living in an airstream Archives – Page 3 of 3

I 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.

10:00am
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.

10:15am
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.

11:15am
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!

12:00pm
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.

3:10pm
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.

3:50pm
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.

4:30pm
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.

4:45pm
We eat dinner and then George makes a couple key chains to sell.

5:15pm
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.)

11:30pm
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

Yesterday I showed you all the before and after shots of the Airstream, well, today I want to show you a few glamour shots. We live in the Airstream full-time, so not only did I want the Airstream remodel to be functional, but I also wanted it to feel warm and cozy. (Even in the winter, when it isn’t so warm!) We had a tight budget, so we built most of our furniture. We bought very little for the Airstream, instead we used the things that we already owned.

In the shots above you can see our copious amount of handmade pillows. One of my favorite things to do in the Airstream is curl up in the queen-size bed and watch a movie.

George does all of his art work from the trailer, so we knew it was important for him to have his own space to work and conduct all his business.

Although the kitchen is small, I’ve managed to squeeze out some killer meals in there. Sometimes when the space is feeling too cramped or hot to cook, we’ll go outside and cook right over the fire— camp style.

There for a while, the bench was something we didn’t use much. But since George built me a mini-desk, I’ve been sitting (and napping!) on it constantly. Again, it’s got plenty of homemade pillows and we covered the bench cushion in vintage fabric.

When we first designed our the Airstream, I had grand dreams of open shelving. We had open shelving for a few months until I just couldn’t stand the clutter anymore! I’m a minimalist and I love a clean space, but George is an artist and needs a lot of stuff for his business, so we decided to compromise and build drawers from reclaimed barn wood to hide our junk.

I like to think that I’m not prissy, but I couldn’t live with a composting or camper-style toilet. Just couldn’t do it. That’s where I draw the line. But since we are parked and hooked up to a septic system, a real toilet wasn’t a problem. Thank god.