to Alaska - Day Seven

Giving up on videos for the time being... The internet at Karl's dad's reminds me of 1997 dial up...

Day Seven marked our journey from Smithers, BC to Mile Marker 638 in the Yukon on the Alaska Highway.  There is no town there, just the Rancheria Lodge.  It looked a bit shady from the road, but it was our last campground for many miles and we were exhausted.  Turned out to be one of the best campgrounds ever!  They had free hot showers, and our campsite was right next to the river.  The restaurant at the lodge served up delicious eggs and bacon for breakfast, and were actually reasonably priced for being in the middle of nowhere.

We drove the entire Cassiar Highway (450 miles) today and while it had some serious gravel stretches, the scenery was awesome!  I saw TEN black bears, including a momma bear and her babies!  They were all on the side of the road as we were traveling, so we were definitely safe.  I also saw a little fox that ran out in front of our car several times.  Willow went absolutely berserk over the fox - I guess because it looks like a little dog.

Here's the video and a few photos!

Moricetown, BC

Karl and Sarah

Woohoo!

The pup

Awesome gravel on the Cassiar - this went on for MILES

We passed a HUGE area that had been burned by a forest fire the previous summer.  It burned for several weeks and covered almost 50,000 acres.  It seemed like we were driving through this forver... So sad.

A fox!  Sorry it's blurry!

Black bears!

Karl and Willow at our awesome campsite.