Home

Even after such a short time, our RV feels like home already! It’s only been a month, but I find myself looking around with an accomplished, satisfied sigh – we have everything we need. When we returned from our family vacation by the river on Friday (part of the kid’s Christmas presents last year), it truly felt like coming home. We had been staying in a beautiful home and we thoroughly enjoyed it. But as we stood in our tiny space once again, hubby took me in his arms and said, ‘I mean, having all that space was nice – but I kind of like our little house, and the woman in it.’ (Heart melt! <3)

Since we now live in 190 square feet (that includes the engine and the steering wheel), there’s no room for clutter! When we get back from a trip, we need to unpack right away or trip over the bags. Everything must have a place and be returned to that place after use. I’m already evaluating whether we need everything I brought with us – that’s the beauty of small spaces. You don’t forget about what you have and you’re always checking to make sure you’re using each space efficiently. Stay tuned for some more organizing tips coming soon – I’ve rearranged a few things. 😉

My goal, as I packed for this move, was to live a large life in a small space. We often put too much focus on making do and sacrifice and RVs tend to be about camping. But, this is our life now, so I want this to BE home and to include enough extras to create special moments for just the two of us. There are so many ways to do that as we embrace our new lifestyle, but here are a few we’re doing so far.

• I packed two goblets (wrapped in fuzzy socks) and two fancy plates for special meals.
• We’re taking advantage of the full spa experience at the gym(Planet Fitness) where we shower – I’m spoiling myself!
• We take long walks along the river, enjoying fragrant flowers & plants on one side and the gorgeous homes on the other.
• Making use of the outdoors – it might be tiny inside, but we have cathedral ceilings over our patio!
• Day trips and outings to places close by.
• Travel – between work shifts, we have several trips planned for the summer months already. It’s a thrill to me each time we leave and then return as we make the turn in the RV park and see our little home parked & waiting for us.

It’s not all fun and games. I still can’t wash dishes in my tiny sink since we discovered a cracked faucet was leaking water under the sink (another ‘gift’ from our deep freeze last January). As with any major life change, there’s a learning curve and adjustments to be made. Still, we’re having a great time figuring it all out together! The simplicity of this lifestyle is refreshing to my soul, especially after a few years of so much busyness, multiple moves and construction projects.

Today was my first Mother’s Day with an empty nest, so hubby did what he could to make it special and the kids called and sent sweet words.Tonight, we sat outside and sipped our mocktails as we watched the sun set before a thunderstorm chased us inside. Some evenings, we sit in our recliners in complete silence like two old folks. But we’re together, this feels like HOME and that is enough!

When you pull away from a HOUSE with hot water, a washer & dryer, plenty of storage and a bathtub – to start your life in a tiny RV, there are a lot of mixed feelings! There’s definitely a sense of adventure and excitement mixed with questions like, ‘will this work?’ and ‘are we totally crazy?’ Even with all the pre-packing and planning I had done, I was amazed how many last minute items we still had to pack. We’ve been ‘camping’ between the RV and the house we’re renovating, so I thought most of the packing was done. Even last minute things made me question why we still have so. much. stuff! I was thankful for the 90 minute drive to the town where Daryl works to process and prepare my heart for all the changes ahead.

It’s a funny thing – how people respond when you tell them that you live in an RV. Some people tell you how jealous they are and seem to think that 2 people living in under 200 square feet is a luxury. I think they forget that this is our home – not a vacation. Others respond with uncomfortable, sympathetic glances – people living in an RV are in fact, homeless. I try to let them know that we chose this lifestyle and we’re pretty determined to find all the joys in it, even in the hard moments! That first morning, as I sat in my recliner in our new home, drinking my coffee – my heart was filled with gratitude to the point of tears. This has been a much longer process than we expected with multiple hurdles, setbacks and unexpected real estate projects. At times, we wondered if we’d ever get here! But we never gave up on the dream! This morning, when hubby came home from work and I tucked him into a real BED in an air conditioned RV, it didn’t matter how tiny it was or how hard we’ve worked these past months. All that matters is that he can come HOME to me every single day and I can fuss over him and take care of him instead of knowing he’s sleeping in his car in the SC heat. I can do all sorts of things and make do with very little if we can be together!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 3 months since my last post, but I promise you – we haven’t been slacking! 😉 Turning this duplex into student housing (upstairs) and an AirBnB (downstairs) was meant to be a fairly straight forward process. We thought we’d touch up some paint, move in our furniture, add some cute decor and be ready to list it. But, as is often the case with real estate – the more we did, the more the projects grew! I’m sharing a little bit of our process replacing the first, collapsing ceiling in the pictures below. In my last post, you saw it mid tear down. Since Daryl and I were trying to replace an entire ceiling by ourselves, we purchased a dry wall lift to help us get those huge pieces of drywall up into the air. This project stretched on for a few weeks with Daryl working more than full time in between mudding, drying time, sanding and more mudding. There was no end to the dust and the piles of tools! Finally, we thought we were finished. We repainted, furnished the room and hung burgundy curtains – hoping that the end of all the construction projects was just around the corner.

But guess what, there was one more ceiling that had the old pressboard and plaster (from the 1950s) on it and it began cracking so badly, we knew it was a hazard waiting to happen. So, we moved the furniture out, hung up plastic and started to take down that ceiling too. When the big pieces fell, it shook the whole house and tore a huge gash in our plastic ‘walls.’ Underneath the old plaster, we found all sorts of construction ‘surprises,’ including ceiling joists that were 2″ different in places. We had to add a bunch more 2x4s to make the ceiling foundation level. Then, I put my creativity to work to design a beautiful focal point for this dining room which is the center of the open concept living area. Neither of us had ever done a ceiling like this before, but we put in long hours and made it happen! After days of clinging to the ladder with my legs, while supporting paneling or wood with one hand and nailing with the heavy nailer with the other hand – every muscle ached! But, I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out and Daryl is unexpectedly impressed too. Finally, we could get back to painting, decorating and turning this place into a haven for our guests. It’s almost ready – you can check out the full listing here: https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/512476_1 . It’s also available on AirBnb!

We have many adjustments ahead and difficulties are a normal part of any life – even one in an RV. But there are also so many joys to be found in the every day details and opportunities that make up our lives! You may see a water filter on the floor in the RV coffee picture – that’s because it shattered in our last deep freeze and has to be replaced. Until we get it replaced, we can’t hook up to the water supply since there’s no cut off valve under the sink. If we did, water would flow out everywhere. I went to multiple stores today and nobody carries them or has them in stock. So, we’re starting our adventure without water inside. There’s spigot outside, but it’s a bit hard for flushing the toilet or doing dishes, etc. The new filter had to be ordered and won’t come in until Tuesday – so that’s a week without water. There are no bathrooms or showers at this RV park either, but thankfully, there’s a gym just 4 miles down the road. I have a membership that will get me into any of their 2,400 locations around the US and this is where we’ll shower anytime we’re staying at a park without showers. I had my own adventure in the shower there today – I’m a hot bath girl through and through! Shaving, in a strange shower, in a public gym, with only a thin shower curtain between you and the outside world is far from relaxing. I managed to cut myself several times. 😦 But – the gym membership I have includes some amazing, spa benefits and the hydro massage I enjoyed after my shower made all the difficulties with the water filter fade away. Please know, I’m not complaining. This is a minor setback and we have so much to be thankful for! But I promised to share the not so glamorous moments as well as the beautiful ones on this blog – and I keep my promises! 😉 We’ve lived without running water before – and we can do it again!

Even though this is only day 3 of our adventure, I can feel the speed of life slow down by default and I love it! Moving quickly in an RV is likely to cause an earthquake – rocking the whole unit! Sudden moves in small spaces will likely injure a body part or sweep the water jug off the counter! Every nook and cranny is packed like an intricate puzzle, so grabbing something requires a bit of a jenga game to get it out. My household chores are quite minimal, so I’ve been getting all sorts of computer work done while hubby sleeps in the back. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely a slower pace and I’m relishing every moment as we figure out our new lives together!

We took the RV out for her ‘maiden voyage’ at a local lake this week! We stayed somewhat close to home so we could still go back to work on a few projects and grab anything that we’d forgotten to pack. Except for a swarm of some sort of insects that sounded (and looked) a lot like mosquitoes our first night, the ‘dry run’ went relatively smoothly. We discovered an open space (created by the slide opening) under the bed that we need to fill. Until we get that fixed, we’ve just been more careful with our lights after a certain time at night. This has given us a fairly early bedtime – something almost unheard of for two night owls! But we’re not complaining for sure! We added a 4″ memory foam topper to the rather thin RV mattress before this trip, so the bed is pretty cozy now. Going to bed early and having pretty sights to enjoy with my morning coffee has been a refreshing treat!

I’m sharing a few picture of our spaces in action this week. It’s been rewarding to see my preparations pay off as we made this home for a few days. I was able to complete the rest of the registration paperwork yesterday, so we finally have permanent tags on the RV. It’s taxed more like a house than a car, but we expected that – and it will be our full time home soon enough.

This is the first time we put up the dining table which also doubles as my office desk as needed. The passenger seat swivels and slides forward to make this the perfect work space for me. As you can see, it’s also perfect for dinner for two! With the living room and bedroom slides out, you can see it opens up the front space quite a bit and gives us the ability to unfold that last third of the bed out the back. It only adds an additional 12 square feet, but you’d be surprised at how much larger everything feels when you walk in. It’s still small – hubby kind of likes the narrow hallways and squeezing past each other though. Wink!

Those decorative squares above the window in the bedroom were 12″ bulletin boards I had from 31. I was delighted to see that they could be shoved in that space and hold all my jewelry and headbands perfectly while also serving as decor back there. I love repurposing things and finding spaces where they fit just right! The tiny, white nightstand with my little mirror on top was repurposed from our bathroom at home. It’s just narrow enough to add some storage and create a vanity space for me without blocking the slide going in and out for the bed.

We’ve had great weather this week – upper 80s or low 90s during the day and low 60s at night. Even though this wasn’t a true ‘vacation’ week, hubby and I enjoyed some quiet moments, a couple of walks and some nice campfires at night. All the kids came for a hotdog roast during our first night here – it was a perfect evening! So much of life is what we choose to make it! I always enjoy a change in venue for renewing my mind and getting a new perspective on life. We’re in a huge learning curve here and there’s always things we don’t enjoy in any new adventure. But we get to choose what we focus on – and there are SO many positive things we can enjoy all around us!

More adventures to come – don’t forget to subscribe and share!

. . .and everything in it’s place! Right?

When it comes to living in a small space, there are a few key factors to making it work. First, we have to figure out what we really NEED to live comfortably in this space. This isn’t like camping where you make do and do without on a lot of things because it’s only for a weekend or a week. Yes, there will be some adjustments and sacrifices involved in going tiny. But you have to think and plan for the long haul, rainy days, changing seasons, health needs and compact hobbies. Since we have some overlap time where the RV spends part of each week parked in front of our house, this allows me to really think through our needs. Once we know what we need, then we need to find the perfect corner for that thing to belong! Some of the storage areas are oddly shaped, so it can be kind of like putting a puzzle together. Finding containers with locking lids to fit in larger storage areas will keep things from rolling around and falling out when you open the doors. It will also help to keep mice out of your food!

I’m sorting through everything we own and doing some major downsizing. Since our house will be rented out furnished, that helps with the bigger items. But we still have to think through every aspect of living – vitamins, exercise, paying and filing bills, subscriptions, forwarding our mail and where to store the photo albums (to name just a few!). No wonder I have a hard time turning my brain off at night – the details are swarming in there! I’m also getting lots of exercise because there are 15 stairs in front of our house between the front porch and the road where the RV is parked in front of the house. Each time I get an idea as I sort, I’m hiking up and down these stairs to ‘see if it fits’ or take measurements somewhere. I’ve got a pretty good ‘measuring eye’ from all the years in lawn furniture, but it still gives me a special kind of thrill when something FITS right where I thought it would!

I’m sharing pictures of some of the solutions that I’ve found so far and showing you the nooks and crannies as we move in. I’ve found these type of pictures and links others have shared to be a real help as I’m making this change. I’ll also share links below – so you can buy your own solutions. These are not affiliate links. I’m just sharing because I like to share and help others. I’ve repurposed a lot of things I already had, but if I can remember where I bought it, I’ll share. If you find this helpful, I’d love to hear from you!

• Black bins and plaid bins – Thirty-One Gifts
• Canisters on kitchen counter – Walmart, from Better Homes & Gardens
• Magnetic Spice Holder – https://a.co/d/aUVrk3i
• Nesting Bowls – https://a.co/d/0WY4M7h
• Collapsible Microwave Popcorn Maker – https://a.co/d/dSrqOJF
• 4 Cup Coffee Maker – https://a.co/d/19uR9ih
• White plastic baskets in cupboards – Walmart
• Cordless, Rechargeable Vacuum – https://a.co/d/19uR9ih
• Over The Seat Portable Office – https://a.co/d/e3cPknY
• Plastic Turn Table in Cupboard – Walmart
• Under Bed Pocket Storage – https://a.co/d/78ufosQ

When you move around enough that you never unpack your suitcase, you might begin to wonder why you even have a house! This past year has involved more travel – mostly close to home, but still enough to need to pack a suitcase. Hubby & I tested out living close to his job with an AirBnB for the hottest months of the summer so he could sleep in a bed and have AC. We kind of enjoyed not having the separation! Our two oldest kids are buying houses this year, so there’s been renovations and moving to help with. And of course, that new, adorable grand-baby called for extra visits too. Add in a couple visits to our parents in VA and IN, plus some vacation time and you get the picture of a busy year.

We’ve often talked about giving the mobile lifestyle a try once all the kids were grown. The older we get, the more we recognize that sometimes, the only way to make something happen is just to DO IT! So – we did! This fall will be our transition period for testing the RV, learning how it works, figuring out what we need and don’t need, etc. We’ll be downsizing from our current 1200 square foot house into this RV which is just under 200 square feet when the slides are open. We’ve been living in a fixer upper this past year while we renovated it into a rental house. So, we’ll rent it furnished to keep things simple when we go tiny – hopefully at the beginning of the year.

I love problem solving and organization, so this new, tiny space certainly has my wheels turning. The goal is to create an efficient, beautiful home that has everything we need and a creative corner for everything without overcrowding the space. I’ll share more about how I’m doing that in the next post. But for now, here’s our new home – (kitchen photo is a stock photo & and the wrong color cabinets) before we started moving in. The living room chairs slide out the side about 2.5 feet to create a larger living space and the bed slides out the back the same distance when we’re parked and stable. It’s amazing how those two small expansions really open the place up! Here’s to tiny living for two!

Except for the year and a half that we served in Nigeria, my husband has been working as a nurse in the same ICU, at the same hospital for the past 15 years! During those 15 years, we’ve lived in 4 different houses in the states (and 2 in Nigeria). Somewhere in the past 8 years, the combination of us moving further from work and hubby getting older made the longer commute dangerous. He started saying things like, ‘I have no memory of the drive home,’ and, ‘I have no idea how I got here!’ Those aren’t exactly reassuring words for a wife to hear and we realized the drive was no longer safe for him to make.

This is when he developed his new work routine and he’s been living like this ever since. It goes something like this – Go to work on day one & work a 12 hour shift. Drive to the park and park under a shade tree – sleep in the car. Go for a 5-8 mile walk on the trail. Go to the gym to work out & shower, then go to work again. He’s done this routine over and over until he’s finished all his shifts for the week and then he comes home. As you can imagine, this routine was COLD in the winter and HOT in the summer, but he found ways to make it work and we tried our best to adjust to him being gone half the week.

One day, a few years ago, a dear man approached the spot where my husband was parked and knocked on his car window. He shared his concern and care for ‘whatever tough time my husband was going through’ and offered to help. When hubby tried to explain, he begged him not to say no and to accept the help. Hubby told him his routine and then the man understood better. He said, ‘Okay, but there used to be a red Prius that parked here and I KNOW that man was homeless!’ Hubby didn’t have the heart to tell him that he used to drive a red Prius – he’s been doing this for so long! 😉

So you can see that he’s had a home AND been homeless. He’s been living like a traveler without really traveling at all! Our nest is about to be officially empty when our youngest goes off to college and being apart is getting old after all these years. So, we’re going mobile! Check out the next post to see our new home! ‘See’ you there!