Inspiring Minimalist Family RV Tour

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Merissa, who has kindly offered to share some images of her home with us.

What square footage do you have and how many people live in your home?

We have roughly 350 square feet and there are five of us in our family. We live full time in our 5th wheel RV and travel to do mission work around the United States. We’ve converted the main bedroom in the RV into a bunkhouse. It’s pretty small in there because we fit two average size twin beds and a crib so pictures are hard to get! Our kids are six, four, and one, and they share that room.

What was your motivation for embracing simplicity in your life?

We wanted to get out of debt and plan to eventually move to close to family. We’ve had a strong desire to go into full-time ministry for many years and by downsizing our space (and making it mobile!), we were finally able to become debt free and begin this new journey.

How has minimizing your possessions made your life better?

We feel that we can better focus on the things in life that we consider the most important instead of being weighed down by our possessions. We never felt like we had much for possessions until we moved into the RV and sold about 80% of what we owned. It was absolutely freeing.

What was your biggest challenge in the middle of decluttering?

How to get rid of the sheer amount of stuff! We had several garage sales and finally ended up donating the rest of it. It was very eye-opening to see how your possessions aren’t really worth anything to anyone but you.

Did you involve your family, or were you on your own?

In our case, we had to! We talked to our children for months in advance about what we planned on doing. They are young but we always tried to put things in a language they would understand. We also told them that they could keep all of the money from selling the toys they didn’t need and could use it for fun things on the road.

What did your friends and family think of the lifestyle?

People thought (still think) we were crazy, although when they see the inside of our space and how happy and comfortable our family is, they begin to understand. We’ve also spoken to many people that are jealous of our lifestyle and would like to be able to do the same someday.

How did you apply simplicity to your family activities?

We prefer to visit natural or historical sites when we are on the road and are looking for something to do. Instead of getting wrapped up in the tourist traps we like to take time enjoying nature and getting to know people instead of being wrapped up in things that tend to wrap people up when they are traveling (amusement parks, shopping, etc). We homeschool, and our simple lifestyle allows us to experience so many things hands-on instead of through a textbook.

For more minimalist inspiration from Merissa, check out these helpful posts:

• Building a Minimalist Wardrobe
• What It’s Really Like to Downsize By 75%

Merissa has been blogging about simple living, from scratch cooking, frugal lifestyles, and more at LittleHouseLiving.com for the past 9 years. She enjoys giving encouragement and helping others to make the most with what they have.

Thank you for sharing, Merissa! ❤️

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