My Tiny Home Life

Tiny House Part 13: The Kitchen

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Yes, I once more fell behind on posting about my tiny house. Frankly, I knew what was coming and that it would take a lot of time to prep these next few posts. Ashamed of my procrastination? Undeniably. So, are you ready to head to the kitchen?

This part of the series will definitely be multiple posts, because there are tons of details in this kitchen.

The photo you see above is a close-up from a picture I posted earlier. I can’t remember if I mentioned it before, but I had to convince them that I really did want white walls. This picture shows why. I knew I would be bringing in a lot of color in my art, storage, and accessories! Much of it, especially the art, came with me in the move and I can’t tell you much about it, but many items were bought specifically for this apartment, and I will happily share those details.

Another thing that took a little convincing, though not too much, was the open shelving. I specifically wanted everything visible, looked forward to using my necessities to decorate and not be looking at cabinet doors all the time. Playing off the teak countertop, which I’ll share in a better picture later, they brought in an assortment of woods for me and sealed them for kitchen use. I love it!

One comment I’ve received from readers and visitors is that I have very little counter space. At first glance, this is true, but it’s actually not. My washer and dryer more than make up for the shortage of official counter space. I obviously don’t put anything super heavy on them, but I really don’t deal with super heavy anyway. I have never felt confined in my tiny kitchen.

The rectangular frames you see to the right of the mirror? Yes, this is an old photo, but yes, they are still empty, waiting on me. I have everything I need to teach myself watercolor, but I’ve not done it. It seems like every time I even think about pulling the supplies out I find something else to do instead. Still, learning watercolor is one of my goals for 2024 and those frames are going to hang there, staring at me, until I follow through.

One thing I’ll mention while I’m here, since this is the only photo it appears in, is the towel that’s hanging from the top drawer. It was the result of a lot of searching! Things were different when I had a dishwasher; I could grit my teeth and put up with my kitchen towels that weren’t absorbent and didn’t dry anything. I mean, seriously. Why have a kitchen towel that won’t dry dishes enough that you can put them away?!

So, I headed to Amazon and began my search. My requirements were pretty detailed. First, I wanted a solid color, preferably orange. That ruled out a lot; no surprise there. This towel comes in 26 colors, one of which was exactly what I wanted. I knew I wanted cotton. Also, the reviews had to agree that the thing really would dry well. If a towel wasn’t consistently praised for this one characteristic, I kept scrolling. Too, I wanted something small enough to be practical (this one is 12×12) and was really hoping for a loop I could use to hang it. I didn’t want to have to install a towel bar, but I wanted a towel to always be at hand.

So here you have the Homaxy 100% Cotton Waffle Weave Kitchen Dish Cloths, Ultra Soft Absorbent Quick Drying Dish Towels, 12×12 Inches, 6-Pack, Orange. (Don’t you love the highly detailed descriptions on Amazon? LOL!) The 6-pack sells for around $15. You can also get 4, 8, and 12-packs.

See you next time!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 12: The Shower

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Seriously? She’s going to tell us about her shower?

Yes. Yes, I am. I am going to tell you about my shower because it was such a big part of the design challenge.

We were so tight on space that I assured them I would be fine with the smallest shower stall they make. I think that was 32xs32? Fortunately for me, when they were shopping, she stepped inside that tiny one and realized even she couldn’t hack anything so small longterm, and I’m taller than she is. Instead, they got me a 36×36 and I have been grateful ever since. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind a little more space. This is sufficient; it works great in fact. I just can’t imagine going any smaller. So, if you’re building, consider what you realistically need. Yes, we sacrificed a few inches in the main room, but it was more than worth the investment!

They installed an instantaneous water heater in the “attic” above my bath, and it provides plenty of hot water. Oh, and they got me a rainhead. I’ve never had one before and this one, especially since it’s adjustable, is amazing.

The shower curtain is from Amazon. I hunted forever, or so it felt, until I found just the right design to keep me in remembrance of our cruises. This is actually a 60″ curtain (Technically it should have been 48.”) because when I looked at the smaller version it seemed that they had distorted the picture to make it fit. I had originally planned to have this one cut down, but instead I just folded some of the fabric and doubled up on a couple of the hooks. That lets it spread out so I can see it, with the extra fabric not too very noticeable off to the side. (And yes, I got in a hurry taking this photo so it’s not hanging properly on the right side.)

I will include a link to this curtain, just in case anyone wants it, but I warn you that you must have a sense of humor to appreciate it. Near the bottom there are some definite misprints. Mostly it’s a couple of fish that are missing pieces of their bodies, but then there is this.

It’s close to the bottom, so as far as I know no one else has ever even noticed it, but every time I see this bear peeking at me above a wall of water I chuckle. My sense of humor is just quirky enough that I didn’t even consider returning the curtain; I keep it as a sort of trophy of silliness.

Finally, I offer these two photos to share my personal bathroom hack. Moving from a full-size bath to a shower stall left me with extra shower curtain hooks, and I discovered that they are a tremendous help. The hook on the shower head holds my bath brush and scrubby without taking up anywhere near as much space as the shower caddy I’d brought with me from the other house. The two hooks I keep on my shower rod (I actually store them both where the right one is) are ideal for hanging wet swimsuits or other things that need to drip dry. I have thanked myself many times for not tossing the “extra” hooks when I was purging.

And that’s it for the bath!
Yeele Fish Shower Curtains Blue Ocean Under The Sea Shower Curtain

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 11: The Bathroom Tour Continues

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

So last week I talked about the pictures over the toilet. The frames are cheap things I picked up and spray painted. The mats are from the craft store. And, believe it or not, the photos were printed on a copier because budget was a huge issue back when I first needed them to decorate my work office years ago.

You’ll see that they built in shelves for me on the adjoining wall. The teal things on the top shelf are toilet paper rolls wrapped in tissue paper. My decorator friend recommended it as an attractive way to store extra rolls, and I adapted her plan readily because the tissue paper also protects the paper from absorbing the yuk that’s thrown into the air when you flush the toilet. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Google “toilet aerosol’ and prepare to cringe.) I also put the lid down on the toilet before flushing to minimize the impact. Studies show that the spray is twelve times worse with the lid up.

Knowing this has a lot to do with many of the details of this small room. Since taking this picture, I’ve pulled half of my towels. I only need a couple readily available, and that gave me an extra shelf for toilet paper storage.

This photo shows all of the built ins, and you can see I use baskets that hold and mostly protect a lot as well. The one on top contains my makeup and all that goes with it. The bottom one contains toilet paper in thoi photo, but when I moved those rolls to the other shelf I ended up using it for a variety of necessities that I wanted to keep handy. Because these things are stored in the bathroom, I need to remember to be extra scrupulous about things like cleaning my makeup brushes.

Random note: I took these pictures without thinking professionally. So yeah, the deodorant you see by the towels is Native and the little spray thing on the next shelf up is Poo-Pourri that a friend gave me. I never think to use it. I mean, you have to sort of plan ahead, you know? Still, if you do use it the stuff works great!

My friend made this peg rack to hang above the built ins. It was one of the many little things she did, or instructed me to do, to provide more storage and ready access to the things I need. Long pegs hold my towel, and the cotton T I use for my hair hangs fine on the decorative knobs she selected just for me. The two hats don’t get worn often, but store better here than anywhere else, and the jewelry you see is pretty much all I own after some serious jewelry downsizing. At one point, I had massive amounts of jewelry of all types, but now I mostly wear a sterling silver cross I was given a few years ago and just take down one of these pieces when an outfit demands it.

This medicine shelf is one of those ideas I would never have come up with on my own. I’d kept these things in a totally unattractive tote that literally fit nowhere. The day she showed up with this shelf the tote was sitting on top of my fridge, which greatly offended her artistic sensibilities. (I say that very tongue-in-cheek.) I would never have considered open shelving for these items even though I intentionally requested open shelving for the rest of the apartment. This thing is perfect. Once a week, I pull down my regular supplements and pills and go to my desk where I refill my weekly pills containers I told you about previously. If I need something, anything, I can get my hands on it easily, which was great when I cut myself a couple of weeks ago and needed a bandage.

One of the reasons this shelf works so well is the height at which she mounted it. Because it’s mostly above eye level, in this small room you tend not to notice it. Then she mounted my peacock picture beneath it, which also helps draw the eye away from the bottles and boxes.

I’ve had a thing for peacocks for years, but after seeing those peacocks during that cruise I’ve loved them even more, so this piece quickly found its home right here. It fits the theme, fits the wall size, and as a bonus it gives you something other than a white wall to look at while you’re seated. I laughed when she pointed out that detail, but quickly realized just what she was saying. It is an essential part of the decor.

We’ve made our way three quarters around the room. Next week we’ll finish off with the shower. Oh, how I love my shower!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 10: The Bathroom Tour

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

I’ll say up front that this will come to you in more than one post. As small as my bath is, this room is a vitally important part of any successful tiny home, so there are several details I’ll go into.

Oddly enough, I feel the bathroom gives the most complete picture of me and my aesthetic. Eclectic is the word for my “style,” and my color palette is all about summer in the Caribbean. I fell in love with the vibrant, alive colors while cruising and visiting various ports with my sister, and the bath very much represents those cruises.

So, let’s enter. Moving forward, we sweep aside the curtain that we’ll pretend I keep shut. (Nope. I only shut that curtain when I actually need privacy, which is almost never) The first thing that catches our attention is a mirror mounted on the wall. I don’t have a picture of it; just trust me that it’s there. We placed that mirror carefully so I could step back and see myself from across the kitchen. This is also my makeup mirror, though I’ve recently begun to wonder if I want to move my makeup activities elsewhere. More on that later.

To the left of that mirror, over the toilet, is a set of three photos. All three were taken on the cruise that made me fall in love with that part of the world. The top is a beautiful butterfly we saw in Puerto Rico. That visit to the butterfly habitat was one of our favorite excursions, especially when one butterfly mistook my sister’s tattoo for a real flower and not only landed on her arm but stayed there long enough for several people to take photos. There are probably pictures of her wrist stored digitally all over the world – just not here since she was the photographer and couldn’t capture it herself.

The second picture is one of bliss. We were virtually alone on that beach, with our ship in the distance and the sound of the waves. Unlike what you experience here in my neck of the woods (Galveston is not one of my preferred destinations), those beaches are magnificent. And yeah, that’s me. 

And last, but far from least, sunsets on the ocean… Let me tell you, if you’ve never been on a cruise, you should seriously consider it. From discovering the reality of the color ultramarine blue to seeing flying fish to watching dolphins, to simply enjoying private time on a ship’s balcony… And that’s only touching parts of it. Life on board can be so enjoyable that I’ve at times considered not even going out on excursions when we made port.

But I do! Go on excursions, I mean. One of my favorite stops… Ok, one of many… was on an island owned by the cruise company. We began by wandering around, seeing a variety of fascinating and beautiful things, including a lovely little chapel and one of my personal favorites – peacocks! (They are represented in my bathroom too.) The best, though, was something my sister absolutely insisted on, and I’m so glad she did!

We started out on a traditional trail ride; yes, horses. I’m sure most trail rides are similar in one thing. There are a few people like my sister who actually know how to ride, and then there are others ranging in skill all the way to those like me who have been on a horse but really don’t know what we’re doing. The trail ride was ok. Even when a horse two riders up got antsy, my horse kept plodding along as calmly as you please. I knew he was the one really in control, but it was ok.

But then we were sent to change into our swimsuits while they swapped saddles. The water saddles were, as best as I recall, like a waterproof blanket, so you had no trouble staying mounted and the horse was protected. Once back on the horses, we headed into the water. Just getting into the water on a horse was great, but once we hit the deeper water things went way beyond “great.” I can honestly say I’ve only had one other vacation experience that was as exhilarating. That moment when I felt the horse’s hooves leave the seabed, when we started swimming, was gold! The rest of the ride was an absolute blast, and the experience is definitely something I’d like to repeat. I have aphantasia, so I don’t have any visual memories to refer to, but just typing about it right now triggered a shadow of those amazing feelings. 15 out of 10, I highly recommend!

Well, this took a sideways jaunt. I’m glad I warned you ahead of time that there would be multiple posts. See you next week!

Here’s your link to the curtain I use as a door. I only use one panel, but it comes in a set of two.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 9: This is the Life

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

I decided to take a break from the tour to talk about the reality.

I love my home. I love life in my tiny home. Many have asked me how it’s working out, and I answer honestly; I’ve never been happier anywhere else!

I don’t at all feel like I lost all the “stuff” I let go of when I downsized. On the contrary, hardly a week has gone by without me leaving random things on my sister’s island because I’ve realized that I’m never going to want them after all.

Yes, when I downsized, rather than losing things, I lost pressure. I lost stress. I have what I need, all within pretty easy reach, and there’s nothing getting in my way.

My favorite art, decor, and personal pieces are here with me, and I can even see how I’ll be able to do a little Christmas decorating. The space says, “Tammy” (thanks to my decorator friend) while also being practical.

Cleaning? It’s a piece of cake to keep clean, especially the floors. First I dust mop, then I flip the combo mop over, spray the floor with a multipurpose cleaner, and wet mop. I’ve never timed myself, but I’d be surprised if the whole room took twenty minutes.

And laundry? It’s all right here, so when the washer or dryer finishes I know it instantly and can take care of it right away. I will not confess how many times I forgot about laundry before, how many wrinkled shirts I’ve had to deal with.

This place is also astoundingly well insulated. Just a few days ago, I was chilled while working in the house even while wearing a jacket. When I returned to my little apartment, though, I sat around comfortably in a TShirt.

The sound insulation is just as impressive. Unless I turn the window unit off completely, I hear absolutely nothing from outside. That is a huge difference from every home I’ve lived in for the past… actually, ever. I’ve never had a home that protected me from neighbors’ parties, the too-common sirens, and even trains like this. Never, except when we lived there, have I ever been so close to feeling like I’m out in the country again.

I was right. I’m made for this. I’m not sure you could ever talk me into moving into a regular house or apartment again. The space I have is the space I want.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

Tiny House Part 8: The Library +

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

The “+” comes before the library.
It seemed to be a good time to give an
overall look at the main room, so here goes.

In this photo you can clearly see the stained concrete I like so much. To me, it looks like well-worn leather. It’s a breeze to keep clean, which is especially good since I have access to a pool; coming in wet is not a problem. Another thing this photo reveals is the curtains I’m using instead of doors on both the closet and bath. The closet curtains don’t reach all the way to the floor since I ordered them long before I knew what my actual measurements would be. Eventually I’ll order a longer set or add something at the bottom, but for now they’re fine. The bathroom curtain is also short, but that was intentional as I wanted to leave a large space at the top of the doorway for airflow on those rare occasions when I have the curtains closed.

One last bit of randomness about the “kitchen.” Those white boxes you see beside the mirror are the same box frames I use elsewhere. The friend who spent several hours not only redecorating my tiny home but also making things (like the lamp and book easel on my desk) to use as accents in it, hung those there and gave me orders to fill them with art I liked. They mark a goal. My primary care recently told me, “It’s time to do something just for Tammy.” I took his advice to heart and, since I’ve been wanting to learn watercolor, I ordered some supplies. I am determined to not only learn, but to create pieces I feel comfortable putting in those frames.

Now the Library and, yes, I use the word loosely. You get two photos because I thought it would give a better idea of how everything fits together. Bonus peek at the bath included free of charge.

The first thing you likely noticed about my library is the small number of books. I wasn’t kidding when I said I did a hardcore purge in all areas. These physical books that remain are my essentials. The bulk of them being Bibles should not surprise anyone given my book Experiencing the Bible (shameless plug). The others I refuse to get rid of for one reason and another.

I shared previously that I’m an aphant (one who has aphantasia); people as high on the scale as I am can remember what people and places look like to a certain extent, but that knowledge is conceptual, not visual. Consequently, I need photos and that’s why pictures of my kids and grandkids take the primary position in these shelves. Even the parrots on the wall were photographed by my sister on my surprise cruise getaway. (No kidding. She literally scheduled with my boss and booked a cruise for my birthday. She’s the best!) They serve both as art and vacation reminder.

The blue basket on top is convenient for extra storage; right this minute it just holds my lighters and matches; it’s nice knowing I have storage waiting for me to use it! The flowers and the gold-painted dictionary were gifts from my decorator friend. She knows my love of words, so the dictionary is not just an accent piece but a nod to my passion.

If you’re wondering about the framed quote on the top shelf, it’s from Mark Twain. It says, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”

Now, the reason I’m able to have so few physical books…

Bonus: You now know about one of my favorite authors.

I’ve lost pretty much everything twice in my life. The first time taught me a hard lesson and led to my getting my very first kindle as a gift from a friend who had upgraded. Honestly, I wasn’t sure about reading ebooks in the beginning, but learned quickly that I liked it. By the time that Kindle had died, I was carrying an iphone and started using the Kindle app. That was hard on my eyes, though, creating strain I didn’t need. (I tended to read for literal hours at a time. I still can.) So, after much research, I bought a Kindle Paperwhite that, a couple of years ago, I replaced with this Kindle Oasis.

I love this thing! You can tell by the wear on the cover that I use it a lot. As they say, it’s not the age; it’s the mileage. The Kindle Paperwhite (and Paperwhite Oasis) uses an e-ink that is very easy on the eyes. This Oasis also has adjustable lighting as well as the up/down buttons you see on the side. The regular Kindle Paperwhite did not have these buttons, and I would probably not want to go back to doing without them. And this e-reader is waterproof! So yes, reading in the tub is just fine.

So, to get back to my original point. I pretty much stick to paper books for non-fiction, which is what you mostly see on my shelves, because I mark those books up. I want to be able to come back and find things of note and relocate where I’ve recorded my thoughts on a topic. On the other hand, except for a few random non-fiction books, my Kindle is filled with fiction across a variety of genres. I don’t even know how many books I have on this thing and it’s nowhere near full. My TBR (To Be Read) list is massive, which would not be possible if I were limited to what I could fit in this room.

Since I’m on the topic of ebooks, here are some hints for those concerned about ebook prices. First, subscribe to BookBub. You’ll get alerts every day of books in your preferred genres that are on sale or free. A large number of my ebooks were picked up this way. Another thing I do is keep an ebook wishlist on Amazon. I update it any time I find a book I want to buy eventually, and every couple of days I’ll log onto Amazon and check out that list. If any have gone free or been marked down dramatically, I’ll hit the Buy Now button. So loading your kindle doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. You only need to pay full price when you want to read it today.

And that’s it for this week. Like last week, I’ve chosen to put all of the product links here, at the end of the post.

SMILE Weaver Peacock Blue Curtains (closet)

Deconovo Turquoise Curtains (bath)

Experiencing the Bible

Kindle Oasis

Huasiru Case for Kindle Oasis

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

Tiny House Part 7: Desk Storage

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

We’re taking a closer look at the desk today, specifically discussing storage.

This desk offers great upper storage with one large open compartment in the center and two on each side of it. I will note that in the desk I found for you on Amazon those three compartments appear to be the same width. That is not the case here.

Moving from left to right, you can see that I simply put boxed items in the first space. The center storage is made up of 6 plastic trays that I picked up at Walmart and spray-painted teal. You would be surprised just how much that set of trays holds. The white thing you see between two of the trays is my AC remote; I like to keep it handy. Finally, in the third compartment, I have a wood box that had been hanging around for years. It fit, so I spray painted it purple. Beside it, in case you’re curious, are a glass pen (in the box) and a bottle of purple India ink.

In case it’s not obvious just from this photo, I like color. I fell in love with all the colors while cruising the Caribbean with my sister. Consequently, from my absolutely amazing vintage-style fan to the artwork and decor you’ll see throughout, color rules. Be ready.

And since I mentioned the fan, I’ll point out that my ceilings are low enough that a ceiling fan is not an option. I didn’t even think about that fact until my third night of feeling like I was suffocating from the heat prompted a conversation with my sister. She reminded me that my bedroom ceiling fan in the other apartment was never turned off; I’m used to air that moves. Shortly after this conversation, we headed to Walmart where I almost embarrassed myself in my excitement over this gem. I love its vintage style and the fact it is an almost exact match for the color of my “kitchen” cabinets. I can set it to oscillate and it has a variety of speeds. It even has a fabric-covered cord like they used when I was a kid!

Down girl. Calm down. Yes, I love my fan.

Moving on. Heading back to the photo, if you look at the left part of the L you’ll see that there is a traditional desk drawer. It is huge. I filled it with a variety of desk organizers that I may or may not ever be willing to show. (I do not have a magazine-perfect home and the drawers prove it.) To the right of that, you can see another opening that can be used in a variety of ways. I’ve chosen to slide a bamboo tray into that spot. My pencil sharpener (and, in this photo, a tube of moisturizer) fits perfectly beside the tray.

Moving on to the next photo, I’ll hit quickly on what’s on top of the desk. (By the way, the book on the easel is the one I’m pulling the American Women biographical sketches from.) 

The glass jar holding peppermints is one of a set of 12 I bought on Amazon when I was working on gifts for friends. It’s 20 ounces and has a bamboo top with a seal. It’s the perfect size when you need to hold something (like peppermints) but don’t need a huge container.

The “rainbow” to its left is a clear plastic box that holds seven smaller pill boxes, each marked “Mon.” through “Sun”. This is a huge help to me. I take several supplements, as well as a couple of prescriptions, and it’s much easier to set this case up for the week than it is to haul all those bottles out from the medicine shelf every single day. Each little pill case has two compartments, one for AM and one for PM. When I travel, or even if I just know I’ll be working an extra long day at the church, I snatch up the appropriate pill boxes and toss them in my purse.

Now to the floor. (I might get killed for letting you see this part of the concrete. Remember I’m the one who insisted on no flooring; the rest of the floor is gorgeous.) This is what I meant when I said this desk allows a wealth of under-desk storage. The two white boxes in the back corner are stackable plastic drawers. The top one holds my paper towels and the bottom is essentially my first aid kit; it contains all sorts of things from bandages to lotion to ice pack sleeves to the wrist brace I wear on (thankfully) rare occasions. I did find these boxes available on Amazon and about choked at the price, but in reality these are over five years old and have held up extremely well to continual use, so they’re worth it.

Next to this is a plastic basket I bought somewhere years ago, and it’s home to a variety of items having to do with my book and blog publishing. I hope to reach a point where I have a better place for these things, but for now it works. And then, of course, you have the shredder. It may seem counterintuitive to have a shredder in a small apartment, but it’s great not only for security purposes but also for keeping paper trash volume down as well. I snagged this one at Sam’s Club and it has been more of a help than I ever dreamed.

And that’s almost it for the desk. All that’s left is the shelf on the end. It’s perfect for the few DVDs I permitted myself to keep as well as my bank (Yes, the door is an old post office box front.), journals, my Bible and notebook (when they make it to the shelf; I use them constantly), and the binder that holds my Prismacolor collection. The three zippered sections of this pencil case have elastic straps that hold a total of 120 pencils, and it’s the best storage solution I’ve ever found for my art pencils.

And that’s it for the “office.” Next, the “library.”

I decided that, for this post, it might be best to put the links at the end.

Sauder Manhattan Gate L-Shaped Desk

8″ Tabletop All Metal Retro Antique Style Fan

20 oz./600 ml. Glass Food Storage Container

Zoksy Weekly Pill Organizer

Sterlite 27 qt. White Frame Clear Plastic Stackable Drawer (2 pack)

YOUSHARES 120 Slots Pencil Case

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 6: The Office

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

It’s probably no surprise, given I’m a writer, that the office area is the heart of my tiny home. There is so much to discuss, so many details of storage and use, that it will get more than one post.

Your first question is probably going to be about the desk. It’s not new; my son gave it to me after he inherited it from someone else. It is my absolute favorite of all the desks I’ve had through the years, and as you can assume from the fact that I’m the third owner, it’s well built. I like not having drawers beside me the way you do in traditional desks; I like to move around too much. With this layout, I don’t need them. I have plenty of storage up high and a great set of shelves that you’ll see later. When I started writing this post I thought I would be apologizing for not being able to help you find one, but I just tracked it down on Amazon! Well, I can’t guarantee it’s exactly the same desk, but it’s super close.

Made by Sauder, this L-shaped desk from the Manhattan Gate Collection is officially 58.74″D x 55.47″W x 42.52″H. Yes, I can confirm that, at nearly 60″x60″ it’s pretty big. In fact, more than one person tried to talk me into selling it and using a smaller desk instead.

I stood strong, however, especially since I not only love its functionality but absolutely adore the color (mystic oak, to be specific) and wanted it in my home. My decision has proven to be a wise one. This desk allows for a lot of storage, which we will get to, gives me room to spread out when I’m working with an assortment of references and resources, and it serves as my dinner table. I love it!

In the “office” photo, you can barely see my bed in the lower right corner. I said in a previous post that we measured everything down to the inch, and you can tell here that I wasn’t kidding. In my plan I had allowed what I figured was 1″ of wiggle room, and what I ended up with is exactly 1 1/2″ of space between my bed and desk. The desk sits a little off the wall to allow for electrical cords to drop down behind it.

I should explain the outlets. As you can see, the desk has an upper shelf. Given the probability of needing to use part of the under-desk area for storage, we decided to set the two outlets higher than usual so they would land in the gap between desk and shelf. If you’re able to enlarge the photo, you’ll see we were a little off on the left outlet. Fortunately, it’s permanently occupied by two cords and nothing is glaringly visible anyway. The other is my active outlet where I plug and unplug as needed.

The photos you see lined up on the desk ledge beside my active outlet are 5×7 prints from a cruise my sister and I took years ago. The frames are simple plastic box frames that I picked up at Hobby Lobby for next to nothing. I use the same frames, in various sizes, elsewhere in the room and you can catch a glimpse of two more in the office photo. They’re around the corner from the black and white art that hangs over my desk. One huge advantage to these frames is their weight. They all hang on pushpins.

Having aphantasia, with no visual memory of people and places, photos are important to me. I eventually want to get a digital photo frame that my kids can fill with pictures remotely. In the meantime, you’ll see several more photos as we tour my apartment. With only a couple of exceptions, I’ve been able to fill the place with personal artwork, pieces created by myself, my friends, and my family.

The black and white pictures that conveniently cover the shower access panel are two of those. That friend, Anna Davidson, is a wonderful artist who started out as an AOL online acquaintance and became much more. These are actually photocopies of old pieces of hers, but they’ve traveled with me from home to home for decades. They always make me smile as they bring back awesome memories of years spent talking, visiting each other, and writing interactive fan fiction with other close friends who lived around the country. She doesn’t have a website anymore, sadly, or I would lead you to some of her newer work.

And….this one is already getting long, so that’s it for this week. Meet me here in seven days and we’ll cover some more office ground.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 5: The Chair

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I moved with an office chair in tow. It had been serving ok, but there were some things I hadn’t considered, had failed to comprehend until I was actually living in my one-room apartment with my single chair. The reality was that in my previous apartment I’d reached the point where I hardly used it at all.

When you live in a larger home, you don’t think much about where you sit. You just get up and move if for any reason you’re uncomfortable. Without realizing why, I had taken to doing a large part of my work on the sofa. It didn’t take many days of living with my worn out desk chair to see the problem. It was wreaking havoc with my back. My budget was limited enough that I couldn’t purchase a new one right away, but that did allow me time to do the proper research.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I had a “New Apartment” wish list. (I still do, actually.) I put it to work where this chair was concerned, moving potential options onto the list and back off as I compared specs and product reviews. After many days of scouring Amazon and reading reviews, first deciding one way and then another, I finally settled on three that seemed best, and used Amazon’s feature that lets you “see” an item in your home. I quickly realized that two of the chairs I was looking at were too big for the space. That was a challenge I’d not considered, and I am grateful to Amazon for the help!

So I settled on this ergonomic office desk chair, and it was totally the right move!

There were certain things I was specifically looking for in a new chair. Clearly, I wanted quality. I also knew I needed lumbar support, preferably adjustable support, and I wanted arm rests that flipped up. This, of course, enables me to push it under the desk when I’m not using it; regaining those few square feet is a plus. Lower on my list, but still necessary, was the ability to raise and lower the seat and the option of letting the chair rock if I wanted it to. (I do. Often.)

So, the fun stuff. I’ve been putting together my own furniture for a while, simple things anyway, so I wasn’t intimidated by this project. When it arrived, the box was a little heavy, but not so much that I couldn’t carry it safely (I’m not 20 anymore.). It was packed impeccably, with every part clearly labeled with a letter (A, B, C) and it came not only with printed instructions, but directions to a YouTube video that took care of every question I could have possibly had. Bonus? Angels started singing when I pulled out the supply kit and saw a REAL allen wrench. If you’ve dealt with many self-assembly items, you’ll understand my joy. The thing has an ergonomic handle that made putting the chair together easy. I will not be loaning it out; it’s mine.

So yes, I put the chair together myself with no problems. I’d tell you how long it took, but I didn’t pay a bit of attention to that. Just know that at no point did I suffer any level of frustration.

My new chair has been a true blessing. It’s sturdy, has great casters, offers an adjustable lumbar support (See photo above.), and has those arms that swing up out of the way. It is comfortable even after hours spent hard at work doing all of the things. It’s my dining room chair. It lets me kick back while chatting on the phone. It’s great. Regardless of the hours I spend in this chair, my back is now happy.

Finding just the right chair when you’ll only have one to use is a big deal. I’m so happy I discovered the right chair on the first try! In case you want this one, here’s the link again. And once more I share the legal disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Next week, we start discussing the center of my home: The Office.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 4: Under the Bed

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One of my early tasks was to figure out how to deal with those things I could not let go of, but could store – things like Christmas decorations, out-of-season clothes, and photo albums.  As I said in a previous post, I refused to keep anything that has to be stored outside of my apartment. The obvious solution was to buy a new bed frame, one that would be high enough to hide several tubs.

After reading stats and reviews of an annoyingly long list of bed frames, I finally settled on my choice and added it to my Amazon “New Apartment” wishlist. Then I took careful note of the measurements, taped off a correctly-sized area of my floor (including marking where the center support leg would fall) and started playing a game of “fit the totes.” I marked the floor because I held off on purchasing the heavy frame until I was close to moving, and I had it delivered straight to the new place.

What you see in this photo is mostly empty totes, because I hadn’t decided what would need to go in them. There are also a couple of filled totes, some absolutely essential totes (think permanent records), and a footstool that I thought I might possibly need when getting into and out of bed. This collection of tubs became a vital work in progress and a site of multiple mini-purges so that what I thought I needed to hang onto could morph into what I really could keep.

For instance, I had too many framed photos and nowhere to put them. So I pulled all photos out of their frames and set the frames aside for donation. I also went through everything in my two-drawer filing cabinet and the permanent files tote and purged those areas yet again. Some records I passed along to whichever son they actually pertained to and others, after verifying that I didn’t really need them, I shredded.

Random note. The shredder is one of the absolute necessities that traveled with me. In my tiny abode, I can’t let papers pile up; I have to deal with them. So that shredder sits plugged in and ready to chomp as needed.

When the boys put my new bed frame together for me (easy peasy), and my daughter (I don’t do in-laws. I love the daughters my sons gave me!) crawled under to settle the tubs into place, everyone was joking about how I could lease a second space under there. And they’re right. I have a massive amount stored under my bed, including a few items (Like a massage mat) that sit on top of the boxes as well as a case of water that landed where the unneeded step stool had been.

Yes, even though I chose a bed with 16″ of clearance, I am still well able to get into it unassisted. Had I thought it through ahead of time, I’d have known that, but the extra space was a bonus!

So, under my bed, there is a full art/craft tub, a tub filled with blankets and other things, an ‘office/tool” tub, a tub of out of season clothes and another of jackets and wraps, one tub of scrapbooks and another crammed with photos (I hope to share with my sons and eventually eliminate one of those), a tub of permanently-filed records, a Christmas tub that may well lose some of its contents this holiday season… I’ve lost track. Is that It?

I’m not sure, but as I packed them I put large labels on the tops and on the sides so that I can find what I need relatively easily. I’ve already pulled out a few and done some rearranging as I recognized the need for more ready access to two or three in particular.

For the record, the bed frame I bought is the HAAGEEP 18 Inch Queen Bed Frame and it is every bit as good as I expected it to be. It’s sturdy and not noisy at all. Another huge plus is that the mattress fits inside it, which means I’m not dealing with a sliding mattress. That was a common complaint in the myriad of bed frame reviews I scoured. I had considered purchasing corner guards, because one reviewer said they kept hitting their legs on the corners, but I’ve not had that issue at all.

And thinking about this frame as I was first drafting this post made me realize something. I’m going to try to remember to share about all of the special things I have and love as I continue this series, so I decided to set up an Amazon Affiliate account in hopes of perhaps bringing in a little money on the side.

Does that sound grasping? I hope not. I’ve made no secret of the fact that, though I have a full-time job and am finally getting at least some widow’s benefits, I’m also saddled with a lot of debt that I want to pay off. My desire is to be financially free, and the regular money that’s coming in won’t make that happen fast enough. So, should you feel like offering your support by clicking a link and buying something I can personally attest to, I would be grateful. I have a lot of reviews on this site, recommendations for things I genuinely like; I plan to go back through them and add some links there as well.

Again, as I said above, it’s the HAAGEEP 18 Inch Queen Bed Frame and you can check it out by clicking HERE.

Holy cannoli!

On a whim, I checked to see if Amazon carries my mattress, which I love, and they do! Ok, so my Nectar mattress is several years old. That means they’re not going to have the exact same one. But let me tell you, if I were in the market for a new mattress I would get another Nectar! They’re awesome and come with the best warranty I’ve ever seen in a mattress. It came in a box, delivered right to my front door. I opened it, rolled it out, let it pop up, and put it on my bed. It’s not too heavy and, though I’m sensitive to odors, I was able to sleep on it the very first night with no issues at all. So no, no offensive off gassing in my experience. Literally the only thing we dealt with was my husband thinking it was too firm. I emailed the company asking for suggestions for ways I could make it softer, because no, I had no desire to return it, and they shipped me a mattress topper, a good one, at no extra charge. Again, that was years ago and I can’t guarantee they would do the same thing today, but that’s some serious customer service!

The mattress I’m linking to is probably the upgrade for mine. You can check it out RIGHT HERE.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C