Nitty gritty
This blog is more a blog about the nuts and bolts about living small and living simple. I had a friend stay over the school holidays and he was surprised to see that after living this way for the 3 months, we weren't dirty, dreaded walking skeletons befriending inanimate objects, calling them 'Wilson' with a far away look in our eyes.
To me, this way of living has not been much of a compromise/ adjustment as it feels like a more authentic way of living. I do however appreciate that for others, our lifestyle seems very out there and strange.
New years celebration outside whanau room
I am quite a curious (euphemism for nosy) kind of person. The type who likes to know everything about every one and on occasion lives vicariously through the drama of others, whether that be in characters of books i read or people that i know. I occasionally look up friends of friends on face book (who i have never met) but through my friends learn a little about their life and want to know more. Weird, I know.
So, this blog indulges in my desire to know every detail of someones life by putting my own life lived down to the details, on the web. . So feel free to zone out if you don't wish to know where my number ones and twos go.....but,
For those like minded weirdos... Enjoy
Our Dwelling
Our living quarters consists of 2 10m2 cabins with an enclosed lean to.
The cabin with the loft is where our whanau sleeps (aka the whanau room), the lean to is our kitchen and the last cabin ( that we call the Bula Room,) is our lounge.
Our place before the much needed deck was added.
We initially got the shell made and over time have insulated and decorated the spaces to be warm, comfortable and pretty (at least to me).
The Bula Room
The Bula Room has a feature wall with a large Masi (tapa cloth) that was gifted to my children when we visited their village in Fiji. It was so beautiful but we had no where to put it while living in Auckland. Now it is the defining feature of our lounge
Before moving down permanently, We used this room as a spare room. It pretty much just had a queen sized bed in it. Because of this, one friend ( who i shall not name and shame) called it the Porno room. One does not wish to know what she got up to when she visited.
This has now been converted into our lounge. It has an L shaped sofa made from old caravan squabs that rest upon a queen sized bed base that can be seperated into 2 parts. The good thing about them is that they have draws that can be used for storage. The room can also be rearranged into a queen sized bed again (aka the porno room just for my friend) when friends come to visit
Kids with their friend Trin, hanging in the bula room
The walls are used to hang our instruments, we have a piano on the other side and every inch of wall or floor space is used to house something. And Bam....look at the view.
We finally got our little wood burner installed in preparation for winter. We love our little chippie
I am the biggest fan of keeping things practically beautiful. I love been surrounded with interesting things. Our place is a hotch potch of colour and funky objects either gifted, recycled, or upcycled
A piano school made from a 2nd hand chair and a beer crate. Tripled as a coffee table.
Bula room Haiku
Salvaged draw handles
holding treasured trinkets while
angel dance above
The Whanau Room
Before moving down, we didnt have a covered deck and the whanau room was used as our lounge
Our walls were clad with old pallets that we went on stealthy missions all around Auckland to collect them. Ariana randomly mentioned to someone the other day that "My mum likes pallets"
Arianas corner
This room is now where we all sleep. The sofas have been converted into single beds. The beds rest on an entertainment unit bought off trade me that is now used to hold clothes
Josuas corner.
A Christmas gift i bought myself. One of the few things i have bought new. This is where the kids hang their school bags
Pallet book case which is now used to stuff linen, clothes and books
Josuas toy box
Arianas sleeping corner, with her Nanis art and treasures from India
Up the loft stairs is our bed. A gargantuan super king sized bed, aka the whanau bed.
Our wardrobe, Just installed by yours truly. Wrinkled dresses just dont cut it anymore.
The Kitchen
Tui and joel installing laminate bought second hand off trade me and Nani cooking up a storm
We have a water pump powered by solar that bring tank water into our sink. We can then turn on our portable gas dog shower come hot water off grid system to get hot water.
Our gas hot water system and water pump
We have 2 1000 litre tanks that harvest rain water from the roof. We will be soon replacing it with a 5800litre tank to sustain our permanent living situation
Our water tanks and Lean to kitchen before it was enclosed
The yellow thing is our solar light unit with draws power from the sun during the day to give us light at night. There is also an added bonus of usb chargers to charge our phones, Yay to no power bills
fruit from local neighbours and friends
Lead light windows were received for free from trade me. A great feature of our kitchen
Every ounce of space used. Little gap above the door used for spices.
The shower
Yes , we do have one
And if a shower is not your thing, we have a fire bath too
The deck
After the last storm, It was imperative that we had a covered deck between the cabins and on our deck. Thanks to my dad, Tui and a local builder. We feel a little more protected from the weather. We may create a window wall made up of old windows to make the deck even more comfortable in winter
My dad, Tui and neice busy at work building the deck.
Finished and looking gorgeous.
A gas fridge for all your cooling needs
The Privy
We have a composting toilet. Above the toilet shed is a solar panel that operates a fan 24/7 which keeps the smell of the poos down to a minimum. The wees go down a seperate pipe into a soak hole. The poo is then put into a bucket outside for 6 months where its harmful pathogens die and becomes safe enough to use as compost on a flower garden.
Not so scary people
Laundry
I am not such a Harry hardcore to wash my own clothes in a bucket or down at the river nor rich enough to fork out thousands of dollars on solar equipment to power a washing machine. My Mums house is conveniently located 10 minutes away in Waikino. It has a generous sized washing machine, WiFi, heat pump and netflix. Her place is our out-clause. A place we can go to if the weather is too gnarly, we want to download netflix episodes on our phone ( yes, I do do this) or have a good long shower a microwave or just some comfort. Some may say this is cheating, but I say it is our connection to sanity if things get a bit much. She is such a blessing.
Mums house called "Starry nights" in Waikino offers holiday accomodation year round.
Safety Safety
With gas and fire every where, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detecters are a must
The Carpenter Cabin
So we have beautiful friends (more like family)who have built a little cabin on Amuarangi. We are so lucky that them share the land with us and so fortunate to be able to use this space when friends and family come to stay. They have pretty much built it themselves and it is gorgeous complete with a pot belly and loft.
Our friends Hine and Joel Carpenter with their sons Wharenui, Asher and Jeremaiah. The clever owners and builders of the Carpenter Cabin on Amuarangi.
The carpenter Cabin Nestled under the redwood
Plenty of deck space to relax (still a work in progress)
with the best view
Well friends. Thats pretty much our living situation in a nutshell.
For fellow weirdos, I hope my attention to detail gave you enough material to sleep well at night.