My THOW is ready to go (or stay lol)!

So I worked on the issues of my THOW and it is officially ready to sell. Check out the listing here and email me @ haley.kalb@gmail.com if you are interested!

Buddhaful Home

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MIA

So I’ve been a little MIA lately, I had a good friend of mine pass away, followed by my grandmother just recently. She truly taught me unconditional love. Unfortunately she fell to the the disease of dementia.

Rest in peace, I will see you in your next life. You were the best of us. I love you endlessly.

I on the other hand have been learning a lot about tiny living. A few words of advice:

1. Things will constantly change. I pulled out all of my winter clothes from storage (I cheat a little storing a few things at my parents house) and now temperatures are back in the high 80’s and I have bags of clothes with no where for them to go. I’ll end up buying some additional shelving, but always plan ahead!
2. Always take into consideration your height. I initially bought a very thick mattress for my loft without even thinking about space issues before I moved in. Luckily it sold and I have my thin mattress now (and I am lucky that I am only 5’0″ tall!).
3. If you don’t absolutely need it, get rid of it.
4. Make sure things are properly sealed. There are bugs in Florida. It happens. Basically just don’t leave food hanging out and you will be good! I keep everything in the fridge.
5. Have fun decorating! If you don’t like to move things around you might get frustrated. You will be thinking of new creative ways for storage and how the home looks in general so make it fun and play around with it! Seriously, it’s not much work in a little space; but will have generous rewards when completed.

Now that I may have talked you out of tiny living, let me give you some of the things that I love.

1. My beautiful view I get to wake up to every morning.
2. My crazy awesome neighbors who help me find solutions to problems that arise (when they can).
3. Exploring – there are always new places to go or events to attend where I live. Drum circle this weekend!
4. Taking my beloved (Nesta my pup) to the dog park for her to play.
5. Vegan options in the area!
6. Being grateful for life in general! Tiny living is an amazing journey. It’s kind of the little things you learn to do for yourself, even something as simple as changing a propane tank (hey – I had never done it before!)

Morning view.

Lovely neighbors.

Being adjacent to Winter Park.

https://instagram.com/p/9lbeMRCF1i/ (puppy park video)

#TEAMVEGAN!

We all go through crap, but overall…

There are many, many days like this for me. ❤

Open House!

Tiny open houses can be a tricky thing. On the one hand, as a THOW owner I love and appreciate giving back by showing my home to those thinking of going “tiny”, but on the flip side I live here and cannot accommodate all people who would like to see my house.

Even though as THOW residents we are very busy people, we love to show off our homes. We take a lot of pride in being welcomed to the THOW movement with open arms!

(Just email or call for an appointment first lol)

I had a woman knock on my door yesterday with a CLEAR sign by my door that reads:

If my dog hears a knock on the door (and happens to be up in my loft area), she plummets down the stairs and is at high risk to break a hip or worse (hence the sign). She proceeded to knock on everyone’s THOW doors even after asking not to. I am a kind person, but I lost it and saw red. After chewing her out, I mistakenly gave her a tour of my home. I should have said – “sure but lets go take a tour of your house first mmmmkay?”.

These are our HOMES. I have never once dared to knock on a persons home and ask for a tour. We have open houses just for that reason. Common sense people, common sense.

Tiny House Tales

Let’s start from the beginning.

First, I spent about a year researching tiny houses on wheels (THOWs).

https://youtu.be/INCxhexdYRg

It is definitely a social movement.

I had planned on moving out west, but had heard about a community in Orlando, Fl so I thought I needed to see a THOW in person to make a real decision. My now neighbor, James, happened to be in the park and was kind enough to show me his home.

I immediately fell in love and reserved my plot that same day.

Cornerstone Tiny Homes (www.cornerstonetinyhomes.com) at that time just happened to have a shell already built and could have it finished by the end of my apartment lease in St. Petersburg, Fl. It was meant to be!

We designed the interior together, specifically for my own personal needs, and about two months (or less) later I was moving in.

One of the first things I worked on was landscaping my plot, to have a tiny patio to match my tiny house.

I never dreamed that living in a THOW would be on my bucket list, but here I am. Literally living the dream! Although, to be fair, I do have A LOT of dreams… 😉

Cornerstone Tiny Open House!

If you missed the Cornerstone Tiny Open House yesterday; let me give you a re-cap.

Cornerstone Tiny Homes are now RVIA certified!

(Open House welcome center)

“We are proud to distinguish ourselves with this prestigious certification. Owning a tiny house that is RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) certified allows you to enjoy living tiny with peace of mind. The industry standard increases options for financing, insurance, parking, and rental/resale of your Tiny House RV. We’ll provide more information on the key advantages of owning one of our RVIA certified tiny houses soon, or you can call, email, visit our website (www.cornerstonetinyhomes.com) or visit us at our manufacturing facility (please call for an appointment first).”

Hanging the new RVIA signs.

https://youtu.be/PlmodtILR8w

https://youtu.be/AGRz_xr1tb4

Be prepared for many pictures in this blog post. First I would like to show the interior/exterior of one of their new models that has been finished. And remember – everything is customizable!

28 feet long tiny home.

Entry way into tiny home.

Loft space.

Stairs leading up to loft.

 

Including closet and storage space built in.

More storage space… Which doubles into…

Another bed!

Washer & dryer stackable unit.

Ceiling fan above the kitchen and living space.

Kitchen space.

Additional storage/display area above the kitchen countertops.

Mimi-split air conditioning unit.

Plenty of windows for light to shine through.

Bathroom sink (also includes shower to the right and regular flush standard toilet to the left).

Can’t forget the tiny home amenities!

Hard at work in the office.

Cornerstones first tiny house (my own).

So there you have it! Cornerstone is also in the process of building two more tiny homes to be completed shortly.

Thank you to those who stopped by and to all of my readers!

Enlightenment.

This Saturday from 1pm-4pm is an open house hosted by www.cornerstonetinyhomes.com. I was their first “tiny house on wheels” client, and I will be sitting at a booth answering questions about my experience. I hope that you come and see me. Talk to me, engage with me.

They built my THOW… and I made the right choice to go with their company.

Obviously read about my experience though my blog http://www.quittersnation.com… but the best advice advice I can give is to research tiny homes (if you are interested until your fingers bleed).

It is not a competition, it is about what fits your lifestyle and brings you joy.

Family.

There are all sorts of types of family. One of mine resides in the growing THOW community at Orlando Lakefront at College Park where I currently park my tiny house on wheels. It includes my neighbors as well as my soon to be neighbors (fingers crossed!) and they make my world a happier place.

Some mornings are coffee over looking the lake, days are cookouts or fishing, others are community outings…

(Early morning coffee on my patio)

(Ariel view of the park)

(Fishing dock)

(Getting goofy… ready, set, POSE!)

(Duck face is definitely one of our signature poses…)

But most of all we have a strong bond and love for one another and our THOW community.

During the day we share meals, tea or fruits…

(Especially now that I have my new refrigerator!)

(My first ripened lemon from the lemon tree on my patio!)

We adore the all of the different personalities we have here and love to get goofy together.

Last night we attended a drum circle down the street. We have all been so busy and I love that we are taking the time to get the band back together.

https://youtu.be/q3uGG3F5IfY

https://youtu.be/A6iS_iHK_1o

(Kai and I killing it on the bongo, Click the links above!)

If you would like to learn more about going tiny, Cornerstone Tiny Homes will be having an open house this Saturday October 10th.

Hope to see you all there!

Blessings,

Haley

And then there were 10…

Twenty-two percent of our park is now officially tiny houses! Eight THOWs and two on foundation.

Obviously I’m partial to my own Buddhaful Hॐme. Including my lakefront view and steps to the water for my paddle board.

I love the differences in all of the homes here. Each one is so unique. Nothing cookie cutter about our tiny homes!

We even have a THOW that was donated!

Need a tiny and temporary place to stay? Here it is!

Just want to try tiny living? Rent out one of our two tiny houses on foundation.

A couple of our “full timers”…

Come check us out! My neighbor (www.thecompanystoreonwheels.com) tells me he loves people peeking into his windows… (just call/email to make an appointment first lol).

Now off to go and play in the park! ❤

Ayurvedic THOW Life

I am a holistic entrepeneur. My love + work + life + spirituality are not separate.

One of the reasons I chose to go “tiny” was for sustainability. To live as organically as my limitations will allow. The area I live in also inspires me to do this.

(Local organic vegan garden and restaurant)

Our community (www.orlandolakefrontth.com) and the the movement is continuing to spread and blossom.

(New tiny THOWs in our community)

The icing on the cake is that my neighbors are amazing, thoughtful, helpful and all around lovely people.

(Two of my many awesome neighbors – James and Cassie – check out their blogs as well – links can found on the right hand side of my blogs home page)

We live on a beautiful lake with nature all around us; even though we are still only minutes from downtown Orlando (an ideal spot for those that need to drive to work).

I get to spend my mornings playing with my dog in front of our lake, while watering my plants, before I start my own work for the day.

(My hibiscus tree, dog and lemon tree)

I get very excited watching new THOW neighbors work on their own homes.

(Inside a neighbors new THOW)

Ayurveda is about finding balance in your own life. If you would like to learn more about the ancient wisdom that is Ayurveda (which is a sister science of yoga) you can visit http://www.hibisKISSyoga.com. Moving into my THOW is just one of the many ways I continue on my daily journey of balance.

An ORGANIC Life

Organic growth.

So far this is how the tiny house movement has begun.

What do you want out of life?

Fear based. Is most of how we all live. If you want something else, MOVE – you are not a tree. 😉

TRUST IN YOURSELF!