What Doesn't Turn On is Best Left Off

As a concerned mom about the influx of media into our kid's lives, I couldn't be happier to give the following report! My kids are NOT running to the television every day after school! Hooray! This couldn't make me as a Mamma Hen happier!

I've often thought that the layout of a house directly dictates the type of activities that occur within the home. People most often take this for granted. Articles have been written on how having a large kitchen, central to the layout of the house, might be making people fatter with the concentration being on eating while in the kitchen! Yes, makes logical sense. I get that.

The last layout of our house, although the house was large, was an open floorplan which seemed to have everything gravitating around the kitchen and living room. What was the focal point of the living room? The television! My husband hung a huge flatscreen tv over the fireplace. I would have preferred it be in the side cabinet with doors that shut to keep it obscured, but he is most definitely a tv aficionado. My kids seemed to congregate in front of the television at any given time of day.

This, as I am thrilled to report, is not happening in the RV! Yes, there are two tv's in our new "home", one in the living area and one in the bedroom. But my kids have shown zero interest! As soon as we get home from school, they break out the soccer ball, the basketball, and head to the grassy area by our RV to immediately play with friends. I don't even have to ask them to do it! Yippee!!

Every responsible parent wants more activity in their kid's lives, and less stagnation. And I am not "against television" as my husband puts it. (Although I think "reality shows" are one of America's biggest waste of time.) I am excited and relieved at this unexpected and immediate shift in my children's behavior.

I can function from almost anywhere inside the RV and watch them play with their friends, as we have many windows in here. Or I can actually take the time to pull out a portable folding chair and sit down to take in this wonderful turn of events.

Score 1 for the RV way of life!

The First Week - A Test of Patience

Once the decision was made to "go small", we had little to no apprehension about our move to 600 square feet. I was actually excited about the opportunity! I looked forward to "camping out" and making it fun for the kids.

But with all things great and small comes responsibility. The first night in our new home, the 600 square foot RV, the power went out. I assumed it was my error, plugging in a fan, my phone, and the alarm clock all into one outlet via an extension cord might not have been the best idea.

I decided to figure it out for myself by reading our RV instruction manuals.I checked all of the GFI outlets. Check! The breakers weren't tripped and the fuses weren't blown. The next day I noticed the outlets weren't working, the washer worked and the dryer didn't. (yes I thankfully have appliances in here!) The dishwasher worked but the fridge did not. I must have a cell phone, especially for emergencies, so charging my phone in our car was no big deal, although I have the type of car that won't charge unless the car is on.

The main concern were the lights. Day after day the lights were getting dimmer. I had to start using a flashlight to get around at night.The red LP Gas Protector light started blinking inside the RV, although the propane supply was low. Since I wasn't sure if it was malfunctioning due to lack of power or not, I decided calling a repairman was the only choice.

Success! The electrical wires inside the connector head had fallen off of their contact point! Only 50% were still attached. With that figured out and our outlets working, it was finally time to replace our milk and start really living in our new home. Again, it was time to get excited and start taking notes on how this journey might change us all for the better.

I agreed to go small but being unprepared to live off-grid was not in the plan!

Who We Are

Who are we?
One mom and three kids.. Well, there's actually a dad and two more kids in the family. But for the purpose of this blog, we are concentrating on only the four of us: my three youngest "chickens" and me, "Mama Hen".

This is the story of our decision to move from a "normal" suburban home of over 5,100 square feet to a 600 square foot coach, or RV. This is a temporary move as we will move in the next couple of months down to Austin, and regain some space, going back up to 2,500 square feet of household living.

I am taking this transition time as a non-scientific, and pure family oriented, study into living the simple life, seeing if less really is more as they say. I considered naming this blog "From 5,000 to 600" but that title doesn't convey enough of the story.

Please check back often. I, too, wonder how each day will begin and end with 4 people in 600 square feet.