Getting Ready for Our Nomadic Adventure!

Being completely honest with you, I had intended to leave town August 1st…

As it stands now, we’re well into September and I’m just wrapping up everything we need to do to get the show on the road for this exciting trip, this new lifestyle. To that end, I’ve gotten rid of about ninety percent of everything I’ve accumulated over the last two decades of living in Dunedin, Florida. I also completed many, many tasks that needed to be done, some small, some not so small. It’s taken me a year of preparing, ticking various things off my to-do list each week, to get to his point. We’re almost ready to launch.

Okay, as I write this, I’ve decided to officially cut myself some slack for being over a month behind my intended schedule. Maybe. We’ll see…

When I first came up with this plan to transfer everything I owned from a four-bedroom house into an tiny home, I had no idea what would be involved. I was just ready for a change after living in the same place for more than twenty years. I am eager to travel and show our children different places.

Two years ago Dan and I made the bold decision to homeschool our three young children. I’ve loved every moment, spending quality time with each child, learning alongside them, helping them to expand their minds, imagination, and future potential. When I first made that shift, I’d envisioned educating Cole, Camille, and Serena by showing them the world. Part of my plan included going on many field trips, but that turned out to be more difficult than I’d thought. Living in a house, we had become rooted.

So, I hit upon this idea, a radical shift into living the life of a snail, carrying our home on our backs.

I spent a good many months researching what life in an RV might be like, trying to figure out if the concept could possibly work for us. I toured many RVs, debating between the classes and styles. Finally, after six months of searching, I found the perfect one, the Coachman Mirada. It has sleeping space for everyone AND two bathrooms, as well as a full-sized refrigerator. I could see myself living in it for quite some time.

We drove the new home on wheels into our driveway and parked it for the next four months. The last thing I wanted to do was to rush out the door unprepared.

There were so many loose ends to tie up and I was faced with what suddenly seemed like a gigantic house to sort through. How could I get rid of all that stuff? And how would I talk the children into parting with the zillions of toys they had each stockpiled? I prepared for mutuny.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad! I watched everyone balk and pout in the beginning (myself and Dan included), but as time rolled by and the dream of our new life became more real, the process became easier. We did decide to get a small storage unit, because there were enough things we wanted to keep, but couldn’t take with us. So everything in the house got sorted into piles: Trash, Donatables, Storage, and RV bound.

As I sorted through item and after item I realized I’d need to make some dramatic changes. We’d gotten used to just keeping everything and never sorting through anything, ever. It’s amazing how many things you can lose in a 2,500-square-foot home. Did you know that over the years we’ve lost things like helmets, books and wooly mammoths? It’s embarrassing. This new lifestyle has already helped us develop better habits.

To that end, I purchased many different containers, of all different shapes and sizes, as well as a label maker. It’s all still a work in progress, but my plan is to have a place for every single thing we put into the RV and make sure those items continue to live in their new home, comfy and cozy.

Well, wish me luck in the final days before we launch…

Laura Sherman

My husband and I have been married since 1993 and we have three amazing, talented, bright children! I’m known as Laura the friendly ghostwriter and have written almost twenty books and hundreds of articles. Dan and I are so excited to be able to homeschool Cole, Camille, and Serena on the road and wanted to share our experiences with you.