Count Down to Road Trip

 Travel Books and wet wipes in front of passenger seat.

Hi all, Dianne here.  I thought I'd better give an update on what in the heck we've been doing lately -- it sure hasn't been blogging!  We have been taking our time and getting organized for our six-month road trip that starts next Sunday.  We might have been overdoing it a bit; one day I heard a voice calling out as my friend, Sue, rode her bike down the street in front of our motor home:  "Quit Working!!"  Yes, Sue, I agree, we did over-do it a bit, since this has been going on now for three weeks!  


We are really only "half-timers" now, with some storage here in Texas, so we don't have to drag everything we own on the road all summer.  We've been weeding through every bay, cabinet, drawer, closet with a jaded eye: "Do we really want to deal with this [whatever-it-is] for the next six months on the road?"  If so, how best to deal with it?  


We've had the carpets, love seat, and recliner steam cleaned and Scotchgarded.  Tuesday the outside is being washed and waxed.  Spring cleaning the motor home is officially done.  


Our first stop will be Kerrville, Texas for a week to attend the RV Dreams rally at Buckhorn RV Resort.  One of the fun activities will be a "show and tell" session where folks show their favorite RV-related items to the group.  With that in mind, I decided to blog about a few items we've found that make our life on the road easier and more convenient.  My RVing friends probably do things differently and probably better, but here's what works for us:

New Shoe Cabinet (Closed)

One of our worst problems has turned into one of our best solutions.  Our shoes have always been on a shoe rack inside the door (we kick them off when we enter the motor home).  Problem is, we need an assortment: hiking shoes, sandals, water shoes, slippers, Crocs.  They always looked like a jumbled mess, even when we lined them up neatly.  An added problem is that Tequila likes to chew on my Crocs (she thinks they are Kong toys), and it was easy for her to just pick them off the rack.  This shoe cabinet tilts out and holds all the shoes we normally keep by the door.

Shoe Cabinet Open

It works fine for us, because we both have small feet.  If your shoe size was large the door might not close.   It also makes a handy side table for our recliner.  (I found this cabinet on Amazon.com, but they sell it elsewhere on the web too.)

The new Costco has opened here in the Rio Grande Valley, so we used our credit card points ($330 shopping spree) and stocked up on meat and I froze them into two-person portions, using my Food Saver.  A basket from an old chest-type freezer lets me stack them all the way to the top without tumbling out every time the door is opened.  Our ice cube trays fit underneath, and other frozen food items fit in front.  The plastic wrap lining the back and bottom of the freezer makes it a lot easier when it's time to defrost -- I just pull on it and the ice comes off in big sheets.  I'll miss my regular-size refrigerator/freezer and ice maker while we're gone, but our road trips are more about adventures than food.


One of my favorite "gadgets" is my Fasta Pasta pasta cooker.  Space is at such a premium in the RV that I don't take a big pot.  This gadget cooks pasta in the microwave, and all who have tried it say they can't tell the difference in taste or texture.

Best of all, I just hold and tilt it over the sink and it drains the hot water out without having to take off the lid.  No more spaghetti down the drain!  You can also find the Fasta Pasta on Amazon.com.  In the background is my French-press coffee maker.  When we have electric hookups I use my electric kettle to quickly heat the water for it.  When we have no hookups, I can heat the water on my stove top using propane; no need for a generator, and no more bad coffee from my Coleman percolator.

My latest gadget is this Bag Well bag holder.  I use lots of zipper bags for food storage in the RV, and this bag holder is like an extra set of hands.

When I'm done with it, it folds flat for storage.  I also use it to dry any bags I decide to wash and re-use, like the green bags for vegetables. Link to Bag Well web site

My daughters and granddaughter have busy lives, and I didn't have any recent photos of them to display.  Facebook took care of that -- I lurked on their Facebook pages and downloaded my favorite photos, then printed them out and put them in our collage frame.  Aren't they pretty?  I can't wait to see them in Utah next month.  I'm going to try to get a good photo of the three of them together; if I do, I'll just switch it out.

Here's my version of a junk drawer.  This hangs in my closet, and takes up only a couple of inches of space.  When I find a miscellaneous item, I just stick it in one of the pockets.  Next time I need a miscellaneous item, I know just where to look, and just scan the clear pockets to find something that will work.  

But wait, there's more!  It's actually double-sided, offering twice as many pockets as you'd think.  I can't tell you how often I've found an odd screw or unidentified part on the floor, then later (sometimes much later) needed that very thing, when I figured out what it was.  

Another recent modification is this cute storage block with two bin drawers that I found at Target.  On the left you can see the bottom of my "junk drawer" pockets as they hang in the closet.  What is not shown in the photo is the tray bin that fits on top of the cube, which I fitted with flexible cubbies to hold my socks and undies.  Now all I have to do is open the closet door and grab what I want.  (I thought a photo might just be TMI.) 

Our closets are small, so another way I make space is to use sections of shoe bags mounted on the wall to hold odd things like bandannas or gloves, and closet multi-hangers for my clothes.  Except for shorts, I only use the top three hanger holes; otherwise, they hang too low and are too bunched up.

My few necklaces hang on a hook inside the closet door.  This way, they don't get jumbled and tangled when the RV bounces down the road.  If a chain is easily tangled, I put it through a drinking straw section before I hang it up.

Several years ago, before we were even RVing, my daughter bought me a set of collapsible silicone measuring cups.  These are handy riding on hooks inside my cabinet door.  

Traveling with two dogs and a cat holds its own challenges.  Where to put all their stuff?  Our RV has space for a washer/dryer.  Instead of utilizing that space as it was intended, we have four bins there: one for cat food, one for dog food, one for cat litter, and one for pet miscellaneous toys, brushes, etc.  Shoe bags hanging on the inside of the closet doors hold lint rollers and other grab-and-go type stuff.

Dog toys stay in a basket on the floor.  Both dogs help themselves to their toys; I just wish they'd learn to put them away!

One clever idea I thought of all by myself (those are few and far between) is to reuse the green net tubes that cushion wine bottles to keep small stackable containers stacked.  You can see in the lower right section of the photo how I slipped net tubes over two each small Tupperware containers so they'd stay stacked.  Another use for these net tubes is to place on glass vinegar or condiment bottles to keep them from clanging into each other during travel.

Here's another highly-organized cabinet.  The four small white crates on the middle shelf hold dish rags, dish towels, hand towels, and fingertip towels -- some of my most-used items.  The large orange detergent container which has been cut open is my "put away" place.  Rather than let items pile up, if I'm in a hurry and don't have time to put something where it belongs, I pop it into my "put away" box so it's out of sight until I have time to put it away.  Since clutter begets clutter in my house, this is important for me.  (Disclaimer:  Roger is not the messy one).  Right now it's empty, so it's holding extra paper napkins.

Another way I've discovered to stop the clutter from starting is to use this "project box" for all the slips of paper, recipes, to-do lists, and whatever other work-in-progress items are laying around. 


 Right now it's holding our master list.  This is time-consuming, but so worth the effort.  Roger made our first list a couple of years ago when I was working at Amazon and he was being Mr. Mom.  Things have changed so much since then that we've redone it, incorporating the list of items in our outside bays with items inside.  There are almost 800 items on our master list!  It's not finished; we're still editing it.  When it's ready, I'm going to put two columns per page, front and back, and laminate it.  Items are coded for location. 

 Blue items are in outside bays; red items are inside.  We have a key that corresponds to the number/lettering system.  Lest you think that some of these items should be self-explanatory, just know that I am married to a man who can never. find. anything....


 This list will help us keep our sanity this summer when we're trying to remember where we've stored items.  I plan to keep a copy here in Texas as an inventory listing, in case we have a fire in the motor home.  Thank heavens that our word processing software alphabetizes for us!  


Roger has been working just as hard on the outdoor bins.  Here's an example:

He's also been emptying all of our pots and readying them for storage, along with our other outdoor garden items:

Everything has to be cleaned and put inside the coach house when we leave in case of hurricane winds while we're gone.  This next week will be spent closing up the coach house.

Enough housekeeping!  Here's a pretty photo of our rose bush just covered in blooms.


My wildlife cam caught a culprit eating my bird food:

CLIMBING UP

CLIMBING DOWN

STOPPING TO POSE

The pet photo of the day shows Bandido and Tequila at the dog park.  It looks like Tequila is telling him a secret.  They're already wondering where all their friends have gone.  Little do they know that they'll be hitting the road next!

Getting Ready for Spring/Summer Travels

Roger here....   Tequila and Bandido are not aware of it yet, but their lives are about to become more interesting (at least from a human perspective).  It is almost March.  In seven weeks we will be leaving our comfortable life at Retama Village and hitting the road.  


Lots to do before then.  Lots to do.  From my perspective as a concrete-sequential guy with an overwhelming desire to organize, the first step is to make lists --- several lists --- bulleted lists, that I can put check marks by as each task is completed.  (Oh, the satisfaction.)


Let's see....


  -  Get the motor home serviced
  -  Finalize the itinerary
  -  Change the oil in the Toyota
  -  Move things from the motor home to the coach
     house
  -  Move things from the coach house to the motor
      home
  -  Change the anode rod in the water heater
  -  Install a battery fill device to make that task
     much easier
  -  Make an appointment to have a dentist check 
      my teeth (in Mexico)
  -  Arrange for my prescriptions to be delivered on
     the road
  -  Take the dogs to the vet for their shots
  -  Purchase a National Park Pass.  (A great deal
      when you reach the age of 62.  That will be
      very soon for me.)
  -  Buy new hiking shoes.  (We plan to do lots of
      hiking)..........


New hiking shoes.....   Let's look at that last item.  It is a task that has already been completed, and what a pleasant surprise it was.  We went to  Academy Sports and Outdoors, a Texas sporting goods chain similar to Dick's Sporting Goods.  Dianne was the person who really needed new hiking shoes.  Hers were totally worn out.  Even though mine still have a little wear in them, I decided to look around while Dianne shopped.  Shoe shopping for me is almost always an irritation. My feet are so very small that I seldom find anything that fits me in stock.  I certainly don't get to choose.  If they are close to fitting, I buy them.  I may not get another chance for years.  

Imagine my surprise finding a variety of hiking shoes in my size.  I get to choose?  I should have expected this.  I have mentioned before that the local Hispanic people are not usually very tall.  In fact, they are mostly my size.  This evidently transfers to shoe size, as well.  Dianne found her shoes, and I ended up buying a comfortable pair of Merrells.  I then splurged by getting a pair of walking sandals.  (You know... the shoes that have toes and heels, but also lots of holes.)  The sandals are so comfortable that I wear them almost all the time.


Dianne is not a concrete sequential.  She occasionally makes lists, but nothing that compare to mine.  She will, on those occasions when I get on her nerves, suggest that I make some lists.  She knows it will get me out of her hair.  She thinks I don't know what she is doing.  Shhhhhhh, don't tell her that I do.  


Nonetheless, list or no list, she has also been busy getting ready for our departure.  She had a scare a couple of weeks ago, when her recipe software failed.  After two miserable days, she figured out how to retrieve her 2600 lost recipes (some from as far back as the 1970s), and transfer them to a new software program.  It was quite a relief to her, and to me.  (I don't like seeing her when she is miserable.)

Her current project involves reorganizing the recipes and adding new ones.  For the past two weeks, she has been glued to her computer, madly entering all kinds of information regarding the cooking of food.  (She gloats that this is the perfect activity for her while I watch Purdue basketball games.)  She wants to get it all done before we leave.  I find it ironic that during this time, she has not actually prepared any food.  (I know I will get hate mail for that comment :-).  I asked her a few times when she might be finished with this project.  Her last reply was, "probably around 2040."  The further irony here is that by 2040 she will be 90 years old, and those who love her will not let her get close to a hot oven.  All that work for naught!

Another of Dianne's preparatory projects involves scanning the computer for useful travelin' products.  The other day, while reading a friend's blog (Gin and Syl), she discovered a product that when applied to the front of a motor home, makes the cleanup of dead bugs a snap.  Dianne ordered it immediately.  I am hopeful.  We'll see.  (Thanks, Gin and Syl, for posting about it!  Since we removed the Diamond Shield from the front of our motor home last winter, we are trying to be very careful about the paint finish on the front end.  This should really help! -- D.)


In a completely unrelated item, our motion-activated wildlife camera has been busy capturing images of the night-time activity in our back yard.


What do you think these could be?  The first two could be a rapidly moving coyote.  The next several are a puzzle (raccoon, opposum, rat, something else?)  We are pretty sure that the last one is a jack rabbit, and that the two prior to the jack rabbit are of the same bobcat. (You can just make out the bobbed tail on one of the pictures.)

Coyote??

Running Coyote?

Mystery Animal

Mystery Animal Again

Mystery Animal - Still Can't Figure it out!

Bobcat??!!!!

Another Shot of the Bobcat??!!!

Jumping Jackrabbit

It is fun trying to figure these out.  Let us know if you have opinions.


The pet picture of the day shows Bandido and Tequila (best buds) resting in their favorite spot on the couch.  Tequila just finished licking Bandido's ears :-)  TMI?

Roger, the Organizational Mastermind

Dianne here -- I'll download the photos, but Roger will be writing this blog.  Those of you who know him, know how "concrete sequential" (a/k/a anal) he is about such things.  He was really in his element on this one!!

Roger  here...   We have to start this one with my family history.  My Dad was the most organized person I have ever known (my brother is right in there, too).  My Dad and my brother considered me to be the disorganized member of the family.  HSE people will find this hard to believe.  

I grew up in a home with everything in its place with all the appropriate labels.  When Dad passed away, we inherited a garage full of file cabinets where every conceivable item was stored and each drawer's contents were labeled (even things as insignificant as paper clips).  Dianne and I moved all the file cabinets into our garage and lined our walls.  We called the arrangement Jim's (Dad) Hardware Store.  For the next three years we literally did not go to a hardware store, because everything we needed was easy to find and already in our garage.  

One of my pet peeves, and Dianne can attest to this, is not being able to locate something.  I must admit that I do go a little berserk when I put something in a specific place and  cannot find it later.  There are 14 outdoor bays in our motorhome - plenty of places for needed "stuff" to get lost.  While we were at Ft. Lauderdale for a month, the family genes kicked in.  I decided to make an alpha master list of everything in the bays with each item's bay number and container number within the bay. 

 I typed the master list on the computer,

 then Dianne sealed it in plastic with her food sealer.

  We then posted it inside a cabinet door. 

 We have used the list many times and it has saved us a lot of time and frustration.

In order to make Dad proud, I took it a couple of steps further by posting an individual bay list on the inside of each bay door with the contents of that specific bay. 

 I then made individual lists for each container.

  Dianne sealed all of the lists and I installed them with duct tape.  I cut so many pieces of duct tape that the scissors rubbing my thumb caused a blister (note documentary photo).  :-(

Obviously, the key to having this work in the long run is to ALWAYS return items to their assigned places.  I sense some possible bickering the future :-)