Tips for Downsizing & RV Organization | FULL TIME RV LIVING

[@thecraftyvoyager1232]

We went full time 3.5 years ago. It’s just me and my husband and we had a 3 bed, 2.5 bath house complete with man cave and craft room. When made the decision to buy/move into a 20’ travel trailer basically everything had to go. We checked with our parents to see if they wanted any of our school stuff, a few things went into 1 tote and that tote lives under our bed. Everything we own is with us at all times and it’s a good feeling. We traded in a life of stuff for the life of adventure. I do feel like organizing/seeing what works in the RV is a never ending “game”. The amount of money I’ve spent on plastic bins, organizational items and command strips over the past few years is probably astronomical 😅

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Huge change there and I imagine you might just feel a whole lot more "free" in just about every sense of the word! And that's how we feel about it as well, right down to the shame about how much has been spent on organization... hahaha

[@JJfromIA]

The look on his face when she brought up clothes... Priceless

[@CozyLivingMachine]

🤣🤣

[@georges4562]

Good morning guys, great video, great information ! We’re pretty well packed with the necessities, but I found that I had to catch myself because I fell into the gadget mode a bit. 😂 I was wondering about an example on how or why you use the black spray paint and the little sledge hammer ? Funny I was just looking at one of those the other day at home depot. Last but not least I love what you have in your top drawer of your work station 🇺🇸👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Oh I get it!! We all love to accessorize 😂😂 and the easiest examples for that would be the frame for any rust spots and the steps when they strike the pavement. And I know, I love that flashlight too. 😎🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@georges4562]

@@CozyLivingMachine 😂😂👍👍👍👍

[@MOSHTUBE1]

Nice Flashlight 😉, now you will need a new place to put it. Good idea's. Thanks for the video and safe travels.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

I do love the challenge of finding such places! I expect the new rig will have no shortage of storage for flashlights and related paraphernalia. 😂 safe travels!!

[@heatherb3886]

That was super informative, thank you! I like the idea of starting simple and getting things as you need them. That makes a lot of sense and if you really need something you’ll find a space for it. It doesn’t seem like you’re short on storage space at all which is definitely something I thought would be more of a concern. Your organization and location of things is on point and there’s a lot of tips to take away there. Again, thank you! I wasn’t aware the scrub daddy didn’t hold moisture, that’s a great tip and something I’ll be checking out sooner than later. I was surprised you said spray paint because I really would have thought you’d get a few bottles of touch up paint with the rig. Speaking of maintenance, you mentioned fuses and an electrical kit. I had thought of the former but not the latter. What about a tire repair kit since you move around a lot. I don’t plan on moving my rig as often but I think my drives will be much longer and was wondering if that’s really a concern. As well as TPMS. Another great tip with digitalizing and keeping an ‘offsite backup’ lol as we both know the importance of redundancy with data. On a less serious note, I had to laugh when you wouldn’t open your unmentionable drawer but just opened Emma’s right up and was like we’ll just blur that out LOL Great video, great information. Thanks so much!

[@CozyLivingMachine]

I'm glad it was so helpful!! We are certainly not on storage at all with this rig, and the Odysseys are very similar. Certain floorplans, such as the 30Z are even better in some ways! We're getting Scrub Daddies for gifts for my family as well. 🤣 As for the paint, that would be used only for the underside of the rig - specifically the frame and the steps if they get bent and the paint chips off. This unit does come with a full body paint touch-up kit, but Emma and I really, VERY strongly advise against the full body paint on the Jayco/Entegra products. Genuinely, this is not a product I could ever recommend with the paint, it's a huge reason we're moving on from our Esteem! The Odyssey has partial paint as an option, heck, I don't know if we'd even have ordered with that knowing what we know now! A tire repair kit is a great idea, something we should probably pick up ourselves, come to think of it. The unit does have a TPMS though something for a towed vehicle isn't a bad idea. We've never had a flat, but they always come when you least expect them! I'm glad it's a helpful video, and thanks for the great question and video topic!

[@heatherb3886]

@@CozyLivingMachine The 30z is the model I’m looking into, specifically for the usability with the slides in. But also because of the fireplace. I live in PA and although I won’t be sticking around for the harsh winter weather, I still believe the electric fireplace will be needed when I’m in the area during the colder months. I have seen the problems you guys have had with the paint and yeah I can totally understand. I do love the look of your full body paint tho. Glad to hear it did come with a touch up kit. With that said, I won’t be getting the partial paint either. My Jeep takes a beating with the weather here, so I think the standard would actually not show as much dirt. And the black spray paint makes so much more sense now. I’m sure that’ll end up being something I use often. I do plan on towing my Jeep, so it’s great to know the rig already has TPMS and I just need to get something for the towed vehicle. Thanks so much for your tips and tricks! I’m sure I’m not the only one out here with these questions and you guys did a great job answering them! I know for me this transition doesn’t seem as overwhelming as it did before.

[@williamsampler3474]

I enjoy your videos and I'm certainly not aRV Living celebrity such as you and some others, but may I suggest that, if possible, insert links to products you use or recommend, even if it seems redundant. I realize that some could say, "Well, we covered that a few videos ago", but I know I would not like to search through several vids or transcripts to look for a product reference. I know newbies such as myself look to pros such as yourself for guidance and tips and would go a long way to assist others.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

That's a good idea! We don't buy much off of Amazon for our rig, but I will make a point to sit down and add things that we use often and then figure out how to share them!

[@Dronerangerspro]

"It'd be awesome if you could show us how to take our solar setup from 'barely keeping the fridge cold' with 200 watts and AGM batteries to 'powering a small city' with 800-1000 watts and shiny new lithium batteries. Seriously, you guys have gear that's like a carbon copy of mine!"

[@CozyLivingMachine]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnnQamBugKmtjKs this is our latest video! We do have a few on our Esteem solar too if you search "solar Esteem" 😎

[@lisatowry8158]

please tell me what you use for internet !! motivating video❤️

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Thank you! And this will tell you everything! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJLCl2OQfMt0js0

[@RiverWoods111]

I laugh because I won't have to downsize much at all. I think I will have to get rid of a loveseat and a dresser, both are things I hate! Oh, and my mattress which is just tossed on the floor. Everything else I can fit in the back of a VW bug. When I get my RV over time, I will need to buy stuff for it. Not a lot of stuff, just a few things that I have been putting off for some time. Honestly, I just want to have some silverware that matches, but I only need a couple of each. I am thinking that if I have 4 plates, 4 bowls, and 4 spoons, forks, and butter knives and then the steak knives. Then most can go into a crate under the RV and only get them out when I need to feed someone like my adult kids. So have 2 plates out and 2 plates stored. Nothing crazy, but nice to have just in case. Any more people than that they it will bring your own. I was researching the whole topic of pepper spray vs. bear spray and the taser vs the other one. Self-defense stuff. It was interesting, because you don't want to use bear spray on humans (the big can) as it sprays broader and pepper spray is designed to take them out. There are some liabilities with that also. The tasers and I can't think of the other name is also interesting. Guns are such a touchy topic and carrying them across borders can have implications in some states, so you don't really want to talk about having them on your channel. Why give police in different states an opportunity to ask questions? Also, there are some serious idiots out there that will report stuff as something different just to get other people in trouble. That said, Tasers and pepper spray are treated like guns in some states. That said, I have had police officers tell me to get training in how to use it and then to always carry it.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Hahaha I can relate to that as well! The "four of each" is absolutely what we have going on right now, and while some of our things don't match and it bothers me, I suspect we'll have to remedy that with our new rig! And absolutely, bear spray will be ineffective and likely illegal to use against humans, whereas pepper spray or OC spray should be used against humans but may actually be illegal to use on animals if the officer happens to care about self defense. It is also potentially less effective, so there's that! Firearms certainly are touchy, so we've avoided talking about such matters, and absolutely no reason to give law enforcement fuel for PC to search our home if ever stopped. Thankfully, law enforcement seems to absolutely ignore us in this big ol rig, but still! Tasers are so wildly ineffective whenever I've seen them used for self defense, so it's fairly alarming, we keep little cans of pepper spray on us instead. The regulations around pepper spray though... 🤦‍♂️

[@RiverWoods111]

@@CozyLivingMachine Yeah, the pepper spray regulations had my head spinning. In one state I have police telling me to carry it and in other states I must have a conceal to carry permit. Other states are even weirder! The point is to never have to use it, and if cornered then use it! I have been in some scary situations, but none that would have required either pepper spray. I pulled a ruler on a homeless guy one time in college. Turned out the one I grabbed looked like a machete. Haha! It was a curved one I used in fashion design. The dude flew back 30 feet and was terrified and asked me if it was real. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I answered, "Damn straight it's real!" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I am tougher and more street wise than I look!

[@Bluponi]

Downsizing and the Minimalist lifestyle is the way to go... Besides your channel and other RV bloggers that I follow, I love " The Minimalists " on YT. I am not there yet, but I am a minimalist in the making... Quick question... I am a new sub to your channel, but it seems to me like you just got your Entegra not too long ago... Why are you already trading up ? You just got this rig

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Absolutely. And we have a splurge every now and then, but generally keeping life simple has been our best policy. I'll have to check out "The Minimalists" as well!V We got our Esteem last February, not long ago at all! This video should explain it well, focusing on four of the largest reasons we're moving up. The material quality wasn't mentioned here, but cabinets expanding and peeling apart wasn't a pleasant experience either. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZu9oJmcqbaDqrM

[@DMosesRN]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👍🏾