How I Turned My Dresser into a Makeup Vanity

Going from a 4,200 square foot home to a fifth wheel can be a bit of an adjustment.  One thing I liked about having a large home is having a large bathroom that had a vanity where I would get ready in the morning.  I'd do my makeup and my hair while sitting comfortably at the vanity.  Unfortunately, the fifth wheel does not have a vanity so I decided to utilize what we had to create a similar space.

First, I was lucky that our fifth wheel has a small dresser in the bedroom.  Below you can see what I had to work with, a small dresser directly under a window with a TV above it.  This photo has been brightened so you can really see the area before I did anything to it however the lighting in the bedroom was minimal, especially when the blinds were closed.

My first step was to add some lighting to the area.  I did not know exactly what or how I was going to do this so I just went to Menards to see what the options were.  I wanted to do this project myself without Cody's help even though I know he would have done it if I had asked.

At Menards I found simple track lighting that I could do myself and because the area has an available outlet I could just plug it in.

I bought a 2 foot track, 3 lights, and a live end that plugs into an outlet.

I put the live end on the end of the track and used a drill to screw the track into the base of the TV mounting area.

I used the drill to drill a hole big enough for the outlet to fit through to be plugged in behind the TV.

I ended up adding two tracks of lighting and then ordering a wireless light switch so that I can just push a light switch on the wall and the lights come on.

After I had all this amazing, much needed lighting I bought a mirror at Lowes that was the size I needed.  I kind of just slipped it under the valance and used my vanity tray to keep it from sliding down.

I turned the mirror around when taking the pictures because I didn't think anyone wanted to see a picture of me in the mirror taking a picture of the mirror.

The above picture is without the track lighting on and the below picture is with it on.

I bought a fold up chair from IKEA for less than $10 and I keep it folded up against the wall when I am not using my vanity however when I am using it there is just enough space to sit down and do my makeup in front of the vanity.

Vinyl on the Fifth Wheel

I wanted to put our website address on the fifth wheel but I didn't want to spend a whole lot on it.  I got on Amazon and looked up custom vinyl and found a very inexpensive solution.  I purchased the custom vinyl from here.  Because of the umber of letters I have in the web address I had to purchase two of them but for less than $20 I think this was a great deal! 

I used a towel with warm water and cleaned the area where I wanted to put the vinyl.  I let it dry then Cody and I followed the directions, which were easy, and we applied the vinyl.  And....done!

What I Miss About Living in a House

We have lived in the fifth wheel for 2 months now.  Although I love the adventure there are things I miss about living in a house.

• Long, hot showers - In a camper the water heater is small and doesn't get as hot.
• Kitchen prep space- Making a good size dinner takes every inch of counter space
• Bigger refrigerator - Camper refrigerators are much smaller. 
• Privacy - This doesn't mean privacy in general.  This is our code word for needing to use the restroom and not wanting everyone to hear us so they must leave the camper.
• Steady temperature - The temperature seems to fluctuate quite a bit.  Maybe it is our particular camper...I don't know.
• Thick mattress - Our mattress is pretty thin, even with a pillow top cover on it.
• Laundry not shaking the house - When I do laundry the loads always make the camper shake just a little bit but it is still noticeable.
• Not having to explain my choice of home - In a house nobody asks you why you live there, whereas in the camper we get asked why we live in a fifth wheel often and then we have to explain it and it can be uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing.
• Normal plumbing - The camper requires work in terms of the septic. 
• Water pressure - This may not be the case in all cases, but the water we are hooke up to is a light spit at best.

Overall, living in the camper is amazing.  It is an adventure that we are happy to be a part of however we do miss some things about living in a house.

What We Save Each Month

I have not been looking forward to writing this post nor did I finish it in one sitting.  Money is such an awkward subject to discuss with strangers especially when it is about your personal finances, however, I think it is necessary here for us.  Our adventure of living in a fifth wheel has the specific purpose of us saving money in order to put a $100,000 down payment on a house, so I think it is important for you to see how we do that.

Let's start with our fixed bills while we lived in Indianapolis then look at our fixed bills living in the fifth wheel.

May - House

Rent: $1755

Electricity: $146.91

Gas: $115.99

Water: $28.95

Garbage: $38.97
Sewer: $45

Cable, Internet, Home phone/fax: $190.52

Student Loans: Natasha - $726.28  Cody - $161

State Farm: $220 (This includes insurance for our vehicles, golf cart, fifth wheel, renter's insurance and life insurance)

Truck Payment: $611

Health Insurance: $710
Tuition for Private School: $1000 ($12,000 yearly for 2 children broken into monthly payments)

Our cellphone bills are a business expense so that is not something we pay each month.  Also you can see that I did not include groceries, clothes, household items, beauty supplies, fuel, etc.

Total Fixed Bills in House: $5749.62

June - Fifth Wheel

Storage Unit: $269
Student Loans: Natasha - $726.28  Cody - $161
State Farm: $220 (This includes insurance for our vehicles, golf cart, fifth wheel, renter's insurance and life insurance)
Truck Payment: $611
Health Insurance: $845 (This amount changed because we moved to a new state and had to purchase different policies)

Total Fixed Bills in Fifth Wheel: $2782.28

What We Save Each Month: $2967.34

If we live in our fifth wheel for a year, which is about the time frame we are looking at, we will have saved $35,608.08 in fixed expenses alone and that doesn't even include the typical amount we are currently budgeting for each month to go into savings.

We are not looking to save the whole $100,000 while living in the fifth wheel, as we have already saved $60,000 before even living in the fifth wheel, however we do not only want to have $100,000 in savings and use it all on a house.  We would like to have more than that in savings so that when we use our down payment we still have emergency money in the bank.

As you can see from our numbers our expectation of putting $100,000 down on a house is very doable within the timeframe we have set.  As I have said before though, we do not know what curveballs life may throw our way so these are just our hopes and expectations if life goes according to plan and God continues to bless our finances the way He has been.

I felt the need to share the financial benefits of our journey because it is the whole reason for this adventure but it's an uncomfortable topic so I am done discussing it now. Whew....awkward finance post over!!

Keeping Jewelry in a Camper

When living in a house I had this large standup jewelry armoire that was filed with jewelry.  The first step was to decide what I really needed.  I packed the rest for storage (see how I did that here).  What I decided to take with I put in a ThirtyOne jewelry holder that I used to use for traveling.  It is small but holds each piece of jewelry in a small fabric pouch inside.

Is RV Toilet Paper Really Necessary?

I wanted to know if RV toilet paper is really necessary in a camper or if we could use the same toilet paper we used while living in a house.  The toilet paper on the right is RV toilet paper and the toilet paper on the left is Members Mark toilet paper form Sam's Club.  I took the same number of sheets and put them in water.  After about an hour I stirred both gently.  After a full day I compared the two.  I couldn't notice a difference.  I asked my significant other if he noticed any difference and he didn't either. 

We had already purchased a lot of the RV toilet paper but when that ran out we started using the Sam's Club one again and had no problems.  Now I must say that our camper is newer and has a very nice septic system so I'm not sure if everyone will have this same experience with using regular toilet paper but this has been our experience.

Camper Modifications

I wanted to write a post about the modifications I made to the camper while we still lived in our fifth wheel but honestly I was just to busy having fun.

Below are simple pictures and explanations of what we did.

I have a post about this kitchen modification here.

A post about the vent modification here.

A post about creating a place to do my makeup here.

I installed a new shower head (Oxygenics® BodySpa Handheld Shower Head).  It was about $40 and it is much better than the old one.  I also put a mount lower for my son who is 6 years old so that it is at a more convenient place for him.

Under one of the bunks that fold up there was originally a couch, however when we purchased the camper the couch had already been removed.  We put storage cubes on each side and made a desk.  Since we work from home this desk was a must for us.

This one is simple.  Add a command hook behind the toilet to hang the toilet wand.

With some unused wall space I created a command center for us as well as a storage area.  I used ThirtyOne organizing pouches on the wall that I already had before.  I added a "Menu" page and an "I Love You Because" page to the organizer because I could use an expo marker to change it whenever needed.  I also used Trone organizers from IKEA to hold shoes and other items.

More kitchen organization!  I used command hooks to hang measuring cups and pot holders,  I used a label maker to print out the size of each cup and put it next to each hook.

I used zip ties whenever we traveled to make sure the cabinets didn't open while on the road.  I learned the hard way about doing this because the first trip we took we opened up the fifth wheel after a day of driving to find all my Pyrex baking dishes had fell out of the cabinet above the refrigerator and there was glass everywhere.

I added shelves above the windows so that there is extra storage while parked.  The shelves are from IKEA.  They are actually picture ledges that I cut to size.

I hung up stuffed animal storage in each bunk.  My kids have tons of stuffed animals they like to play with but I didn't want them on the bed all the time taking up space.  I bought it from Amazon for $15 for both of them.  The pink bed organizer is from IKEA for $4.

I made curtains for the kids' bunks.  I used a shower curtain to hang them up and just bought fabric and sewed a curtain.  This way the kids have some sense of privacy.

I made a sign for the neck of the RV.  Check out that post here.


These were just some of the camper modifications we did to make living in a camper more comfortable and convenient.