We have been full-time RVers for a little more than two months now and so far so good.
We
continue to work to be more organized and to streamline things but that really
isn't so different from when we lived in our other house. Combating clutter and the urge to accumulate
stuff will continue to be an ongoing mission for us. But it definitely keeps us thinking about the
stuff we wish to have versus the stuff we already have and what we are willing
to part with in order to make room.
Especially with two birthdays coming up and Christmas right after that.
Our
quality of life seems much improved in the past two months and we all seem
happier and more content. We definitely
spend more time together, have more conversations, read more books, our cats
get a lot more attention and we do more things together instead of splitting
off into separate rooms. However, when
we do split off everyone seems to know not to bug the other. We go to our respective bedrooms and enjoy a
moment of privacy and autonomy.
So far
no one has complained that they don't have enough room or that they "need
their space" and there hasn't been any unusual bickering or
irritation Quite the opposite, in fact. I do hear the girls discussing how they feel
they have too many clothes and how they should donate more to the thrift
store. They do have a lot of clothing
but I'm glad they realize it and I don't have to tell them. I am also impressed that they are dealing
with it.
In
order to stay caught up I have to do laundry nearly every day because the
washer runs small loads. It only takes
about thirty minutes and while a load runs I am well able to do other things
like make my bed, get dressed and ready to start my day and finish the
breakfast dishes. Or just sit on my butt
and write a new post for my blog. J
Here
are a few things we've done to make life easier on ourselves and just plain
nice.
The new
oil filled radiant heater is perfect for heating our RV. When not in use it fit under our dining table
and out of the way perfectly. It as a
thermostat so it shuts off when it gets warm enough. Energy efficient and safe to run too.
Our new
cordless electric kettle is great. I use
it to heat water for my morning coffee and warm the girl's thermoses before I
fill them with their heated lunch. I
drink a lot of hot tea when the weather cools so it will be nice to have hot
water at the ready. It also shuts off
automatically so I don't have to worry about forgetting about it. Our old one didn't have this feature.
The big
cutting board I bought at Walmart. It is
the perfect size to cover one side of the sink or the top of our stove to give
us additional counter space when preparing meals and school lunches. I paid about $14 for it which was less than
half the price of one specifically made for an RV. It does what I need it to do.
I also
bought this wooden TV tray which fits in the space between the counter and the
sofa perfectly. I thought I'd use it to
put the printer on but decided I didn't want it that close to the sink and risk
it getting splashed with water. Now it
holds additional kitchen stuff and yes a bottle of tequila. My red boxes of stationery too, which got
them off the table and gave me more space there.
The
printer has taken up residence at the end of the sofa, where no one sits, for the
time being. Hopefully we'll come up with
a better idea soon but for now it works out okay.
I find this very interesting how you are now living. We are actually thinking about buying land but we will have to sell our house to make it happen. I was telling my husband about you. Just wondering if we could make it work for awhile. Would you say that it is saving you a ton of money to live like this? Also, I know you used to own a vision center, are you still doing that? Just wondering how you are generating income, sorry if that seems nosy but I tuly am intrigued. I know you live where it gets super cold, do you think you will survive the winter living in a camper? We live in Indiana and the weather here in winter can get below zero. Did you guys sell your old house and I was also wondering what happened to your chickens. I admire how you completely changed your life, I think we could use this same thing in our life. Thank you and sorry for asking so many questions! And I LOVE your blog, it is one of the first ones I check out in the morning, but I wish you would have more recipes!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Jenn!
DeleteI would say our living expenses are less than half of what they were. Our house is rented and the tenants kept the chickens. We really miss them. Like you I'd like to find a plot of land. The business was converted to online sales virtually eliminating overhead other than the inventory itself. Not sure yet how we'll winter but there are others here that do it successfully. We shall see. The change has been good for us. I am so glad you LOVE the blog and appreciate the feedback. Recipes is actually something I am currently working to improve, so how about that?! Stay in touch and have a great day! :)