Thinking Small - Square Footage

Our trailer measures 8 feet by 27 feet.  We have reduced our living space from 1030 square feet to 216 square feet.  Over an 800 square foot reduction!  Whoo hoooo! 

Despite the fact that our living quarters are small we still don't feel like we are cramped and uncomfortable.  Probably because we have dramatically reduced the amount of stuff we have and what is left has a place to reside.  The only hiccup we've had so far is when two people need the bathroom at the same time but, that happens in much larger homes all the time.  Even ones with more than one bathroom. 

I especially love that I am able to keep it clean and organized so much easier.  I clean as I go which makes a huge difference in things getting messy or cluttered.  You pretty much have to.  On my weekly cleaning day I can get the whole house clean in under one hour.  I used to devote at least a half a day to our old house. 

My grandparents retired and moved into a 24 foot trailer with a slide out.  Nice trailer, roomy with the slide and tons of cabinetry and storage.  They got rid of a tremendous amount of stuff before they moved in and set up housekeeping. 

My grandmother and I talked about it in-depth once when they visited us and she shared some great tips that have served me well lately.  She had a cleaning day and she would kick my grandfather out, rain or shine.  He told me he didn't care because he'd just go fishing or head to the nearest bar for a beer or two.  She told me she could whip it into shape in record time but she didn't let him know that.  I think she enjoyed the break of having him out of the house all day.  Once she was done with her housework she'd read a book. 

She also told me to do my laundry on a different day than house cleaning day so you aren't trying to do too much at once.  Instead she'd do the laundry the next day so she could get all her cleaning rags washed up.  Makes sense.  She also made my grandpa take her out to eat so she didn't have to mess anything up.  Smart lady. 

My grandparents usually grocery shopped twice a week, ate out once a week and prepared meals with the idea that there would be leftovers so she didn't have to cook a new meal every day.  Efficient use of time and money.  She was also a stickler for not wasting food and for the most part she didn't.  If something spoiled it really ticked her off. 

My grandparents both enjoyed soup so she made soup a lot.  In fact, my grandfather liked to eat soup for breakfast.  Still does. 

My grandmother has since passed on and my grandfather no longer travels.  However, when I got my first RV, my Scamp, he was full of all kinds of great advice which I appreciated immensely.  You can sure learn a lot from those that have "been there, done that".