Guess which Tiny House I picked! (It's here!)

Hello, it's really good to see you. I want to show you which park model I ended up picking out. I kind of feel like maybe you could guess already. Like if you had to guess right now, I feel like you might already know, but I will show you right away. We'll just walk in. I'll show you and where we put it at my parents' farm. Also, there's a couple design choices I want to ask your opinion on. Lots of good questions that came up after the last video, like why not do a mobile home? They're so much more cost effective. Can you stay in it year-round? Other tiny house questions. And also, man, something really tragic that happened this past week that just has me reevaluating my whole life, basically. Okay, so I feel like you're not going to be surprised that I picked the blue one. Many of you who, especially who know me well, you're like, pick the one that makes your heart happy, right? And it was this one, hands down. But it wasn't just the blue cabinets and the big tall ceilings in here. There were some other things about it too. So I will go into that. And like I said, answer questions like how much did it cost? And can you live in it year-round? And why don't you just live out there? And why don't you rent a house? They're all very good, legitimate questions. So, well, why don't I give you a quick tour? We'll end up in the bedroom. That's where I have design questions for you. And then we'll visit and go through all these questions as well. And I'll definitely put timestamps along here too. So if you want to skip around, you can absolutely do that. Okay, so like I said, I think you all could tell that this one just made my heart so happy. So when you come in the side door, we have the kitchen. When I showed it last, it definitely was not put together. So we have a full kitchen, which do we need a full kitchen? No, but it is really cool. And then if we face back this way, so what I really fell in love with besides the blue cabinets and the big tall ceilings was definitely all of the windows. And I love that when you just look outside, you just see green. And so this was delivered to my parents' farm about a week and a half ago. It all happened very quickly. I'll tell you about the just phenomenal couple who I purchased it from too. They have been so cool, but I'll show you where it's situated on my parents' farm. But why don't we continue the tour quick? All right, so this way you can go up to the loft or into the bathroom. So we will go up to the loft real quick. The kids are in love with it. They think it is so cool. The whole thing, not just the loft, but this isn't a huge loft. Some of the other models definitely had bigger ones, but plenty big enough for two, three, four kids, depending on how big they are to sleep up here and a supplemental AC unit. So it doesn't get too hot. And then there's a full-size air conditioning unit underneath the tiny house as well. There's also these cabinets up here and we can actually move them around. So that's kind of nice too. And so like I said, it was delivered about a week and a half ago, I think. We don't have the permanent site at my parents' farm ready, but we were able just to put it next to their pole building, which has electricity and water. So it was easy to hook up to all of that. And now my dad and brother are just getting finished up with spring field work. And so then we can kind of start talking about the site. I showed one spot down by these ponds that they have, which is so cool. But there's also another spot that my dad wanted to show me too, that would be a little closer to the house and main buildings for running utilities. But I will answer more questions about that, utilities and how all that works when we get to the Q and A portion of this video. But many did ask like, how many acres do your parents have? It's right around 200 acres. So they have a few different options of places we could put it, but you know, I mentioned this on Instagram. When I was growing up, it was not cool to be a farm kid. Like you wanted to not let on that you're a farm kid. And now getting to come back home, my parents have lived in the same house since we were born, since they were married, to come home to the same place that we've always lived. It's been really cool. And I definitely have a different kind of appreciation for it, right? Okay. Let me show you the bedroom and ask your opinion on a couple of things. All right. So here is the bedroom. Now obviously the blue cabinets are already set. So I wanted to work with that. So this is a duvet cover that I got off of Amazon. But what I would like is your input on the artwork. So we have two different options here. I'm going to lay them out individually and then you can vote down below. But real quick, today's video is sponsored by rvmattress.com. I am so grateful for their support and I love their mattresses so much. And right now is the perfect time to upgrade your mattresses. You're going to save 30% if you go to rvmattress.com slash minimal mom and use code minimal mom. 30% off site-wide. So RV Mattress is part of Brooklyn Bedding. They make the Helix mattresses that we love and I've been talking about for years. So they are very comfortable. They're assembled at their factory in Arizona and delivered right to your door and free shipping if you live in the U.S. And so we have been able to upgrade all of the mattresses in our campers. Yes, we've had multiples. So we've gotten to try out a wide array of the different RV mattresses and they are so comfortable. And unfortunately the mattresses that come in campers and RVs are not comfortable at all. So likely if you own a camper, it is time to upgrade it. And so when we were looking to upgrade our mattresses, a couple of things are important. They have to be weird sizes and shapes and it has to be comfortable. So even though it's lightweight, they do not skimp on comfort. And like our Helix mattress, they come conveniently rolled up in a box and delivered right to your door. So it is super easy to get your mattresses, get them into your camper. You just roll them out, let them take shape and they fit perfectly. Such a huge improvement when we upgraded the mattress in the master bedrooms, I say that in quotes. But the hugest difference was the kids' bunks. You know, if you have bunk beds in your camper, those little thin that you can't even call it a mattress that they come with are horrible. And when you're out camping and adventuring all day, there's no reason not to come back and get a great night's sleep. And don't worry, you also get to test it out. So with your mattress from rvmattress.com, you get to test it out for 120 nights. So chances are, if you have a camper RV park model, it's time to upgrade your mattresses. Well, again, check out the link in the description and the pinned comment. Use code minimalmom. Sleep awesome while you're traveling. And all right, let's get back and you can give me your opinion on the artwork. Okay. So here is one idea. Now, if you know me, I like having some pops of color. I also love mountain scenes. If I had to choose a place to vacation to, it would be mountains. And so I really liked that. I liked the colors in it. I liked that it pulled in the blues. And then my thought was after looking at that, that we would go with blue and peach accent colors too. And so that was one idea. And yes, I did buy some new throw pillows. I have actually not bought throw pillows in a year, over a year. So I, I have no apologies about that. Right? All right, let me show you option number two. Okay. So option number two are these like wood mountain things. There's two of them. I just didn't want to unwrap the other one in case I return it. So it would be two and not like the wood. Right. Um, so it's, you know, it's a little less colorful, busy. I like that both of them kind of go with the student bay cover and everything. So those are the two options, colorful mountains, or I don't know, wood mountains, I guess that's what we'll call them. And I think the same pillow options. I like blue and like peaches and that kind of stuff together. So I think those same colors could go as well. So, all right. Uh, let me know your thoughts around that. All right, why don't we go answer some questions? Also, this box is the TV that goes above the fireplace. So I did not know this, but it came with the couch and the chair and the barstools and the TVs. And so we actually had a movie night out here the other night. And so Corbin and Adeline had got the TV all set up and got it hooked up to the internet. And yeah, we had a movie night and it was awesome. It was super fun. And then the girls are already, uh, Adeline called first dibs on a sleepover out here. So that's in the works and then Maggie too. And they, they filter in and out. And so, I mean, even just in the short time we've had it already, it's been getting used and loved. And so, um, that has, that's felt really good. Okay. So hands down the number one question on the last video was why not get a mobile home or a double wide? Because if you look at the prices of a park model versus a mobile home, uh, yeah, you could buy a mobile home and a double wide for the same price. And I'll talk about what a park model actually is too. But here's the main reason that that was not even an option. Is that my parents are not allowed to have another dwelling on their farm. So again, even though they have 200 acres, which is awesome, they do not have any building rights with their farm anymore. And so it is not even an option here. However, park models, which is what this is, which is kind of like a tiny house. There's a few differences in the construction and everything. Park models are in the RV class. So as far as setting it up on property, insuring it even, it's in the RV class. So this is considered a temporary dwelling. A mobile home is considered a permanent dwelling. So this I can have here. That I could not. So that was definitely one of the main considerations. And I also had mentioned that down the road, I would love to move this to like a lake lot. So Minnesota is land of 10,000 lakes, if you did not know that. We have lots of lakes in our area. And so you'll see, you know, you've probably seen these before, park models set up on around lakes and campgrounds and different places too. And so my hope is that this is a long-term investment that we could later on use actually as a cabin or something like that as well. So there's also questions about price and then would it be cheaper to get a camper? So the price, most of them start between $45,000 and $50,000. And it's like buying a car or anything else. The more features you get, you know, obviously the more pricey that it is. You know, originally I was looking at destination trailers, which are campers. And the ones I was looking at that have the big cool windows and all of that, those go for between $70,000 and $80,000 as well. So when I was looking at camper versus park model, to me, it just seemed like because I wanted it to be a long-term investment and I was planning on just setting it up and leaving it, not like towing it around to different destinations, that this was a better long-term investment. And so it's constructed pretty much like a house and it has a steel roof and it also has Anderson windows. And, you know, our experience with campers in the past was just that they're not built that great. Now they can't be, right? Because they have to be lightweight so you can move them around. But for the investment, to me, this seemed like a better investment. Also, the question, can you stay in it year round? Yes and no. So I looked at a bunch of different models and one of the main reasons I chose this one besides the beautiful interior is because of the insulation that is in it. So the owners, so the dealership that I purchased this from, they ordered it with all of the best insulation that you can have in it. I should pull up the sheet because Joe was telling me about it. But the wall insulation, the roof insulation, insulating it underneath is really important, is all the highest R-values that you can get. So we can enjoy this year round. The other ones we were looking at, the gal had said like down to about 30, 32 degrees. And then, you know, it'd be really hard to keep it warm. Well, I should look it up, but in Minnesota, I don't know, I think at least half of the days of the year are under 30 degrees. So to me right away, it kind of ruled out those other ones because I want to be able to use this year round. And then other questions were, are you going to live in it with the kids? Why not just rent a house? So we've been living with my parents for about a year now. The kids are with me half the time and it's been great. I have really enjoyed it. I love being on my parents' farm again. I like that when I don't have the kids, that there's other people around. It's been fun to just have the time with my parents and my brother. And so I really appreciate staying with them. And so far they're not kicking us out either. So I'm not in a hurry to move out. I have no desire to own my own house right now, even rent and have to take care of a whole property on my own or find a townhouse. None of that actually appeals to me right now. And so that's again why this was something that we were looking at as a way to still be here at my parents, but also have a little retreat too. I've shared before that I had been going up to these little cabins in Wisconsin and I would go up there to get away and work on schoolwork and other work and stuff. And they're beautiful. And I enjoy going up there so much. And I'm like, how can I bring some of that here? And also for something for the kids to enjoy as well. And so that was a big consideration going into this. And then lots of questions about utilities. So the difference between a park model and a camper is that a camper has a water tank so you can bring water to where you're going. It doesn't have to have any kind of water hookup. You do have to hook up to electricity or a generator with a camper. They also have a black water tank, so your sewer just goes into there and then you can take it somewhere to empty it. A park model, on the other hand, is meant to have full utilities rammed to it, have some kind of septic sewer connection or whatnot. So we're going back and forth on how exactly we want to set it up when we get it to its site. And that's why different locations have different pros and cons. In some locations, my dad can trench water and electricity to it and then use a temporary RV holding tank for the sewer. If we went way out there, we'd probably use solar and a generator for electricity and then get a freshwater tank. And then again, the temporary tank for sewage. So those are definitely considerations. And I'm very grateful that my dad is so handy and skilled and able to do a lot of these things because that obviously is a big part of it as well. So yeah, we're going to, over the next couple of weeks here, kind of figure out the exact location that we want to have it. And then we'll work on getting it set up and make a deck outside so that we have steps, we want to have a fire pit. So I will definitely keep showing you what location we land on and setting it up and everything. And then there was also some questions just about tiny house living. And I've always believed that I could live in a tiny house. I just didn't think I could live in a tiny house with five other people. And so I'm not planning on living out here. We're really just intending to use it like a camper or a little cabin, little retreat. So none of us are going to live out here. I know there was concerns about, is it big enough? Is the loft big enough? So we're going to have a pullout couch here that the girls can sleep on and then the boys can be up in the loft. And so again, I mean, we used to go camping all the time. Did you see Peanut, our little camper? We all fit in there so comfortably. So I'm not worried about the size at all. And the kids are super excited to have friends out here and to have sleepovers and all of that. So yeah, for how we're intending on using it, I actually think that the size is perfect. Also, would it need to be this fancy? No, it would not need to be this fancy. Like, oh my goodness, it would not need to be this fancy. Basically, again, as I was looking at all the different options, the price wasn't that different on this one for how much extra we were getting and especially all of the extra insulation. On some of the other ones, they had different upgrades, but for me that brought the price up that I just didn't have as much value in. And so for me, having this one be insulated to the max so that we could use it year round, that was really the deciding factor. And then the fact that it's so beautiful, of course, I mean, that didn't hurt either. But I have to tell you, so I bought this from Joe and Debbie in Siren. They were incredible to work with. I can't even say enough good things about them. You know how there's some people that are nice and generous. It's like customer service is just within their bones. They thought through everything. They were so accommodating, just knew all the right questions to ask, knew all the things to bring, set everything up. The delivery was so smooth. Everything about the process was so enjoyable. So I'm so grateful to Joe and Debbie. And if you are at all in the Wisconsin, Minnesota metro area, and you're interested in something like this, I would definitely encourage you to check them out. So I just want to mention that as well. But also something that happened about a week and a half ago, now that it's just been so sad is my really good friend, Mary Beth. She is one of my best friends. Their 14 year old son passed away really unexpectedly. And we used to meet up with them to go camping and had gotten to know their family so well. And she had been just such an awesome support to me over the last couple of years. And so it was sudden and it's wrong, right? I mean, it was just so sad. And even as I'm picking out decor there, I'm like, who cares? Does this even matter? But I did need to go down for the funeral. And what was so cool was to see how their church just surrounded them with love and care and every single thing that they could need. To the point where they're like, can we stop the meal train here for a few days? They have been so well loved and supported and it has just been so cool to see. That's what the church is supposed to do. And so I've really gone back and forth on whether to say anything or not, but I've also shared that the most hurtful, mean, unkind things that have been said to me are from Christians. And that is so disillusioning to me and has been really difficult. And so I just want to invite you that, if you don't agree with my life choices, if things I'm doing are offending you, please unsubscribe and I would never want you to continue to watch my videos. What I don't like, I never used to worry about negative comments before. What I don't like now is that I find myself as I go to record, all the negative things are running through my head, like, don't say that. Make sure you answer this question. Say this just right. And even this, I'm very aware of trying to say it just right so that my message comes across sincerely and so that I say this the right way too. But I'm so grateful for those of you who have been so kind and supportive and loving. And that is the majority by far. And I want to keep spending time with you and hanging out. And if you don't fall into that category, that is totally fine. I heard a quote a long time ago that said, unwanted advice is criticism. And so if I ask for input, like, which picture should I put up in here? I actually sincerely want to know what you think. I know sometimes people think like, oh, you already have your mind made up. No, actually I don't. I love hearing the logic and seeing the different comments and stuff. But there are other things where I'm like, well, I'm not really asking for input on that. And sometimes it's hurtful, right? Because it's almost feels like you're assuming that I put very little thought into these huge life decisions. I labored over that decision for years. And probably what rubs me the wrong way the most is any kind of implication that I gave up or I threw in the towel too soon. Because you have no, like, you just have no idea how many times I went around the same mountain and researched and sought out professionals and did the four to six month waiting period. And then the one year that it would take to try things and all of the effort and time and mental capacity that I put into it. It's not that I didn't give up. I just decided to step off the train and didn't want to go around it another time. I couldn't, like my heart could not handle it anymore. And so some I guess may see that as giving up, but I left it all on the field, man. And I believe that with every fiber in my being. I mean, there's four kids involved, right? That's a huge, huge deal. And so I know that. And I know it's hard because I didn't go through that process publicly, right? Which I've already talked about why. And so I get where, you know, it could seem like it was, it was sudden and there wasn't as much thought into it, but I promise you that that was not the case. But anyways, now I turn this back to me and that wasn't even my intention. I love my friend Marybeth so much and this is, and this is so heartbreaking. And I know many of you who are watching have been through similar things, not the exact same thing. And it's so hard and it sucks so much. And I hate that for you. I hate that so much. So life gets lifey sometimes, right? And I continue to be so grateful for minimalism. I'm going to show coming up, we kind of accidentally hushed the upstairs of my parents' house when we put new carpet in. So I'm going to show you that. And we have been here a year, so it was time to do a little decluttering and everything. So I'm excited to show you that as well. But I do believe minimalism makes it all a little easier to navigate, gives us a peaceful, safe place to come home to. But yeah, life, man, life's hard sometimes, right? And so I hate that, but it is a little easier if we stick together. And I did love, love, love seeing how supported Marybeth and Brian were and their, and their boys and through just like the worst thing ever. So that was cool to see and kind of, I guess restorative to my soul as well. So anyways, all right, well, I think I answered the questions. Um, I really am so grateful and you know, I don't even like bringing up the negative stuff because it's like such a small percentage of it, but you know how those things just stick with you a little more than the good things, right? So it is what it is. Okay, it just started raining now, so hopefully it's not too loud. But I did realize there was one more question I hadn't answered, which is how are you? How am I doing? Thank you for asking. And I very much appreciate that. You know, I'm still surprised that like the ebbs and flows in my emotions and how something like pretty little can still kind of like set me off to feel sad or stressed or whatnot. But I think I realized that like my baseline of getting back to feeling happier, more optimistic, that has definitely risen. And I'm feeling overall a lot better. There's still just a lot of, you know, daily, weekly ups and downs. And I know that's to be expected. There's just, you know, after a while you're like, I just want to feel normal again. But I do definitely believe that I'm getting there. I love that now it's getting nicer outside. I can be outside walking again. We have some planter boxes. We're going to plant some veggie plants in. I've been helping my mom with her flowers and picking out flowers. And so that's been really fun and life-giving. So that all feels really good too. And so I know this is just par for the course and to be expected, but yeah, definitely a little more optimistic again, which feels good. But I am excited. I will show you, we don't have anything in here yet. So as we get stuff in here and different things, definitely as we set up the permanent site and everything, for sure, I will share that with you as well. And I'm excited. And I really do appreciate, man, well, okay, well, I'll just mention one other thing. Since the D-Day video back in, I don't know, February, my subscribers have gone down. And so if you haven't done so, and if you've made it this far, then I'm guessing we're maybe kind of friends. If you haven't done so, if you wouldn't mind subscribing, I would appreciate that. Subscribers don't really matter that much. But it's more of like a morale booster than anything. So, all right, well, I am so grateful for you. I hope this video finds you well. I love you. Have a really good day and I'll see you again soon.