These are a few of my Favorite Things...

I thought I'd do a post on some of the things in our rig (whether an option or just something we have with us)that make daily living so much more enjoyable. For our fellow RV'ers, the explanations aren't necessary but for non-RV'ers hopefully it will explain their function and how they operate. Click on the highlighted "topics" for more info and pictures.

1)Our Fantastic Fans: We have one of these in our kitchen area and one in the bedroom. On days where it's warm outside but not sweltering, to need the actual air conditioner on, we can run these to pull in fresh air or or reverse them to exhaust cooking fumes. They operate by wall thermostats, that can be set according to what temperature you want in the room. We love the fact that they have rain sensors on them so we can run them while we are away and if a shower comes up, they will shut off and close when they feel the raindrops. Makes it really nice for our dogs...keeps the rig cool but we don't have to worry if it storms while we are away. We also love the one in the bedroom at night. You can turn the thermostat down to put it into what I call "stealth" mode.....super silent....but when you open the little windows next to our heads, you have a stream of fresh air coming in all night long. It's wonderful and makes you sleep like a baby !

2) Green Veggie bags: Since we are vegetarians, it's important that if we buy a whole bunch of veggies that they stay fresh until we get them all used. These bags do that. We had fresh broccoli heads today that I bought a couple weeks ago and they were as fresh as the day I bought them. Great way to ensure your money doesn't go to waste before you can cook the food.

3) My recliner: I'm not a couch person...like to have my feet up and stretched out when I'm watching a NASCAR race. Peterson Industries, the maker of our Excel 5th wheel, makes all of their own furniture and the recliners are super comfy. Nuff said...

4) Silicone cookware: One thing that RV'ers don't have is the luxury of tons of storage space. Recently we've begun changing over our plastic colanders and baking pans for the soft, pliable silicone ones. We now have a pop-out colander (great spacesaver), silcone muffin pan, loaf pan, bundt pan, round cake pan and square cake pan. They all take up a fraction of the space the hard sided ones would have. They are great.

5) Our Motorcycle Lift and "garage": We love having our motorcycle with us. Not only does it give us one other mode of transportation but riding is a passion that Linda and I have enjoyed our whole lives. Is also great to have an enclosed area where we can store the bike and keep it out of the weather. The skirt wraps around the front of the rig where the bedroom overhang is....making a small garage for storage.


6) Big foot hydraulic levelers: Is easy to get set up and level with a hand-held control that extends or retracts the four "legs". Each leg can be operated independently or you can operate all simultaneously. With the large round base on each foot it makes the rig very stable.


7) Pivot-Ez Sewer Hook-up: No mess...no fuss. A pivoting container that holds your sewer hose so no need to disconnect your hose and figure out where to stow it. Just unscrew the end cap, pull out your hose and hook up to the sewer hook-up at your campsite.

8) Our desk area: We have a large work area that holds our scanner/printer and has ample storage. We chose to have a hanging file drawer instead of the electric fireplace to hold our files and create two other cupboards for storage. We're glad we opted for storage.


9)Shoe Cabinet: With storage space at a premium and shoes taking up so much space, we found a compact cabinet that holds alot of shoes. It sits just inside the door of the rig so we keep shoes handy but tucked out of sight.

10)Day/Night Shades: Wasn't really familiar with these type of blinds before we got our rig but we love these shades. Can total put up to let light in the window....put day shade down to filter the direct sunlight....put the night shade down over the day shade and gives a second layer that darkens the room and provides privacy to the interior occupants. When we worked the night shift at Amazon and used the night shades it totally darkens the room for a peaceful sleep. With the night shade down, it also keep the hot summer sun from penetrating and warming the room up even more. Not just for RV's....would be great in a house where you want to control the amount of sunlight entering a space or want to control amount of privacy you have.

These are some of the handy items that make full-timing easier. If you're an RV'er, post some of your "favorite things" in the comment section so we can share ideas.