Category Archives: Airstream

Ask Melanie: Should I buy a move-in ready trailer or should I buy a trailer to renovate?

"Should I buy a move-in ready trailer or should I buy a trailer to renovate?"

Today’s question is from a young man named Kevin. Kevin wants to know, “Should I buy a move-in ready trailer or should I buy a trailer to renovate?” Take it away, Kevin!

Hey!
So I’m 16 and my family doesn’t have much… I’ve always been into outdoor stuff. I ran across your blog somehow and I absolutely love everything. I now have a dream to live in a trailer like y’all have and live life like that. My main concern for my future is providing for myself and future family. I think this could help with those fears because of a significantly lower cost of living. I had a question about purchasing a trailer. I obviously have lots of time. I graduate this coming school year and plan on going to Clemson for forestry, but I’m planning out my future now to be “more prepared”. Do you think it’s better to find a already nice trailer or to find a cheaper one and fix it up?

-Kevin

Continue reading →

What does “living small” mean?

What does living small mean?

I often talk about living small, but I don’t think I’ve ever defined it. I know many people talk about tiny living and the tiny house movement, but I don’t think that phrase is all-encompassing. It also seems that no one can agree on what constitutes “tiny.” I’ve seen measurements as small as 90 square feet up to 1,000 square feet. Living small, to me, is much less about the measurements and more about the lifestyle. Here’s what living small means to me:

Living below your means
Living small is first and foremost about living below your means. It’s looking at your budget and consciously renting or buying less than you can afford. It’s knowing that by sacrificing some physical room you open up other financial possibilities for yourself. It’s about more freedom.

Living with less stuff
Logistically, by living in a smaller house, you’ll have to live with less stuff. It’s physics or something! But it’s also about being aware of the things that you own. It’s knowing that things are just that… things. It’s knowing that the important things in life aren’t really things. The important things are people, experiences and happiness.

Make do and mend
Living small is also about making do with what you have. People who live small aren’t tempted by the biggest, shiniest new toy. They see potential in their old toys. They have a D.I.Y. attitude, and an entrepreneurial spirit. They know that they can put in the hard work and it will pay off.

Prioritizing your life
Living small is making intentional choices about what is important in your life. People who live small know that if they don’t prioritize their life, someone will prioritize it for them. By making a big, flashy house a priority, you intentionally or unintentionally give up some of your other priorities.

Living more life
People who live small know that by sacrificing space and things, they make more room in their life for life. With less mortgage payments, they can take that vacation they’ve always dreamed of. With less house maintenance, they can spend more time on beloved hobbies. And with more money they can work less and spend more time with family and friends.

Do you agree with my definition of “living small?” Do you live a small life? Would you like to share your house and story? Shoot me an email to be featured in a future blog post!

love,
melanie

Tuesday Thoughts: Be Thankful for What You Have

Be thankful for what you have

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”

Yes, queen!

Happy Tuesday!

love,
melanie

 

How Much Does It Cost to Live in an Airstream?

How much does it cost to live in an AirstreamI get a lot of questions about the logistics of living in an Airstream. Let me be the first to say, the logistics are going to be different for everyone because everyone’s life is different. You might have two kids or five dogs. You might be retired. You might work from home. There are all kinds of logistics that will make your life different from mine. That being said, people are often interested in the true cost of living in an Airstream. Today I’m going to be answering the question: “How much does it cost to live in an Airstream?” by sharing what it costs for us to live in the Airstream.

If you aren’t familiar with our situation, let me give you a refresher. Hi! I’m Melanie. I am a librarian at a community college and I run this blog. I live with my husband, George who is an artist and our small (11 lb) dog, Bambi in our 1978 Airstream Sovereign. We currently have our Airstream parked on family land due to my traditional job situation. Here’s a breakdown of our monthly living costs and the reasoning behind the costs. Continue reading →

Ask Melanie: How Do I Install a Permanent Toilet in an Airstream?

Permanent toilet in an Airstream

In today’s episode of “Ask Melanie” we’ve got a reader who wants to know how to install a permanent toilet in an Airstream. Take it away friendly reader!

Hi Melanie,

First, congratulations on your beautiful Airstream renovation!!!!!! I love the bookshelves and all of your pillows/quilting/cushion covers. 

I found your blog while I was searching the internet for converting an Airstream to permanent living. My boyfriend and I started our Airstreaming experiment in 2010, we have a 1969 25-foot Tradewind Landyacht which we use for traveling and a 1963 Bambi which up until this year we have also used for traveling. We are now planning to place our Bambi permanently and are in the process of doing all our research on utilities and anchoring. 

I’ve got most things squared away, just haven’t been able to find a reliable source on the toilet plumbing.  What did you guys do? Keep the blackwater tank and bypass it for a direct sewer hook up or go the macerator route and pull the valve when the tank is full OR something even better?

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-Anonymous 

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Ask Melanie: Is our family too big to live in an Airstream?

Bambi living large in the Airstream.

Bambi living large in the Airstream.

Happy “half-way through the week” day! (Hump day just sounds gross.) Anyway, I often receive emails from loyal readers and people who just randomly stumbled across my blog. Many times these people will have questions about the logistics of living in an Airstream, downsizing and how we live. I thought it might be helpful to others to share those emails so all my sage advice (ha!) can be shared with a wider audience. So, I’m starting a new column called “Ask Melanie.” Our first email is from Laurel, her dilemma boils down to this, “Is our family too big to live in an Airstream?” Continue reading →

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

It doesn’t matter if your house, garage or list of accolades are expanding. What matters is that your courage, and in turn, your life are expanding.

Happy Tuesday!

love,
melanie

Spring Cleaning Our Airstream

Shiny again!

Shiny again!

George and I have been doing some major spring cleaning around the ol’ Airstream. We washed the Airstream, planted flowers, pulled weeds, and at 11:00 last night I decided I needed to recaulk our shower. Home improvement projects are like that. You start one and then realize you need to do five more.

The Before!

The Before!

It all started with our air conditioning system. It broke at the end of last summer. It was almost cool enough to where we didn’t need it, but not quite. So we bought a portable one instead of the rooftop unit. The portable one was less than half the price of the rooftop unit, but it did not work as well. The first one we had also had a piece fly off in the middle of the night. I woke up screaming. I’m pretty sure I lost a year off my life.

Since we have Bambi, we were really worried about it getting too hot in our tin can, so we shelled out the $600 dollars for a new rooftop unit. Or at least, George did. He’s been working a ton lately and that money went to a good cause.

Be careful!

Be careful!

Well, after we fixed the rooftop unit, we decided the Airstream needed a good wash. And it did. Lord, it did. The poor ol’ thing had endured some major weather since the last time we washed it and just rinsing the dirt off was an epic improvement.

My flowers!

My flowers!

George also surprised me with the flowers and I think they make our Airstream look much more homey.

Have done any sprucing up projects lately? Talk to me in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

Tuesday Thoughts: Ridiculous

ridiculous

“I end up not buying a lot of things, because I find them ridiculous.”

Most stuff we have isn’t stuff we need. It’s ridiculous stuff that we thought we wanted for a fleeting moment and then never used again. It’s ridiculous stuff that we got as a gift and didn’t want to throw away. It’s ridiculous new stuff that we thought we needed when the old would’ve done just fine. There’s enough ridiculous in our lives without buying more.

love,
melanie

Tuesday Thoughts: Success

successI often have trouble defining myself as “successful.” I see other people my own age traveling the world, scrambling up the corporate ladder, opening their own businesses and living their dreams. I know that I shouldn’t compare myself to them, but I do. It’s so easy to get caught up in the usual standard for success– big house, nice car, extravagant vacations, etc. Instead, I’m trying to focus on defining success in terms of happiness. I have a happy marriage, the sweetest dog and a family that loves me. I’m still working on wanting just what I have, but I know that I have everything I truly need.

love,
melanie