The Lucky Penny, all ready for a new tenant after a tiny house turn over!
Last week I was in Walla Walla, doing a turnover of The Lucky Penny for a new tenant. I’m renting The Lucky Penny as a fully-furnished mid-term rental, partly because I know there’s a need for this type of housing - especially at this price point and in a college town - and partly because it’s such a fun opportunity for people to try out tiny house living for a few months. (If you have any interest in renting The Lucky Penny for a season, get in touch!) There’s the added bonus that whenever I have a tiny house turnover I get to come visit my littlest house and enjoy being back inside it myself!
It’s amazing to me that it has already been 12 years since I wrote a blog post called Everything I Need to Know about Designing Tiny Houses I Learned from Cleaning Them. I was lucky enough to be the site manager for Caravan - A Tiny House Hotel for a couple of weeks while I was still designing the details of The Lucky Penny. I incorporated what I learned during that experience to make The Lucky Penny as easy to clean and maintain as I could. In the process, I created a Tiny House Cleaning Checklist and I figured out that top-to-bottom and back-to-front is the easiest way clean a tiny house. That proved true again this weekend.
My tenant had done a lovely job taking care of The Lucky Penny, but to get it move-in-ready for the new tenant there were several things to do.
Safety Check: Safety first, of course, so I always check the fire extinguisher, first aid kit, and water heater. I also test the smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector.
Inventory & Property Condition Report: Since it’s a fully-furnished rental, the next thing I do for a turnover is take photos and inventory. I keep an inventory list with three tabs: 1) built-ins (light fixtures, cabinets, etc.), 2) inventory (comfy chair, copper pans and measuring spoons, etc.), and 3) consumables (dish soap, sponges, etc.) I provide the first two lists to new tenants and they sign off on them. It’s a great way for them to get acquainted with everything available to them. There are so many drawers and cupboards in The Lucky Penny - have I mentioned this house has an incredible amount of storage space for such a small footprint!? - that it takes a while just to make sure everything is in it’s place. I confirm that nothing was unintentionally left behind by a tenant (or taken inadvertently).
Maintenance List Update: Since I have to check every nook and cranny of the house to complete the inventory, I update my maintenance list as I go. For instance, this time there weren’t any paint touch ups needed and I decided the exterior shingles were in fine shape to wait till next year for another layer of stain. On the other hand, the bathtub caulk had shrunk, so I snagged a tube of bathtub caulk from the local hardware store and took care of that lil project. The shower head I’d installed was spraying in a funny way, so I called up the manufacturer who got a new one sent out since it was still under warranty. I also refreshed the batteries in the door lock cuz being Key Free is still one of my favorite minimalism hacks!
Laundry: There’s no laundry at The Lucky Penny, so I got a load of laundry going, including all the sheets, Turkish towels, and duvet covers.
Deep Clean: While the laundry is going, I start that top-to-bottom deep cleaning process. I take a cleaning cloth to the top of the upper cabinets and work my way down, cleaning all the cabinets, countertops, the tansu, etc. I wipe out all the drawers and reset the contents. By the time the bedding is ready I can do the back-to-front part. I make the bed again, fluff the pillows, drape the throw blanket over the chair, etc. I usually do the floors on my way out, starting by the bed and working my way out the front door, as I head to the grocery store to pick up supplies.
Make it Welcoming: Speaking of supplies, I set up new tenants with a few things that will make the tiny backyard cottage comfy to land in without having to make an immediate emergency trip to the grocery store to pick up essentials like toilet paper or dish soap. If I’m feeling fancy I also put out chocolate and flowers.
I love putting everything back in its place, including stocking a few simple consumables like paper towels, waxed paper, and aluminum foil in the awesome dispenser that was one of my first Lucky Penny purchase!
I’m grateful that, with my new job as The Newest HELMster, my work is remote, allowing me to work from Walla Walla for the week. I worked an east coast workday and then spent my afternoons and evenings turning over the tiny house and catching up with friends. It was a treat to share meals and cold drinks with friends, mentors, and neighbors and to hang out with a friend and her toddler at Walla Walla’s awesome pool on a 100 degree day. I drove back home on Friday afternoon, arriving in time to catch another lovely sunset just as I turned west towards Corvallis.