Lot fees vs. mortgage, utilities, and being debt free :)

So we got our first electricity bill dated from June 6 through June 28....$111.  I'm not sure what you pay for cooling your house in the AZ summer... I would imagine that the cost per square foot is higher for me than for someone in a conventional house, but then again my highest monthly electricity bill in my home was around $400 (we kept the thermostat set at 78 degrees). We were on a monthly equalizer plan so we paid $170/month year round.  So, I feel neutral about my current bill, it's not great, it's not terrible.  What I want is solar panels on the roof that will power the A/C.  That is getting a bit ahead of myself, but I know it is possible and we will work on that in the future.

I'm going to share my monthly expenses - McMansion vs. Hideout during this first month:

Mortgage payment/lot fee (includes interest, taxes and insurance) + Utilities (internet, electricity, trash, water).....

$2060 vs. $525

We are now paying $400 lot rent monthly and the fee includes internet (WiFi), trash and water. Combined utilities for these three things was approximately $190/month in my McMansion.  I also used to have a mortgage payment of $1700/month which included taxes of approx $3000/year to the county and insurance of $1530/year.   Our trailer insurance is now part of our auto insurance and is $150/year.  All in all we have reduced our monthly expenses dramatically even considering the added expense of laundromats.  We will realize a monthly savings of over $1500 in fixed expenses.

With the equity in the McMansion we paid off our truck and now own all of our vehicles outright. We own three vehicles.  We have two gas-efficient vehicles - a  2009 Toyota Yaris and a 2011 Ford Fiesta - and our 2015 Toyota Tacoma truck.  The truck is only used for hauling, pulling, and moving stuff. We drive it up the mountain to our land and to our rentals to do work.  The cars are our commuter vehicles for shuttling kids and getting to and from work. We have talked about getting rid of a car, but they have been paid off for a while and they are extremely cheap transportation.  If we get rid of a car then one of us will have to drive the truck more.  However, we want to save the truck for the day when we can really hit the road with the trailer.  If we find jobs that are location independent we will certainly reevaluate our vehicle situation.  As a side note, all of our vehicles have manual transmissions.  That is just how we roll.  We've never purchased a vehicle that has an automatic transmission and probably never will.

We are officially debt-free!  It's amazing.  The other debt we had was the mortgage on one of our rentals (we have three rentals).  The mortgage payment was roughly equal to the rental income each month, but now we will have passive income from that rental.  More later on our rentals and how they came to be...we've been married for 20 years and have rented one or more homes since the early 2000s.  For a long time it has been apparent that we have been working to live an excessive lifestyle. For about a year we have wondered how low can we get our monthly expenses?  Well, we are living that experiment now!  We had projections, but everything is now in motion and we are testing the theories that we talked about for the past year.  It is a very exciting time!

RVegan crockpot beans

So cooking is a work in progress. I am spoiled coming from such an amazing kitchen:

The small space heats up fast with the stove top on so we are not using that for the summner.  Today I put a new twist on one of my favorite recipes, slow-cooker refried beans.  I took all the ingredients and crock pot outside to my camp table this morning while it was still around 90 degrees so I could cook them outside and keep the heat out of the trailer.  I added all of the ingredients to the crock pot.  I put my mesh food tent over the crock pot- sorry, I forgot to take a picture - to keep bugs off of the lid.  I was afraid without the food tent I would have boiled bug around the lip of the lid where it tends to bubble and steam.  I turned it on around 8am on low and kicked it up to high around 1pm.  I immersion blended the pot at around 6:30pm and it was perfect (also bug-free). The excess water had evaporated better than when I made this in the past at my McMansion.  I didn't have to skim off water like I usually do in the end.  The meal could have easily been vegan - but I did use regular shredded cheddar and we made nacho plates with guacamole and salsa.  In the past I have used Diaya shredded cheese and vegan sour cream, however I did not have those groceries on hand. On the side I had a ready-made salad and dinner was served.  The kids have eaten this meal many times, so they didn't give me a hassle, which is always a good thing.   We have leftovers in the fridge and freezer - I made a pound of beans.  We will have leftovers tomorrow and then an easy meal another day.  Life is good - vegetarian meals are awesome, vegan (WFPB) meals = I am rocking it on all levels (maybe tomorrow..? Ha!).

All laundromats are not created equal!

I "washed," and I use that term lightly, my clothes at an absolute hole today.  I would have been better to get a tupperware out and go old school with a big stick....Anyhow...here are some visuals (just imagine, while you are enjoying these pictures, that the temp is set to blast furnace in this pit).

10 dryers in total, three working - Notice not a chair in the place.
Also the one rolling basket pictured here did not roll and was filthy. 

Classy "out of order" sign

Just "no" to all silver dryers

Of the two large capacity washers, both were broken and both had hand-written notes saying the machine had stolen the user's money.  I ran to get more quarters and when I got back there was a man collecting the quarters.  He stuck the note in the quarter hole - thanks dude, I mean he could have taken he note...

Fans were covered in dirt, off and no switches anywhere to be seen

The three dryers that were working gave off a ton of heat.  It was significantly cooler outside at over 100 degrees.  Sister and I were flushed and sweating and we were there for 1 hour and fifteen minutes total.  Also one dryer gave 8 minutes per quarter and the others 6 minutes per quarter.  I didn't want to be there any longer than necessary so I used all three and felt robbed the entire time.

There were no other patrons - I don't blame them.  I will be sure to do my laundry at any place other than the Florence laundromat from now on.  I spent $12 - it was extremely overpriced for filth.  There was a washer with four inches of rancid water in the bottom.  Obviously this place belongs to someone who never frequents laundromats except to collect the coins.  I could go on but will spare you.

Why a Keystone Hideout travel trailer?

There was one huge factor that limited our options on which travel trailer to purchase.  We already owned a truck, a 2015 Toyota Tacoma 6-cylinder, 4x4 double cab.  We didn't want a larger vehicle - we wanted to keep the truck and therefore we had to pay close attention to the weight of the various travel trailers.  We ended up choosing Keystone based on information found in a Lightweight Travel Trailer Guide as well as info from various forums and websites.  In the end we narrowed the choices to two models by Keystone -the Hideout and the Bullet and we bought the Hideout because it was on a local lot and the Bullet was not.

There are a couple of things I particularly like about our model.  First it does not have slide outs.  I think that is a benefit - less to go wrong also the unit is lighter because of the lack of slides. Secondly, I love the fact that our bedroom has an actual door for privacy.

We were set on buying new because we have no experience with travel trailers and wanted a warranty.  We did not feel comfortable buying used because we didn't know how to spot trouble or systems in disrepair.  Yes we spent more money, but we have a bit more peace of mind.

We wanted an enclosed underbelly and wanted to keep the cost around $20,000.  The 25LHSWE we found in our area did not have the enclosed underbelly so the dealership had to install it.  Out the door we paid $22,000 (inclusive of tax, title, & truck towing additions).  Of course we had to buy a bunch of other things (extended sewer line, extended fresh water hose, pressure valve for the water, surge protector for electrical connection...) but the cost was generally what we expected to spend.

So far the systems all work very well and we are comfortable.  Let me know if you have any questions about our rig!

Why stay in the heat?

It's a good question and a simple one to answer - employment.  He's working and we have to stay close to the job until we find enough income to support our nomadic dream.  It's certainly not ideal - I just watched a YouTuber who said he "chases 70 degrees all year."  That would be awesome.  It would be good to live indoors and out.  To cook outdoors on the grill and to see the kids playing outside would be very nice compared to having them stacked in their bunks (excuse me in the "rainbow" and "clouds" as they have recently been named).  The worst of the year is now, then the rains will come and hopefully cool it down a bit.  We've been on various outings to beat the heat.  Today we continued our search for the perfect things to organize our tiny space.  We found a couple things at Target today and we took some of our favorite art to Hobby Lobby to get it framed so that we can properly mount it on the walls so that it will not fall when we move.  We've been invited to friends' houses and we will certainly take advantage of some play dates.  The trailer is able to maintain 30 degrees cooler than the outdoor temp with the Reflectix on the windows.   We sleep with the temp at 78 which is very comfortable. The summer in AZ is like the winter in the more northern parts of the country - we just have to stay indoors for a couple of months and wait out the bad weather.

Minimizing: How did we deal with all of our stuff?

Good question!  Because we are still dealing with it and we have been at this for three weeks as of today.

We had a number of categories into which our things fit:
1.) Gift to friends and through the local Buy Nothing Facebook group
2.) Donate or throw away
3.) Sell via OfferUp and Facebook groups
4.) Store in a climate controlled storage facility (5x5)
5.) Store in our 500 square foot garage on a rural parcel we have owned since 1998 (more about this in a future post)
6.) Keep with us in the trailer

We gave away and sold most of our furniture and many home decorations.  I have been thinning out the kids' toys for months but we still had to decide which were the most precious items and which would have to find new homes.  We have various collections that we want to keep nearer to us such as vinyl records, books, and video games and those went into storage along with personal papers.

In the blazing heat last Wednesday (120 degrees) we loaded a 6'x12' UHaul trailer (attached to our truck), the cab of the truck, and the trunk and front seat of our car.  Yesterday we drove all that stuff to our land.  We moved furniture and household items adequate to furnish the garage in the future (stay tuned for more info about "The Land").  For now our personal memorabilia including pictures, kids keepsakes, as well as bed, bath and beyond stuff are stored there.  Here is some idea of my view for 10+ hours yesterday as we drove round trip up and down the mountain.

Stopped for gas

Throughout our calculations we were optimistic about what would fit into each space.  While we are now out of the house and most of the decisions have been made, we did bring too much to the trailer. Mostly I feel like we brought too many toys.  Secondly I brought too much food (I had a large pantry)...I have had to store some of both in the under carriage storage and that was not the original idea.  I am concerned about my dried goods (beans, grains, flours...supposed to be stored in a cool dry place...I have them dry, yes, but not cool).  My immediate task is to figure out how to use up my staples without cooking in the trailer.

Inside the trailer I have small compartments under the kitchen benches, bed and couch.  In these I have stored 1.) craft/school supplies, 2.) games, 3.) kitchen appliances, 4.) office stuff (printer/scanner/etc) and video games.  I also store some extra towels and our swimwear under one of the kitchen benches.  I have a feeling we will be rearranging it all because it does not seem efficiently or effectively put away.  The kitchen cabinets hold pots and pans, dishes, pantry and the household garbage.  In the bathroom we added an over the door shoe holder to sort the toiletries - the under sink compartment is so tiny and full of pipes there is little room for anything.

Today we went to IKEA, but were disappointed by the lack of immediate solutions.  In many cases we didn't have all the measurements we needed.  We are also unclear about whether we should try to mount things to the walls with hardware or just use command strips...

So our continuing problems are - 1.) Finding solutions to organizing all of our stuff in the trailer and 2.) Thinning out what we brought to the trailer (especially using up the food).

RVegan Life

For a long time I have aspired to consume a entirely Whole-Food-Plant-Based (WFPB) diet.  I see diet as a continuum, you can eat 100% shit or 100% nutrition or anything in between!  I am always moving toward the nutrition side of the equation having knowledge from The China Study, Dr. Fuhrman, Forks Over Knives, NutritionFacts, and Michael Pollan helps me on my way.  I want to eat a more nutritious diet because of my health - a family history of diabetes and heart disease - and personal past diagnoses of high blood pressure, "prediabetes" and high cholesterol (though all are under control by diet at this time).  Over the past 18 days I have had zero time to prepare meals and though we ate a couple of meals at nice restaurants with vegan options, mostly I subsisted on pizza, potato, egg and cheese burritos, and veggie burritos from fast food joints.  I was seriously craving some real food people!

So, tonight - after a long day of running errands and grocery shopping at the closest store (WalMart 14 miles away - yes, I now officially live in a rural food desert) I made my first healthy WFPB trailer meal.

Delicious.  Yes - don't you love my fancy plates?  I had to get rid of my glass set as they were inappropriate for trailer living.  I will be on the lookout for a microwavable plastic set, but in the meantime, disposable is a good thing (remember - no dishwasher anymore).  

So I was on a kick with these grain salads a while ago - what really makes them awesome is some of my hummus on top, but I didn't want to get the Vitamix out and go through that clean up in my micro kitchen yet.  Instead I just drained a can of garbanzo beans, threw some frozen corn in the colander, diced some orange bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes tossed that all with spring greens and balsamic vinegar dressing.  Then I nuked a frozen bag of quinoa and kale (WalMart brand, it is so good) and put a few spoonfuls on top of that beauty and voila! Real Food!  It was excellent.  

Tomorrow we head to our property with the UHaul trailer.  I made us some spicy garbanzo bean/avocado sandwiches and we are taking some cans of veggie soup to warm up on the propane burner.  My body is not fully healed from loading that damn trailer.  I hope unloading goes smoothly. The best part about this trip is that the kids get to play outside as it will be a bit cooler on the mountain! 

Laundromat!

It’s my first day at the laundromat.  I have considered myself fortunate to have always had laundry facilities in my home or apartment.  I’ve only used the laundromat when I had items too big to fit in my washer.  I now count myself among the number of Americans who do not own their own washer or dryer.  My first impression of this facility is that it is very warm…no air conditioning, though I think there is an evaporative cooler.   I guess it makes sense, the wall of dryers probably put out a ton of heat – it might cost a fortune to cool it. 

There is no WiFi at this location, so I am writing in a word processor and will upload this post later.  It strikes me that having WiFi would help pass the time.  My kids have their screens with preloaded shows…they are currently entertaining themselves with Blue’s Clues!  But they asked about Netflix as soon as we arrived. 

There are two sizes of washers, the small are $2.25 and the large are $5.00 per load.  Based on my previous washing machine I felt I had two loads in the smaller machines.  They take 35 minutes to run through the cycles.  It is nice to put in all of your laundry into two machines and dedicate some time to this event.  At home I would often put a load in and then forgot about it only to find it a day or two later stinky and moldy smelling, then having to run it again and waste water.  I am ashamed to admit that there were times when a load had to be run more than twice due to my forgetfulness or other distractions.  There is little chance of that happening here. 

I bet there is a strategy to the dryers…use lots of them, load little?  That is what I am thinking.  I wonder if I am responsible for lint screens?  By the way, it smells good in here.  I like the smell of fresh laundry and dryer sheets.  Everyone is chill, there is a woman working here who is very helpful.  She does a great job keeping the place clean, it seems well kept.  

Once you get your stuff in the dryers things move quickly.  There is something very relaxing about watching your clothes tumble.  

You can dry fast with small loads and then its all folding and packing up.  Sister decided to play a game of slowly walking to the door backwards with a look of, "I'm gonna do it!" on her face...she then stepped outside the open front door and danced a little jig.  I shook my head at her and asked her back inside.  She obliged for a second and then went out again.  I then asked her if she could help me unload the dryers - that was a fun thing and she narrated the whole time, "brother's shorts, daddy's shirt, mama's big girl underpants..." and so it went.  Finally, about an hour and a half after we arrived we were out the door.  I think I could be faster next time now that I have a bit of experience - or I could have been slower and talked to the other people engaged in the same work as I.  

It does seem very inefficient, from a household finance perspective, for every household to own these machines.  They take up a lot of space, require maintenance, which few people actually do, and they pose a risk - in terms of a flood and fire hazard.  Why is sharing a machine such a terrible thing? Best case scenario is that neighbors would connect and talk during this mutually necessary mundane task.  Instead we are all generally isolated in our own suburban islands.  I imagine that in some places the laundromat is a place where community building take place, kids connect, and parents chat about their trials and tribulations.  I'm not going to miss owning my own machines, I am going to visit all of the laundromats in my area and compare them and perhaps I will meet some new people.  

Bittersweet day...

I've not been able to write the past couple of nights because we got back to the trailer so late, the kids were exhausted and needed attention and I basically collapsed into bed.

Yesterday was particularly difficult as record heat hit the valley of the sun and we packed the UHaul in 120 degree heat.

Here is our 6'x12' UHaul trailer attached to our truck and backed up to the garage door at the house. We filled every square inch of that baby and realized that we were unable to fit many of the items we originally wanted to take with us.  All day I utilized my local community connections and a local "Buy Nothing" Facebook group to give away the items that we couldn't fit.  Thankfully the kids were invited to a friend's house so that we could work.  Also the new owners came by for their final walk-through and we had a very nice chat.  They seem to be very nice people and I think we would all get along well if we stay in the area.  For now, because I am reluctant to go into in depth conversations about our choices with every person I meet, when people ask, "where are you moving?" I say, "Nearby, into a smaller place."  True, every word, but it doesn't exactly capture the whole story!

So we worked all day yesterday and got back to the trailer at 11pm weary in every muscle and bone.  Then I still had to shower the kids because I had put it off the night before, So I did that and passed out.  This morning we still had an enormous amount of stray stuff in the place.  We took five car loads of garbage to the dump.  Most of it was empty boxes, but there were untold odds and ends accumulated over seven years that have never seen the light of day tucked in the back of closets and cupboards.   It was slow work.  I cleaned the fridge, floor and wiped down the surfaces a final time. I cried at intervals as I threw away random things that reminded me of my son as a baby.  Some final artwork remained on a wall, I gifted it to a neighbor and cried as I said goodbye to her and told her I enjoyed being her neighbor.  As we drove away I was happy because everything I had been thinking for almost a year was coming to fruition, but there is also anxiety and trepidation about the future.  I asked my son how he felt and he said, "I feel casual."  I think this whole ordeal about selling the house has been dragging on for so long that he is ready to finally be done with it.  

So now we sit in our tiny house, still drowning in stuff and trying to decide what to keep and what to get rid of.  For every dollar we have spent acquiring things we have probably gotten 10 cents trying to sell it.  I have had to give away a lot of valuable items.  I have put things in the dump that had life in them...It bothers me to waste so much.  But then that has been the problem over the past few years. Our lifestyle has been wasteful and excessive - we've been working to own and maintain all of these things. 

On the plus side there is a sum of money in our checking account and we are in the process of paying off our remaining debts.  Soon we will own ourselves instead of owing banks!  At some point I will share a bit more about our finances as that is a huge factor driving our decisions.   All in all today was a bittersweet day and I am worn out.  It was only 18 days ago that we accepted the offer on the house. We have successfully emptied the 4000 square foot home we have known for the past seven years - the only home our children have know.  We purchased an RV, secured a lot, and relocated to a travel trailer.  We forwarded mail, maintained internet, changed utilities.....a lot.  I need a nap!

Five things we have learned about RV systems during our first week...

1.) Propane - It is wise to shut off the propane for the water heater when not in use.  The water heats up quickly for showers and dishes.  Cooking on propane is like cooking on natural gas, but we are not going to be cooking much on the stove during the summer because it puts out too much heat with the A/C running.  With that said, I have made pancakes and oatmeal on the stove for breakfast and I cooked a larger meal for dinner one evening, but it was clear that was not a good idea when trying to cool the space.  From now on I am going to be using the microwave and eating cold food for the summer.  I can use our Vitamix for smoothies and hummus, so those will have to be the staples.  I can also use our other kitchen appliances - bread-maker (I may try running it outside in the shade) & crockpot.  I am exploring solar cookers as well, I have never used one.

2.) Grey Water - Easy to empty!  Fills up fast with four people taking showers/baths and doing dishes.  Kids get a bath every other day.  Adults take a shower every day.  It seems that we fill 1/3 of the tank with the adult showers.  I am missing a dishwasher a little bit.  I have to keep up on the dishes because we have no counter space.  Did you see my last kitchen?

 Here is my current one:

Actually, you can take the Virtual Tour of our trailer to see the whole space.

3.) Black Water -  Fills up much less quickly than grey water.  In six partial days spent here we have emptied it once and it was only half full.  We followed the advice of more experienced folks, ran a little grey to get the hose wet, emptied black, then dumped the rest of the grey to wash out the hose.  I am definately appreciating only having one bathroom.  However, I must again point out that the space we are used to is going from this (four full bathrooms):

To this:

4.) Electricity - Full hooks-ups are excellent.  We have adequate outlets and are charging devices, running fans, microwave, and lights.  One of the things I decided to do was to eliminate all of my framed pictures and instead put all of my favorites on a digital frame which sits on a shelf in the main cabin.  I enjoy turning that on when we are here to remind us of all the good times we have already had and to make us dream of those we can have in the future.

5.) A/C - Four the first four or five days we left the trailer to air out during the day.  This includes leaving a couple windows open, the fans on, and the cupboards and benches open.  During those days we got to the trailer between 5-6pm each day and the trailer was at 99 degrees...We determined that the thermostat does not have the ability to display three digits.  We then cranked the AC and within an hour to an hour and a half it is down to 78 degrees.  We then held that temp until around 10:30 or so and then open the windows for the night because it had been getting cool.  However, we purchased the Reflectix, cut and taped it to the trailer windows over the past couple of days.  Yesterday we started turning on the A/C during the day at 90 - the outside temps exceed 110.  When we arrived back at the trailer today the temp was 115 and it was 90 degrees in the trailer with the A/C off (i.e. not running all the time).  Over the past 1.5 hours we have been reducing the temp by 2 degrees every 15-20 min and are at 84 degrees now (111 degrees outside).  The A/C does not seem to be working at the max, It reaches the new temperature and then shuts off.

I spent a couple of hours last night researching sun shades - a permanent solution to the Reflectix. There are a lot of factors to consider purchasing and installing these shades, so I will save that for another time.  For now I am feeling good that we can probably obtain 30 degrees below the outside temp.  We have to be out of the house by Wednesday - shortest two and a half weeks of my life - and then we will be here full-time!

Transition days

Each evening we have been returning to the trailer for dinner, an evening walk/bike around the park and then begin the arduous task of getting sister to settle down for bed time.  In the AM we rise with the sun around 5:30am (by "we" I mean "she" and the rest of us begrudgingly get up to accommodate her).  I basically wake up to a munchkin voice saying, "Mama, it's daytime!" every morning.  Cute?  Yes, But also exhausting.  Brother somehow manages to sleep for at least two more hours until I force him up for breakfast so that we can get headed back to the house for another day of packing, sorting, giving, selling, and planning.

This is our current daily reality so we have not yet experienced 24 hours in the trailer.  Record heat is in the forecast for next week - reaching 118 degrees - thankfully on days we will still be in the house, but the summer is only just beginning.

Today we went to Home Depot and purchased a roll of radiant barrier, Reflectix to cover our windows until we improve the window shades and blinds.  Shades and blinds must be ordered and take 2-4 weeks to obtain and we have not yet had time to measure the windows and place an order. In the meantime we can do a quick fix to better insulate this tiny house.

We have SO many little improvements, things to organize, and fix up in the trailer.  We plan on spending a day after the house closes, going to IKEA with the trailer to improve our tiny space and organization.  It is too bad we are drowning daily in the stuff from our huge house - we can't focus on our tiny house right now! However, I have been trying to personalize the kids' spaces a little.  I put up some posters in brother's bunk and here is a picture of sister's...

The rainbow used to hang in sister's bedrroom, it now marks the entrance to her bunk.  The only problem is that it traps heat, so I put a little fan facing into the bunk from the kitchen table to provide some circulation.  

The views of the desert in the evening on our walks are fun.  Here is how another lot in the park was decorated:

The cactus are blooming and look really unusual!

 This prickly pear will provide some excellent fruit soon, it looks almost ripe!

I like how our spot has so much shade.   

We put our first piece of Reflectix on main window pictured here.  YouTubers recommended painter's tape, but ours was not sticking very well.  Perhaps we need more tape on it.  We will see if it holds over night.  Although, before all the windows are blacked out, I want to sleep with the windows open again tonight.  It is currently 93 degrees, but will be dropping down to 82 degrees by midnight and 75 degrees by 5am.  When the AZ heat is in full force it hardly cools at night - especially when you are living in a concrete jungle.  In the desert, living on dirt, it cools off a bit more but is still oppressive. I am nervous about the heat, but feel there are a number of ways to improve the efficiency of the trailer.  Of course we are all staying hydrated!

Adjustment challenges

One thing that is not hard to adjust to is the scenery in this beautiful RV park - Rancho Sonora.  It is well maintained, landscaped, and has all the amenities during the "season" though we are parked here during off season so we are not able to benefit from the clubhouse and laundry, which is a bummer. So far we have been doing our laundry at the house...but laundromats are in our near future.

Perhaps the biggest challenge we are facing so far is bed time.  Our little spitfire who once kept a perfectly scheduled bedtime at 7pm has been up until around 10pm every night we have slept in the trailer.  She is in a new space and still adjusting.  She's excited about a big kid bed (this is her first bed out of the crib).  She has control over a light switch (damn).  Both kids' full size bunks have IKEA bins with clothes and toys along one wall - and access to toys at bedtime is not a good deal for us. She can get in and out of her bunk at will (she never climbed in or out of her crib - she was always put in and taken out).  Add it all up and the sheer joy of all this new freedom = no "happy hour" for parents after kids go to sleep.  This has got to change.

Our bedroom has a door.  This was a definite plus in the floor plan.  Tonight we are trying lights out in the main cabin/bunks and closing our door.  Thankfully brother has his watchful eye on sis and enjoys a good tattle for rule breaking.  We are alerted to nonsense.  We started at 9pm and a half hour later we are no closer to sleep.  Better luck tomorrow....?

Ok, it is after 10pm now and the noises have settled down.  Certainly this is the biggest problem for us so far...  I am hopeful we will be able to figure out a solution in the near future, or the novelty of this new tiny house will wear off and she will revert to her schedule.

Our top five reasons for full-time RV'ing

1.) Like many adventurous souls who came before us such as Keep Your Daydream, Less Junk More Journey, and Exploring the Local Life (just to name a few) - we want to see the country, visit National Parks, and expose our kids to new experiences.  We want to soak up every minute of our time with our kiddos and want them to appreciate and prioritize experiences with people over things. Since we met 21 years ago we have lived in eight different spaces in two states - the longest being seven years in the home we are currently selling. We enjoyed the new adventure, new people, and new careers we have experienced in each phase of our life.  At this point in our lives (now in our 40s) we want to make adventure central to our lifestyle.

2.) Debt sucks!  Selling our house allows us to pay off all of our debt and have some savings.  We want to own our own life.  We want to pay cash for our expenses and we want to save for the future. Today houses do not seem to be the investment they were for our grandparents.  Mortgages are lengthy and most people never pay off the principal.  We can reduce our monthly expenses significantly by living with less space and stuff.  

3.)  Tiny houses are cool!  Though we loved our time in our huge house the burden of upkeep and responsibility weighed on us.  Also, we were drowning in stuff!  We just accumulated and accumulated things to fill all that space.  For a couple of years the idea of a simple space with everything in its place and less to clean has sounded very appealing,  While there are pros and cons with everything, we want to have this "tiny house" experience as a contrast to living large.  We want to live with more minimalist values.

4.) We don't know where we want to live.  We spent many years focusing on our work and careers. Actually we've mostly moved because of job opportunities though we've also moved when life presented an opportunity.  There are so many possibilities to explore and being mobile makes that easier.

5.) Kids need to be outside - actually we all do.  With 4000 square feet at our disposal I must admit the kids rarely go outside except when we are camping.  That is not how kids are meant to be...The first day at the RV park my son found a tree to climb and he has been in it a little each day.  He asked me to bring his bike, my daughter wanted a scooter.  They want to be outdoors when their inside space is limited and that is a very good thing.   Despite living in the most sunny state in the nation I am vitamin D deficient!  Hiking, and other outdoor activities are much more accessible and practical when living closer to nature.  

A huge (or tiny) transition...

June 10, 2017 we began our transition to full-time RV life.  The change for us is dramatic in that we are leaving a 4000+ square foot home to move into a travel trailer with around 200 sq ft in the heat of the Phoenix area AZ summer.

Pictures!

Bye bye McMansion, hello tiny house.  

We are a family of four.  Our son is seven and our daughter will be three in July.  They had sweet bedrooms in our house.

Note the HO scale train above his bed

Yet here we are today:

Perhaps now would be a good time to mention that this move is happening over a period of two and a half weeks.  That is the amount of time between accepting an offer for the sale of our home and the scheduled closing date.  Tonight will be the fifth night sleeping in our RV.  Just to catch you up here are the some highlights of the transition...

Day 1:  We drove our truck with a trailer for the first time.  Neither of us have any experience with this.  He drove it home.  We slept in the road by our house after moving in all day.  The new trailer is STINKY!  It was off-gassing from all the chemicals used in construction.  The only option was to sleep with the windows open, which ended up being very pleasant.  It was a cool night and our neighborhood is quiet.  "This is the craziest thing we have ever done," was a comment that was made a number of times.

Day 2:  I drove the trailer to the RV park and we experienced the shortcomings of the "Welcome Package" from the dealer.  The water hose was too short.  We had purchased an extended sewer line, with a clear coupling on the advice of our favorite YouTubers.  We had also purchased a surge protector, water pressure regulator, and chocks.  We ran to WalMart to obtain a hose.  When we got back to the park a coyote was in the driveway in front of our RV.  It was a little unnerving to be outside when we heard the howls very close by.  We retreated indoors and experienced running water and our first showers.  The night was cool again, we slept under the light of a nearly full moon listening to the sound of mesquite pods swaying in the breeze and dropping onto the picnic table and our car.  The kids were wound up!  They didn't sleep until after 10:30 or so.  The park is deserted, it seemed all the RVs were being stored for the season.  We have a beautiful spot that is shaded both in the morning and evening.

Day 3: Each day we leave the trailer early to head to our house to continue the process of donating, gifting, boxing, storing, and selling our stuff.  We've never moved with kids before - this is the home they have known since infancy.  I had an emotional moment packing up my son's room.  Lots of memories.  On the flip side, this idea has been talked about for the past year.  I have watched hundreds of hours of YouTube and envisioned what life would be like....There are many considerations in this change: insurance, mail, storage space, minimizing our personal property... Each one is overwhelming at first and then we figure it out.  We are renting a 5x5 climate controlled storage space for boxes in the valley, no furniture.  We own a piece of land in rural Northeast AZ where we have a 500 square foot building.  We will take some of our most utility furniture to that building for storage.  Ultimately the building will be finished and will be a true tiny house with two lofts for the kids.  But until then, and maybe even after that, we are nomads.

Day 4: Another day packing after a beautiful night's rest.  This morning the trailer's inside temp was 68 degrees and the kids were cold!  They are AZ kids!  We slept another night with all of the windows open and continue to air out the odors, which have lessened significantly.  We talked a lot today about improving insulation - especially on the windows - to aid in cooling it during this hot summer.  I watched a very interesting video by Gone With The Wynns about ways to keep cool off-grid in the Nevada desert.  There was also another informative video specifically by folks living in Phoenix. We have devised a short term (within a week) and long term (over the next month) method for keeping the trailer a bit cooler for the summer...(stay tuned).

When we got back to our tiny house this evening we found that we made a rookie mistake...

We attached the water pressure regulator to the trailer, not the park's water supply.  As a result the hose was under too much pressure and it burst.  By attaching the regulator to the supply both the hose and the plumbing are protected.  A second trip to WalMart for a different hose and a lesson that we need to shut off the water when we are not going to be home.  This will ensure no future accidents or leaks.

Well, now you are caught up with our adventure!  More to come...