When we first moved in, we brought in our mattress and then released the cats! Then Scott went to the trailer to get some stuff (like cat food and litter box), and apparently Tuffy really had to go to the bathroom (#1). Luckily, he hopped in one of the lawn chairs and did his deed there. All I had to do was run the chair outside real fast and all was good! Then Tuffy figured out how to climb the bathroom wall to get into the loft!! When that happened we knew we had to come up with something for him and the others to get into the loft safely, so the next day we brought down all our stuff from the trailer including all the wood crates I used to use for my booth set up. We made the crates into a 'stairs' for them to climb and for us to store things in as well.
On the 25th, we went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Billings. We were able to get a toilet ($35), an 11'x11'4" piece of carpet ($63), another smaller piece of carpet to use as a runner in the kitchen ($25) and a stainless steel double basin sink ($15)!! All of that, plus Scott, our neighbor boy, and I fit in my car! Now it's really starting to feel like a home.
You may be wondering why we purchased all these things used? And why we aren't just going to finish out the inside of the house next? Well, we came out here with a specific budget which is only going to cover the main structure, the septic, the well, and the electric hookup. That's it. So unless we want to go into debt (not an option - the whole plan was no mortgage, no debt), we will be making due till we have $$ to start finishing things on the inside.
Even though it's not finished yet, it's still a BIG step up from living in the cargo trailer. The last 4 months have been worth it!!
Now keep in mind we aren't finished yet - we will be working on our siding and our metal roof next (we have all the materials now). Then at some point we need to go home to get all our stuff out of storage. And finally we still need to trench for our electric hookup and our water hookup. Our septic is actually finished! We are just waiting right now for the inspector to come and approve it so Jerry (our septic guy) can cover it up. However, we inaugurated our new toilet last night:) It's the simple things in life like having a toilet to use and not a bucket that is really making us happy right now! Or that we don't have to spray each other down with bug spray before we go to bed at night.
The first night, laying in bed looking up at our freakishly high ceiling, all I kept thinking was, 'I can't believe we did it! I can't believe we built this house ourselves! I can't believe we are finally living in the house!'
It's been a really long 4 months, and lots of work still ahead, but I'd still do it all over again in a heart beat:)
Here are some picture for you of us moving in, putting the sink together, enjoying our new carpet, and of course the cats exploring. I have a video of the cats too, but it may be a bit before I can get it uploaded.
And if you can't tell, Buddy REALLY likes our new carpet:)
Enjoy! I'm headed back home (after picking up a pkg, doing 6 loads of laundry, and stocking up on water and some food) to help Scott with the little bit of remaining foam and get started on either the roofing or the siding!!
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