ADU, Travel, Community
Lina Menard
Maui, Hawaii

After A Week Long Send Off, My Round the World Trip kicked off with eight days in Maui visiting my sister Sarah who has split her time between Hawaii and Alaska for many years. What an epic way to start this adventure! There was mist falling when my sister greeted me at the Kahului airport on Maui a week ago, so she teased me about bringing the rain from the mainland. We headed straight for Paia where she presented me with a young coconut and a lei, accompanied by the chant for the gifting-of-a-lei.

Maui, Hawaii
Tiny House, Travel, Planning
Lina Menard
Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla

A number of circumstances collided recently to compel me to move the Lucky Penny to my property in Walla Walla where I have a ground bound small house called Valencia Cottage. So on Tuesday trusted tiny house movers Linh and Stephanie Pham helped me move the Lucky Penny safely from Portland to my place in Walla Walla.

Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla
Minimalism, Workshop
Lina Menard
Downsizing Tune Up

As I packed up recently in preparation to travel cross country in my Honda Fit, I did some downsizing… It was harder than it had been during my last couple of moves because this time I had more stuff. I’d been living in a bigger space…My apartment was a studio, but it was still about 6 times bigger than the Lucky Penny! I talked with several people about the experience and a handful of them said “oh my goodness, I need to do more of that!” So I’ve decided to offer a 6-week Downsizing Tune Up…

Downsizing Tune Up

pod

Don't Leave Home Without It!

pod at door When my cousin was a toddler and we were preparing to leave the house she would tick off the things she would need on her fingers. "Coat? Hat? Shoes?" she would ask herself and grin and nod for each one. As a big fan of Kay Chorao's children's book Molly's Moe, I loved my cousin's short list. However, as an adult my Don't Leave Home Without It list is more like: Wallet? Phone? Keys?

My minimalist tendencies rebel against lugging around a purse full of the things I might need. But sadly, I was forever misplacing my keys or phone or (Heavens no!) wallet because they were not tethered to my body (or anything else). This was a problem for me until until a dear friend introduced me to her strategy a few months ago.

My friend found a cool felted pouch just big enough to hold her phone, wallet, and keys. She dubbed it her pod and when she showed it to me I decided I simply had to have one. (I rarely have this reaction to a thing, so I knew I was onto something! Or rather, it wasn't really the thing itself as much as the concept. I knew I wanted that simplicity.) Another friend had given me a little felted coin purse as a birthday present that year and it happened to perfectly fit my phone and my slim wallet. I attached my keys to the zipper pull and all of the sudden, everything I really needed was right there. (Okay, so I usually keep business cards and chapstick in there, too, and they're not truly essential, but they're awfully nice to have when I need them!)

Now I only have to remember ONE thing when leaving the house. That I can do even on a busy day! And with a convenient hook right inside the door, my pod has a place inside the house, too.