So, what have I done in preparation for this big change in my life you might ask? Well, first off I had to grasp the concept that yes, I could live in a 5 x 10 ft. rolling home. Then I had to figure out what this teeny house would need to look like. I did entertain the thought of building a teardrop myself, but after about 2 minutes, realized that was insane! Now, there are MANY designs for teardrops out there on the internet (many of which are free) and many people have built their own from simple to luxurious, so it's certainly not impossible. The insanity of my idea was in what I wanted vs. my skill level (I can't cut a straight line to save my life!) and time alotted (within this decade). I am very creative and can come up with unique ideas to solve problems, but executing those solutions is sometimes another story. So, I went shopping for a teardrop that came as close to what I envisioned as I could find. I did a lot of research and searching and finally found the teardrop of my dreams! I truly believe we were meant to find each other. The timing was perfect and within two months I was off to pick up my tearbaby and bring it home. I will admit that those two months were bit terrifying - everything happened so fast - but I was sure of my decision that I needed to follow this path I chose for my life, and a teardrop was the way to make it happen.
Since then I have been trying to figure out what I will need (or think I will need), how to organize things in the teardrop and how I will survive financially while on the road - oh yeah, and how I'm going to make all this work with 2 geriatric cats riding shotgun! So, stay tuned to find out how I plan to achieve My Teardroppin' Life.
Blog looks great! Can't wait to hear more about your adventures!
ReplyDeleteJordan, I am excited for you!! You go girl! and remember I have a backyard anytime you and you tearbaby want to drop by for a visit and stop over! Love,Carolyn
ReplyDeleteYou go girl! I am so excited about your adventure! remember you can park in our backyard for a stop over!! Love,Carolyn
ReplyDeleteThank you for the offer! I just may take you up on it. I'll definitely be bringing the tearbaby up north to meet everyone later this fall. Tours offered every 5 minutes (in between rounds of Canasta!) :)
DeleteHi Jess,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my teardroppin' life! It is a bit crazy but always interesting. I would give one suggestion to living full-time in a teardrop - rent one first for as long as you can afford and not just during nice weather. It is challenging life living in a teardrop. Basically it isn't much different than tent camping (and is smaller than many tents out there too!) - everything is done outside - which is fine in nice weather, but not so much when it is cold and rainy for days on end. Having a slightly larger interior where you can cook, stand up and stretch would be nice sometimes. You can always do a different toilet set-up than a black tank in a slightly larger trailer. Porta-potties, composting toilets, buckets - all can replace a standard dumping trailer toilet. Same with gray water - can put a 5 gallon jug under sink drain and then just dump that someplace appropriate.
My teardrop was built by an 80 year old gentleman who built 11 of them over the years as winter projects. He isn't building them any longer unfortunately. As far as showers go, you can get them at truck stops, some state parks and other RV campgrounds. For daily cleaning, I make homemade bath wipes as I call them. Many full-timers use baby wipes or do sponge baths or set up a shower tent and use solar shower bags, weed sprayer showers, or other things found on the market or handmade. Lots of possibilities. I would make a mess with a sponge bath inside the trailer and I don't like the chemicals in the baby wipes, thus make my own. Of course, there is no substitute for a real, running water shower!! Always is a luxury.
Hope that helps! Best of luck to you as you prepare to head out on the open road into nomadic life. It can be a challenge, but also a blast too.
Happy adventuring!
Jordan