How We Live

Hello!

It has indeed been a while.  We have been too busy living in our bus and enjoying the second half of the summer to write a post.  But alas, Fall in the Rainforest is here - which means rain!  Today was mostly spent indoors (me recuperating from a cold).

So how is bus living you ask?  Well, I thought I would talk a bit about what it's like for 2 people and a dog to live in about 210 square feet of space.  When we set out to build our teeny tiny home, we assessed where we spent most of our time.  It was concluded that we were either:
1. at the kitchen table (which doubled up as a desk for both of us),
2. at the kitchen counter cooking,
3. on the couch (reading or watching a DVD),
4. in bed,
5. in the bathroom.
We never did find a use for the spare bedroom in the former cabin and the extra bedroom + den in our city apartment.  Neither of us ever took baths or sat in the extra chairs we had in the living room.  We've always enjoyed being in close proximity with one another, opting to share the kitchen table as a desk rather than working in a separate 'study'.

So to be quite honest, this new space has not been much of an adjustment for tBoy, tDog and I.  In fact, it feels quite spacious to us!  And as for our stuff...  Since tBOY never had much (!) and I did some major downsizing in the last many years/moves, we didn't have much trouble fitting everything into the bus. Here is a tour of how we live:

Underneath the counter near the door are most of the dishes including plates, bowls, glass containers, and a few cooking essentials such as coconut oil, olive oil, vinegars etc.

On the very bottom is a sort of pantry/storage area.  Things have been sorted into fabric/wicker baskets that are pulled out when needed... One bin for dried goods, one for kitchen appliances, one for household stuff, one for miscellaneous things and one for toiletry that we do not need immediately...

We have another storage section that we managed to squeeze in between the stove/range and the kitchen sink...

contains miscellaneous kitchen utensils including lighters, whisk, knife sharpener...

can opener, spatula, scissors, corkscrew, oyster shucking tool, peeler...

and then behind the tea and coconut oil is a basket full of supplements...

At the front of the bus, I have organizers/folders for paperwork, my paintbrushes and knitting needles, the one mirror we have (yes, it's tiny, so often I don't know what I look like when I leave the bus!)...

Gotta love IKEA for its storage systems.  This little box houses everything jewelery, hair ties, buttons, watches, etc.

Above the dryer, on the shelf are my teas...

a bowl for fruits and veggies, block of knives and glass jars for cutlery...

Beside that are the speakers for bus music :)! And where we store our chocolate!

Underneath the coffee-table-turned-into-dining-table-and-desk are shelves for magazines, and miscellaneous paper/notebooks/bills etc.

Above the jackets in the entrance way, we have 3 baskets- 2 of which house tDog's stuff (leash, collar, jacket, poopie bags).  The other one holds miscellaneous household things.

Inside the bathroom, we now have a shelf!  We don't have much in it because we don't use many products (which is a good thing!)

 In the shower is a little ledge for soap etc.

Our wee book collection is on the shelf on my side of the bed. We still have some books chez tBrother which we need to figure if we are keeping or donating.

Also on my side of the bed is the little side table that just fit (phew) for lamp, books, water and massage oil :)!

As for the shelf on tBOY's side of the bed... some candles, photos...

and even some soap that is curing (filling the bus with the smell of peppermint... mmm!)

Daily life...

The bus is completely set up for modern living...  The stove has been converted to propane and has been cooking many meals for us, including simmering soup for hours on the stove top and baking ribs in the oven.

The hot water heater is up and running.  Which means warm showers and hot water for greasy dishes.

The newly converted coffee table is working very well as a dining table and desk.

And tBoy and tDog happily snuggle on the couch together...

There is even space for exercise :)!

This is where you'll find tDog when there is a thunder storm :(!

Some things still need a bit of creative design.  Because we moved in in the summer when it was so warm and sunny, we almost forgot that we do, in fact, live in the rainforest.  So we have to figure out a way to deal with wet clothes that need to dry.  We cannot leave them outside (as they would never dry) but we do not have a system to deal with damp fabrics in the bus.
For now when tBOY goes mountain biking in the rain (not something that I prefer to do!), he has to strip down when he gets home and the biking clothes go straight into the washing machine...

And as for the other things that need to dry but do not go into the wash, we are hanging them around the bus near the heaters...

Oh.  Almost forgot to mention.  We've put the bus on cement blocks so that the tires don't get misshapen.

The boys hard at work figuring it out.
The bus weighs at least 10 tonnes, so it's not a task to be taken lightly!

Just one of these can lift the entire bus!!

tCarpenter finally returned from his vacation.  He was supposed to be gone for 3 weeks, but it turned into 2 months!  We are certainly happy to have him back.  He is currently working on a structure on the outside of the bus - to winterize it.  More on that next time.

For now... tBOY and I are so happy to be mostly done (does it ever end?!)  We learned a lot about home building, but more importantly, we learned a lot about ourselves and each other.  We are soooooo relieved that at the end of all of this, we still love one another and can spend long periods of time together in this teeny tiny space that we call home :)!