The Refrigerator of Unfun or Why Saving Money Isn’t Enough

The New Fridge

Last weekend our Craigslist refrigerator died. We were so proud of the thing. It was only $75! The perfect size for the Airstream! And we could even spruce up the dents with a DIY project! But on Saturday night it started leaking and by Sunday morning everything in our fridge was warm.

We threw out our perishables and we knew we’d have to buy a new fridge with a warranty. 3/4 size fridges are hard to come by on Craigslist and we couldn’t afford another lemon. We were grumpy all day. It feels as if every time we try to save money, bam! something happens and our teensie savings are whisked away into working appliances or dental procedures.

As much as I budget and roll my change and squirrel away any extra pennies, it seems like we just don’t get anywhere. I’ve been reading quite a few rich-people-secrets books and blogs lately. (Ugh, yes, I’ve become that person.) The common, unfun advice is: get a second job. Ok, so the majority encourage you to become an entrepreneur on the side, but let’s be real, it’s a second job.

I’ve been reluctant to take on a second job because I value my free time. I value the time I get to put into this blog. And as an introvert, I feel that I need that time to relax and recuperate so I can be a functional (nice) human being.

Do you think the Rich Dad, Poor Dads of the world are right? Do we all need second jobs? Is it a reality of our economy? What is your best money saving/money making tip? I need answers, people!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

love,
melanie

A New Look!

cropped-lovelibrarybannersmall.jpgThe blog got a new look! George designed this awesome new header and logo for me. The Airstream looks so cute and I think he really captured the spirit of what I’m trying to do here. I also updated the theme and changed a few features. Do you like it?

I’ve been trying for most of the summer to make the blog look a little more professional. I changed over to self-hosting and I’ve been trying to write more. It’s a work in progress, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. I’m the kind of person who wants everything now, now, now, so it has been a definitely been a test of patience to redesign the blog on my own.

Now if I can only learn how to make those cute clickable social media icons we’ll be in business!

love and patience,
melanie

Unconventional Lifestyle Blogs

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

I get periodically obsessed with things. I’ll only want to eat mushrooms for two weeks or I’ll want to obsessively learn about making soap. Anyone else the same way? No? Ok. Just me, eating mushrooms and making soap for two weeks until I’m on the the next fascination.

Anyway, this past week or so, I’ve been doing a lot of personal research into alternative or unconventional ways of living. I hope it’s not just a passing phase because unconventional ways of living are fascinating– especially since I live pretty unconventionally, myself. It’s got me dreaming of becoming a full-time traveler or homesteader or a traveling homesteader. Can you be both?!

Here’s a few of my favorite resources I’ve found so far:

The Art of Nonconformity
On the Art of Nonconformity, Chris writes about about personal development and life planning, with the conviction that you don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to;  entrepreneurship and other kinds of unconventional work, with the belief that the work we do should be both fun and meaningful; and  international travel, travel hacking in general, and his journeys to more than 25 countries every year.

The Modern Nomad
Gustav Andersson worked a 9-5 job for five years and realized that he was slowly stagnating into a comfortable routine — a personal nightmare of his. So he quit his job, sold his flat and walked away from the well-trodden streets of London to begin life as a modern-day nomad.

Nomadic Matt
Matt’s story is similar to most of our stories. We have the 9-5 with the 2 weeks of vacation per year. But a trip to Thailand on his measly 9-5 vacation changed him. He met five backpackers who showed him that he didn’t have to be tied down to a job and that he didn’t need to be rich to travel. After that trip, Matt went home, finished his MBA, quit his job, and set out on an adventure around the world. Matt is one of the foremost experts on travel hacking.

The Prairie Homestead
Jill ‘s journey with homesteading started with a compost pile. She currently lives on  67 acres of Wyoming prairie and blogs about returning to your roots of self-sufficiency and simple living, whether you live on a sprawling ranch or in a high-rise apartment.

Wayward Spark
Camille lives in Oregon with her husband and two little kids in an off-the-grid, tiny cabin. On her blog, she shares her honest experiences of modern day homesteading.

I’ll share some of my favorite Airstream travel blogs soon. I want to hear about your favorite unconventional lifestyle blogs in the comments!

Obsessively researching until then.
love,
melanie

 

Cheap DIY Curtain Rods

dowel rod curtains

Have you shopped for curtain rods lately? No? Well, they ain’t cheap. (But I am! Yack, yack, yack!)

Even the cheapo rods were out of our price range. I’ll be honest with ya’ll, we’ve gone over our renovation budget a bit. We had eight windows, two cabinets and three doors to cover with curtains in the Airstream! George’s ingenuity once again came to the rescue. He’s pretty much an artsy super hero.

Instead of buying curtain rods at a minimum of $5 a pop, we bought dowel rods at $1.50 a piece and 7/8 inch cup hooks for less than $4 for a box of 40 hooks! That’s a savings of $41.50. And to think, I failed College Algebra. Take that math!

dowel rod curtains 2

All you have to do for this DIY is:

  1. Saw down the dowel rod to fit your window.
  2. Drill a pilot hole if necessary. (It’s necessary in the Airstream)
  3. Screw the hooks into the wall.
  4. Make sure the hooks on either end are level, and hang up your curtain!

Not to mention, I think they look really modern and chic.

What’s the best thrifty DIY you’ve finished lately? Tell me in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

The Hazards of Owning an Airstream

I thought it might be funny (and informative?) to detail some of the unexpected and slightly expected hazards we experienced when fixing up the Airstream.

My hand swollen to about double its normal size.

My hand swollen to about double its normal size.

1. Relentless bug bites

When waxing the Airstream I forgot to put on bug spray and got 4 mosquito bites on one hand. It swelled up like a ballon. Tip: Keep bug spray in the trailer while you are working on it.

Sad because he's itchy.

Sad because he’s itchy.

2. Severe Poision Ivy

George had to clear some land for us to park the airstream on for the time being. He got the worst case of poison ivy I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it should have been in a medical book. Tip: Work in an area without poison ivy or get a goat to gobble up the poison ivy/oak/sumack.

Wasps in a frenzy3.  The critters

So.Many.Spiders, (several) mice, wasps. We pretty much saw every critter possible either in the trailer or make an attempt to infiltrate the trailer. The wasps particularly loved trying to make a home in the trailer’s little openings. Tip: Spray all the Airstream’s crevices inside and out with bug spray or use homemade remedies as soon as you. It’s easier to prevent the critters than clean them out.

Airstream

4. The inescapable heat

Working on or in a reflective surface in July in the south. You can imagine. Tip: If I had all the time in the world, I probably would have worked on the Airstream in the fall. If I had all the money in the world, I would have worked on the Airstream in a garage. Climate control.

 

One of the best purchases we made.

One of the best purchases we made.

5. The mold

Airstreams and RVs in general are notorious for leaking and getting moldy. Even the walls in trailer were covered in mildew. Tip: Make sure you get to the bottom of the mold. It may require ripping up floors or furniture. It’s worth peace of mind to know it is clean and mold-free. Also, make sure you reseal all the windows and the door. Since we live in the humid south, we also took it once step further and bought a dehumidifier to keep the humidity down inside the trailer.

The Porcelain Throne

The Porcelain Throne

6. The poop

Let’s just say I’ve learned more about plumbing and septic in the last two months than I learned in the last 27 years. Tip: Read forum advice and (although I kind of hate saying this as a librarian) Google it!

Owning an Airstream isn’t always glamorous, but it’s an education. And it’s fun.

love,
melanie

Airstream Update

To do list

We’ve been in the Airstream about a week now. In some ways it has been seeing a dream come true. In other ways it is the never-ending project. I’ve been super impressed about the progress we’ve made in only two and a half months. But I also made another dreaded to-do list and the projects seem never ending. We found a lot of things we needed to fix once we moved in. The hot water is (still) stinky. When we first turned the hot water on, it smelled like a dead possum. I literally gagged. Now it just smells like a dead baby possum– i.e. slightly less smelly. And we’ve of course, got some beautification projects to do. I think I just need to accept that this will be an ongoing project. Maybe ongoing forever. But that’s ok. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, right?

What did you all get up to this weekend?

love,
melanie

How to Buff an Airstream

Before Buffing

Before Buffing

Buffing is better when done with a partner. Buffing an Airstream, silly! There is a ton of advice and debate in Airstream Forums about the best products and technique to buff your Bombshell Betty (dirty!). Although,  I’m no expert, I always think it is helpful to share how we did it.

1. Give the old girl a good washin’ and dryin’. Here’s my tips for doing that. 

2. Gather your supplies. We used ICE Paste from Turtle Wax and borrowed an electric buffer from George’s dad.

3. Prepare yourself mentally and physically. Grab a partner if you can. I’ve heard horror stories of folks going at it alone and spending at least 8 hours just buffing the thing. (It took us 4 hours for the record!)

4. Follow your sensi wax manufacturer’s directions– wax on, wax off.

After Buffing

After Buffing

Tips and Advice:

  • Some Airstreams, like our own, will never get that super-shine without drastic measures, such as an acid bath. Prior to owning the old girl, we think someone used a product that took off some of the original clear finish because it is unnaturally patchy in spots. If that bothers you, here are some tips for getting a super shine. We’ve decided to forego a more natural look for the time being.
  • Work from the top and buff your way down.
  • Work in a shady spot on a day with no rain in the forecast. There is nothing worse than having your wax job ruined by mother nature.
  • Really though, work with a partner. Pay someone to help if you must. This is a huge job!

Happy buffing!

love,
melanie

 

 

Our Airstream Buying Story

airstreambefore1Lately I’ve had a few questions from friends, family and my beautiful readers about the nuts and bolts of buying an Airstream. I don’t feel like I can make sweeping generalizations about the process of purchasing an Airstream, but I can tell you our story. Learn from it, what you will, my children.

After I got a new job in a new city, George and I began dreaming of purchasing our own home. We started looking at Realtor.com and quickly realized that our home-owning dream was still a couple of years away. We then started looking at rental properties. We saw a few rental properties in-person, but nothing really wowed us. We were also really sick of paying money towards something we don’t own. It just seemed wasteful.

One night while lying in bed looking at adorable little properties we couldn’t afford, George started searching for Airstreams on Craigslist. I had seen stories of people living full-time in mobile homes before and I mentioned to George how appealing it was to live small. I especially loved this Featured Seller story on pollenArts– a creative couple who work and live in their Winnebago! I talked about paring down in the past, but George is really the one who put the pieces together. For the record, it is all his fault if anything goes horribly wrong 🙂

We then timidly starting asking ourselves, can we do this? Can we go without most of our worldly possessions? Will George have enough room to do his art? Will I have enough room to craft and cook? The small reservations we had about living small were dwarfed in comparison to the large reservations we had (and still have) about our financial future and our dreams.

Next we decided on a small budget for the Airstream and for renovations– just $6,000. If we couldn’t do it for that price, it wouldn’t be worth it. If it was much more than our price point, we could just rent for a year and save ourselves a huge hassle. With our budget in mind, it became easier to narrow down our search. We trolled Craigslist religiously. We not only looked at Airstreams in our home state, but in other nearby states.

The first Airstream we looked from a Craigslist post  was in the mountains of our home state. We knew going up there that it might be a struggle to get the Airstream down into the Piedmont where we live. And the second red flag, the owner was a used car salesman. But we went anyway and even thought, despite it’s bullet holes (yes, bullet holes), we could fix it. We agreed on a price, but we couldn’t pull the Airstream out of the driveway. The tires were old and it was parked at the bottom of a steep hill. We had to leave her behind. I’m so grateful that didn’t work out.

The next Airstream we looked at was fairly close. It was actually located in the city where I went to grad school! We tried not to get our hopes up too much because from the pictures on Craiglist, this one looked rough. It still had it’s original shag carpet. Yikes. But we went anyway “just to look.”

When we arrived, we were greeted by the loveliest free spirit, Deb. She was selling the Airstream so she could move on– both figuratively and literally. She had acquired the Airstream in a divorce and the time was right for her to sell it. We would be bringing love back into the old girl. It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies, though.

The Airstream was quite frankly a mess. The fridge didn’t work. We were afraid to turn on the stove because it was gas and we might loose our eyebrows or a leg! And the carpet. Oh, the carpet. I can only compare it to a homeless Cookie Monster.

The Airstream had been neglected for quite some time and transferring the title was kind of a nightmare. Deb’s divorce made the transfer of the title difficult. It took two weeks before we could call it ours! Buying an Airstream is just like buying a used car, by the way.

The actual purchasing process was one of the biggest struggles we’ve encountered so far. There were points during the transfer process where we thought we should just throw in the towel, but we stuck it out. The Airstream lifestyle looks dreamy, but it can be extremely challenging, as well. But as our Airstream nears completion, I know we made the right choice.

Hard work and positivity make all the difference.

love,
melanie

How to Make Four Types of Pillows

How to make 4 types of pillowsWhen I imagine a wealthy person’s bedroom (I’m a creep) or a fancy hotel, I imagine a room overflowing with pillows. Maybe I watched Elvis’ Harum Scarum too much as a child. (Side note: If you haven’t seen Harum Scarum, find it and watch it immediately. At one point Elvis karate chops a tiger. I kid you not.) What I’m trying to say is pillows are the ultimate luxury and I basically want my bedroom to be a pillow pit.

But alas, my pillow tutorial plans were foiled by the rain. My tutorial photos looked like they were taken in a old folks home. (Sorry, old folks.) I only had the chance to take finished product pics in the sun. But that is ok! Because we live in a magical Internet age where one can find tutorials on anything and everything. I even used the tutorials I’m linking to as a reference in my own magical, pillow-making journey.

1. Closed Pillow: This tutorial from HGTV shows how to create the easiest pillow of the bunch. But like the name says, the cover stays closed, so washing is a no-no.

2. Open-ended Pillow: It’s the closed pillow, but you leave one end open. Do ya’ll really need a tutorial for that? I also sewed a bit of lace on the end to finish it and create that grandmama-look.

3. Envelope Pillow: This beginner DIY from a fellow Melanie shows how to make a beautiful, polished, washable pillow case. I love her precision!

4. Zippered Pillow: I adore this tutorial. It’s in-depth without being overwhelming.

Let’s get crafty, ya’ll!

love,
melanie

How To Wash an Airstream Trailer

Before Buffing

Before Buffing

George and I keep joking that if the rain keeps up, the Airstream is going to need to float. I’m not usually one to talk about the weather (so boring!), but trying to fix an airstream during the rainiest summer I can remember has been a challenge. I never thought I’d be envious of the folks that fix up their Airstreams in the dry, oppressive heat of the South West.

Another Before Shot

Another Before Shot

It seems like the copious and annoying rain would clean the Airstream. (Hey, it works for my car!) But, alas, rain wouldn’t wash away four (or more) years of pollen and road dirt from the Airstream’s exterior. So last weekend when we had a glorious , glorious break from the rain, I got to washin’.

There are so many tips and tricks out there to get an Airstream shiny. This is simply how we washed an an airstream trailer. I’ve seen everything from buffing the exterior with transmission fluid to an acid bath. My method won’t make your Airstream shine like a new nickel, but it will be safer. I’m not sticking my hands in acid. No way, José.

Supplies:

Step 1: Create a vinegar and water mixture. 2 parts water to one part vinegar.
Step 2: Spray down the exterior and apply the water and vinegar mixture using a soft cloth.
Step 3: Spray off the water and vinegar mixture.
Step 4: Create an ArmorAll and water mixture.
Step 5: Repeat step 2 & 3, but this time with the ArmorAll mix.
Step 6: Towel dry.

After Buffing

After Buffing

Tips: Do not scrub with a scrub brush! We found that this actually hurt the aluminum. It is also very important that the vinegar is removed completely from the exterior or it may corrode the metal.

Another After Shot
To make our home really shine, we’ve got plans (if it every dries up) to buff our baby down!

Buff-a-dub-dub!

love,
melanie