Living in a beautifully renovated trailer to save money and time.
Danielle shares her downsizing plans today that include moving into a trailer to free up time and money for travel. I’m sure you will agree: her trailer is beautiful! Thanks Danielle.
My name is Danielle and my husband is Greg. We have two sweet little boys Declan and Liam. We are a Southern California based family of four. We’re currently downsizing our life and moving into a trailer on our land. We love traveling! Hiking, camping and the beach are our favorite activities.
My husband actually introduced me to the concept of minimalism before we had children and I loved the idea of it.
I naturally despise clutter, so having less things to clean and put away is so appealing to me. However when we started our little family it did scare me a little to think about not having all the things that make raising children easier. But now two kids in, I have realized that you can go without pretty much anything. Having luxuries isn’t a necessity anymore for us. It is more important for us to have experiences.
For my husband and I living with less stuff it isn’t that hard: but with the boys it’s a different story. They are two and four and haven’t quite grasped the concept of less is more. They want every new toy and the more the better. I know that if they play outside and are able to use their imagination more it is better for them in the long run, but it is hard saying no to them when they ask for a toy their friend has. We have been able to find a balance by rewarding good behaviour with little surprises. I think it will also be easier when we are in the trailer and able to travel more.
There are many rewards for us by living with less stuff. Our plan is to move into our trailer on our land and limit our monthly obligations so we are able to travel more. It was important to us for our boys to see the world and how others live. This, to us is more important than living a traditional life with a big house, nice cars, etc. I can’t tell you the last time I bought something that made me happy for a while. But I can tell you we still talk about trips we took with our boys when they were little.
For now we are taking it one day at a time. I know it is easier with our boys being little. In fact, they love the idea of the trailer because to them it feels like we are on a permanent vacation. But I do know as they get older and start to have sleepovers with friends and want their own space, it will get difficult. It’s not a forever plan for us. It’s just a means for us to be able to get more out of life and enjoy our boys while we can.
You can see more of Danielle’s downsizing, travel and her beautiful trailer on Instagram.
Interested in reading more stories from minimalist-ish families? Here are a few more from the series:
That really is a beautiful trailer, Danielle! Although it may not work out forever, I think you’re making the right call for you and your family. Life shifts and changes, no matter which way you go, so it’s good to just take it all one step at a time and not stress too much over what is still far away.
This is so cool! I love the wallpaper you have in the bathroom area of your trailer. Your kids are going to love traveling. They will always have more memories from those adventures than the missed space. You were smart to start it so young. Now they won’t know anything different, and they will hopefully miss the consumerism epidemic that so often captures our children at a young age. Good luck on your adventures!