Changing with the Seasons

Tiny Home Living:

Fall and Winter Report

People keep asking (even though it doesn't feel like much of a question), "Surely you aren't living in the bus this winter, right?" And they're right. If it weren't for the risk of the water pipes freezing over, we would love to live on the bus this winter. Our 360' window view of the snow falling is absolutely beautiful. The bus stays toasty warm thanks to the built in heater that pumps heat throughout the bus. The heater runs off of our propane tank, which holds enough propane that we have yet to refill it...that's almost a year, people! We also have space heaters that we could plug in, but we haven't needed those. We've considered staying on the bus longer and using heat tape for the water pipes or boarding up the perimeter of the bus to help with insulation, but when it came down to it, we just want to keep the bus (and ourselves) in good working condition and out of the harsh winter elements.

View from the driver's seat

The logistics: We were able to find a storage facility big enough to keep the bus indoors starting November 1st. It's an old masonry that is being used specifically to store vehicles during the winter. On Thursday, we emptied the water tanks and had the pipes flushed with anti-freeze (literally the day before a big snow storm). Meanwhile, we've been searching for temporary housing in Minneapolis. This has not been an easy process. CraigsList is a great resource, but sadly you can't trust everyone (we were thiiiis close to getting scammed, but thankfully we saw the red flags and dropped the dude before he could get our money or personal information). Right when we think we've found the perfect housing situation, something falls through. It's definitely been a roller coaster search process. But thankfully, we finally found a great housing situation for November - April. It's overlooking Lake Harriet and fully furnished. We are actually pretty excited to be back in Minneapolis this winter. We won't have to commute as far in the snowy conditions (Kyle can bike to work), and we'll get to live the apartment life again for a while.

Our cozy bus will definitely be missed. Fall has been the most beautiful season for living on the bus. We could keep the windows up or down and the temperature was perfect. Chilly at night and 65-75 degrees during the day. Surrounded by orange, yellow, red, and green leaves, we could watch them change daily. We've been able to relax, watch movies, read, play cards/board games, host friends and family, and truly soak up the big benefits of tiny living.

You simply can't beat fall in Minnesota

Welcome to our home!

The Shumate's!!! So happy to share the bus with family.

Rainy days make for great movie nights

Winter will definitely be an adjustment. We knew this would be a busy time of transition, but preparing for it and making plans way in advance has helped us keep level heads. And to top things off, my cousin is visiting from Texas! Macaully will arrive tonight to a winter wonderland and be the last one to hang out on the bus before it's off to storage. It's sad to part ways from Emerald Mile Bus this winter, but we know that there's lots in store for us when she's out from hibernation in April!