The Sandcastle

When couples are getting ready to go RVing many men ask the discussion forums how much clothing we think their wives should bring. I usually say something like they should bring as many clothes as you bring tools. 🙂  My point being we cannot determine another person’s needs.

As a minimalist, though, I don’t think we women need as many clothes as we were taught we do.

This is my closet. It is 21-inches wide.

Hanging from the rod is a raincoat, winter coat, 4 jackets of various weights & dressiness, 3 dressy tops with 1 divided skirt, 6 long-sleeve t-shirts, and 5 short sleeve-t-shirts. By mixing and matching various layers I have a lot of variety.

Note the empty hangers on the left. I forgot to bring ones for the already dirty clothes so had to buy a packet of hangers. I expect to be donating some next time I go to Goodwill.

On the shelf above are 1 pair of blue jean, 1 pair of white jeans, 2 pairs of sweat pants and various packing cubes. The cubes hold mostly socks, underwear & hankies but there is one of swimming stuff and one with hats, gloves and scarves. My jewelry roll is also up there just in case I decide to do something bold like wear a different pair of earrings or a necklace one day.

Having just done laundry when I took this picture I can assure you this is all the clothes I own except for the ones I was wearing at the time and my 1 pair of pajamas. (My sweats are used as back up pajamas if needed.)

For shoes I have 1 pair of closed-top Crocs which look more like clogs than Crocs, 1 pair of leather sandals, and my moccasin-style slippers. I own other shoes but I left them in Minneapolis. These are all I wear, anyway, but I have hard to fit feet so I keep ones I may wear again some day.

So, how many clothes do I think women should bring?  If they share my style, about this many. If they don’t, then the answer would be different.

TTYL,

Linda

When RVers talk about toy haulers they mean RVs where the back opens down to provide a ramp, up which they drive their toys (golf carts, motorcycles, ATVs and the like) into an area known as the garage. I don’t have a ramp. But I do have an area I think of as my garage. It looks like this:

It’s where I park my toy.

And around it I keep other things I don’t want in my living area.

Like dirty clothes and empty WalMart bags:

Cleaning products:

My bag chair (green) and step stool (white) and folding bar stool (would be black on the left except it’s not currently stowed).

Windshield washer fluid:

And other things of that sort.

Not bad for a garage that’s only 3-feet long by just over 2-feet wide, huh?

TTYL,

Linda

Here’s my desk which I also use as a table for meals:

If you look at the top of that photo you will see my O2 Cool fan which can run off 12 volt, 110 volt, or D size batteries. It has a stand but given my limited counter space I chose to have Sportsmobile put a tie-down loop under the cupboard above the desk so I can hang the fan from it.

Above the desk might seem like an odd place to install a roll of paper towels but I didn’t like any of the available places in the galley and I kept sitting down to eat without a napkin so now they are in reach from my table but still accessible to the galley.

Note that I had Sportsmobile install lots of outlets so I can charges all my electronics in one place.

I usually plug the fan into the right hand 12v and my iPhone into the left hand one. Then I plug my laptop and iPad into the 110 volt ones. I have not yet managed to fill them all up but it sure makes for lots of cabling laying around when everything is plugged in.

Above all that is what I call my office and entertainment cupboard.

In it are all my office supplies, games and crafts, and workout equipment.

For those who already asked, yes my desk chair is a real one. From IKEA of course. It is just like the one in our apartment in Minneapolis. Here it is bungied to the desk ready for travel.

I am so pleased with the way I’ve managed to get so many of the comforts of home into this 24 foot RV.

TTYL,

Linda

Not all food preparation requires cooking. Here’s what I made today:

That’s homemade mayonnaise on the right and ranch dressing on the left made from some of the mayonnaise.

I make these in my food processor from recipes in the cookbook Well Fed. I find them both delicious.

When I designed my Sportsmobile I specified that the outlets by the desk should be under the window. I did not think to say that about the galley.

See that dark spot above the swivel light? That’s the outlet I had to plug my food processor into. I forgot to take a picture of it there but let me assure you I had to move the clock to get the processor close enough to the outlet to plug it in. Irritating but doable.

It will be less irritating once I get the clock to stay hung on the wall. We tried to hang it when it was too hot so the adhesive did not hold. I’ll get around to trying again one of these days. Right now most of my energy is going into keeping me clean and fed.

And the house clean, too. Right now my galley sink looks like this.

So, that’s next on my to do list.

Then I’ll make tuna salad using some of that tasty mayonnaise and serve it with baby carrots dipped in the ranch dressing. Yum.

TTYL,

Linda

 

I showed you the couch already. Here it is made up into my bed:

Please, ignore the shadows from the window. I had not yet put away the groceries when I took these pictures.

This is what happens when I put up all but one of my room darkening shades:

With that last shade up and the light switches turned off the only light I have inside is the glow from all the electronics. I am sleeping every bit as well as I do in the apartment. That makes me very happy indeed.

My passenger seat swivels to face the couch. It is a bit too tall for me, though, so I was happy when I found my folded footstool is just the right height for me to rest my feet on.

And when I unfold it and lean my seat back I get a recliner!

If you look closely at the cab passenger window in the picture above, you will see one of my insulating and light blocking window coverings. It made a huge difference in my comfort level in this picture as the sun was beating fiercely on that window.

Now I have all the comforts of home.