I put this sign up on the fridge, to remind us day in and day out that we must keep looking. Every day we must search for things we need, because you never know what kind of deal will come along. We've already had some great experiences and exciting deals. I'm looking forward to more! Finding an entry door with a full window was challenging and it took several weeks of perusing Craigslist.
I'm happy to report that we are already off to a great start, we have our trailer, and all of our windows and door. That's a good chunk! Next, I'm looking out for insulation, flooring, and interior paneling.
Here is a spreadsheet I'm maintaining for kicks (and encouragement). I've listed all the items we have bought so far, and included the average price we would have paid at the chain home improvement stores as well as what we actually paid the individual seller.
If I would have bought everything from retail I would be staring at a bill fast approaching $8000...thanks to looking for the deals- we've only spent $2000!
I enjoy this two-fold. Not only are we saving a lot of money on high quality materials, but there are many opportunities to purchase reclaimed items. I'm hoping that I'll be able to find some nice reclaimed wood flooring!
So there's my piece on perserverance. I will happily invest a little of my time to save a lot of my money! ;)
Now on to perspective.
I'm sure you all can relate, sometimes you get so wrapped up in a project or passion, that you forget the whole world doesn't know what you know. I'm surprised how many people I talk to that still have not heard of tiny houses. The movement is growing by the day-- or at least that's how it feels to me. I see more and more articles coming from bigger sources. But then again, I inundate myself with newsletters, articles, photos- all things tiny!
I'm trying to be more cogniscent of the fact that Dan and I are fish out of water where we currently live. Things eco-friendly tend to take a while to get to the East coast, and when they do, it usually starts in New Hampshire and Vermont. Rhode Island is not far away, but it sure feels like it sometimes.
Remember those books that I borrowed to start my reading? Well, of the four books, each one came from a different library location, none were from my own library. Naturally, as the sloth reader I am, I renewed them. When I tried to renew again, I was told that I would have to call each location and ask for an override. I returned one book, so I only had to make three phone calls.
 |
| Ok, so maybe I wasn't surprised about nobody else wanting to read about poop... |
In two of the three cases, I was told,
"This is the only copy in the entire system."
It really opened my eyes. Of the four books I borrowed, two were the one single copy in the entire state of Rhode Island. I'm certainly greatful they were even available to me, but I was immediately struck with a couple questions.
What does this say about my goals and
interests vs those of the general public?
What does it say about the state of Rhode Island
in comparison to others when it comes to
environmentally conscious and innovative ideas?
Oh probably not much, I think it's pretty much me, seniors, and kids K-5 that use the library anyways. :p
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