“The Long, Long Trailer”

Posted by:  Tanille

A must see for those who live in a trailer or have ever wanted to, or maybe those who just love classic movies.

By – Tanille

The Big 11

Posted by Rebecca

As of tonight I will have been to the Reno-Tahoe Airport 11 times in the last 3 months, shuttling 6 house guests and 2 friends who stayed elsewhere.  And the trailer has served us well.

The curtain divider that I added in bathroom has helped with the privacy situation, the yard re-do has offered extra space for lounging and fires, the electric fireplace has warmed us up on chilly evenings while adding amazing ambiance, and the kitchen has seen a flurry of activity preparing meals for friends and family.

My trailer has become the home I’ve always wanted – a stylish and comfortable place full of friendship and love. 

Check out the recent visitors who have had the priviledge of laying their head in the pink trailer….

My cousin George was here in late August.  This is us at my favorite beach in Tahoe:

My sis-in-law, Sierra, and I at Donner Lake:

My cousin, Oliver, and I at the Reno Arch.  The Biggest Little City in the World!

2 of my girlfriends from Canada, Eden and Darrelyn.  This reunion was 11 years in the making:

And finally, my visitor that is arriving today… Dannica.  We have been friends for 34 years.  This is us as twerpy little kids, and sporting what was clearly not one of my better looks:

I am really looking forward to a fun-filled week with my oldest friend.

Rebecca Knabe

 

5 Tips From a Tiny Trailer

Posted by Rebecca

Here is a great article I found today on Apartment Therapy.  It contains some super ideas, whether you are trying to decorate an entire teeny home or just one small room….

Designing for Small Spaces: 5 Tips From a Tiny Trailer

Rebecca Knabe

How to live the dream for FREE

Posted by:  Tanille

As most of you know, we got our trailer for FREE.  Did not pay one penny for it.  Well, until the remodeling started, but that’s a different story.  We, like most, didn’t even know this was possible.  And we also found Manny’s trailer for FREE.

The only way I have figured out to find one completely free is to drive around and hunt for it.  There are a gazillion trailer parks in the Reno area, and in most of them sits a now neglected, but future gem.  Some are for sale, and still very inexpensive  (I know of one right now if anyone is seriously looking).  But occasionally a trailer has been sitting for so long that the owner or manager of the park can’t wait to just get rid of it (I know of one of those too if anyone is looking).   They are losing money because they can’t rent the trailer in the condition that it is in, and they want the space for a nicer trailer that will make their park look better.

You can also look on craigslist under free items, or trailers or mobile homes.  In the classified section of the paper there are often trailers going up for auction.  This is similar to a foreclosure auction.  The owner of the trailer didn’t pay rent on their space and the park owner took over ownership.  The minimum that you can buy these for is $2500.00 – still a rockin’ deal for an itty bitty home.

Keep in mind, if you find a trailer that has to be moved this will cost you.  If it’s small enough, like ours, all that would be needed is a moving permit, which costs a whopping $5.00 in Nevada.   But if it’s larger you may have some red tape to go through and you may have to hire a “professional”.   For more info on cost and what is involved you should contact the Personal Property Division of the city in which you live. If you are trying to move one to a different state, this will be even more red tape.  Especially in California, they have all sorts of rules.

We searched for ours for about 2 months.  It takes a little while sometimes.  But like my dad always says, “There’s a new deal out there every day,” so don’t give up.

 

You too can live the trailer life dream.

-Tanille Leal

The Heart of Your Home

Posted by Rebecca

Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure is a great book for learning how to decorate, live in, and love your small space.  It has become a necessary reference and cheerleader for living in my tiny home.

My favorite tip that I have drawn from the book is paying attention to the “Heart” of your home.  It refers to the emotional life of your home – what gives  your home passion.  “Heart elements – color, shape, texture, and even scent – affect us immediately and consciously when we walk into a room.”  It adds comfort and beauty to our life.  Essential.

The easiest way to add heart to your home is with fresh-cut flowers.  “Buying fresh flowers each week is an affordable luxury that will instantly enliven and beautify your home….  As organic elements, flowers strengthen the bones and contribute to the breath of your [home] through humidifying and cleansing the air.  Through their color, shape, and smell they contribute a living beauty that enlivens the senses and invigorates our vision.”

When I started this ritual of fresh-cut flowers it felt extremely decadent and lavish.  It almost felt too extravagant.  But I realized that I could easily get a bunch to last 2 weeks, and depending on where I shop, the price tag is between $2.99 and $7.99.  Definitely affordable. 

So my recommendation to you is, adopt this ritual.  Find a way to set aside $6-14 per month, and buy a floral gift for your home every other week.  This is a form of nurturing your home, taking care of it, and giving it heart.  You won’t regret it, I promise.

Rebecca Knabe

It’s Ongoing. . .

Posted by:  Tanille

Simplifying is quite a process.   I thought selling the majority of our belongings, and moving into a tiny trailer would accomplish it.  Life would be so much easier.  And yes, it was.  But some things take a while.  Let me explain.

Having a lot of things, toys, vehicles, etc also come with bills.  Those don’t magically go away, unfortunately.  Sometimes you are left with debt from that, and it takes a while to whittle that away.  For us, having our own business came with an office, office furniture, office supplies, tons of paperwork, and bills.  As most of you know from my earlier posts, I have gone paperless and eliminated our office.  That was a huge relief.  But what took the longest to sort and get rid of were the 15 years worth of paperwork for the business.  Why did I keep all of the paperwork from the business’s beginning?  Because I could, I had the room.  It was easier to store than deal with.  Last week I finally took the last four boxes of outdated papers to a shredding company and sixteen dollars later I am breathing a lot easier.

When we downsized we rented a storage unit for the stuff we couldn’t part with.  Some of it was family heirlooms, my wedding dress, our childhood stuff and of course the archives of our business.  For almost 2 1/2 years we have been paying 65.00 a month for decisions we couldn’t make.  Well, my friends, those decisions have been made and we have simplified once again. And let me tell you – it feels great.

– Tanille Leal

The Tiny Life

Posted by Rebecca

The Tiny Life website takes a look inside some really cool tiny homes.  The kind of homes that make you want to sell all your stuff and figure out a way to whittle your life down to 200 square feet.  But for trailer girls, today’s featured tiny home gets our minds racing for ways to bring more super chic, super modern elements into our own trailers.  Feast your eyes on this little number:

Bohemian Trailer

Rebecca Knabe

Trailer Lite

Posted by:  Tanille

-Tanille Leal

Brrrrrrr….

Posted by Rebecca

I’m sure you know that fire and trailers are mortal enemies.  I’ve blogged before about my determination to not die by means of a trailer fire (here).  In addition to being highly flammable, however, trailers are notoriously poorly insulated.  Therefore I am equally determined to not die by freezing solid one night.  Some nights, like last night, though, that scenario seems fully possible.

The skirting insulation did help.  Not as much as I had hoped, but it probably added about 10 degrees of warmth.  Better than nothing.  I’ve also been working on sealing the place up.  I still need to cover the swamp cooler, and I plan on getting some heavier plastic to line a few of the windows.  Classy, I know.  But better than tin foil, or my uncle’s suggestion last winter to carpet the walls. 

Strategic placement of heaters is also key.  Believe it or not I do have a furnace, but it runs on propane and that gets pretty expensive.  So I’ve got two little electric oil heaters in my bedroom and bathroom, and this dish heater that can really pump out some heat, which I keep in the dining room.  However I can’t leave those on when I am not home.  My pup wears an “outfit” for warmth (yes, I’m one of those people) and I cover her with a blanket when I leave.  I’m worried that if I left a heater on she might knock some fabric or something flammable against the heater, and there we would be, back at the trailer fire scenario.

(Do you like her “outfit”?)

So a month or two ago I purchased this amazing little electric fireplace heater that really helps warm the place up.  It’s got a cabin-y wood-stove-look to it with cheesy glowing “embers” and rotating orange lights.  If you sit far enough away, don’t look at it directly, and squint just a bit, it may even look like a real wood stove.  But it’s cute, it adds an element of coziness to my tiny living room, and it’s warm.    Ahhhhhh! 

In fact, my neighbor, Tanille, was so impressed with my new fireplace, her and James bought one for their trailer.  And so maybe, just maybe, I won’t freeze solid this year.  Maybe I will make it through this winter after all. 

Rebecca Knabe

28 what?!!?

Posted by:  Tanille

It’s fall my friends and it’s gorgeous outside.   My favorite time of the year. The weather is perfect, the scenery is beautiful, there is  a crispness in the air. But that’s all about to end, because it’s going to be 28 degrees  tomorrow night.  Ugh.  I lie awake wondering.  Where did the summer go?  I didn’t even make it to the lake (Tahoe) once.  What is going to happen to my garden?   I have a tomato plant bursting with green tomatoes.  Do I cover them and hope for the best, or do I cut my losses and do friend green tomatoes. Are fried green tomatoes even good.  I hear they are great, but do I want to bother?

I am running out of time to make these decisions.    In fact, I have less than 24 hours.  I have a ton of lavender growing.  Do I harvest it or what? Mental note to check my Martha Stewart “Living ” magazine tomorrow on how to do that.   So much on my mind tonight. . .

This was written last week in the middle of the night, in a panic.  Fall is still around, but it is cold.  So the tomatoes have been removed and I still haven’t had the time to fry them.  I did cut the lavender but it sat on my counter for a week while I tried to figure out what to do with it.  I ended up throwing it away.

A Martha Stewart I will never be, although I always have good intentions.  But I did get my yard tidied up and everything cut back and ready for the freeze.  The sweaters and scarves are out and the cookbooks are dusted and ready to go.   Ahhh I do love the fall.

-Tanille Leal