Our First Day Living in a Fifth Wheel

We have finally made the move to the camper.  We no longer live in Indiana, which means we no longer live in a house.  Our home has wheels and we plan to put it to good use this summer.  We have 5 trips planned and we are still trying to schedule another trip with friends.

Unfortunately the kids are with their dads on Memorial Day weekends so our first night living in the camper was just me and Cody.  We finished putting all of our stuff in storage and I've just finished unpacking all the stuff for the camper.  It was a long evening yesterday and has been a long day today but I'm glad everything was done so quickly. 

As I was unpacking all the stuff I wanted to keep at the camper I realized I didn't have enough space for it all so I started putting stuff in boxes to take to storage.  I guess I don't need as many pans and mixing bowls and cups and utensils as I had hoped.  Also we keep most of our food in lock tight plastic containers and after trying to put all the containers into the pantry I decided that we will not be using the containers anymore because they take up too much room, so they will go to storage as we eat the stuff in them.

Cody was so sweet to make dinner last night.  I think he could tell I was wanting to rip my hair out with unpacking so he made baked ziti.  I'm a lucky lady.  Actually when I'm done with this post I'm going to make leftovers for a late lunch.  I haven't eaten yet today. Ok I take that back, I ate two mini donuts around 11am but my bely is growling so leftovers it is. 

Cody is gone for most of the day today helping my dad move a shed from one place to another.  He's been so excited to help him move it.  I think he just likes hanging out with my dad regardless of what they are doing.

It seems so surreal right now that I live in a fifth wheel.  Anyone that knows me well knows that camping, or glamping, is something I love to do and that it is my hopes to live and travel in an RV when I retire.  This is good practice until then.

I think it is important to take a moment and thank God for allowing us to take this amazing adventure.  It is because of Him that I get this amazing view.  No seriously, I took this picture inside the camper.  I am so blessed!

I thought it was fitting to listen to one of my favorite albums to come out recently.  Illinois by Brett Eldridge.  I particularly like the title track.  I first heard the song when I lived in Indiana and it pulled on my heart strings.  I just love my home state.  I hope I never have to move out of state again but who knows where life will lead us.  You can watch the video for the song below if you feel so inclined.

"My House"

Have any of you heard the song “My House” by Kacey Musgraves?  Oh it is so fitting for our adventure. 

Organize Your RV Kitchen

As with any kitchen in a camper it is a bit cramped and there is not much countertop space or storage.  In an effort to maximize the kitchen space I have done a few things that made a big difference in the space.  Below are two pictures of my kitchen stove area before I did anything to it. 

As you can see from the pictures above the space was not efficiently being used.  I added a hanging fruit basket that I purchased on Amazon.  I also bought the stove cover from Amazon.  At IKEA I bought a Fintorp organizer.  It is a rail with hooks that I hang cooking utensils on.  I also hung two IKEA spice racks on the back wall and use another one just next to the stove.  I absolutely love the IKEA magnetic knife holder.  It was easy to install and it holds the knives securely in place, even when we are driving.  I used a 3M hook to hang hot pads on the wall as well.

Washer / Dryer Combo

We bought our first washer/dryer combo for the fifth wheel.  I have had two travel trailers and two fifth wheels and none of them have had a washer or dryer in them, let alone a washer/dryer combo.  We purchased the washer/dryer at Camping World.  It was on sale.  The total with tax and the two year warranty was $1516.31. 

The other travel trailers and fifth wheels we had were only used recreationally but since we are living in our fifth wheel we knew that getting a washer/dryer was very important to us.  Luckily, when we were looking to by the fifth wheel that we would live in we knew we would need a washer/dryer so we purchased a fifth wheel that had the hookups in it already.  You can see the fifth wheel we purchased here.

The washer/dryer unit we purchased is a Splendide 7100XC.  You can find it here.

Cody installed the unit in about 30 minutes.  The first week we had it was during Spring Break so we stayed in the fifth wheel during that time even though we haven't officially moved into it yet. 

The washer/dryer works perfectly!  I'm so happy to have it.  We will not have to go to a laundromat all the time to do laundry, although we will have to go to wash bigger things like blankets and pillows.  It holds much more than I expected.  I can wash a king size sheet with a couple hand towels at the same time.  I cannot express how thrilled I am to have it.

Cover Vent with Pantyhose

Have you ever noticed that there is stuff down in the vent?  In the fifth wheel it seems like there is always stuff falling through the crack of the vents.  How do you prevent dirt and stuff from falling through the cracks yet still allow the air to go through it?  Cover the vent with pantyhose!

I took pictures as I did the project but really I didn't need to.  Simply unscrew the vent an take it off, clean out the vent (I used homemade Clorox wipes - found here), cover the vent with pantyhose knee highs then screw the vent back into place.  So EASY!!!

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!