Transition days

Each evening we have been returning to the trailer for dinner, an evening walk/bike around the park and then begin the arduous task of getting sister to settle down for bed time.  In the AM we rise with the sun around 5:30am (by "we" I mean "she" and the rest of us begrudgingly get up to accommodate her).  I basically wake up to a munchkin voice saying, "Mama, it's daytime!" every morning.  Cute?  Yes, But also exhausting.  Brother somehow manages to sleep for at least two more hours until I force him up for breakfast so that we can get headed back to the house for another day of packing, sorting, giving, selling, and planning.

This is our current daily reality so we have not yet experienced 24 hours in the trailer.  Record heat is in the forecast for next week - reaching 118 degrees - thankfully on days we will still be in the house, but the summer is only just beginning.

Today we went to Home Depot and purchased a roll of radiant barrier, Reflectix to cover our windows until we improve the window shades and blinds.  Shades and blinds must be ordered and take 2-4 weeks to obtain and we have not yet had time to measure the windows and place an order. In the meantime we can do a quick fix to better insulate this tiny house.

We have SO many little improvements, things to organize, and fix up in the trailer.  We plan on spending a day after the house closes, going to IKEA with the trailer to improve our tiny space and organization.  It is too bad we are drowning daily in the stuff from our huge house - we can't focus on our tiny house right now! However, I have been trying to personalize the kids' spaces a little.  I put up some posters in brother's bunk and here is a picture of sister's...

The rainbow used to hang in sister's bedrroom, it now marks the entrance to her bunk.  The only problem is that it traps heat, so I put a little fan facing into the bunk from the kitchen table to provide some circulation.  

The views of the desert in the evening on our walks are fun.  Here is how another lot in the park was decorated:

The cactus are blooming and look really unusual!

 This prickly pear will provide some excellent fruit soon, it looks almost ripe!

I like how our spot has so much shade.   

We put our first piece of Reflectix on main window pictured here.  YouTubers recommended painter's tape, but ours was not sticking very well.  Perhaps we need more tape on it.  We will see if it holds over night.  Although, before all the windows are blacked out, I want to sleep with the windows open again tonight.  It is currently 93 degrees, but will be dropping down to 82 degrees by midnight and 75 degrees by 5am.  When the AZ heat is in full force it hardly cools at night - especially when you are living in a concrete jungle.  In the desert, living on dirt, it cools off a bit more but is still oppressive. I am nervous about the heat, but feel there are a number of ways to improve the efficiency of the trailer.  Of course we are all staying hydrated!