The Manic Rantings of a Sleepless Tiny Crazy Person

It’s 4:30 in the morning. I have been awake since 2 am and finally decided to get up and do something useful instead of lying here tossing and turning.

So, to clarify, “something useful” today is writing a blog article about how completely NUTS I am to consider another tiny house build. Right. Now.  In the middle of my already crazy life.

 

 

Financially it makes all kinds of sense.  When you consider what I can build it for and what I can rent it out for, it’s totally a no brainer. Emotionally and creatively, I am engaged and inspired and it’s given me a happy mental spot to go to when my job feels like it’s sucking the life out of me. Logistically, however, I couldn’t have picked a more messed up time to do this.

November is looming and, sometime between now and January 1^st, I need to move myself and 2 children out of our 1700 square foot 3 bedroom rental home. They’re moving into an apartment together, and I’ll be moving into my tiny house; full time. I have done a fair amount of downsizing already, but I still have a lot of parts and pieces to move on this frantic chess board that is my life. But, seriously? I’m lying here thinking of all the stuff I need to get for My Tiny Perch and thinking “Where am I going to put it all?”  Yes. I can get a storage unit while I am building but that further complicates things in itself by placing another dot on a map of where I need to be, where I need to go, and where I need to stay.  I’m not even being sarcastic.  My life is a little complicated right now.

 

 

My boyfriend who will again be my framer lives almost 200 miles from me. I found a screaming deal on a flatbed trailer, the kind of deal that makes you drop everything and drive 3 hours to get the opportunity just to CONSIDER buying it. So, in the next 48 hours I need to drive up there, go see it, maybe get it, park it at his house, then drive back home because my upcoming weekend is already packed with other pre-move chores and car repair appointments. Then sometime in the next month or so I need to drive up there, get it, bring it to Oregon, get it inspected and buy plates in Oregon.

Then I need to swing by my lumber sponsor, pick up the lumber package, and drive the trailer and lumber (and windows) back to his house where it will be while it’s getting framed and dried in.  Then I need to move the framed tiny house BACK to Oregon for finishing.

All of this while packing, moving, and actively considering a career change.  Like now. 

I need a plan.  Like yesterday. But first I need to breathe. I need some lists.

I need a couple of days off work.

As you know, I have decided that this build will also be sponsored.  And, that alone adds a whole different dimension of complexity, organization, and obligation to the project.  I can’t take materials from a sponsor and then inform them that I don’t “have time” to build a tiny house right now.  And the first of a long list of supplies has already arrived, via UPS, yesterday.  It’s official.  I’m doing this.

 

I would be the last to admit that I love drama. I don’t. I hate it. But choosing to build a tiny house right now in the middle of my already chaotic life might suggest otherwise. But, really… I didn’t know I would find a deal on a tiny house trailer that would drastically expedite my plans.  Maybe it won’t work out. Maybe the guy will sell it before I get there. 

I am texting Andrew Odom as I type this.  We’re comparing notes to determine if I can build an 18 foot long single story tiny house on a dual axle trailer with only 7000 lb GVW rating. He says he thinks it’s “doable”. 

My mind has been spinning for hours.  Maybe it’s because I ate ¾ of a chocolate chip cookie before I went to bed.  Maybe because I’m a crazy person who seriously needs to get more exercise.

Here’s my dilemma: I need stuff for the house, places to store it, places to paint it and prep it. I need to get my car fixed so it can pass emissions because my tabs are due. I feel manic. Maybe it’s hormonal.

So, there you go.

If you have ever felt like you’ll never get to where you need to be, like the list of what needs to be done is longer than the hours you have available to do said list, like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew, like your life is a bit out of whack (I actually forgot a massage appointment yesterday. Who DOES THAT?) or like your choices you make do not always seem to be made from a sane perspective; I do too.

You’re not alone.

I cannot attest to your sanity (or mine) but I can confirm, unequivocally, that there are many others just like you who push themselves beyond their comfort zone and then, every once in a while they stop and think “What the HELL am I thinking!?”

I seriously need coffee. 

I have podcast interview in less than 3 hours…