8/25/2023 0 Comments Vinyl lattice lowes![]() Pens I’ve collected over the years-event freebies with surprisingly good ink, forgotten extras from boxed sets, novelty pieces received as gifts-have become clutter, together with the stack of old stationery and special paper that once gave me a sense of security. This shift in focus soon changed my relationship with certain belongings. The speed at which we fill up our small garbage bin with the plastic waste from our groceries constantly reminds us that our reliance on disposables needs significant improvement, and strengthens the case for growing our own food, fresh and package-free. All that water eventually seeps into the earth, and finds it way into the grass that the grazing goats feed on, and into the groundwater that our well draws from. Knowing, too, that all our wastewater ends up in the property’s drain field a quarter of a mile away inspires me to be highly conscious of the substances that go down our drains, as I can directly see the land I impact with every wash. There is a creek that supposedly runs through the ranch, but I have not seen it fill with water since we moved in August. ![]() It’s hard not to be conscious about my water consumption given the ongoing drought in Texas, which has created one of the driest years in the state in over a century. Unlike apartment living, where so much of what goes in and out is invisible, tiny home living brings everything to the forefront. ![]() In my case, I was already drawn to a life of slowness-the only mode true sustainability can thrive in-so tiny home living has been a dream of mine for years now. With the downsizing and ingenuity that come with going tiny, being more conscious about sustainability is a common byproduct of adopting this lifestyle. While the summers back home are different from the fierce, dry heat in Texas, coping with hot weather is a more familiar condition. We also rely on a small fan at the loft to circulate the cool air from below, as the warm air gathers at the top of the house where we sleep. For better thermal regulation, we plan to install blinds on our skylights before April. Cooling the house, because of its size, doesn’t require much power, but the windows and skylights let in a lot of heat, making the inverter work much harder. In the summer, conserving energy is a primary concern. A small fireplace would have been a nice feature, but, given where we live, foregoing it was a reasonable compromise. In the daytime, I never have to switch on any lights, and during the milder days of winter, we were able to get away with turning off our mini-split by relying on the sun to warm up the house in the day, and the walls’ insulation to keep it comfortable during the night. Our tiny home has two skylights that, on beautiful, sunny days, allow warmth and light to fill the space. Thankfully, weather here is more pleasant than not. We were also warned about the risk of wild animals seeking warmth and refuge under the trailer during this season, so we made sure to complete our skirting before temperatures dropped last October. If I wanted to use our washer/dryer in freezing temperatures, I would have had to winterize it, a process that requires the use of something called antifreeze (I decided to just rely on the nearby laundromat during this period). The house comes with a 25-gallon water tank that would have served as our back-up, but there seems to be a tripped circuit disabling the pump from activating that we still need to figure out. In our case, we lost water on particularly frigid days due to a malfunctioning heated hose and an insufficiently insulated water source. Winter, while generally mild in Central Texas, can be brutal on areas unprepared for the occasional subzero weather. The shaking often dissuades people from living on wheels, but we’ve greatly reduced it by using wheel chocks and supporting the trailer with hollow blocks. ![]() The house weighs over 12,000 pounds and is stabilized on eight points-it would take a tremendously powerful storm, which would batter even most ordinary homes, for the structure to be seriously damaged. Hearing the wind’s whistle accompanied by occasional shaking was unnerving at first, but anxiety about the home’s stability was soon soothed by a better understanding of its structure. During hurricane season, strong gusts and rain can rattle the house. Now, being in a country with four seasons introduced me to a myriad of other concerns that living in a tiny home on a ranch intensified. Carrying a handheld fan, umbrella, a handkerchief, a light jacket, and a fighting spirit at all times would cover most weather scenarios year-round. Having grown up in a relatively quiet neighborhood in Metro Manila, I had two primary environmental considerations: the weather- Is it raining? Are there leaks in the house, risk of flooding outside? How hot will it be today? -and the traffic.
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