Removing the Couch...

Yesterday I told you about our storage camper.  One of the challenges of getting her cleaned up was getting a love seat out.  I am not sure how they got it in there, but there was good reason they didn't take it out.

When I asked the former owners about it they told me they pretty much had to take the door off of it’s frame to get it in.  I didn't want to bother with that so we just sawed it in half and took it out that way. Hooray for reciprocal saws!

My dad had the honors of helping and getting it out.

Good bye old stinky couch with a former mouse hotel, hello storage trailer. :)

Happily moving forward!

Thrifty Storage Solution: Camper Turned Storage Shed

I told you about our Future Storage Shed Here, 

And tearing her down here. 

Tearing down walls, taking out the kitchen...

All stripped and ready to put of vinyl.

The end product. Yeah, it is a little ghetto!

Over the past couple months we have worked a little here and there stripping a 1973 Prowler Camp trailer to convert it to our back yard storage shed.  I started by gutting everything but the studs and insulation, and ended by stapling up vinyl on the interior walls.

She isn't pretty and doesn't smell like a rose, but she will get the job done.  Now all we need to do is finish bringing over items from our storage unit and fill her up.

In our efforts to become 100% debt free, this is yet another step in the process of downsizing and saving.  Sometimes I feel a little ghetto about my crazy ways to get there, but hey this is just a stepping stone and I really do believe that the sacrifices we make today will pay off big in the future.  I can live a little ghetto for a while if it means having zero debt in the future. :) 

Here is the breakdown:

$350.00 camper

$40.00 tarp

$20.00 spray insulation and sealant

$3.00 staples

FREE vinyl for the walls via craigslist

=$413.00

Since we are paying $95/month for our storage unit we will break even in a little over four months.  Not too shabby.

What kind of thrifty storage solutions have you come up with?

Happy Saving and Storing?

  

Garden Time

I have a long list of house fix-ups and to-dos.  I didn’t actually thing I would get to a garden this year, at least not yet.

My sister wanted to start gardening this year and offered to help get me started and weed as time goes by.  I am a sucker for gardening and free help, so I ran with it. 

My step-sister Amber saved the day again by having the proper tools. She loaned us her rototiller and we are now in business.

We tilled it up and got some seeds and starts planted: kale, spinach, peas, green beans, peppers, garlic, onion and lavender so far. Today I need to plant tomato and pepper starts and in the next couple weeks we will also plant zucchini, pumpkins, carrots, and cucumbers.

We have a good start.  We are just crossing our fingers and saying our prayers that it will start to grow.

 

My sister helper and the before picture.

The after!

Now I am searching for some cheap/free mulch for between the rows.  Anyone know where I can find some??

Thanks for reading!  Happy Gardening!

The Beginnings of a Thrifty Garden Path

Dirt, dirt and more dirt.  We have been dealing with a lot of dirt.  It is almost as if I live in a construction zone.  The former tenants didn’t water the grass so we are starting from ground zero.  And since we are working toward being 100% debt free I am always seeking for thrifty solutions to our new tiny home problems.

Our first step to combating the dirt in our yard is a gravel path between our tiny home and my dad’s teeny tiny home.  Tomorrow you will see our garden area we have started.

Right now it doesn't look the prettiest, but I have a vision and once everything comes together it will be looking a lot less ghetto!

Cost Breakdown:

Gravel: Free off Craigslist

Landscape Cloth: $5.00 (purchased a $30.00 roll from Costco but only used a small portion)

Hose: Free, found in the yard

Large Rocks: Free, found around the yard

Hurray an awesome path for $5.00 J

Here is the area we are working with.

I started out by finding some old garden hoses to lay out the pathway  as our guide.

I had enough large rocks found around the yard to line one side of the pathway.  We will have to  keep searching for more large rocks for the other side.

Next start dumping gravel

So here is the beginning of our path, I know it isn't pretty yet but eventually things will come together as I continue to get things cleaned up around our tiny home.

Our garden is going in on the left side of the path and our orchard and play area is on the right side of the path.

 Happily Battling Dirt!  Have a Great Day, Thanks for reading!

To Be a Mom

I love being a mom.  It is challenging and rewarding all wrapped up into princess tutus and muddy toes.

 

That's my girl-- a lover of dirt and dressing up.

I often feel frazzled being a mom of two active little kids.  I always wonder if I give them enough space, yet enough boundaries.  I sometimes wonder what my neighbors think as I am shouting my kids names running to catch them from running into the street…. Again.

 

Exploring a decomposing tree trunk in the yard.

This is what I know.  I know I love my kids.  I love when they giggle, is makes my world joyful.  I love the sweet “I yuv you’s” and the shouting of “mama” and “mummm” to get my attention.  Far too often am I anxious and buzzed by the running away of my two year old and the independence of my four year old wishing I had a village to raise my children.

 

Lil'Miss sporting a little dress we found in Grandma's basement.  Which of my mom/aunts can tell me who's dress it was?

My cheerful, busy, busy buddy.

Over all I am grateful.  Grateful for the gift of motherhood.  Grateful for every adventure, especially the dirty toes and noses.

 

Friends, Ipad time and a dozing Lil'Bean!

So today on Mothers Day I live in gratitude.  I am grateful for my mom, my mom-in-law and all the many women who have blessed my life as mother figures.  Thank you for taking time to nurture me and guide me along this crazy path called life.

Happy Living and Happy Mothers Day!

A Simple Princess Party Happy 4th Lil'Miss!

Happy Birthday Lil’Miss

My Sweet little Miss is now four.  She is everything princess, ballerina, and strawberry shortcake.  It seems that every day she grows a little bit more and has a few more phases and words. It is hard to believe how quickly four year can fly by.

 

On her actual birthday she had a scoop of ice cream with some candles.  

Since we moved two days before her birthday I decided we would make this a ‘keep it simple’ Birthday celebration.  We had her party the weekend following her birthday at a park and invited some cousins.  She is lucky enough to have a lot of girl cousins close to her age.

Since Lil’Miss loves princesses, I wanted to have a princess cake of some sort, since most of my baking supplies were still packed up I got this idea that I could use strawberry shortcake cakes for a princess skirt and the kids could decorate their own cakes.  Besides that is way more fun than to decorate your own when you are four.

 

Gather up some little princesses.

Enlist your littles to give the little dolls a bath 

Groom out of control doll hair with conditioner 

Use mini angel food cakes for your skirt and plunk them in!

I scrounged up some princess looking mini Barbie dolls and let the kids wash them up so they were clean.  I used conditioner to tame their hair and then tied the hair back and plunked them in mini angel food cakes They didn’t fit exactly, but the kids didn’t care! And I was all about keeping it simple, so I didn't care!

Stay tuned for some Strawberry Shortcake Printable!

We played pin the hat on strawberry shortcake, opened presents and ran and played.  I am so happy to have Lil’Miss as my sweet daughter.  She is ray of sunshine and I love her so!

Happy Birthday Lil’Miss!

What do you do to keep things simple at Birthday times??

Pinterest Party

My sister even decorated Pinterest style

How on earth did I get by before Pinterest??  I use it to plan my meals.  I use it to plan my garden.  I use it for decorating ideas and it has become my file box of ideas.  I love the site, probably a little too much.

A year or so ago when Pinterest was in its beginning days my sister had this great idea to have a Pinterest party where we could share some of the fun things we have pinned.  We all brought delicious treats, ate to our hearts content, then exchanged Pinterest arts and crafts.

It was so much fun, we decided to do it again. My sister Alisha is really great about planning and decorating for parties.  She went all out. 

Our Hostess with the Pin Me Sign

So how do you plan a Pinterest Party?

Grab some friends, invite them to bring a pinned treat and something they have made that they pinned.  You can even do a craft or game found on Pinterest.  We were enjoying our time chatting so much that we didn't get to the craft.

Originally I had an idea to make some jewelry out of silverware, but that turned out to more of a pinstrosity (pins you have tried, that have gone wrong). The party fell on the week I was painting tiny home, so I rushed from Boise to Caldwell to make this little apron (see how I made it here) then later that evening I rushed off to Meridian to the party. It was kind of a wild day.

My fork jewelry turned out to be more like table art.

I made my Pinterest goodie a couple days before since I knew I would be having a busy running day. I made crock pot Greek yogurt, I blogged about it yesterday.  It turned out really good, until I added warm honey for the party, then it turned into a yogurt drink.  Oops.

What has Pinterest inspired you to do??

Wanna follow my Pinterest boards?  Go Here!

Happy Pinning and Happy Creating!