Traveling in a Motorhome sounds fantastic, but what about living in it?
I wondered about that before even finding our Winnebago. Unsure if I could downsize to a tiny house on wheels , while I boxed up all our possessions that filled our 2500 SF house in Texas. Once the boxes were taped and labeled I already felt a disconnect with them and I didn't care to know what was inside them. Once they were stacked in the storage unit, the door shut and the bolt locked I immediately erased that I ever owned any of it. Just like that, a weight lifted and the excitement of something new and unknown overcame me.
It was pretty easy to adjust to the tiny living. We only brought our clothes on board and narrowed down only the essentials that we purchased to fit the coach. I finally bought my orange Rachel Ray cookware set and it fit perfectly into one drawer. Everything has its place and is somewhat organized. I used to have a linencloset full of towels, bedding, sheets etc...now we each have 2 towels, one beach towel and one extra set of linen and that's it. I can fit all that into one overhead compartment. Do I miss my other 10 towels, countless linens and beach towels? Nope!
I threw out a ton of makeup, nail polish and creams. For one, they piled up over time , getting outdated or dry and I still wasn't satisfied with my selection. Decision was made pretty quickly and most of my stuff went to donations or the trash. Same goes for clothes. I have one drawer in the bathroom with feminine products, hairdryer and a round brush. One shelf in the medicine cabinet that holds hairspray, deodorant, nail polish remover, mouthwash and all my meds and vitamins. My go to face and body cream is, plain and simple, coconut oil. Besides sunscreen lotion I have not used anything else. As far as makeup goes, mascara, 3 eye liners, 3 lip gloss and bronzer with brush will do the trick. I am outdoors hiking, biking and exploring and need comfortable clothing and shoes to protect me from the elements.
As long as we are on the road and change our surroundings, living in an RV is amazing.
Being stationary for more than 3 weeks or stuck indoors due to heavy rain for days, can feel depressing and claustrophobic. Reading materials, games and movies are essential for moments like that.
In order to stay on the go, I homeschool our 9 year old son, Landon. We recently had to transfer him from the Cyber Academy of South Carolina to Cyber Academy of California. The time change from Eastern to Pacific time cut into our new schedule here in San Francisco. He used to have homeroom at 5am , a little to early for my taste. Now we are in the correct timezone and everyone is happy. If you are considering homeschooling but still want the structure and curriculum of a public school, the K-12 program might be for you. All our books get shipped directly to us, we follow a daily lesson plan, but we still have the freedom to work as much or as little as we want. As long as all your lessons are completed by a certain grading period you are setting your own pace.
People ask me if Landon feels isolated traveling and living in the RV, since he doesn't attend public school.
I asked him about it and he is glad to be living like this. He still plays with other kids and interacts, but he really loves the fact that he can explore new places and learn hands on, rather than just read about it. He learned about Native Americans last semester which led us to visit the Aztec Ruins, Mesa Verde, Wupatki and Walnut Canyon.
Anytime we decide to stay for a longer period in one location we set up all our doctor appointments and use that opportunity to fix everything that needs fixing, whether it's the coach or us.
Tricare Prime covers all our medical and assigns us to the proper region during our stay. We have the option to pick up our prescriptions in person or have it delivered per mail with ExpressScripts. Once while on the road I ran out of my meds, I called ExpressScripts, gave them my next destination and they overnighted my meds By the time I arrived in Kentucky the package was sitting at my door.
In order to stay healthy you have to eat healthy. Which leads me to the smallest kitchen I've ever owned. RV kitchens are tiny in comparison to kitchens in a house or apartment. Countertop space is definitely limited, but manageable. I cook every meal we eat and get frustrated when I have to move and shift, while chopping and preparing. Being a bit OCD does not help the situation. Once everything is in the pan or the pot, clean up is a breeze and the countertop is visible again. Unfortunately we don't have an oven, instead we have a convection microwave. We tried heating up mini quiches, mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, jalapeno poppers etc... it works but it takes longer than an oven. If your starving, you might be better off throwing something on the stovetop. We cook with propane and it cooks quick. I always make sure to either open the windows or the vents while cooking, to avoid a buildup of toxic fumes within the coach. Living with two males is bad enough...
That ties in with the bathroom....taking a shower is a bit more cramped but totally doable. One downfall is the low water pressure, a regulator is certainly helpful. I do have a built in seat in the shower, that makes shaving my legs much easier. There is always the option to use the bath house to take a nice hot shower. When you are in the wilderness and dry camp your hygiene regimen will be different, since you have to pay attention to your water consumption. Washing your hair in the sink and taking either sponge baths or quick showers will have to do.
Keep an eye on your tanks, especially the black water. You don't want that to overfill!
Routine checks are necessary and can save you money in the end. Check your batteries to see if they need to get topped off with water. We skipped that part once (as newbies) and our generator wouldn't crank, because the batteries were completely drained. To prevent any leaks it's good to climb up on the roof, keep it free from any debris and reseal it as necessary. During a very rainy 2 weeks last October we dealt with a leak along our right slide out that trickled onto our kitchen counter and the couch. We had to retract that slide, dry it off real good and seal it. Once it was dried completely we extended the slide back out and it solved the problem.
Living in tight quarters can be difficult at first, but the biggest payoff is the vast and always changing backyard that makes it totally worthwhile.
This featured blog entry was written by Meike Carter from the blog Our Journey.
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