I'm sitting here, looking out at my almost finished new deck, and thinking about how it will be used. When you are "Rioting for Austerity" it seems frivolous to go about adding space. But we live in 257 sq ft of space and the deck space will simplify our lives and certainly make them easier.
1) It will be used as hobby space, a place to paint, read, doze, put together puzzles, etc.
2) It will be used a social space, where we can sit and have a cup of tea and visit with guests on warm days.
3) It will be used as work space. The storage unit is built to kitchen counter height, so i can do food prep, fill the food drier, even cook on hot summer days
4) It will be used as a garden/potting area. Next spring we will enclose the top of the storage unit temporarily, add shelves, grow lights and a heater and voila! A greenhouse!
5) It will be room for the cat to climb, sun, watch birds and play in safety. In the summer the park is full of campers, many of whom bring their pony-sized cat-eating dogs. We had several close calls last summer, when large dogs got away from small people and children, or were not leashed at all. Poor Sal is now terrified of any and all dogs, even the two-pound Chihuahua down the road. He's literally ten times her size, and he thinks she's a wolf.
6) It will be used for storage. The storage unit Ian built is large enough to accommodate two tiers of large totes. Lots of stuff can come out of the truck, where it is very difficult to access, and be stored where we can actually get to it when we need it. This should also improve our gas mileage, as we are hauling a lot of stuff around in the back of that truck! We also can bring our storage cupboard inside, where it's easy to access. This is handy for storing items which are hard to find room for inside, like small appliances and cooking utensils.
7) It will improve the comfort of the trailer, by enabling us to keep the doors open in the summer, without worrying that the cat will escape, and in the winter we will cover it with clear plastic, which will serve as a windbreak and will capture warmth from any sunshine which might happen to appear.
All in all a good investment!
1 comment:
Sounds wonderful. One of the things we often forget to build into our routines as we work toward sustainability, are those community-building things like porches, decks, community centers, etc.
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