Tag Archives: full time

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

 

A Day In the Life of a Full-Time Airstreamer

a day in the life of a full-time airstreamerI swear to you all that I’m not a narcissistic person, although it might seem that way just looking at the title of this post. I came up with the idea to do this post as a way for you all to get a glimpse into what day-to-day life is like in my Airstream. Funny story, I actually did this experiment on a Thursday and the entire day was so boring that I waited until Saturday to try it again. My regular work day mostly consists of me going to work and not spending time in the Airstream at all! (I hope to remedy that one day.) Anyway, I hope this post is at least marginally more interesting than watching paint dry. Here it goes… A day in the life of a full-time Airstreamer.

1/31/15

7:00am
Wake up to take Bambi out. Brr! It’s cold out there. Jump back in bed for a little while longer.

Bambi10:00am
George and I wake up again to Bambi’s smiling face. That girl has so much energy when she wakes up. I am so jealous of that quality!

10:10am
I make sure the hot water is turned off. When it’s turned on, I can’t boil water or turn on the stove or it will flip the breaker. I boil the water first since I also can’t cook while the electric tea kettle is on, it’s a balancing act, but we manage.

IMG_0380IMG_043710:15am
Once the water has boiled, I pour the water over the ground beans to make coffee in our French Press (press it good!), then I get started on the eggs. I have two eggs on a tortilla with guacamole or hot sauce almost every morning. I like not having to think too much about breakfast.

10:30am
I know at this point, I should just do the dishes, but they’ll have to wait because this morning we are headed to our local flea market so we can scout treasures for George to sell. George works for himself as an artist, so it helps for us to have multiple income streams.

I make sure to turn the hot water back on so it’ll be hot by the time we get home. I then throw on (probably too many) layers of clothes and put Bambi in a sweatshirt and hit the road in our (new to us) van.

IMG_042611:15am
We realize on the way to the flea market we have no cash. Cash is king at the flea market, so we stop at a Trader Joe’s on the way. We need coconut oil and sweetened condensed milk. George runs in while I wait in the car. Trader Joe’s has neither coconut oil nor sweetened condensed milk, so George grabs beer and chocolate. Good choices, my husband, good choices. And we’re on the road again!

IMG_043212:00pm
Finally make it to the flea market. Bambi doesn’t like to walk at the flea market. I don’t know if she is scared of the big dogs or she’s just a princess, but I carry her the entire time. My arms ache, but I try to think of it as a workout. We find a few treasures, nothing spectacular, but a few things that we think will sell. We never buy anything for ourselves. It’s hard, but when we’re at the flea market we aren’t looking for ourselves, we’re looking to make money.

1:30pm
We managed to make our way around the flea market and see everything. George brought a few things with him that he sold to a friend, so we leave the flea market to drop off that stuff. I’m fully aware that it’s ironic that George makes most of his money making and selling stuff. Not everyone is a minimalist and that’s ok.

1:45pm
We drop off the stuff and since Trader Joe’s was so bare, we head to a different grocery store on the way home. I try to get most of my groceries from our CSA, but it’s the end of the month and our cupboards are bare!

3:00pm
We finally get back home. By this time, I’m getting hangry, so I fix a small snack. George says I’m stingy because I won’t share, but he can have his own! I’m on a new eating regimen and I only get so many calories a day, so each one is precious! I know it’s mean.

IMG_04333:10pm
I start by tackling the huge mound of dishes. Doing dishes is one of my most hated chores. The dishes never end! Before I even get to the end, I’m out of hot water. I switch the hot water off, so I can boil some more. In the mean time, I start tackling the bathroom.

IMG_04343:50pm
The bathroom is small, so it’s easy to clean. By the time the hot water is boiling, I’m finished cleaning the bathroom. I finish up the dishes and relax for a bit.

4:00pm
While I relax, George sweeps the floors. Cleaning around our house is like a dance, it requires a lot of coordination and it’s difficult for two people to be in the same space at the same time. We usually just take different tasks and try to clean and cook at different times.

IMG_0442IMG_04434:30pm
My afternoon snack was minuscule and I’m getting hungry again. But after cleaning up, I want something fast and easy. I picked up some gluten-free chicken nuggets on my grocery store trip, so I heat those up in our mini convection oven. I also fix a salad. I know it’s not the most healthy meal, but it’s fast, easy and I don’t have to clean much.

IMG_04404:45pm
We eat dinner and then George makes a couple key chains to sell.

IMG_04445:15pm
We head to a friend’s house. This particular friend is fixing up an old school bus to live in. I should have taken a few pictures, but I documenting every bit of your day is sort of weird. Right? I did manage to take a picture of the fire pit?

9:45pm
We head home. It’s Bambi’s second dinner time! I fix another snack and a glass of wine. Of course, I forgot to turn on the hot water so I watch a bit of TV while it heats up. We don’t have a real TV and live happily without one. (Here’s how.)

IMG_044811:30pm
I fall asleep watching Dual Survivor.

1:00am
I wake up and take a shower. I realize how lame I am.

Was this enlightening for you? My life isn’t always exciting, but it’s usually a good one.

love,
melanie

The Small Life: The Peterson Family

livinlightly-on-the-roadI am so pumped about this post! I love to see how families make living small work for them. Today we’ve got Nick Peterson from Livin’ Lightly. Nick, his wife, and two young children live, travel and work from an Airstream! Take it away, Nick…

livinlightly-morning-cuddlesHello! We are the Peterson family! My wife and two kids (daughter 3 years and son 5 months) live, travel and work in our 1966 Airstream Overlander. We’ve been living small full-time for the past two years.

For us tiny living was never about the space. (At least not entirely.) We chose to live small so that we can live large in other areas of our life. Life’s all about trade-offs.

livinlightly-exploring-mapPre-Airstream the daily grind consisted of work, paying bills then we tried to squeeze in some family, friends and fun. After the birth of our daughter we began to rethink our existence and intentionally plan our life.

livinlightly-stoy-timeFor us this meant trading a steady income + benefits, larger living space for portability, time with family and pursing work we love.

In preparation for this transition we buckled down and cut all unnecessary spending, got on a strict budget, paid off our debt and saved. We purged and sold all our stuff, bought a vintage Airstream and a big truck to pull it. We worked to build versatile and largely passive income streams to pay the bills.

livinlightly-parked-in-woodsNow we have the time, and ironically space to share life as a family, the freedom to travel and explore and pursue what matters to us most.

Here’s to living the small space large life dream!

Aren’t they just the cutest?! You can read more about Nick and his family on their blog, Livin’ Lightly or on IG: livinlightly. And remember, If you want to submit your own Small Life, email me asmalllifemelanie @ gmail dot com.

love,
melanie

 

 

F.A.Q.s

Airstream Front View copySo maybe Airstream Week has ended up being Airstream two weeks. Or week and a half. Oh well. Ya’ll aren’t sick of it yet, are you? I got a lot of questions about the Airstream and our life and I wanted to answer some of them here. So here goes.

1. Do you really live in the Airstream… like all the time?
Yep! We live in the Airstream in the stifling heat of summer and the bone chilling cold of winter. In case of an emergency (like a hurricane), we’ll go to a relative’s house nearby. But other than that, we’re in it the whole time!

2. Are you parked or do you travel?
Right now we are parked in order to save money. We would love to travel with the Airstream one day.

3. Where are you parked?
We are parked on land owned by my husband’s family. It is a beautiful farmed and wooded plot. We stay on the land in exchange for chores.

4. Where do you do laundry?
We have very gracious relatives who let us do laundry at their house in exchange for chores around the house.

5. How much did your Airstream cost?
Our Airstream was $5,000 and we spent about $1,000 on fixing her up. Read more about our buying story here.

6. How long did it take you to fix up the Airstream?
It took about 2 months of intense work.

7. How can I live this life?
This life isn’t for the faint of heart. It isn’t easy, but it is rewarding. 90 percent of living this way is deciding that you want it and sticking with it.

What questions have you been dying to ask? Ask me in the comments!

love,
melanie

Our 1978 Airstream Sovereign Land Yacht: The Exterior Tour

Airstream through the trees copyI’ll be the first to admit that we didn’t do much to the outside of our Airstream. We washed it, polished it and put it in it’s permanent home. We didn’t feel the need to acid-wash it and make it super shiny. It just didn’t fit our style.

Airstream in the woods copyWe did put a lot of work into the land that the Airstream is parked on. We had to clear brush, lots of poison ivy (George got so sick!) and even cut down a few trees.

Airstream in the Pine Trees copyThe second-most frequently asked question I get is: “Do we own the land we’re parked on?” Kind of. We live on land that has been in my husband’s family for over 80 years. Part of the land is wooded and part is farmed. We earn our keep by helping out around the property– chopping firewood, cleaning the barn and feeding the animals.

Airstream and Garden copy

The first-most asked question I get asked is: “Do you actually live there?” Yes! We live here full-time. In the event of an emergency, like a hurricane, we have relatives we can visit nearby, but we’re in the Airstream during the heat of summer and the cold of winter.

An Airstream in the pines copyGeorge with Airstream copyAnyway, since the Airstream is so small, we’ve tried to make the exterior equally as nice as the interior. George surprised me one day by laying the rock path to the house. He also built a natural rock fire pit from rocks on the property after I talked about our friends’ fire pit for 2 weeks. I think he did it just to shut me up. 🙂

Airstream Outdoor Setup AMB

When it’s nice outside, George and I like to break out the lawn chairs and a few beers. We’ll often cook dinner on the fire and eat in the outdoors. It sounds corny, but living this way has really made me appreciate nature.

Airstream Sovereign Tag copy Back of the Airstream copyAirstream Front View copy

door to Airstream copy Succulents Outside the Airstream copyThanks for touring my humble abode this week. And Happy Friday! This weekend I plan on doing what I do best, just hanging out around the ol’ Airstream.

Got any weekend plans? Let me know about ’em in the comments!

love,
melanie

1978 Airstream Sovereign Land Yacht Remodel

Airstream Back Before and AfterI think the best word to describe what I’m feeling right now is giddy. It took a lot of hard, sometimes disgusting, always sweaty, work to remodel our 1978 Airstream Sovereign Land Yacht, but we did it. This may be one of the proudest moments of my life. I may even be more proud of myself than when I graduated from undergrad and grad school. Not even kidding. But before I pop a bottle of champagne, let’s get to the details!

You’ll notice we didn’t restore the Airstream to original. We’re not purists and we only had a budget of $1,000 to fix her up. (We bought her for $5,000, more about our buying story here.) We went slightly over budget due to the amount of paint we needed. We severely underestimated that. Unlike many of the Airstreams you might see online, we also live in this thing. Full-time. We tried to keep the integrity of our original Airstream, but tailor it to fit our needs.

When you enter the Airstream and look left you’ll see what is in the picture above. We tore out the Cookie Monster blue carpets and replaced them with laminate flooring. We created a window in the wall beside the kitchen to open up the space, replaced the gas fridge, George built shelves, a desk and a bench for napping! We replaced all the window screens. (Here’s how to do that.) We also tore out some of the overhead compartments to open up the space. My main job was painting. The Airstream had gas heat which can leave sticky gross stuff on the walls and we think maybe someone smoked in here, so it was my job to thoroughly clean everything (bleach was my best friend), then coat pretty much everything in Kilz and cover it with a bright white paint and primer. In some places it took four coats. On the storage compartments and the weird plastic spots, we used Rust-oleum gloss white spray enamel. On the countertops we used a custom-color oil-based enamel. Overall, the paint has held up pretty well. Some spots have needed to be touched up, but I think the white paint was the most transformative aspect of the remodel.

Airstream Bed Area Before and After copy

If you look to the right in the Airstream, you’ll see our spacious queen-size bed. To me, a big bed was more important than a dining room, so we tore out the benches, and George built us a custom bed frame. Read more about tips on creating that here. I also made a ton of pillows because… luxury. (Here’s how I made the pillows here.)

Airstream Cooking Setup Before and After

I didn’t have a great photo of the “before” oven because we found a huge mouse den in there and I had to get it out ASAP.  We use a convection oven and two burners for cooking. It works out pretty well. There’s no Thanksgiving meals going on in here, but our oven fits a full-size pizza, so I’m happy.

Airstream from Back before and after

If you walk through the kitchen and turn back around, this is the view you’ll see. You’ll notice we took off the covers from the kitchen cabinets and replaced them with super-cute curtains that my mom made. From here, you’ll also get a better view of the custom bench and drawers we have for hiding all kinds of crafts and art supplies. George crafted the drawers out of barn wood from the tobacco barn that is on our property. The storage area also houses our large record collection. When we were purging all of our worldly goods, we decided vinyl is one thing that we just couldn’t live without.

Airstream Bathroom Before and After

Oh my god, the bathroom, the bathroom. I’m not kidding when I say that I was scared to even go in the bathroom before the remodel. That camper toilet scared me. A real toilet was priority 1 on my list. Cleaning this bathroom really made all the difference. The “wallpaper” was actually really pretty under the 10 layers of dirt. Then again, we painted with oil-based enamel on the countertops, replaced the lights and did this fun, washi tape design on the mirror. (Here’s that how-to.)

Airstream Shower Before and After

Then the shower! Oh my. Still to this day, George and I have no idea why someone would try to spray paint a shower blue (to match the carpet?!?!). To remedy this situation we took the easy way out and used a kit that we found at Lowe’s. I’d love to one day have a luxurious tub or at least a prettier shower, but sometimes the cheap way wins. We also purchased and installed a very nice shower head.

You can’t see it in these pictures, but we started off with the floors all laminate, but had to replace the bathroom floor when our hot water heater started leaking. That was unfortunate, but it’s been the only big issue that we’ve run into (fingers crossed).

This remodel was a whole hell of a lot of work. George and I have thought about doing it again, but we’re not mentally (or physically) prepared for it. Now that you’ve seen the before and afters, I’ll be sharing more glamour shots tomorrow!

Happy Airstream Week!

love,
melanie

 

Full-Time Airstream Livin’: A One Year Update

Airstream and fire pitCan you believe it?! Can you believe it?! George and I have been living in the Airstream for a whole year. It’s almost unbelievable how much life can change in a year. One minute you’re living in an overpriced apartment and the next minute you’re living in an ’78 Airstream Land Yacht. We’ve gone through some hard times and some good times in the old girl. But the good has definitely outweighed the bad.

We originally moved in the Airstream so George could work on his art and we could save money. George has been able to really work on his business this past year and I am so, so proud of him. He’s been doing artwork for some major companies and he’s been taking on a lot more commissions.

We’ve saved quite a bit of money too. Not as much as we could have, because we’ve also traveled a lot, but I don’t regret our wanderlust. We’ve been able to travel to Austin, Memphis, take a Florida road trip and all kinds of little trips in between. I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel with my favorite dude.

But most of all I’m thankful for the lessons the Airstream has taught me. Living in less than 200 square feet has taught me that I don’t need a lot of stuff to be happy. I have food in my belly, a roof over my head and people who love me. That’s all I need.

Although it can be tiresome, the Airstream has also taught me to be more responsible. I’m more responsible with my chores because if I don’t say, put the laundry away, it’s right in the middle of the floor staring me in the face. It’s taught me to be more responsible with the things I bring into my life too. I’m constantly thinking “Do I have enough room for this?” and “Do I really need this?”

The Airstream has also given me peace of mind. I still worry about money. I probably always will. But I’ve now been able to open up an IRA and start truly saving for a (small) home one day. I don’t want to moan about how my generation has had it rough, but a year ago I was feeling very behind on life. I thought I may never be able to achieve some of my dreams because it took George and myself so long to find a job after college.

The Airstream has given me confidence too. Before we fixed up our old girl, I was nervous about renovation projects. I’m not an old pro, but I now feel confident about painting a wall, cutting a board and hammering those nails.

I am so thankful for our time in the Airstream. I can’t believe it has been a year. We’ve no concrete plans to move out anytime soon either, but I know when it is time to move on I’ll look back on this time of our lives as one of the best.

If you’re debating a nutty way to change your life, like living in an Airstream, I’d like to encourage you to go for it. What’s the worst that could happen? “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” (Helen Keller)

love,
melanie

Things I Wish I Knew Before Living Full-Time in an Airstream

living full-time in an AirstreamLiving full-time in an Airstream has been the biggest adventure of my life (so far!). It’s also been the craziest/best/most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done. I don’t regret it. Not a day. But George and I did very little research before we decided, hey, let’s live in an Airstream! Embarrassing little research. If I had to do it all over again, I might be a little more prepared. Although, if I was more prepared I might have wussed out! There’s a lot of realities and obstacles to living in an Airstream.

  1. The buying process may be harder than you think.
    Our buying process wasn’t easy. We easily found the Airstream on Craigslist, but our trailer was acquired in a divorce and there was all kinds of legalese associated with the title. In the end we had to title our trailer in Maine. Why Maine? Well, they have looser titling laws and personal/commercial trailers can be registered in Maine regardless of where you live. Maine also has low-cost registrations!
  2. Things get dirty real quick
    I have a strict no shoes policy in the Airstream, but that doesn’t keep the dirt from sneaking in anyway. It’s such a small space that if we miss even one day of cleaning, the place is a wreck. Which leads me to…
  3. Junk will look junkier in a small space
    You need less “things” than you think. Always. But even the tiniest bit of junk will look junky in a small space. At first I wanted to have lots of open shelves for our things, but things looked too cluttered in such a small space. We did fix the problem with drawers, but I wish I had planned for more hide-away shelving in the beginning.
  4. If you are living in a vintage Airstream, things will break/go awry.
    Things might even go awry in a new Airstream! Just like owning your own home, things will break and go awry. Unlike a home, there are less people with special skills able to fix things. You’ll need to be handy. Or live with someone who is handy (thanks, George!). And you’ll need to be willing to experiment and learn. We’ve learned so much from online forums and YouTube videos.
  5. There’s no privacy
    The bathroom situation gets ugly. ‘Nuff said.
  6. It’s going to get cold and hot.
    The temperature in the Airstream is super fickle. We stay relatively warm with two heaters and the air conditioning works well, but there are times when the weather gets so extreme outside that no space heater or mobile home air conditioning unit will do the trick. We also live in the south so it’s humid most of the time, we control this with a dehumidifier, but it will never be the perfect humidity and temperature in there.
  7. There will never be enough space for certain activities.
    Working out in the Airstream and cooking in the Airstream are both a struggle. There’s never enough room to chop or dice and create even a one-course meal. And jumping around in the Airstream, forget about it. I can do a few push-ups or squats, but forget high intensity training in there. I tried it once. It was not pretty.
  8. I don’t think of myself as “homeless,” but others might.
    I was recently reading an article about homelessness. It described folks living in their campers at the beach. I don’t consider myself homeless at all. George and I chose to live this way for so many reasons. And yes, the main reason was financial, but I don’t consider myself homeless. The Airstream is my home. If something ever happened to the Airstream, we could find ourselves an apartment. Airstream livin’ isn’t out of desperation, but it is out of the desire to stop living paycheck-to-paycheck. Some people judge us for our decision, but it’s proved to be one of the best decisions of my life.

Got any questions about living in the Airstream? I’d love to hear them and answer them in the comments!

Update:  I wrote a book! “The Ultimate Guide to Living Full Time in an RV, Airstream or Motorhome” will show you how live a smaller, happier life in an untraditional home. This is an interactive guide designed to help you plan your journey to smaller living with worksheets and useful tips. Get it here!

 

 

Airstream Livin’: A Six Month Update

Airstream in the woodsIt’s been almost six full months since we moved into the Airstream to live in it full-time. We’ve endured tornados and a vicious cold snap. We’ve endured bugs (oh lord the bugs!), oppressive heat and learned way more about sewage than any person should. But I still wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.

George and I have always had the plan to move into the Airstream in order to save enough money to buy (or build!) our own “real” house. But in the last six months, I’ve really come to think of this ‘ol thing as our real house home. It’s not conventional, but it’s ours.

Airstream SovereignSure, I still have days where I get so.incredibly.frustrated. that I can’t have the hot water heater on and make coffee at the same time. Lord, I need that coffee. But I wouldn’t trade it. This experience is teaching me patience. It’s teaching me that I need let go of things in all aspects of my life. And as always, it’s teaching me to live small and dream bigger.

love and thankfulness,
melanie

Airstream Living: An Update

Airstream It’s been almost two months since George and I have moved into the Airstream. Full-time Airstream livin’ has presented some challenges, but the livin’ is easy. (Are you singing that song in your head now?)

The biggest challenge hasn’t been the lack of space, which totally surprised me. I thought George and I would be fighting over territory at this point. Putting tape down the middle of the room, old school style. But luckily, we thought ahead and built lots of storage options into our redesign.

The biggest challenge has actually been that it’s hard to multitask in the Airstream. When I am making my breakfast in the morning, I can’t have the hot water heater on at the same time or the burner will click off. Then, when I’m done cooking, I have to click the water heater back on and wait for it to heat up. It’s been a lesson in patience, fo’ sho’.

Another challenge we’ve been presented with is the bugs. I naively didn’t expect bugs. Even though we live in the woods. Right there with nature. Amongst the trees. Now that fall is making it’s beautiful arrival, the bugs are diminishing, but we’ve been on the war path for the last couple months.

Most of all, I’ve loved how easy living in the Airstream makes it to save money. We have no rent, so I’ve been saving at least $1,000 each month. Our high rent was crippling our savings. I nick-named our savings Tiny Tim, it was so bad/sad. After our wedding last December, we were pretty much wiped out. (Although we were totally realistic and only spent a fraction of what the average wedding cost!) But nothing makes it easier to save than having no living expenses.

We’ve still got some cosmetic things to do before I share the interior of the Airstream, but I can’t wait for you all to see the before and after. It.is.so.good.

love,
melanie