organization

Tiny House Part 20: The Closet

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Welcome to my closet! I’ll be honest, I was hesitant to share this one at first both because it was still a mess when I wrote the last post and because it’s a bit much. However, given the importance of a functional closet, it seems like it’s also a necessity. So here we go.

I’ve mentioned the closet curtain before. it’s the SMILE WEAVER Peacock Blue Blackout Curtains. It’s only 74″ long, which is obviously a bit short, but the next size up would have required hemming, so I’m still trying to decide what I’ll ultimately do about the curtain. Maybe I’ll add fabric to the bottom? I opted for a room darkening curtain specifically because I wanted something weighty enough that it wouldn’t be blowing in the wind (AKA, poofing out every time I walked by) so if you’re in search of a bedroom option, this would be a good one. I wondered what I’d think about the silver metallic accents; I was pleasantly surprised to find I really like the extra visual texture they add.

As you can see, the closet is right beside my adorable fridge (That link is in last week’s tour). It covers most of the wall between the kitchen and my door; you can catch a glimpse of my lingerie chest in the second picture above. Specifically, the closet opening is right at 50 1/2″ wide, with another 3″or so inside. When I moved, I culled my closet hard, so what you see here is most of what I’ve got. I do have a couple of coats elsewhere, and some more casual items and sweaters in my lingerie chest. When summer comes, those winter items will likely return to their original location under the bed, although space is at a premium there too.

If you study the wall inside the right end of my closet, you’ll see a few unexpected items. The silver strips hanging close to the front are my metal rulers; they’re leftovers from when I was really into art and crafting, and they’re too useful to get rid of. They’re on a simple cup hook I screwed into the side wall. The bags you see hanging up higher are also on a cup hook, though a sturdier one. After trying this location and that, I settled on this wall as the best option for my broom and dustmop. Those two things can be a pain to hide, and as you can see the shoe rack hides them well!

How did I do it? Take a look at this next photo.

I installed a tension rod that runs from the front to the back wall. I didn’t even have to buy it; I’d brought it over from the other apartment and hung onto it just in case. Then I pulled out more of those leftover shower curtain hooks and BAM, had the perfect hanging system for those two mess cleaners.

The shoe rack is the first thing actually hanging on the rod and it handles quite a few pair of shoes while others are safe on the floor. No link for this since it was given to me, but such shoe racks are pretty standard. So is the arrangement of long dresses to pants, to skirts, etc., as you make your way down the curtain rod. I did specifically put shorter items over the filing cabinet and crates. I even cheated, folding up my really long, LuLaRoe dresses so they could hang short in this area. (Those dresses will not hold wrinkles. I could pull one out now and wear it.)

The closet was the best possible option for my filing cabinet, which is on wheels. The two wood crates on top of the filing cabinet are filled to the brim.

The bottom crate contains my bed linens. The top holds my jeans. They’re folded into fourths and take up so much less space than if they were on hangers. This arrangement also saves me from having to mess with those doggone pant hangers, which always seemed to tangle.

My cowboy boots just fit to the left of the filing cabinet. This picture also gives you a glimpse of my backup package of toilet paper and a popup laundry hamper that I may or may not keep since I’ve yet to use it in this apartment. Then, going on up the wall, you see a couple more cup hooks. Those things are super cheap and great little helpers!

You may have noticed that I use black velvet hangers. I prefer these for two reasons. First, they take up less space than plastic or just about anything else. Second, shirts don’t slip off these hangers! Amazon sells theirs pretty inexpensively, or you can get these…

Utopia Home Premium Velvet Hangers 30 Pack – Non-Slip Clothes Black Suit with 360 Degree Rotatable Hook Heavy Duty Coat

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 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

The Christian Planner

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Consistency doesn’t just happen; it requires deliberation, conscious action, forethought, planning… and the greater the number of areas that require work, the more your plan demands just the right tool. For me, for 2020, it appears that The Christian Planner is that tool.

I love planners and have used a wide variety of styles through the years. I have one that works great for the office, but this is the first I’ve found that seems to genuinely provide for every area of my personal life. Of course, since it does, there’s a lot to it. Are you ready?

Before I jump in, let me point out that planners are tools, not taskmasters. I’ve seen people look at this planner and be instantly overwhelmed, fearing they will use it improperly. You can’t. At least, I can’t imagine how you could. Since this will be a long review anyway, I’ll share some of how I’m currently using mine, but know that the way I use it will almost surely change as we move through time. That’s the beauty of it; as a tool, it has to do what I tell it to.

Open the (very nice) box and you discover a leather-like, hardcover book. Mine is purple, and it’s a little over 7” by 10” by 1” thick. Because of its size, some opt to keep it at home on their desks. I’m currently carrying it with me everywhere, having decided that my immediate future will be filled with larger purses.

An elastic strap holds it closed. Open the cover and one of the first pages you’ll see is the welcome page. It provides excellent suggestions for how to use the planner, but remember that this planner is all about what works for you.

The next two-page spread is your vision board, which also includes a small area for your “2020,” “Next 5 Years,” and “Lifetime” Bucket Lists. Don’t let the Vision Board intimidate you. Roughly, it’s a place for you to record your vision for the coming year – your goals, your dreams, etc. In my case, it’s super simple and non-traditional. God told me that my word for the year is “Consistency,” so that word alone takes up nearly half the space. The other half is a reminder of specific things I’m working on as I grow in Him.  I’ve hardly even touched the Bucket List.

Flip another page and you find two charts, which I’m only just beginning to fill in. These are your Healthy Habit Goals, things you plan to focus on “Daily/Often,” “1-3 Times a Week,” “1-3 Times a Month,” and “1-3 Times a Year,” as well as your “2020 Goals.” Habakkuk told us to record the vision…or was it God who told him? Regardless, you are more likely to accomplish a goal when you record it and keep it in front of you. So, here they are.

2020 and 2021 Yearly Calendars, with holidays listed, are on the next two-page spread, and then you get to your two-page January 2020 calendar. The calendar set-up is pretty basic, but I like it. The week starts on Sunday, and there’s a column to the left of the calendar. A lot of people decorate this column, which is great, but I use it for my monthly To-Do list and clarification of calendar notes. Also on this page, you have areas set aside for…

Reflection: What blessings came into my life last month? What accomplishments am I proud of?

Action: How can I demonstrate my love for God and for others this month?

For January, my action includes a poem I read recently that particularly convicted me, and encourages me to stay open and sensitive to the needs of those around me.

Still with me? It’s about to get GOOD! Everything from here until the back of the book is repeated for every week of the year.

Next is two of my favorite pages: The Weekly Devotional Pages

The area on the left is reserved for Sermon Notes. Some people take their notes in church and then copy them over. I take my notes right there on the page. Also, since we have a midweek service. I drew a line down the center of this page so that I have two columns—one for each service’s notes. 

This is one of my favorite features because, in the past, I’ve often forgotten all about the service within just a couple of days. I’ve years’ worth of sermon notebooks scattered all over, but this actually puts the notes in my hand and keeps them there all year. It gives me an open opportunity to go back over those notes repeatedly in coming week and months. It was, in truth, this that drew me to this planner.

Reflection and Action also appear here, but in reference to the past and coming week, specifically. You also have an area that is labeled “Bible Study Notes * Sketch * Prepare.” This is another area in which I deviate from the expected. One of my “consistency” goals is to write more. That being the case, my current plan calls for me using this area to write blog posts and whatever else comes to mind that week. The consistency goal, of course, is for it to never be left blank.

Now the weekly pages. Each one-week, two-pages spread consists of eight columns, the first of which many people decorate, but as is true with the monthly calendar, I use it for my To Do List. My appointments are all on the monthly calendar, and I see no need to duplicate them here. Instead, I use this as a daily record. I may record accomplishments, details of important phone calls, comments made by friends, things God spoke to me that day…whatever strikes me as being appropriate.

At the bottom of these two pages, are “My Space,” which is there for you to use in any way you choose, and the “Daily Healthy Habit Tracker.” This second one is cool. If you like checking off To Do lists as much as I do, you’ll use this. There is space to record nine different habits that you want to establish or reinforce in your life, and there are delightful little checkboxes for every day of the week under each. I’m three days into the week, and I’m already seeing clearly where I’ve made progress…and where I haven’t. You label these as you wish, and can change them every week if you like. I like.

Behind the calendars, the book ends with a dozen or so blank pages. At first, I thought I wouldn’t be using these, but after I discovered the Christian Planner Family group on Facebook, and saw how others were using their pages, I started filling them up.

To give you ideas…

Currently, I have a two-page spread showing all of the books of the Bible broken down into chapters. I highlight each chapter as I read it. Considering how often you read a chapter here and a chapter there, use this chart and you may discover that you actually read more of the Bible than you thought.

I covered the next two pages with scrapbook paper to make them stand out a little more. Here I keep post-it notes with prayer requests that I’m currently focusing on. One of my “consistency” items is to be more focused about interceding on behalf of others; that’s where this part of the tool comes into play.

A hand-drawn bookcase follows. As I read non-Bible books through the year, I will record their titles on the book spines in this drawing. I left the facing page blank just in case I end up reading more than I currently anticipate.

A budget spreadsheet takes up the following two pages. Yes, with such personal stuff in it I’ll be guarding this book, but I think I might finally have found a way to handle my budget that actually works for me. We shall see.

And there you are, having glimpsed one of the tools I hope will help me make the changes I want to see in me in 2020. If you’re interested in learning more, head over to The Christian Planner Family group on Facebook. It’s a wonderful community filled with Christians who support, encourage, educate, and in general focus on loving the brethren. Because it’s the group for this publisher, the focus is this planner, but you definitely don’t have to use the planner to benefit from the group.

Check it out: www.ChristianPlanner.com

The planner is priced at $34.95, and if you’d like to try it before you buy it, you can download a PDF. How cool is that?!

Be sure to tell them you learned about the planner from me. They have no clue who I am, but still…

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C