The When...

We really started moving physically toward this dream much quicker than we had planned.  After talking and deciding upon our return from our trip this Winter, we set a goal of 2 years.   My husband had a similar plan before our trip and had talked in passing about living tiny but I thought it was one of his many passing phases.  I mean how serious could a man with a full house, attics, garage and pole barn be about ridding himself of most of his possessions?  I mean yeah, for Christmas he had purchased us a small chemical toilet to be used in the big media room and had purchased some solar panels and batteries and had been testing and utilizing them in our home.  He also had been testing out wood burners and stoves that burn wood pellets but still…….

After deciding on the 2 year timeframe, he made a plan for us to live primarily our Winter out in the media room.  He was going to build a murphy bed on one of the walls and use our foam mattress off of our bed.  This room was originally a 2 garage attached garage that we had converted into a family room with a wood burner and window A/C.  Our washer and dryer were located in this room along with a restaurant style booth, arcade video game and projector system with various gaming consoles and three recliners.  We also had a small microwave and refrigerator.

In May, I received a message from the couple renting our smaller house.  They were going to purchase a house around Memorial Day and move back up into upper Michigan where they grew up.  I was in a panic.  Fixing up the house and finding new renters was never fun or cheap!  I had been waiting SO long for summer and here it was May and now I was going to spend most of June in town and away from my pool fixing up the little house!  

Then it hit me….. This was my chance to see just how serious he was about this.  If my husband
was serious about moving towards tiny, he wouldn’t mind moving into the smaller home where it would be cheaper and would force us to begin our purge, right?  He never liked living in the city so I knew his first reaction would not be a quick yes.  I called him and told him we needed to talk that night about an idea and basically called him out on the carpet and said if he was SERIOUS about moving and living tiny then this was an easy fix and it would make it easier to save money, etc.  He wasn’t quick to agree but came around really quickly! Much too quickly for my comfort! 

He began selling off his toys and preparing for our move.  The purge was now upon us and it was PAINFUL!  I have to admit that when I watch those hoarding shows on TV I get a little frustrated with those who cry and scream when having to part with their pets fur on the floor or used gum wrappers but inside, there is a part of me that relates when they say things like “well this was for a craft project that I never got to.” 

Our home was FULL of partially completed projects both on my part and his.  How do you just get rid of EVERYTHING? 

                        Hogan and me enjoying a snooze.            2 of our dogs enjoying a little supercross.