RV tips

Even when retired, time is precious. There is more to do in this world that we will ever have time for. But chores are ever with us.

Here are some timesavers I have figured out while motorhoming.

Use a computer, or if fulltiming, two, and they should be laptops. My husband does all his email on his. He has his own address book for friends he meets either on the internet or in real life. He has a map program which he uses to plan all our trips. He hooks up the laptop to a GPS system when we travel, so we never get lost. He also has a campground directory on his, plus some other programs he particularly likes.

Mine has my email, plus a daily journal, and of course my word processing program for writing. I also have the same map program to look things up, plus a dictionary, an organizer, Quicken, Excel, a database program to keep track of my writing markets and stories out, etc., but lots more. We are frequently on our computers at the same time.

When we have a phone line, we spend hours on the Internet looking up stuff we have wanted to look up for awhile. Some think we are on the computers too much. But we enjoy it, and it helps us keep connected to friends and relatives via email, and it gives us a wealth of information at our fingertips.
Keep a journal, preferably one designed for a computer because you can search within it. You will be surprised how much it helps when you want to remember where you stayed and had that terrific meal of something you never ate before. Or if you want to write an update, a letter, or even a regular newsletter, you can easily look back over your journal, even cutting and pasting to make all that go much quicker.
Take one day a week to do chores. I chose Monday for some reason. I do the laundry, clean the motorhome, shop for groceries, and may cook a big pot of something which will feed us a couple of dinners during the week. I might balance the checkbook, as well, or do extra errands or anything that needs doing. Usually, as I found out, one day was not quite enough, so on Thursday, if we're not traveling, I try to do some more stuff like writing letters, cleaning out the shower, (because I hang clothes in there on Monday), errands, filing, etc. for just half a day. Whatever needs doing. The beauty of this system is that the rest of the week I don't have to think about any of this! Oh, I might need to vacuum the rug because we were in a muddy area. Something may come in the mail that needs immediate attention. But usually, I just stick to this schedule, and I have all the other days to play.
Cook as if you still were cooking for the whole family. I haven't cut many recipes down. Instead, I cook the whole thing, and then we eat the rest later in the week. Some of my favorites are beef stew, chicken casserole, meatloaf, lasagna, and other one-pot meals. I cook up seven or eight chicken breasts at one time and use them that night with rice and a vegetable for a meal, make a casserole, and have more for salad or to throw in with a can of Chicken Chow Mein.
In a small space, it is more important than ever to keep things picked up and have a place for everything. Have a good filing system. (Not the dashboard--I've seen that one.) After a few months of traveling, or at least at the year's mark, go through all cabinets and drawers and throw out stuff you know you'll never use. Or give it to charity. Use decorative tins and boxes around the place to stash stuff.
The notebook: I keep a notebook with calendar pages (one per month). Birthdays, holidays and other special days are noted, and we put in any places where we would like to go or have actually planned to go for conferences, get-togethers and other things that interest us. Each page has its own plastic sleeve, so any info we get about conferences, etc., can go in that month's sleeve. Near the back is a printout of our address books from our computers. That way, if the computers crash, we have that information. At the very back is THE CHECKLIST. This is the list we use to be sure everything is put away and battened down before we drive the motorhome away. We go over this checklist religiously before leaving. In one pocket are coupons good at different campgrounds and in the other is the information about the campground we are currently in.

Do you have a favorite timesaver? Please send it on to me. In another life, I would have been an professional organizer!