Downsizing has had its share of ups and downs, but over the last 5 months of living in our RV full-time, we have learned a lot. Here is a short list of our discoveries so far!
10 THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED FROM LIVING IN AN RV FULL TIME
1.Everything is portable. It is necessary for everything to fold down, tuck away or morph into a new item. From Tman’s high chair to our colorful nesting bowls, most items in our home are compact and/or collapsible to maximize our living space. Of course, T likes to steal the bowls and measuring spoons and hide them wherever he sees fit. The fact that I had them all at one time to take a photo is pretty impressive.
2. Every space in the camper will have dual purposes. Take the stove top, for example. When not cooking, the stove top is really the dish dryer. There is an art to balancing the cooking/dirty dishes and the full clean up at the end with limited space. The shuffle is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.
3. There is no end to shedding. I thought the dog hair drove me crazy in our house. Now that we have downsized, all of the hair is in ONE PLACE. I find myself vacuuming daily. I did find that brushing them out helps when I keep up with it. The best brush I have found is the SleekEZ. It gets TON of hair out of Zoey, but unfortunately, she just keeps shedding.
4. There will be frost, sometimes lots of it. Winter living in a camper can be a little drafty, but on extremely cold days, there is lots of frost. You can find it on the windows every morning and sometimes even in the corners of the slide out closets! Eric pulled a towel out one night to find it had a frosted corner.
5. Bugs. We may be fancy campers, but the glamplife still has a few ‘camping’ experiences that can’t be ignored. No matter how nice the rig, we still get flies and those stupid little golden ladybugs. I tried to suck them all up in the vacuum cleaner to make their disposal quick and easy, but they stink. And then when you use the vacuum again, it makes the whole place smell like them again. I guess we will just stick to the fly traps for now.
6. Propane ovens are unique. There was a little it of a learning curve when it came to using the propane oven. From lighting it, getting it to stay lit, and maintaining a constant temperature, it is a bit different than the traditional electric set up. I have to admit the first time I tried to use it, I could not get it lit, and had to wait for Eric to get home to begin my baking adventure. Since then I have made a hand full of meals, and as long as you watch the temperature closely, everything cooks evenly!
7. Everything has a place. This is essential. Space is limited and there is no room for unnecessary or unwanted items. Organization is key to living in a small space. I am an organizational wizard.
8. Cleaning is quick. I can clean the entire glamper from top to bottom in about 30 minutes. If I am really deep cleaning and reorganizing stuff, maybe about an hour. The glamper is quick to clean, but on the same note, it is quick to get cluttered and messy. It is a balance with a toddler, but that isn’t limited to tiny spaces. Tman can destroy the place in 15 minutes, so I find myself tidying up a few times a day and only really cleaning anything after the tiny tornado is asleep for the night.
9. The pay off is worth it. We honestly love the tiny living. The small space doesn’t bother us and makes a lot of aspects of life easier. Of course, the biggest advantage of our whole RV living is the ability to pay off debt and get debt free! We have our 2-3 year plan posted on the fridge to encourage and remind us just how quickly we can snowball our payments and get out of debt!
10. There is no such thing as personal space. Typical view from the bathroom…
