Tag Archives: home

Custom Drawers in an Airstream

custom drawers in an AirstreamI love the idea of open shelves, but we’re just not that organized. I quickly realized that after living in the Airstream for just a couple of weeks. Half done art projects and crafting junk is just not pretty. But building drawers just wasn’t a project that we had time to complete… until now!

George and I are into recycling and using what we’ve got. It’s thrifty and good for the environment. Wins all around. We salvaged some old barn wood from when the barn was damaged in the tornadoes this fall to use to make the front of the drawers. We also had some leftover wood from building out the shelves and our bed in the Airstream. We used that wood for the sides and the bottom of the drawers.

Here’s what the shelves looked like without the drawers:
shelving in an airstream trailer book shelves in an airstream

Pretty, but not very practical.

Building drawers

George went to work by measuring, cutting and drilling the pieces together.

When we got the drawers into the Airstream, we quickly realized that these babies are going to need some drawer handles. So, we cut up one of George’s old belts and used the rough grain side of the belt to create pulls. Pretty cool huh? We could only find short gold screws to attach the leather to the drawer, so we ended up coloring them with a silver Sharpie. Red neck ingenuity at it’s finest, folks.

custom distressed drawers with leather pulls

Did you finish any projects this weekend? I want to hear about them in the comments!

love,
melanie

How to Stay Warm in an Airstream

Airstream in the snowPolar vortex sounds like a made-up character meant to scare children at bed time. If you don’t go to sleep the Polar Vortex will sweep you away to the Netherlands (I imagine it’s cold there) where you have to live in a frigid cave and the only food to sustain your miserable existence is  cold beanie weenies served from a spoon made of icicles. But the polar vortex is all too real, folks. All too real.

George and I are determined to stick it out the weather in our tin can, but there’s been a couple of nights where I’ve questioned my sanity. Luckily we’ve made previsions. Here’s some tips for staying warm in an Airstream and in other old, tiny spaces.Airstream in winter

  1. Winterize
    To winterize the Airstream, we wrapped the pipes in insulation, caulked any and all cracks (it’s my favorite thing to do!) and made thick curtains. Most of the cold in our Airstream comes in through the single-pane windows and it’s surprising what a difference thick curtains have made.
  2. Layer up
    I’ll admit it, I hate being cold. It’s annoying and I’m quite the grump when I’m cold. In the Airstream I always wear socks, sometimes two pairs, and I’ve been sleeping in a sweatshirt. I also made this super comfy scarf/capelet (scarplet?) and I’ve been wearing it as I do chores. I draw the line at having to wear gloves in the house.
  3. Use rugs
    The floors of the Airstream feel like a giant ice cube some mornings. By using throw rugs in almost every area of the house, we avoid freezing toesies and add a touch more insulation to the floor.
  4. Invest in a heated blanket
    Heated blankets may just be my favorite invention ever. I mean, it’s a blanket that is warm. Throw one of those on the bed and you’ll feel like a piece of hot, buttered toast. In a good way.staying warm in an airstream trailer
  5. Heat the pipes
    Before we learned all of these tricks of the trade, our pipes froze… twice. It’s quite unpleasant to wake up to no water. Now we religiously check the weather, put the faucets on drip and use space heaters to heat the pipes.
  6. Have more than one source of heat
    We heat the whole trailer with two space heaters. We’ve chosen to not use any propane at the moment and it’s been working out just fine. I did have a small freakout when George spilled a drink over one of the heaters and it stopped working. (What are the chances?!) Luckily, we had two heaters and could use the other space heater that night as our primary heat source. If I was doing it all over again, I’d seriously consider installing a wood stove.
  7. Have a cuppa
    Nothing warms better than a piping hot cup of tea or coffee! I received an electric tea kettle for Christmas and that thing has been boiling non-stop. If you are a frequent hot beverage drinker, it may be an investment to look into.
  8. Have a backup plan
    And as always, have a backup plan. Hypothermia is no joke. Luckily, George’s family lives close to us and they have a wood stove. Living in the country means that if the electricity goes out, we’ll be out of power and water for days. I cannot stress how important a backup plan is in this kind of situation.

How are you staying warm? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

 

 

How we live in 188 square feet

How we live in 188 sq feetI can’t remember where we were or what we were doing, but I remember the complete look of shock on a sales lady’s face when I told her that we lived in 500 square feet while I was in grad school. I’d love to find that sales lady today and tell her that we now live in less than 200 square feet (an estimated 188 ft!). She might have a conniption.

Deciding to live in a Airstream is one of the best decisions we’ve made. (You can read more about our reasoning here.) And just like my husband, George, said the other night, “I don’t even think of it as an Airstream anymore. I just think of it as home.” So how do we do it without killing each other?

  1. The most obvious key is patience. Patience is not my strong suit. I want everything now, now, now! But luckily, George was blessed with enough patience for the both of us. He’s teaching me to become a more patient human being through his example. He’s also teaching me to get over things more quickly. If left alone, I’d stew in my own frustration for days, but he won’t let me.
  2. We sold and donated the majority of our belongings. And we don’t even miss them. We decided what we truly needed and cleared out the clutter (see more tips on how to do that here). It wasn’t an easy process and took a good deal of personal honesty. But it feels good.
  3. Keeping with the honesty, I want to divulge that we do have a small storage unit. Both George and I have a few family heirlooms that are pieces of furniture and we wouldn’t dare think of ditching those.
  4. We clean more. I would love us to clean even more than we do now. I love a tidy home! But, we do clean much more than we did while we were living in a larger apartment. It’s much quicker to clean a small space and much more necessary to keep tidy. You can’t just throw a bunch of junk into a room and shut the door!
  5. We stay out of each other’s way. The Airstream is narrow and two people can barely stand side-by-side in it. So when one is in one area, the other one stays out of that area. That way we aren’t constantly bumping into each other.
  6. We think more about our purchases. George and I love to shop for vintage stuff. But now, if we are out browsing, we think long and hard about our would-be purchases. Do we actually need the item? Do we have space for it?
  7. We know that everything needs to have a purpose. We don’t keep stuff around just because it looks nice or we might use it someday. If it doesn’t have a purpose, it doesn’t live in the Airstream.
  8. We have hiding spots for junk. Let’s be real, craft supplies, piles of clothes and random beauty products aren’t always pretty. When we were planning the layout of the AIrstream, we planned for lots of nooks and crannies to hide the stuff that we need to be functional human beings.
  9. We constantly reorganize. Almost every weekend I’m reorganizing, refolding and rearranging things to make the Airstream a neater and cleaner place to live. It’s just a fact of life now.
  10. We love each other. I wouldn’t recommend living in this small of a space with your best friend (remember dorm rooms?!) because at some point you will want to strangle the other person. But because we love each other and have promised not to leave each other, we aren’t going to get out of this situation. We also remember our shared end goal of financial independence.

On another note, if you’re looking for a place in Winnipeg, Towers realty group is a company that can help you find apartments for rent in Winnipeg.*

Do you live in a small space? What kind of tips would you include on this list? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

*Sponsored post, but opinions are my own.

Easy DIY: Washi Tape Mirror

Before and After Washi Tape Mirror

You know those projects that somehow never just finish themselves? Those projects are super inconsiderate. I can’t even believe them sometimes. My dishes are the worst. They just pile up and pile up until finally I get angry enough and do them myself.

The mirror in my bathroom was one of those projects. I had planned to paint or cover the edges in small strips of wood, but sometimes all I’ve got time for is a five minute project. I found this washi tape that has been lying around since our wedding and simply put it up around the mirror to hide the ugly, old edges. The best thing about washi tape is that if you mess up, it doesn’t leave residue or loose it’s stickiness. There’s really no trick to this project.

I love projects like that. No tricks, just treats. It’s super simple and it makes a big difference.

What’s your favorite 5 minute DIY? I’d love to see links to your projects in the comments!

love,
melanie

25 Ways to Declutter Your Life

On my birth certificate, I’m pretty sure they got my middle name wrong. It’s not actually “Renee” it’s “Organization Queen.” If nothing else, I think I should at least put  “Decluttering Diva” on my resume. After all, I’ve parred down my life to fit in an Airstream and at my last job, I weeded over 6,000 books from our collection. What can I say, it’s a talent.

I’ve compiled some of my best tips and tricks into the handy-list below. Don’t print it out, hoarders. Just refer to it when you need it.

  1. Identify the source: Where is your clutter coming from? Is it paper clutter? Clothing? Knick-nacks? Once you identify the source of your clutter, it’ll be easier to eliminate it.
  2. Unsubscribe to junk mail and e-mail: Mail, snail and email, was a huge source of clutter for me. Unsubscribing to most emails and junk snail mail through Catalog Choice was a huge weight off my shoulders. Now the junk mail never even makes it into my mailbox or inbox.
  3. Do an inventory: It seems silly, but take an inventory of your stuff room by room. This will help you to recognize duplicate items and things that do double-duty. For example, my blender food processes. I don’t really need a blender and a food processor.
  4. Host a yardsale: Once you identify stuff you don’t need, it’s time to actually get rid of it. Getting money from my old stuff was a huge incentive to haul it out of my house. A yardsale is the traditional way to make money from your stuff, but don’t forget about flea markets and selling stuff online too.
  5. Give your stuff away: If money isn’t an incentive to get rid of stuff, well, I don’t know how to help you. Kidding. You can always give your stuff to friends and family or strangers in need. Donating items to thrift stores, like Goodwill, not only feels good, you can also write it off your taxes!
  6. Get rid of two things before you bring one thing into the house: This is a good, on-the-fly way to declutter. Before you bring anything else into the house, get rid of two things. This way, you get your new item, but you also make room for it.
  7. Put it on ice: (Figuratively or Literally!) I heard this tip a long time ago and I always thought it was so clever. Freeze your credit cards in a cup of water, so you don’t make impulse purchases. That way, when they are defrosting, you have time to think about your possible purchase. You could also take this figuratively and just wait 48 hours (or a set amount of time) before making any new purchases.
  8. Enlist the help of an honest friend or family member: Ooo! Ooo! Pick me! It probably isn’t realistic to think that I could come over to each and every one of your houses while you are decluttering. (Although I would love to! and I do offer online coaching.) I’m sure you all have that super honest friend or family member who will help you go through the process.
  9. Set a goal for yourself: Really this is a life tip. You will rarely get things done in life without some sort of end goal in mind. Make your goals S.M.A.R.T. and make your goal something that you really want. I’d also recommend that your goal isn’t more “stuff.” A weekend trip, perhaps?!
  10. Set consequences, too: For some people, goals aren’t enough. And I get that. Cleaning and decluttering is painful! Set S.M.A.R.T. goals and consequences. Make yourself accountable if you don’t meet your goal, or enlist a friend or family member to keep you accountable.
  11. Limit your collections: I love to collect books, vintage hats, and Fiestaware. But my collections took up too much space and were too good of an excuse to spend cash. I weeded down my book collection and sold my vintage hat collection. I couldn’t part with any of my Fiestaware, but limiting my collections to just one type of thing has freed up so much space.
  12. Be realistic: We’ve all got that pair of skinny pants in our closets that we can’t bear to part with. I think I’ve got some skinny jeans and maybe a skinny dress or two. But we all need to get realistic with ourselves. Are we ever going to fit back into them? No. Let’s give them away, ladies and gents. They’re contributing to the clutter and they’re not making us happier.
  13. Be grateful: Whenever I get sad or jealous that I don’t have a larger house (to fit more stuff into!) I make a gratitude list. We all have so much to be grateful for, but it’s easy to forget. Make a gratitude list and I guarantee most of the stuff on there won’t be “stuff.”
  14. Ruthlessly prioritize: I read one time that Sheryl Sandberg, CEO of Facebook, ruthlessly prioritizes and I never forgot that. Ruthlessly prioritizing every aspect of your life can give it new clarity. This especially applies to clutter. Ruthlessly prioritize that mess!
  15. Focus on outcomes: Focus on that end goal. Leave reminders of the goal around your house. Focus on an outcome that is of great importance to you. You want to have a safe, uncluttered house for your kids. You want to travel with the money you make from your old stuff and save money by not buying more “stuff.” (That’s my goal!) Whatever motivates you, focus on it.
  16. Remember the broken window theory: The broken window theory applies to housework too. If one part of your house is a wreck, it bleeds into other parts. The same happens with a clean, organized room. Once you start organizing and decluttering, you won’t want to stop. Trust me.
  17. Do Yoga: (Or whatever relaxes you) Purging your stuff and making a million decisions about it, can be incredibly stressful. We all suffer from decision fatigue, and need to relax our brains. Take your time going through your stuff, if necessary, and relax afterward.
  18. Take a mental health day: Don’t worry, I won’t tell your boss. Sometimes it is totally necessary to take a day off just to get your life together. Take time off to declutter a room and I guarantee, you’ll perform better at work.
  19. Take a walk in the park: Nature is super relaxing and clears the mind. When the purging gets tough, take a walk. Nature has no clutter!
  20. Eat your veggies: No one can declutter on an empty stomach. Eat a healthy, but light meal before you begin this massive endeavor. May I recommend a slimer smoothie? It’ll get that brain (and bowels?!) workin’, promise!
  21. Sleep on it: If you have an item you are unsure about purging, sleep on it. Working with a tired brain just doesn’t work. Go to sleep and come back to the item tomorrow. You’ll have brand new clarity.
  22. But don’t sleep in: Get up early to declutter. Treat it like a job. Because it is. A huge, adult life job. The longer you wait in the day, the harder it is to declutter.
  23. Remind yourself that it’s just “stuff”: At the end of the day, stuff is just stuff. You can’t take it with you. People are more important. Experiences are more important. Having less stuff sets you free to live your wonderful, gorgeous, electric life.
  24. Be kind to yourself: Making the life decision to live with less is incredibly hard. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. Be kind to yourself during this process. Know that it may take time. Love yourself and be gentle when necessary.
  25. Keep it up: One of the hardest parts of purging stuff is not bringing it back into your life. Keep doing an inventory. Evaluate your purchases. Keep a picture of your goal in your wallet. Remember that the most important thing in life isn’t stuff. As one of my idols, Suze Orman says, “People first, then money, then things.”

How do you declutter? Let me know in the comments!

I also offer a Two Week Decluttering email course that will help you declutter and ultimately live a happier life in just two weeks. Click here for details.

P.S. I know “declutter” isn’t technically a word. But it should be. Declutter implies finality. Unclutter implies a temporary state. At least in my mind. What do you think?

love,
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

 

 

Things I love about living in an Airstream

Airstream Sovereign(Alternatively titled Things I don’t miss about traditional housing.)

I’m here to turn that frown upside down, negative Nancy! Last week I posted things I miss about traditional housing. But today, I’m here to post the things I love, which greatly outweighs the things I miss.

1. No rent! The Airstream is bought and paid for. At the moment, I have no rent and no mortgage. How many people can say that?! This no rent thing is helping us to save, save, save.

2. The energy savings. Our power bill is significantly lower than a standard apartment’s bill. That’s cash in the bank, baby! And I feel good about doing our part to save energy. Captain Planet would be proud.

3. The ability to travel. Want to head to the beach this weekend? We can do that and take our house with us! We’re pretty much turtles. Ninja turtles! Cowabunga dude! (We’re having a real early 90’s kid flashback here, if you haven’t noticed.)

4. The limited space. I know it sounds nut-zo, but the limited space is freeing. It took me about 5 minutes to clean the bathroom today. I don’t have to buy a bunch of furniture or stuff to “fill” the space. I know I can’t buy a bunch of clothes because I have no where to hang them. Less space is just easier.

5. The learning experience. Fixing up the Airstream was Renovations 101. Fixing a house. might be a Advanced Renovations, but at least we now know the basics.

6. The bonding experience. This experience is what rom-coms are made of. Newly married couple, fixes and lives in an Airstream without killing each other! They laugh, fight about something dumb and still like each other in the end!

7. We own something. Unlike renting, at the end of the day, we own this Airstream. Even if sometimes she’s a pain in the rear, we still own our home outright.

8.  The freedom. The Airstream has given us freedom in so many ways. We don’t live in debt. We have few bills and few belongings. George now has the ability to work for himself. And that, my friends, that is priceless.

love and thankfulness,
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