How do you re-purpose an old mobile and shed? I have some ideas, I want your ideas too.
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A quick update. I'm back in Illinois trying to sell my mobile home near Champaign/Urbana. That will be my seed money to get started back in Arkansas. Once I sell this place, I'll be staying with a relative about 40 miles away from my property until I've got a comfortable enough long-term living situation figured out. That solution is still up the air, but I can't wait to leave behind my $250/month lot rent and $38/month water/sewer bill.
So while I'm back in Illinois waiting, my mind can't help but wonder about the possibilities for this property. I've only been physically on the property for 5 hours, and I haven't even seen half of it yet, so I have to remember I don't know squat. But I do have some pictures, and videos to contemplate.
This is a picture of an old structure on the property as viewed from the front door on the mobile home.
The room that is visible, I'm picturing as two farrowing pens for pigs. Take the floor out. Leave the middle post in to make it into two stalls. Put up some of the extra tin lying around to keep out the rain.
To the left of the visible open space is another good size shelter facing the opposite direction. Leave the floor in there, and make it into a chicken house, with access to the nesting boxes from the side that we are looking at. That would house a flock of a pure-bred heritage breeds, or even some olive-eggers, whatever the local market desires for their own backyards chicken flock.
The floor on that shed thing is starting to rot and has been exposed to the weather for decades now, I'm sure. But another idea would be to replace the flooring that needs it, and use that as a platform for a yurt. Maybe one day I could rent out the yurt, AirBnB style, for people that want a getaway as close to Blue Mountain Lake as they are going to get without camping. A glamping spot, in other words, I have no shame making some extra income like that. Still, I'd prefer the barn idea, but you never know.
Another thing I'm contemplating is what to do with the mobile home. I know I don't want to heat and cool the whole thing, and I know I don't need that much space to live in. I also know the thing is infested with bugs and cockroaches already and it would a be huge task to seal it up. Here's the front view from the entrance of my driveway, and a side view
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In the front is a small bedroom, maybe 8 feet by the 16 foot width of the mobile. Next to it is a small bathroom and the furnace (broken down) area. This is to the right of the front door. The front door open into the living room. I see the living room being a good workshop area. Table saw, work bench, tools, etc. The electricity is already there.
The kitchen is to the left of the living room. It already needs a new sink as the cabinet surrounding it is rotted out. Why not a deep utility sink, where my personal laundry can be washed before drying outside? Keep some cabinets for any canned foods I can put up, without much fear of bugs. It might also serve as a good place for processing some fish after a good day of fishing or a couple young roosters.
At the back of the mobile, is the master bedroom with the master bathroom on the very end. If I am hatching eggs to breed heritage chickens, I need a place to raise them until they are big enough to go outside. Or ducks or turkeys or guineas or whatever I raise there. Quick access to water in the old bathroom, and access to electricity for a heat lamp in the winter. Seems like a good opportunity for a brooding room in there. And if any bugs get in there, oh well, less feed I've got to buy.
Those are some of initial thoughts. There are more in these videos I took the first day I took possession of the property.
This video is 12+ minutes long as I walk the eastern border of my property which is the road frontage. There is an interesting foot high rock wall, and I walk down to see the posts on the southeast corner of my property indicating there is fiber optic cables buried there. That means 100/10 high speed internet for me. :) I also walk to the northeast corner and show to open field where I saw bull grazing the first time I toured it.
This next video is 14+ minutes, and is a tour inside the mobile home. Its ransacked, so its hard to tell what the overall condition of the place is behind all the junk,
The final video, 7+ minutes, from my first day in possession, is when I spotted a couple wild, free ranging chickens while I was holding my camera. Not long after I arrived there to unload the few storage tubs I have, there were 5 chickens that came up to the door while I was inside. The previous owner had a few different stories for those chickens, so I'm not sure what to believe, but they hadn't been fed or watered in a couple weeks and I saw no signs of a chicken coop anywhere. I'm sure they've mostly been on their own for a long time.
I don't know when I'll get my place sold in Illinois and be able to get started in Arkansas. I'm hoping any day now. I'll be sure to keep doing updates once I get down there, I love all the feedback and suggestions and sharing of experiences.