Harbor Freight Steals and Deals

www.HarborFreight.com

Yesterday I had some time to kill before an appointment so I stopped in at my local Harbor Freight. Normally I try not to buy retail and definitely try not to buy cheap, foreign produced goods, however I have heard that Harbor Freight has super inexpensive tools that are decent. I need a router and a router table, so I figured I had nothing to loose by just taking a gander at what they have to offer. What I found was pleasantly surprising. Yes, there is a ton of foreign produced, low quality "stuff" in there, but there were some diamonds in the rough as well. I like to believe that I enjoy focusing on the positive  so here are a couple of things I found to be good deals:

Very Cool Drain

Continuing on with my quest to find only the best for my tiny house, I discovered I would be needing to buy the drain portion for my kitchen sink. While kicking around my local big-box home improvement store I was stunned to find that drains range in price from around $8 all the way up to $45 with even more expensive options made for the custom sinks those with deep enough pockets to custom order.

I looked at all the choices and found that I really liked the ones that are designed with a small basket that fits in the drain to catch food prior to it going down the drain where it could possibly cause problems later. This will come in especially handy because there will be no garbage disposal in my tiny house. This clever drain will capture shavings and cuttings when I peel potatoes and chop vegetables, etc. and easily empty them into the compost container so that I can add it to the compost pile at my convenience.

A Little Inspiration

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
-Henry David Thoreau

On Sale!

I am quite excited to say that my future bathtub/shower is on sale! Whoot! I stopped by the feed store yesterday for rabbit chow and saw this site of loveliness. I am going to go with the 3X3X2 so that it can be both a tub and a shower. It won't be super huge, but it will allow immersion and that counts.

Only problem I have run into is fitting it in my car, but I will strap it to the roof if need be. This sale takes $30 off the price of the tank. That is a great savings. I hate that the manufacturer has painted their logo on the side, but that side can face the wall, so it is no problem. Another item soon to be checked off on the checklist.

Big Lessons for a Tiny Home Owner

Years ago when I lived in my first new construction home, I found a binder in the master bedroom closet provided by the home builder that highlighted all the important things related to the house such as where the fuse box can be found and where the water shut-off is located. It contained the warranty information and instruction books for appliances, my home warranty information, emergency and service phone numbers for all the utility companies in my area, and lots of other information that we would have never thought to ask for until there was a problem. We jokingly called it the house bible and I cannot count the number of times we referred to that book.

Making Progress

It has been a bit since I last posted, but that is because I have been making HUGE amounts of progress on my tiny home. Recently I have begun drawing my plans to scale and modifying the blueprints to meet my needs. My kitchen is going to be amazing and I managed to fit in a staircase. Yes, you read correct, a staircase. Many of you may be trying to puzzle that one out and wondering just how I did so, but I am not going to share until I am done building and post photos because it is so brilliant and I don't want anyone to snag the plan and try to market it. It will just have to suffice when I say that storage will increase as well as the ability to get to the loft without having to be part monkey when I turn 70.

New Logo for the Rancho No Dinero Podcast

Coming soon to iTunes, Zune (XBox Live), and Stitcher Radio is the Rancho No Dinero Podcast. Listen as I  podcast about my  adventure of building a tiny house and establishing my sustainable homestead!! Stay tuned for more information and an RSS feed link.