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When you decide to live in your RV full-time, there are some conveniences in life that you might miss. Our transition from 3,227 sq ft to 320 sq ft has been a gradual one over about two years with lots of reorganizing of spaces along the way. During that time, we’ve learned that it’s not about how much space you have, but rather how you utilize it. Living with more intention and less stuff overall isn’t always the most natural shift, but it has certainly begun to make our lives feel more purposeful and happier.
Our first travel trailer was great for weekend escapes, but at around 250 sq ft total and a less-than-perfect floorplan, it was not ideal for long-term or full-time travel. That’s why when we started wondering if we could make full-time travel would work for us, we quickly switched to a fifth wheel trailer with two separate sleeping spaces.
As we tested out how we liked RV life last summer during our 7-week adventure out West, there were a few things we realized would be really important to make life better – and most of them were at a surprisingly low cost.
7 items that Helped Make Our RV Feel Like Home
1 – Waterdrop On-Demand Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System – ca. $450
The most expensive upgrade on this list, and the most effort to install, but by far the biggest impact. We do our best to stay hydrated every day, especially when out hiking. But with two adults, a seventeen-year-old, a big dog, and two thirsty cats on board, we needed quite a bit of drinking water (around 5 gallons a day). That’s a lot of gallons of water to buy at the grocery store, and a huge 5-gallon water dispenser wasn’t very practical in our setup. So instead, we invested in a Waterdrop Reverse Osmosis System with a small faucet and under-sink unit. This does need to be plugged in and we had to cut a hole in the countertop for the installation, but we have zero regrets. The Waterdrop filters the water quickly and we add electrolyte powder and various flavorings to improve the final water taste to our own preferences. No longer do we need to give up limited fridge space for a water dispenser or track down water at every stop!
Check out the Waterdrop G3P600 Reverse Osmosis System on Amazon (affiliate link.)
2 – Adjustable Water Pressure Regulator – $38
Having strong enough water pressure to enjoy your shower without constantly adjusting the temperature levels is a must! We had a non-adjustable regulator for quite a while and it seemed to do its job a bit too well, restricting the water flow significantly in our RV. Our pipes didn’t suffer but we really disliked constantly fiddling with the shower to find the right temperature balance and maintain any sort of pressure. Until we bought the adjustable water pressure regulator, we always wondered if we were the only ones suffering or if the water pressure could be improved. Now we know it was just our old regulator.
Get yourself a Camco Adjustable RV Brass Water Pressure Regulator on Amazon (affiliate link.)
3 – Cozy Blankets & Pillows
In the evenings, we enjoy curling up on our chairs and lounge space with our cozy pillows and blankets as we watch a TV or movie together as a family. We each have our own preferred blanket styles and added plenty of pillows to the seating corner so there’s plenty of space and coziness for all.
4 – Glassware & Ceramic Plates – $33 & $21
When we decided to move onto the RV full-time, we all felt it was essential to have real glasses and plates to drink out of while we travel. We may not use them for every meal, but it definitely matters. Paper plates are fine for quick stopover nights or when you just don’t feel like doing the dishes. But we love to cook or have a nice Old Fashioned with dinner sometimes. Some things just need to be enjoyed at the highest possible level of quality. Traveling with glassware and real plates does have some risk factors but we have found that with this single storage glassware storage box and a couple of plateholders, we’re able to keep everything tidy and safe while we’re bumping down the road.
Get a storage box for your stemware and glassware on Amazon (affiliate link.)
Look at adjustable plate holders on Amazon (affiliate link.)
5 – Fun Art & Strategic Use of Command Hooks
Putting holes in your RV walls can lead to unpleasant discoveries so we’ve tried to avoid that at all costs. But we still needed ways to add pops of colorful art, hang towel hooks, and utilize wall space for things like caps and dog leashes. Command Hooks and framed art hanging strips have been a lifesaver! I even figured out how to use them to hang up our wall mount for our Dyson vacuum.
6 – Shelves & Hooks in the Shower
RV showers can be fairly small but we’re making the most of the limited space by adding corner shelves and a few hooks. It’s way nicer to not bend down all the time in the shower and there’s been fewer injuries from the shower door handle as well. When we move to a new spot, we just remove all the bottles from the shelves and lay the items in the shower. Easy peasy.
7 – Real Plants
Yes, it’s a bit outside the norm, but we feel like having a just a couple of plants onboard makes our space instantly happier and more colorful. We had small plastic plants from IKEA on our counter for a long time which was also a nice, easy option. But when we moved onto the RV full-time, we still had a few small plants that we cared about so we brought them along. So far, it’s been a learning experience but they’re doing well overall.
We do have a few additional ideas in the works to customize our RV a bit more, because much like a house, we feel that you should turn it into something you love completely! But we are so happy with these few changes already that really just make living as three people and three pets in 320 sq ft a bit easier. Because sure, the world is our backyard – but when you’ve got remote work and schoolwork to take care, you want your inside space to be cozy too.
8 – Area Rugs & Runners
Although we don’t have a huge amount of floor space, there is a lot of foot traffic in small spaces. We had a runner in our kitchen / living room space previously but upgraded to a larger area rug that covered almost the entire living room when we went full time. This not only protect the floor but also keeps a lot of stuff away from the slide. It also makes that area feel so much more warm and cozy, like it’s part of a home. We made sure the rugs we selected were machine washable as well so they can be taken to a laundry mat anywhere to be cleaned up when the inevitable strikes.
Look at areas rugs on Amazon (affiliate link.)
What are a few of the things you’ve done to make your RV feel more like home when you’re traveling? Share your updates in the comments below.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. These earnings help sustain this website and keep us sharing our travels.
