WHY AM I GOING TINY?

I have gotten this question a lot of times and I give a very short answer.

Today; I am going to give you the longer answer. 

The reason I am going tiny is because my needs in life have changed. I have reached my milestone age. I turned 50 in 2016 and started rethinking my life. 

A health issue reared it's ugly head and I had to re-think a lot of things that I took for granted. 

I stepped down from an amazing job for Intrigue Publishing because my health needed all of my attention.

Lucky for me; I had two men in my life that took excellent care of me and gave me the courage to take life by the horns and fight it until I won.

I had been researching tiny houses since 2015 when I stumbled across the show Tiny House Big Living.

I was like a child wanting for Santa. Every week, I altered my schedule to make sure that I was home to see the entire episode. 

This new 'movement' as it was called, caught my attention.

If you have seen my small 'reading room' you all know that I like small spaces. That space is no bigger than 3x4 sq feet. I love this room and stay in it most of the time. 

The size of my home will be 8 x 24. This model is owned by Regina in Florida. This will be similar to the one I get. 

Regina's 24 foot tiny home

My other reason for going tiny? Financial gain. I have paid cash for a small plot of land. I will pay cash for my tiny house. I will not have a mortgage. I will pay for my land taxes once a year. I will not pay for water because I have well water. The only 'utility' I will have is electric and now I am thinking of trying to use solar power. 

Another reason for going tiny is that I can travel with it. Did I mention that the tiny house will have wheels? YES! Do you feel that excitement? All I need is a truck to haul it. Wait; no I don't. All I need is a +U-Haul  that will tow something that is 12,000 lbs. 

So my reason for going tiny is simple. I want to enjoy life. I want to be able to take a trip whenever I want to. I want to live stress free and going tiny makes perfect sense, for me.

Could you go tiny? Leave a comment and let me know.

INSOMNIA DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BAD

I have been suffering with a really bad case of insomnia. 

I now celebrate anniversaries with it. This year will make year 3 that we have been together.

It's not something that I could have wished and would never wish this on anyone. 

Watching the world change from light to dark to light again; on an almost daily basis is not something that you should do more than once or twice a month. I do it almost 4 or 5 times a week.

I have learned to adapt. Which is not good.

My sleep therapist says, I "have trained my brain not to turn off and thus the awake periods are getting more and more advanced."

He suggested I buy a +Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity Sleep Wristband  to track my sleeping and restful periods.

Well, let me tell you; this has been interesting. 

I have gone from 4 hours of sleep a night to less than 2. I have at least 419 (on average) minutes of restless sleep. Which means I have slept less than three minutes at a time during an average 6 hour  night. It also tracks how many times I have 'awake" moments. That number is well over 600 minutes. In an average day; there are 1,440 minutes in a day. I'm horrible with math but you get the picture.

I am using my awake moments for good, so don't you worry.

I am writing more. It seems like I do my best writing when I'm dead tired. Imagine that!

I am working on a new novel; sparked by a conversation on Facebook between me and my friends. 

What happens when two women suffer with insomnia? When the sun comes up, what was done in the dark will come to light.  I have a title picked out already and now it's time to see what kind of trouble Britney and Nina get into.

So I"m using this to my advantage. I am also taking a travel class. Why? Just because I want to and let's face it. There is not a whole lot to do at 2 A.M. besides troll the internet or watch TV and most of the shows on at that time are telling me how to lose my cellulite, buy real estate or cook a chicken in less than an hour in the new gadget of the week. 

I am also planning my tiny house and although I can't wait to move into it; I also like the process of planning it. 

Did I mention that I have become compulsive as well? Well that is for the next blog. Stay tuned....

GOING TINY....WANT TO SEE?

This weekend, I went back down to +Incredible Tiny Homes  and got to talk to some of the participants in the Build Your Own workshop.

If you aren't familiar with what this is; this is when you get to have a hand in building your tiny home. Actually you are building your tiny home with the help of build buddies. (Your friends that have come with you to help you)

Take a look at the video and see for yourself how you can build your own tiny home for almost 1/2 the cost of having one built for you.

Incredible Tiny Homes is owned by Randy Jones. Sit down, grab a drink and enjoy this Video Tour 

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment. 

WHAT'S ON MY MIND

If you haven't been able to tell; +TinyHouse has been on my mind.

I'm in the process of building one. Yep; that's right (where have you been)

This week, March 18 to be exact. I will sit down with Randy Jones from +Incredible Tiny Homes  and design my tiny. (I will be on Facebook Live and on Instagram all weekend. Make sure you follow me. Follow me by clicking this link

What you also need to do is click here---> SUBSCRIBE HERE They are giving away a FREE 20 foot tiny house! All you have to do is follow him on YouTube. (How easy is that)

I am still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I am getting a tiny house. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be able to live in something less than 300 square feet. My dream home, that I imagined I needed was always in the range of 2,00-3,500 square feet. It included a basement, a theater room, a library and a sitting room.

Well, walking inside of a model tiny home changed my mind. Well; that and my life priorities changed as well.

Even my children don't think I can live in a tiny but I'm trying to convince them to get one for themselves. It may be a little hard since they have children under the age of 10 but maybe when they get older.

So; my journey continues and I have made fast friends with Regina. Who also built her tiny house and if now living in hers. She lives in Florida and is loving her new way of life.

What makes me and Regina so different than most tiny home builders...well we are Black women. Not to say that there aren't others but in terms of tiny home ownership; black people aren't the norm.

Why is that? I am not sure but if you google tiny home owners; most live in California,Ohio, Utah or somewhere in the mid west. Well Regina lives in Florida and I will be in Maryland.

We are taking our tiny home ownership to the next level.

Of course, I'll still be a diva. I"ll still be writing and yes, I'll still have my stilettos (yes, there will be plenty of built in storage for all of my babies).

This is just one of the reasons going tiny for me is the best option. I can save money AND still buy my shoes.

It's a win-win for me.

WRITING IN TINY SPACES

Many of you ask, how am I going to write in such a small space?

The answer is simple. I'll use every inch of space available to do so. Writing is not a huge deal to me. I can write anywhere and going tiny is going to allow me to do that.

Writing my next novel is going to be much more enjoyable because it will in a space that was created totally  by me.

Sure, I created work space and office space but this is something that I am creating from start to finish. From the first nail to the last screw. I will be in control of how this tiny house looks and functions.

Tiny house building companies allow you to customize your space. They encourage you to create spaces that work for you. 

What better way to do that than to create a space where I will be writing full time? I can't think of another reason to sit in an office at a desk with no windows. 

Building my own tiny house will allow me to use all of my surroundings to write. Imagine being able to wake up; go into your living room and sit at a space that is creatively pleasing to your senses.

Going tiny has it advantages as well. 

I won't have the distractions of a wondering around trying to find something to do. Being in a tiny house; you have about 250-300 sq. feet of space to 'wander' around in.

Even the bathroom will be tiny. So I can't take a Sunday paper into the bathroom with me; it will be more like a Tuesday version. 

In my next blog; I'm going to share some photos of the tiny homes that my 'tiny' will look like. I hope that you continue on this journey with me.