minimalism

Camper Life: 3 Months In

We have been living in Iowa now for three whole months! To be honest, it has felt like a really long three months with the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial divide in our country and the riots, everything with the election and the media, downsizing our lives, moving states, and being pregnant.

There have been many times I have wanted to be done with living in the camper (and that’s not good considering that we are only three months in and still have at least a year left). As we drove back from our anniversary trip in Wisconsin I had this overwhelming feeling of homesickness. Usually when coming home from a vacation you’re eager to get back. With the exception of seeing my daughter, I didn’t feel like I was going “home”. Maybe that’s normal when you move, but for a week or two I was desperately missing my hometown, friends, and having a house with more space.

I miss a lot of things like a big couch, a kitchen to easily cook things in and more counter space, a bathroom that two people can fit in, a king-sized bed, having the cat litter box in the garage, having a dining room where fitting a high chair isn’t an issue, and I especially miss a room for my baby. Oh, and a Target nearby, good coffee, and a decent sandwich shop.

I’m learning that the tension I’m feeling isn’t always because of the camper and sometimes mothering a (sweet and sassy) toddler would be difficult no matter where I am living. As my due date draws closer I also have some anxiousness about how life will be like with two babies under two years old and living in a tiny space.

Then I remember my WHY and I’m okay again (but I often have to remind myself because I am still human). My home is where my husband and daughter are. We didn’t do this because it would be easy or comfortable. We have a plan and I can visually see on paper when we’ll be able to have a “home” again. My daughters won’t remember living in a small space and how little of toys they had to play with, but they will remember being loved so much and getting so much time with their parents and grandparents. We are so blessed to get this “restart” and to set our family up for success for the future!

This is what you’ll see when you open the camper door. We have a mini sectional, rocker/recliner, and a small dining area.

This is the view of the camper from the bedroom door. It is 31 feet long.

Next to the slideout/dining area is where we keep this cart that holds Emery’s toys. We also have the hanging storage from the bathroom door and that houses diapers, wipes, and other baby things.

This is the closet. We keep cleaning supplies on the top shelf. In the “dresser” is where Emery’s clothes are (and some of mine).

These are the bunk beds. Emery sleeps on the top with a durable baby gate that also blocks out light.

Our bathroom is small but functional! We have only what we need in it and no longer have a drawer of 3-year-old beauty products that I rarely use! There is a vent on the roof that circulates air and the shower doubles as a tub for bathtime (for Emery. Only a kid could fit.)

View of the whole camper from the bathroom/bunk bed area.

This is our queen-sized bed that lifts up and has storage underneath. Our “closets” are above the bed. We also have a TV in the room that can swivel out into the main area as well.

The cat enjoys laying in the bottom bunk next to the window.

This is the kitchen area. To the right of the refrigerator are cabinets that we use for our pantry. We keep pots, pans, and a trash can under the sink area and put our dishes in the cabinet to the left of the sink.

Big Changes: Hello Small Town

The incredible support that we’ve received regarding selling our house and moving into an RV has been nothing short of amazing. We’ve made huge, life-changing decisions in less than a month and sometimes I’ve thought that we’re crazy, so the fact that no one is in agreement with that really puts my mind at ease. We began talking about buying an RV on February 9th and as of today, March 4th, we are under contract with our house, have purchased the RV, and have a date for our huge garage sale. There are still several puzzle pieces that are waiting to find their places but for the first time in a really long time, my hands are off of this situation and Jesus has literally taken ALL the wheels!

Many people assumed that when I said we were moving into an RV and “living small” that it meant we would be starting adventures traveling the country and visiting RV parks all over. As wonderful as that would be, it would defeat the entire purpose of us selling our home and most of our belongings to free ourselves from debt and save money. Most RV parks are around $500 or more per month to stay (still cheaper than a mortgage I suppose!) but that doesn’t include the gas money to get to where you’re going plus other travel expenses that arise. Not to mention we have two German Shepherds that I can’t imagine staying at an RV park with long term. Additionally, my husband’s job requires him to work in a brick and mortar office with hard-wired internet. So, although he works from home, it’s not as remote as people may think.

Our conclusion? Family. My husband’s mom and stepdad live on beautiful acreage in Iowa and they are so gracious to allow us to come and be their neighbors. It checks all the boxes of the things that we need: our dogs will be living their best life, Nick will work inside of their home, there is a perfect place for the RV to be parked and hooked up, a place to do laundry right next to us, no costly monthly fees like an RV park, and we will also have an area to store our belongings that we want to keep for a future home or things that just won’t fit in the RV. I also like to think there might be a mutual benefit here, too, with some extra grandbaby cuddles for them!

Despite all of the perfect things about this move and this beautifully perfect location, it doesn’t make it easy. We will be in southern Iowa, about five hours from where home is now, Springfield, Missouri. It is a small town and I am not a small-town girl. I say that because I thrive off of community like my friendships and our church. I also love being near fun events in the city, having restaurants to choose from, and getting a really good latte. You won’t find that in Keokuk, IA.

But, when you realize your monthly cost of housing will go from around $1,300 (mortgage, utilities, gas, internet, TV) to around $280 (RV loan payment, RV insurance, and utilities) you make the sacrifices for the time being and for the future of your family. We are so incredibly thankful for this opportunity to set our family up for success, whatever that may look like when this season is over.

We also have plans to travel back home monthly to get those lattes and most importantly, to see our friends and family in the Springfield area. I keep saying, “We’ll make it work.” but I realize that sounds a little less than enthusiastic. Since everything has moved so fast, I’m still processing everything and I know it won’t truly set in until we’re on the road to Iowa with our new house in my rearview mirror. I plan to document our journey all along the way because that will bring me some of that community even though it will be online rather than in person. Keep following along for part three for one more change happening for us that we want to share!

Big Changes: We’re Moving!

We have some big news and I have grappled with mixed feelings regarding it for weeks. It would be a lot to read in one blog post so I plan to split it up into three. So, for part one of the trilogy:

WE’RE MOVING!

Lots of people move. It’s usually a part of life. But this kind of move is different because it’s a bit radical and a lot out of my comfort zone. It’s completely out of the ordinary for what the majority of society would deem “normal,” and it’s also a move out of necessity and not out of excitement (okay, maybe a little excitement has started to form!). Simply stated: we’re not moving into a new house.

We live in a state with a low cost of living (Missouri). This is fantastic while you’re living here, but not so great if you ever want to move because moving means you will probably have to downsize your home if you haven’t planned well. As we looked into moving to a different state for my husband’s job (Texas) we began to realize that we would be downsizing tremendously and we would be in a not so fun financial situation. No fun money. No vacations. And definitely no home with a basement and big yard. We would basically be living paycheck to paycheck just to pay for our housing. The next reality check to our dreams was the fact that I resigned from my full-time job of teaching so that I could be a work from home mom. I haven’t recouped that monthly deficit that we lost. Then, add in our past decisions with money that has left us with some debt and you have a really bad equation that equals YOU’RE STUCK and you’re never moving and your dreams are crushed. That’s how it felt.

I have loved our home but really wanted to one day, sooner than later, live in a bigger home with a huge yard, a real laundry room, a basement, and of course the most beautiful kitchen. But, when you’re stuck financially– in debt and living on one income, it’s really hard to get out quickly and patience has never been a virtue of mine.

We have options. I could put my baby in daycare and go to work outside the home full time. Nick could get a second, third, fourth job. But saying yes to options such as those meant saying no to our family, and that wasn’t something we were willing to compromise on. So we started thinking a bit more out of the ordinary.

We have some friends who have been renovating a travel trailer/RV/camper and I was the one who brought the idea up to Nick at first. I was so ready to be free from the chains of debt that I wasn’t really thinking about all the implications of something like moving into an RV. Nick loved the idea and started his research and ran with it as I was wondering what I had created, ha! We made the decision to just DO IT. If we thought about it too much we would think of every negative thing to talk ourselves out of it. We went to see the RV in person and I started making lists of things we would sell and things we would put in storage.

Going from wanting to move into a larger home and then ending up with moving into an RV was going from one extreme to another. Our plans turned a complete 180 within mere weeks!

We did the math estimations and we’ll pay off our debt, the trailer, and begin a nice savings for a future home and other plans within around 15 months of living in the RV (thanks, also, to the sale of our house). This is one-fourth the time it would take us if we continued living in our current home, trying to pay our bills as is, and get out of debt. I have grappled with feelings like: what will people think? Are we failures? Will I regret this immediately? Will my baby have everything she needs to thrive in such a small space? I have already mourned the loss of our “stuff” and have worried about downsizing to such a small space.

Thanks to our friends, Dan and Sam, the RV is gorgeous and we’ll still be living in style. The RV has been transformed to a “farmhouse on wheels” with modern touches and everything we’ll need to still live comfortably. We’ll be going from our 20-year-old home to a completely renovated “new” space! Enjoy some pictures below of our new home and stay tuned for parts two and three of our new journey ahead that will include some more exciting details!