Living in a 400 Square Foot RV

I’m resorting to generic topics. As you know, I’m currently parked in Las Vegas. The sad part is, I haven’t been out on the strip to live it up yet! One reason being that the RV is parked about 20 minutes away. And our furry crew member, Loki, is still there.

I also don’t have anyone to hit the strip with. And I’m such a social creature. I tried to no avail to get some peeps to come hang with me in Vegas. But everyone’s tied up with this or that.

The rest of the crew members have evacuated Perl with great big smiles on their faces. They’re hanging out with dad in a two bedroom suite right next to the strip. They are VERY happy campers. They have unlimited cable and glorious internet with no data caps.

It’s kinda been a pain, them over there, me over here having to go back and forth between the two. But here I am, just Perl, Loki and I. We’re hanging out in peace and quiet ordering amazing Thai food and drinking wine. Such a pity!

Seriously though, the Thai food I ordered tonight from Thai Food to Go was the best I’ve ever had. If you like Thai food and you’re ever in Vegas, give them a try. You can read my review on Yelp. And if you’re into dessert wines, Red Decadence is a great pick.

I will be boarding the pup for a couple days so I can hit the strip without worry. I’ll need to move Perl in about a week. When I do, I want to find an RV park closer to the strip. Our limit at the Thousand Trails Las Vegas RV Campground is two weeks.

I want to move over to the RV Park at Circus Circus as it’s ON the strip. But alas, it’s sold out on the 6th and 7th. And once I move Perl, I want to leave her put until we leave on January 12th.

That leaves me with the next closest option, Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort. But ouch, it’s pretty expensive. The only consolation I have is that it’s close to the other crew members. And we also saved money by staying at the Thousand Trails. It was $80 total for two weeks. Of course, that’s because we’re members.

Alright, enough rambling. So that brings me to my topic at hand. How in the world do you live in 400 square feet with four people (soon to be five) and a furry friend. And how do you do it for longer than a few days. Ah, that is the trick.

Pick Your Companions Wisely

Anyone can survive anything for a couple of days. It’s the weeks and months that’ll take you out! If you’re not going solo, the number one thing that will help keep you sane is make sure you pick your companions wisely. I recently read this book that highlights my point perfectly!

When we lived in China for six months sans hubby, I brought along my niece and her husband. I knew that I could live in a small space with them and not have any major issues. Oh sure, we had a quarrel or two but we are compatible. We fit together nicely.

So number one on the list, make sure you can tolerate your companion(s). Of course, some companions we cannot choose, a.k.a., our children. In order to avoid constant conflict, communication is key.

You need to check in with each other every now and then. If you tackle a problem when it’s just surfacing, you’re more likely to diffuse it before things get out of control. Give each other space when you can or feel the need.

Go Take a Hike!

I love to hike or ride my bike. So I find time to go do these things every now and then. The exercise alone helps my overall ‘tolerance meter’ ;-). And it doesn’t have to be a hike or bike ride.

Do you have a favorite hobby? Perhaps you like to draw or read a book. If so, find some time when you can do this by yourself. Grab a good book and go sit in your lounger in the sun or curl up in bed under the covers. Ask not to be disturbed if at all possible.

Or take your easel and paints or sketch pad and drawing pencils and find your subject. Draw or paint to your hearts content until you feel your happy meter fill up! My daughter enjoys drawing and I truly do believe it’s helped her get through a few bouts of homesickness. And “my little sister’s driving me crazy” blues.

The bottom line is it really doesn’t matter what you choose to do. Just make sure that it’s something that speaks to your heart. Let it fill you up with good vibes that feed your soul. Trust me, it will help you get through crammed quarters.

You Will Have Fallouts

Even when you have great traveling companions and you’re feeding some of your passions, you need to accept the fact that fallouts happen. After all, we are all human with our own quirky, crazy ways that make us unique.

So, accepting the fact that you will have an issue or two is a-okay. And when it does happen, pick up the pieces and move on. It also helps to refer back to ‘communication is key’ in order to get things back on track.

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Okay, so we’ve covered living in 400 square feet with people. Now, how do you simply get through the task of living in 400 square feet. That alone is a challenge. Where do you put all the stuff you need for day to day living? Especially with several other people along for the ride?

Reduce

Less ‘stuff’ means less space needed to store it in. When we downsized from 4,400 square feet into 1,200 (yes, you read that right), we purged for months. We had yard sales, we sold online, we gave some away and we made trip upon trip to thrift stores.

We kept the bare minimum and even that was too much. There is no way to ‘fit it all in’, you have to purge. It was an eye-opening experience for me. I hope never to have that much stuff again. It really begins to own you instead of the other way around.

Organize

So after you’ve shed yourself of stuff, it’s time to fill your little space. While I’m not neurotic about organization, I do like to have a place to store stuff neatly. I don’t always get to labeling (although I’d like to) but I hate searching through piles to find what I’m looking for.

I’ve found some great storage solutions that work for RV’s and will highlight them in a post all their own. But the basics are to free up the itty bitty counter space in RV’s and hang and stack things.

My number one most favorite product in which to do this? The removable Command hooks.  They come in all shapes and sizes and I LOVE them. One of the main reasons is because they’re removable. And unless you plan on keeping your RV long-term, resale is always on the mind.

Assign Spaces

From the moment I began searching for an RV, I had personal space in mind. I was not willing to compromise on anything other than a bunkhouse model. I knew I was going into this with three kids in tow. So, the bare minimum, in my eyes, was to give them each their own sleeping space.

Ironically the two who have been assigned the bunks, really don’t like them. And would rather sleep on the couch. But at least one bunk is always occupied by a child. The little one sleeps with me and is completely content to do so.

Both inside as well as outside the RV, the kids have some space to store things.

Three of the cupboards are for various craft supplies and games. There is a space at the bottom of the pantry for books of all types to include coloring and sketch books. Everyone has a drawer or two for clothes and dedicated space in the bathroom cupboards.

Again, hooks come in handy. Inside each bunk is a place for them to hang their backpacks. Hanging off the bathroom door (the only real ‘door’ we have in the RV) are over-the-door hooks for coats, purses, hats, etc.

Another thing that comes in really handy is hanging up these over the door shoe holders. I use my trusty command hooks and hang them from the grommets. We stuff the pockets full of tv remotes, the dog brush, gum, iPad chargers and cords, and all the little things that don’t have a home.

I have a small version I got in the Target dollar bin for $3. Don’t you love how the dollar bin has become the dollars bin? I also have the larger version shown above. I love these things.

Since we’re in a Class A motorhome, we also have storage underneath in the bays. We call this space the ‘basement’. Some of these bays have water, sewer and electric hook-ups. But the remaining bays are fairly large, some bigger than others.

One crew member has a bay all to them self. Another bay holds a lego bin. While others hold beach towels, and boogie boards. So we have a considerable amount of space in the ‘basement’ to store some of the kids personal items.

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I think that’s about all I have to share with you guys. A little glimpse into how we cram four to five people and all their things into 400 square feet and come out still loving each other. It takes a lot of planning, understanding, commitment and patience to make it all happen. But then again, isn’t that life in a nutshell?

{HUGS} from the Crew!

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