Small Space Living

For most people, moving into a trailer or RV is part of their retirement plan to allow them to travel as the weather or winds move them.  For us, it was a matter of necessity since the winds have blown us to west Texas.  The current economy requires us to carry our mortgage in Idaho as we save money to do the necessary upgrades to our old home to allow it to compete in the sluggish housing market.

Our new home is a 2007 Keystone Raptor fifth-wheel toy hauler.  The bedroom and bathroom areas are located in the over-cab portion which has one slide housing the queen bed.  The living room/kitchen area has tall ceilings and slides on both sides making it quite expansive.  Zoey has a loft area which extends over the toy hauler section and we have placed a desk, dresser,  and other storage items in the toy hauler section.

The Living Area/View of Zoey's Room

Preparing to move into such a tiny space required me to make a lot of decisions as to what I felt would be necessary for living without overcrowding our new space.  I found I had accumulated a lot of belongings and clothes that I could easily, or sometimes tearfully part with.  All things consolidated and placed in their carefully chosen places, I found we have plenty of room for the three of us (five if you include the cats). 

After a few weeks of living in a RV, I have found some positive and negative aspects.  Some things surprised me; for instance, I do not miss a dishwasher, large pantry or large fridge and having a long hot shower on 6 gallons of hot water is quite possible with the low-flow shower head.  The cats are easy to live with and the RV lets in lots of light which keeps the place quite cheerful.    A few more things I have found are :

Positive Aspects:

• Mobility - we can go wherever we want or need to live.
• Cut out the Fat - no frivolous purchases or possessions.
• Only the Best - minimal possessions encourages me to keep/purchase only the best.
• Organization - organized by necessity, everything has a place.
• Quick Clean up - to clean my new house top to bottom takes about half an hour, including litter-box and scrubbing all corners.
•  Family Focus - Zoey and I are always together and connected in everything we do. *To reappear on the negative list.
• Reconnect with the Outdoors - confined space requires me to make the best of the great Texas winter weather (we'll see what we do in summer).

Negative Aspects:

• NO Washer/Dryer - I currently have to go to the laundromat which is inconvenient and folding a fitted sheet in  front of strangers is just plain embarrassing.  We hope to have our own soon once we change location.
• Limited Decorating - there are only so many pictures you can hang in this small space.
• Child is Underfoot - Zoey  tends to be under/over/on me a little more than wanted.
• The Sway - We hope to get a stabilizer jack soon, but for now we sway with every step and just let ourselves get rocked to sleep by the strong west Texas winds.
• RV Construction - Drawer slides and various seals tend to be insufficient for full-time use.  We replace these items as they fail for higher quality products.

Overall, I'd have to say I'm quite happy living in a small space and hope this sentiment stays with all three of us.  Going from nearly 2500 sq feet to a mere 400 sq feet makes me wonder; was I taking up too much space before?