Storing a Month’s Worth of Food in an RV

Living in an RV with limited storage, you have to prioritize what you have space for and what you don’t. With three growing boys, food storage is high on our priority list. Big grocery store trips happen once a month in order to cut down on impulse buys. Although we do have to restock on milk, eggs, cheese and fresh fruits and vegetables at least once a week, we stock up on dried and frozen goods so we don’t have as many trips to the grocery store.

In order to understand the food we buy, you should know something about the meals we eat. I cook two to three meals every day. Dinner is almost always home cooked, as close to from scratch as I can get it. Lunch is sometimes home cooked, sometimes “quick fix” like frozen raviolis or hot dogs and baked beans. And sometimes we have leftovers for lunch, although lately we haven’t had much leftovers as the boys eat more and more at each meal. Breakfast is home cooked at least twice a week: pancakes, waffles, biscuits, etc. The rest of the time we eat cereal, oatmeal, or peanut butter sandwiches.  In between meals my kids snack, a lot. I try to keep the snacks healthy - pretzles, fruit, etc. but we also do homebaked cookies, homemade granola bars, and I have one who likes to eat up our leftovers for snacks. 

For dinners, I plan out our meals 5 weeks ahead of time using a chart like this:

This helps to make sure we have variety in our meals, and I can balance how many meals we are eating that contain meat or beans or cheese or whatnot. I use the meal plan to plan my grocery list so that I'm not buying things I don't need. This saves on storage and on money! We spend about $500 a month on food.

Once I make the list, we do big grocery shopping and bring home the food to store. This was much easier when we were in a house or apartment, but we have made it work well in our RV by being creative and prioritizing food storage as needing more space than other things.

So, where do I put all of the food I buy? Well my husband has done a bunch of work to make sure that we had enough room for the amount of food we need. He has removed drawers, built shelves, added doors and more.

Here’s a peek at our food storage:


We have a regular RV fridge which holds quite a bit of food, although it's not very deep. It has a freezer attached to the top which is where we store vegetables, butter, broths and anything non-meat that needs to be stored.

My husband installed an extra mini fridge that is dedicated to meat. We fill it once a month, and usually have some meat left at the end of the month since we only eat meat two to three times a week.

Underneath the regular RV fridge, my husband removed a drawer and opened up a storage space which he just added doors too. This gives us room for potatoes, onions, cooking oil, extra boxed items and the all important wine. (We collect local wines in the different places we visit. So far Michigan held our favorite wines, but that's a whole seperate post!)

Next to the refrigerator was once a closet. When we bought the RV, my husband took out the hanging bar and added shelves, making me a pantry with three deep shelves. The shelves are so deep that we have a box in the back of the bottom one to hold canned goods.

Under the pantry was once two drawers. My husband took out the bottom drawer and realized there was a lot of extra space underneath it. So he took out some paneling and built me two additional shelves with a door. On these two deep shelves, we use large totes to store beans, four and rice. My flour and rice containers can each hold about 20 pounds of material, giving me plenty of room to stock up. 

Above my stove was once a microwave. When we had been in the RV for two months we realized that we had only used the microwave one time and that it was taking up a lot of space. So my husband removed it and built doors and added an additional shelf to make more storage space. The top shelf holds canning jars and kitchen towels. The bottom shelf holds common cooking and baking needs like baking powder, yeast, powdered milk, salt and pepper.

Spices were a huge space issue for us. We tried multiple solutions and eventually my husband built me a spice cabinet with three shelves and a door. The cabinet is right next to the stove, so it is very convenient for cooking.

So that is how we store a month's worth of food in our 30 foot Class A RV with no slides. I showcased this storage in our interview and RV tour with Follow the Hearts, so feel free to check out that video too.

What Does “Life” Look Like?

Today we were interviewed by a fellow fulltime RVer, Crystal Earheart, for her YouTube channel Follow the Hearts. Here is a link to that video. For the description, she asked for a link to this RV blog. I realized then that I haven’t been blogging on here much lately. This got me thinking “Why haven’t I?” and I realized that we haven’t been doing anything “blog worthy” lately. That is we have been stable in one place since we got to Texas six weeks ago. My husband is working in an Amazon warehouse. I’ve been at home doing school with the kids, taking them to library programs and the UU church we found in the area. We’ve been living, not adventuring, and that’s okay. In fact, it’s life.

 

 

It’s easy to read a blog or look at a Facebook page and think that that is the real life of that person. But in reality, we all have to just live sometimes. We have to do the laundry and clean the bathroom and sweep the floor for the upteenth time. Even when we are adventuring, I cook dinner pretty much every night, which means there are dishes to do – and I don’t have a dishwasher! Real life is pretty much 75% of our life, even when we are adventuring. So here are a few pictures of regular life in our RV: 

 

So if you don’t hear from us for awhile, know that we are okay. We’re just living, in a smaller space which will move at will, but still living.

Goodbye South Dakota!

For the past 4 1/2 months, we have been working at Crooked Creek RV Resort in Hill City, SD. It is the longest we have stayed any one place since we hit the road in our RV. We enjoyed the time spent there immensely. We saw a lot of amazing sights, met wonderful people and earned enough money to pay off 3 of our student loans. The boys got to go to a summer camp at the Boys and Girls Club, explore caves and monuments, and be spoiled rotten by a bunch of fabulous workampers.

 

Here are just a few of the places we visited while we were in South Dakota:

 

Mount Rushmore

 

Crazy Horse

 

The Badlands

 

Jewel Cave

 

Wind Cave

 

Thunderhead Underground Waterfall

 

Rushmore Cave

 

 

Big Thunder Gold Mine

 

Little Devil’s Tower

 

Sylvan Lake

 

Bear Country USA

 

 

1880’s Train

 

South Dakota Air & Space Museum

 

Prairie Berry Winery

 

The Mammoth Dig

 

Evan’s Plunge – swimming in the hot springs

 

 

Four Mile Old West Town

 

In addition to these activities, we saw Shrek the Musical, played in the fountains in Rapid City, attended outdoor concerts, saw the Brule Native American music show and hiked on the Mickelson trail. This summer was one for the record books and we are so glad that we got to work in South Dakota.

Now we are headed to Texas, so stop back soon for more of our adventures!

Experiencing Sturgis’ 75th Motorcycle Rally

For the past two weeks, there have been motorcycles all over the Black Hills of South Dakota where we are currently workamping. This year was the 75th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. While we don’t personally ride motorcycles, it was very cool to experience the influx of all kinds of different motorcycles and motorcyclists. Many of the riders wore interesting outfits, and told stories of the their past visits to Sturgis. We met some very interesting people and had a great time watching all the motorcycles – although they were quite loud.

 

 

The boys even got into the act during their Rally Week activities at their Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp. On Wednesday, all of the kids came to the club dressed as bikers. Our boys had a great time and even convinced a friend of ours to let them take pictures on his motorcycle.

 

 

Of all of the amazing experiences we have had here in South Dakota, this was a once in a life time experience to be here to see over a million motorcycles all in one area.

Lessons Learned in One Year in a 30’ RV with Three Kids

 

One year. On July 4th it was one year since we moved into our RV. It’s been a busy year. We’ve met some amazing people and seen some amazing things. We’ve also learned some real life lessons. Here are a few of the lessons we learned:

 

Stuff is Replaceable or Unimportant

When we moved from Georgia to Morocco, I brought so much stuff that I didn’t need. We spent three years getting rid of stupid stuff I had brought because I thought I needed it. So when we decided to move back to the US and into an RV, I thought I had it down and I had narrowed us down as far as I could. We shipped back one pallet of stuff, and the clothes and electronics that we brought over on the airplane. However, even as far down as I narrowed it, I have still found more stuff that I didn’t need – like the mega blocks that weren’t getting played with and have already been given away. In fact, each place we have stayed longer than a week has seen us taking a donation bag (or two) over to Goodwill. Now there are certain things we like, but we have definitely decided that we don’t need any of it. It’s all replaceable, but time with our family is not.

 

Appreciate the Great Outdoors

When you live in 240 square feet, you quickly realize that you don’t want to spend all of your time inside. In fact the boys have quickly learned that any and all toys, games and activities are more fun to do outside than inside. This is not a bad thing. The boys spend plenty of time in the sun and fresh air. They ride their bikes, meet new friends and get lots of exercise! As a family, we spend more time hiking, swimming and exploring and less time in front of t.v. screens and laptops. Now I’m not saying we are device free (Not by a long shot!), but my kids know the importance of getting outside and it’s much more appealing to them when the alternative is being squished in next to an annoying little brother!

 

Seek and You Shall Receive

We are a family on a budget, a tight one. Yet we have been able to do quite a bit in places that we have visited. How? Well, I have seeked – a lot! Each time we arrive in a new area, I seek out free and cheap programs at the libraries, state and national parks and other government run programs. The boys have done everything from making Lego movies to watching parades to a class on making maps, all completely free, thanks to programs like this. We’ve been to free concerts, parades, festivals and playgrounds. We also seek out Jr. Ranger programs and find out what the local kids are doing. In addition, we made the investment into membership in the Western North Carolina’s Nature Center, and received an ASTC membership that has given us the opportunity to visit tons of museums for free. I found out about this by simply asking around. Talk to people, search the internet, pick up local newspapers and magazines, and there is something to do everywhere you go!

 

Planning isn’t Everything

When we first started this adventure, I wanted to plan every minute. I was planning it like a vacation. You pick where you want to go because of the activities that it has there. However, soon into this adventure I learned two things. 1.) You don’t always get to go where you want. 2.) There’s really something to do anywhere you are, so it doesn’t matter. Some of the coolest things we’ve done – playing on the beach near Lake Michigan, amazing science museum in Kalamazoo, exploring an old fort in Kentucky, rolling down sand dunes in Indiana – weren’t on anybody’s plan or itinerary.

 

Sometimes You Have to Compromise

When we lived in a “stick and bricks” house or apartment, I tried hard to buy as local and organic as possible. I still do. However, I have learned that you can’t have everything. A lot of our workamping locations this year have been in small towns and rural areas with few options. I have seeked out farmers and farmer’s markets and found natural food stores. And I have learned that sometimes it’s okay to shop at Walmart. Similarly, when we first started homeschooling, I wanted every minute to be a learning minute. Obviously that was impossible, and as the year has gone on, I have compromised more and more until we found a pretty good balance between work and play – and play disguised as work. :P Compromise is an inevitable part of life – especially when you live in an RV!

 

Patience is a Virtue

If homeschooling has taught me nothing else, it has taught me patience. After 9 years of teaching in a classroom, I thought homeschooling would be a piece of cake. Yeah, right! First, when you teach other people’s kids, they look at you as someone special. When you teach your own kids, you’re just mom. You’re the same mom who took away their Kindle and who makes them brush their teeth. You’re not unique or different or special and they save their worst behavior just for you. Secondly, when you teach in a classroom, the kids go to enrichment classes, lunch, sometimes even recess without you. When you homeschool, you’re it – all day, every day. So I learned patience. I practiced patience. And sometimes I lost my patience. But all in all, we all learned that if you stick it through, the end result is pretty awesome! Just take a look at these portfolios the boys put together to showcase all they learned this year.

 

Good Friends are Better than Fine Wine

One of the best things about the past year is the people we have met. Some we met in passing and only spent a few hours or a few days getting to know. Others developed into friendships that will last a long, long time. With these people, we have exchanged e-mails, become Facebook friends and started some postcard exchanges. If we had settled down in one place, we wouldn’t have ever met these people and our lives would be lacking as a result.

 

Time is Priceless

For so many years, I only say my children for an hour a two a day and often I saw my husband even less. When we did see each other, it was all business and we rarely enjoyed each other. Enjoying each other was saved for one day on the weekend – if we weren’t too busy with errands and chores – or for those elusive vacations. Well, I certainly won’t say that every day is a vacation in this lifestyle, but we certainly spend more quality time together. We go for walks together. We swim together. We have time to visit museums, national parks and zoos. I have gotten to know my children and my husband better in the past year than I have in the last twelve years. I can never lose the things we’ve done, the places we’ve seen or the conversations we have had and that alone has made the last twelve months worth it.

 

Alone Time is Even More Priceless

Now I love my family and I love spending time with them, but I never realized how much “alone time” I got when we all went off to our separate jobs and schools each day. The first few months of being together all the time, I started making unnecessary shopping trips just for five minutes to myself. It took some time to adjust, but I can say that I now cherish the moments when I get to sit alone and watch a video or go for a walk with my husband just the two of us. Also, because these moments are so much less frequent, we seek them out purposely. This summer, my boys have attended summer camp programs at the Boys and Girls Club three days a week. One of the days they are there, my husband and I purposely take off and do things just the two of us. Time without your kids helps you maintain your sanity and this lifestyle forces you to take more advantage of those moments and to enjoy each one.

 

The Best is Yet to Come

When we started this part of our journey, we committed to a school year. However, as the year has gone one, we have realized that this journey is nowhere near over. I was asked the other day how long we were planning to live like this and I answered honestly – I don’t know. We will live like this until something happens to indicate that it’s no longer a good fit for our family. Until then, there are so many places we want to go and so many new things to see. I’m sure that the best parts haven’t even happened yet.

 

Experience Matters!

The other night we camped near an RV that had this saying on it:

 

 

Through our travels, we – and our children – are having the opportunity to read lots of pages. It’s all about experiences. Here are a few we’ve had in the past month:

 

 

My kids have spent time in rural areas, small towns and big cities. They have met people from all over the country and are building a wide range of background knowledge and will serve them well later in life. Already they find connections between our travels and the books they read, the shows they watch and the content they study. This cements those ideas and facts into their brains better than any lecture I could give.

The best part? This is just the beginning. We’ve only been traveling full time since January and already we have experienced so much. I am so appreciative of this time with my family and am looking forward to the journeys to come.