“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Day 10 - 1 pair of shoes, 2 shirts
Day 11 - nothing ... not a thing.
Day 12 - ditto.
Day 13 - paperless billing for 2 bills.
Day 14 - 1 pack of incense (I get headaches when I burn incense now), 1 expired bottle of Gripe Water, 1 tube of Burts Bees chapstick that is all melty/weird but I still really liked the flavor
So ... I haven't kept to the challenge but - in my defense - I have been swamped with the end of the semester and now I've got a cold. I fly out to Virginia tomorrow so I'll pick it up again when I'm back. I hope to keep with the challenge until the day I move into the Turtle full time ... I'm aiming for 2/1!
I've designed my graywater irrigation discharge system. I'll run a drain hose down a 2% grade to a 10gallon rubbermaid trashcan buried up to the lid (for easy access for maintenance and troubleshooting). There will be a mulch bed surrounding the tote with at least 1ft added radius past the edge of the tote. I'll build a berm around it to ensure deep drainage and prevent surface erosion. The drain hose will have a backflow prevention valve. I haven't decided if I'll do any kind of filter for it since I'll have easy access for cleaning.
I'm researching a solar array. I know I could go the DIY route for cheaper but I just don't know enough about the systems and don't have time to learn so I may just buy a "plug and play" kit and see where that gets me. Any feedback would be great!
Friday, December 12, 2014
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Day 9 Purge Challenge
Day 5: I tackled my "Oh $#!* Kit" - also known as a first aid kit. It seems like I just went through it maybe a year ago but I found some things that expired in 2011! Fortunately, I don't use a lot of pharmaceuticals or personal care products so most of the kit is natural stuff I don't feel guilty throwing in the regular trash. There are a few expired packs of Benedryl though - I'll be dropping them off at my nearest pharmaceutical take-back location (I think Orange City PD is the closest but I'm not certain).
Well, I was too busy/not in the mood to purge on Day 6, 7, or 8. So today, Day 9, I set out to discard FORTY things to make up for lost time. Here's what I found -
Trash:
5 baggies of looseleaf tea (very old ... from when I lived in Gainesville)
Many bags of commercial tea that is rather old
1 bag of Incense cones (I don't burn much incense these days, I burn candles. The incense tends to give me a headache)
1 Round candle that PJ has rolled around on the floor and is covered in dust and dirt and other junk
1 mostly empty bag of Tea candles that came from Ikea - they do not stay lit and burn up really quickly when they do stay lit
1 Felt game pieces I made for PJ but didn't turn out as I'd like and pieces are too small to do much salvaging
1 threadbare sock
4 Drawer sachets that are very old and don't even have a smell anymore
1 A broken figuring that didn't reglue very well
1 Sports top that is stained brown from mud runs (it is supposed to be blue)
2 packets of Liquid rubber that hardened
1 Tiny monkey figuring - not sure where it came from but it is a choking hazard and I see no use for it in the future
Donate:
1 Tea box (I have two, both were left by an old tenant who traveled to India)
1 book
5 tops
1 calculator (I get a dozen or so a semester from lost in found in the chem lab)
Return:
1 Yarn from Hobby Lobby - not sure why I got it
1 Plastic dropcloth from Lowes - I don't remember why I got it but I don't think I need it
2 books, 1 to Lindsey one to Baron
Consignment:
1 infant hat (0-3 months)
Use up:
6 lined envelopes (I'll be mailing some letters to friends as a nice surprise ... you don't get much in the mail these days that isn't a bill or junk mail.
1 bath bomb
Well - it doesn't quite add up to forty (unless I count each tea bag - in which case I did GREAT!) but I think I did pretty good for one evening! It only took about 30 minutes of looking. It is starting to get harder, though - I'm having to make tougher decisions as the low-hanging fruit has been picked. I used to be able to just open one cabinet and find ten things right there. Now I have to make rounds around the house and decide where might possibly have something left to purge.
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."
In other Turtle news, I'm looking for the perfect spot to set up my mini-homestead. My ideal location has the following characteristics:
Well, I was too busy/not in the mood to purge on Day 6, 7, or 8. So today, Day 9, I set out to discard FORTY things to make up for lost time. Here's what I found -
Trash:
5 baggies of looseleaf tea (very old ... from when I lived in Gainesville)
Many bags of commercial tea that is rather old
1 bag of Incense cones (I don't burn much incense these days, I burn candles. The incense tends to give me a headache)
1 Round candle that PJ has rolled around on the floor and is covered in dust and dirt and other junk
1 mostly empty bag of Tea candles that came from Ikea - they do not stay lit and burn up really quickly when they do stay lit
1 Felt game pieces I made for PJ but didn't turn out as I'd like and pieces are too small to do much salvaging
1 threadbare sock
4 Drawer sachets that are very old and don't even have a smell anymore
1 A broken figuring that didn't reglue very well
1 Sports top that is stained brown from mud runs (it is supposed to be blue)
2 packets of Liquid rubber that hardened
1 Tiny monkey figuring - not sure where it came from but it is a choking hazard and I see no use for it in the future
Donate:
1 Tea box (I have two, both were left by an old tenant who traveled to India)
1 book
5 tops
1 calculator (I get a dozen or so a semester from lost in found in the chem lab)
Return:
1 Yarn from Hobby Lobby - not sure why I got it
1 Plastic dropcloth from Lowes - I don't remember why I got it but I don't think I need it
2 books, 1 to Lindsey one to Baron
Consignment:
1 infant hat (0-3 months)
Use up:
6 lined envelopes (I'll be mailing some letters to friends as a nice surprise ... you don't get much in the mail these days that isn't a bill or junk mail.
1 bath bomb
Well - it doesn't quite add up to forty (unless I count each tea bag - in which case I did GREAT!) but I think I did pretty good for one evening! It only took about 30 minutes of looking. It is starting to get harder, though - I'm having to make tougher decisions as the low-hanging fruit has been picked. I used to be able to just open one cabinet and find ten things right there. Now I have to make rounds around the house and decide where might possibly have something left to purge.
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."
In other Turtle news, I'm looking for the perfect spot to set up my mini-homestead. My ideal location has the following characteristics:
- rural (or at least has a rural feel)
- offers some level of privacy
- has water, electric, and septic (although I'm flexible in all areas depending on the "fit"...I will eventually have my own solar bank and rainwater catchment, storage and treatment and I am also willing to use a portable RV septic tank and just take it to a dump station periodically)
- space for chickens/quail and a garden
- close to water, rail to trail, or other nature adventures
Here's what I've done so far to find my future spot:
- posted ads on Craigslist
- posted ads in the West Volusia Beacon
- posted comments in the Florida Tiny House Enthusiasts facebook page
- networked with friends and other TH enthusiasts
- applied for volunteer camp host positions in various Volusia parks
- browsed a slew of websites looking for land to rent
If you have any suggestions to help my search, feel free to leave comments or private message me on facebook (Path Less Traveled).
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Day 4 of Purge Challenge
It is only day four and I'm already wanting to slack off ... well, putting it out there in the virtual universe definitely provides motivation, despite my super busy week. Here's what I purged in the last two days:
Consignment:
1 infant hat
1 onesie (size 3-6 months ... not sure how I overlooked it two days ago)
Goodwill:
1 skirt (well loved ... purchased from a thrift store years ago and may still have some life left in it)
1 shirt (love the shirt but the cut makes it awkward to wear a bra without straps showing and I'm not a fan of strapless bras)
6 silk handkerchiefs (I got them years ago for a craft project I never did and cannot even remember what it was)
1 scarf (it has gold ... I never wear gold and I honestly have no idea where I got this thing!)
Recycle:
multiple pieces of paperwork no longer needed (I'm goin to go ahead and call that as my other 9 purge item ... kind of a lazy thing to do but it did take a while to go through it all!)
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