Category Archives: home

Living in an Airstream: An Interview with The More We Explore

It’s  video-mania! Yesterday we took a tour of our Airstream and today we’re interviewed by a cute couple, Steve and Tess, also know as The More We Explore. They are interested in living in an Airstream and reached out to us to chat. In this video we’ll talk about how we minimized, our daily life and the best and worst parts of living in an Airstream.

You can read more about Steve and Tess on their website, The More We Explore and see more of their videos on their Youtube page.

Do you like these videos? Should we do more? Talk to me in the comments!

love,
melanie

A Video Tour of our Airstream!

We’ve been living in the Airstream for two years now! TWO YEARS! I can’t believe it’s been that long. Anyway, we had friends over last weekend and they commented that it was hard to visualize how the Airstream looked from the pictures. I had no idea, because I live in it every day! So, yesterday, George and I filmed a video tour of our Airstream. The video isn’t the best quality and it was filmed with an iPhone and I am super awkward, but, I think it gives you a good idea of the layout.

I hope you enjoy!
love,
melanie

Ask Melanie: How Do I Reduce My Books and Art Supplies?

Desk closeup in Airstream

Today’s question is from Grazia. She wants to know some tips and tricks for reducing books and art supplies. Today I’ve got George, my husband, helping me out. He’s the artist in the family. Take it away, Grazia!

Hi Melanie, happy to see you go on with your blog and thanks for doing it, it’s always a good reading. I know it’s hard to do it with a full time job and a life, thanks so much! I’ve read all your last posts this morning (it’s 5:30 am here in Italy, my time for reading peacefully) and want to thank you for your commitment in telling this life choice of living simply and small…

I’ve two questions for “Ask Melanie” – ok, I’m pretentious! But they aren’t anything urgent, I hope only to inspire one of your good articles.

1) You’re a reader and I’ve read you use library and ebooks. But is it enough to reduce the number of books? I’ve this trouble in living small… I’m a writer and a painter, so I have a lot of books that I need for my jobs. I tried to reduce them, especially huge art books, but I still have a full big bookshelf. I can’t find them at the local library and they do not exist as ebooks (in example Taschen art books). How do you manage this in the Airstream? I’d like to hear all your “techniques” to reduce the books space!

2) This question is mainly for George: how does he work in a so small table? I’m really impressed! 😀 He has a secret, I’m sure! I’ve a table for Mac and 2 monitors, another table for painting, a shelf for all the ‘minimum’ I need for painting, a big bookshelf and a big, old bedroom 4-drawer dresser to store my paintings and papers, with the printers on it. May he share his “tips and tricks” in working from home in a small space? Thanks!

-Grazia

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Tuesday Thoughts: Things Do Not Happen. Things Are Made To Happen.

Things do not happen, things are made to happen“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” -JFK

I’m very lucky, but most of my luck comes from plain ol’ hard work. There’s no secret powers, juices or potions. (Although I totally wish there were!) If there’s something you want, I hope you know with really hard work and perseverance, you can make it happen. We both can.

Happy Tuesday!

love,
melanie

Tuesday Thoughts: Wealth Consists Not In Having Great Possessions

wealth consists not in having great possessions“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” -Epitetus

Something to chew on this Tuesday.

love,
melanie

 

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

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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

2015 Garden Update

garden and barnLast year I did a really good job of documenting my gardening adventure. (You can read about How much money can a garden save by clicking that link.) This year I’ve had other priorities and other stuff going on. I did manage to get plants in the ground. I haven’t managed to weed much! Eek!

potatoes!

Potatoes!

This past weekend, I got in there and weeded for hours. My garden hasn’t faired as well this year. The weeds are taking over and right after I planted the majority of the seeds we had a torrential downpour. My carrots were washed are all over the garden and my zucchini got washed away completely. The potatoes are fairing well, as are the container tomatoes.

Tomatoes!

Tomatoes!

I still think a garden is a worthwhile investment. I can’t wait to eat a fresh-off-the-vine tomato and weeding is good exercise.

How is your garden fairing this year? Let’s chat in the comments!

love,
melanie