While we were in the dreaming stages for this adventure, we would routinely remind ourselves that we’d have a significant adjustment period, coming from living in a house. We guessed that our first six months might be full of fine-tuning and redirecting, possibly with some hard discussions and compromises. We reminded each other that we weren’t going to make any decisions about whether we liked this lifestyle until after the six month point.
Turns out we were wrong. Pretty significantly wrong.
Because the first six months, as a whole, have been wonderful. There have been some minor adjustments, but living small and mobile has become familiar surprisingly quickly. The RV truly feels like home and just the other day I was wondering aloud, “How is it that we used to have so much stuff?”
Gear
Great from the start
- Kitchen outfitting & organization
- Hasn’t felt like we’re missing anything.
- The Dreo air fryer has been especially useful.
- In fact, I could see downsizing some items down the road.
- Wardrobe selections & storage (including outerwear)
- The mix of warm and cool clothing has been great
- It was smart for us to plan on needing 14 days between laundry. We don’t usually go that long, but on occasion we have.
- I’ve added a few items as replacements, but they’ve followed the “1 in, 1 out” rule
- All of the custom organization we added while we were in Madison
- Mud room creation
- Command hooks everywhere
- Bedside shoe storage
- Spice rack
- (and others…see the RV post)
- Electronics, broadly speaking, have been perfect
- Phones, iPads, laptops, Kindle – all being used regularly
- WiFi access via cellular data and a backup Starlink
- Devices/systems in the truck have been doing a great job
- Solar/batteries/generator are well-sized for our needs
- We brought a PS4 and Nintendo Switch, which haven’t gotten much use but don’t take up much space
Adjustments
- Outdoor setup
- Honestly, we’re still fine-tuning this.
- We don’t set up the tarp and lights very often. Not sure we still need them.
- We purchased a collapsible fire ring and we like it, but like the tarp, we don’t use it a lot
- We’ve added “guest” chairs and Rich has swapped out his primary outdoor chair trying to find the right one
- I used my little sewing machine to reduce the size of my chair cushion
- My hobby supplies
- I’ve decreased my items by about 25% as we’ve traveled because I’ve realized which aspects I’m actually using
- Water filter
- We swapped out the original Reverse Osmosis unit for an under-sink cartridge filter with a UV.
- This is in addition to the 3-stage cartridge filter we had from the start.
- Living room rug was replaced with one from Target that is washable. This has been a much-needed change.
- New refrigerator
- We planned this swap while we were still in Madison, but we continue to be very happy we switched to a DC fridge from JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana, IN.
Food & Fitness
I had goals for Food and Fitness when we set out. Feels like we’re getting “in the groove” on those things.
Food
I had an image and idea of how I wanted to change our meals from when we were in a house to when we traveled. But as we’ve been on the road, I’ve realized that not all of ny goals are compatible with how Rich wants/needs his meals. We’re at a good compromise equilibrium for the moment, but we’ll continue to innovate as we go.
Versus my original goals, the big ones are in good shape:
- Less meat – Yes, we incorporate more meatless meals…but not as many as I had envisioned. I am happy that when we have meat, we eat much more seafood and chicken.
- Smaller meals – I have been reducing my portion size versus us having meals that are inherently smaller. This is also different than I envisioned, but accomplishes my goals.
- More grazing – I’ve incorporated more foods that are healthy grazing (i.e. grapes) versus when we were in a house I would grab potato chips. So there isn’t more grazing per se, but healthier snacking.
- Indulgent moments – Yes! We’ve been having some very nice food.
- Balance the work – Yes, we’re both involved in meal prep and grocery runs,, although I do the planning.
- Campfire cooking – No, we haven’t done as much of this as I would like. Hopefully we’ll use the new fire ring for this moving forward.
- Experimentation & fun – Yes, many new recipes and I’m enjoying my food “profile” much more than when we were in a house.
Fitness
My father and both of my sisters are people who don’t feel right unless they’ve had their regular, very strenuous workouts. I’m not sure I’ve ever reached that kind of relationship with my fitness…and perhaps I never will.
But I am incredibly proud to say that workouts while on the road have gotten to the point where they feel routine. I don’t have to mentally work up to the idea that I’m going to go for a run or do a strength workout. I don’t crave them like my family does, but they feel like they’re “just what I do.” And that feels like a big step.
Versus my original goals, there’s still room for improvement here but I’m on the right track.
- Flexibility – This is the one that could use the most work. I started out doing more stretching & yoga but it felt like juggling 3 types of workouts was too much, so I focused on cardio and strength. I know I’ll need to work on getting flexibility back in the picture soon.
- Endurance – I’ve continued running…jogging is probably more accurate, given my speed. In the past several weeks Rich & I have gone together, which has been a big help for me with regard to pacing. I’ve been running two to three miles almost every other day, which has felt like the right amount.
- Strength – I try to do a strength workout at least two times per week…and ideally every time I run I add a 20 or 30 minute Apple Fitness workout afterward. I’ve noticed a significant improvement here over time, both with regard to the exercises I can perform and my muscle tone.
- Weight loss – Hard to say, as we don’t have a scale. But my clothes might be fitting just a little more loosely.
Art practice
Spending time getting more comfortable with watercolors and art in general was a key goal for my early days of retirement, and it has already been an interesting journey. I’ve enjoyed the extra time to experiment and learn, while trying not to be too hard on myself for mistakes and explorations. At present, my art practice consists of three key areas:
Travel Sketchbook
After messing around with a hot press sketchbook for a while (and discovering that watercolor with ink seems to be a much easier way for me to get results that I like), in early January I decided to take the plunge and dedicate a cold press sketchbook to documenting our travels. It won’t be perfect…still lots of messy experiments I’m sure.
Botanical (Perpetual Journal)
I had started this journal a while ago and have enjoyed keeping up with it, despite that I’m somewhat sporadic in my entries. The beauty is that over time it’ll fill up…even if we aren’t traveling.
As with all my art, I have quite a ways to go. But the point is to start.
RPG Game Journal
When I started playing Sundered Isles, I set up a journal and playkit that would facilitate an artistic approach to the dice-based role playing game. I’d played games related to this one before, but never a focus on the art.
I am loving the opportunity to be fanciful in this journal, making things up as I go.
