Went back to the old house last night (Wed) and filled a few boxes but my heart wasn't in it.
Seeing the house waterless with no heat and electricity it was so cold and impersonal it made me sad. I had counted on it as a warm bright and safe enviroment for well over 2 decades and to see it reduced to a vacant unloved home left me with little desire to even hang around, much less pack and move.
Most all the cabinets and drawers are now empty. Probably one more good trailer load (and most of that is just good junk (it could stay or go). I hope to have a giant yard sale memorial day weekend. I am in hopes the sale will groom the pile way down at the storage building.
I am going to advertise Rip Van Winkle (the 4x7 teardrop) and the tailgating chuckwagon on Craigslist for the same weekend. I have to pare down as I currently have to move 10 things to get to the one I need to perform a task. My tools are scattered here and there with no rhyme or reason. While I never was a neatnick the level of disarray is totally chaotic. I have to stop and realize I have only been in the house in a house 3 full days. I had helpers who packed and dumped everything everywhere. I am sure that it might take me another year to get settled in.
It is funny , I was awake most of the first night listening to creaks and groans and it was way too damn cold. My thoughts ran to the inevitable "What the hell have you gotten yourself into." I was able to get the heat going the next day and it was warmer and a bit more friendly but still cold. I slept fully clothed with long johns on and a hooded sweatshirt and gloves. By the 3rd night I had installed a very temporary wall of blue foam and a moving blanket door and the small propane heater was able to keep up despite the missing insulation in the walls and ceiling. By now the furniture and bare concrete had absorbed some of the heat and things were much more inviting. There are physical limitations to tiny house living but I have avoided almost all of them. I have storage out of this world, I don't worry about rain and snow as I am inside,security is a double lined steel building and no one knows what's inside. I have yet to utilize the bedroom or the kitchen area in the house in a house. I have slept in the recliner in the living room (10 x15).
Each day the adjustment becomes easier and easier and it will be more like home as soon as I can get the remainder of the insulation and the drywall installed. Getting the shelves and cabinets put up and filled will make day to day life much easier. Currently going through box after box to locate any item Is a half hour adventure.
The puppies seem to better understand what's going on and seem to be adjusting well. If the weather moderates a bit more it will be nice to be able to let them roam the shop. The ceiling has hugh skylights that let the sunlight into the building during the day so they won't feel like they are in a cave.
All in all with each passing day life in the tiny house arena becomes easier and easier.