Travelling in a motorhome has always been a dream of mine, and over the years I kind of chipped away at Dan until he finally gave in. When that time came, I was equally shocked and over the moon, as he is a man who does like his home comforts. We were a bit worried about downsizing, as for 3 years we’d lived in a 3 bedroom Victorian house with 3m high ceilings, so to help with our transition, we opted for a 6.5m motorhome with lots of storage.
Before we left home, I remember standing in our bathroom (which was almost as big than our entire moho) and trying to envisage our life. I must admit, I did feel a little daunted by the prospect. However, after almost 3 months on the road, it feels like we’re finally settling into our space and sometimes it actually feels quite big!! Don’t get me wrong, there have been some very stressful and tricky times where we’ve wanted to strangle one another, but only a couple…honestly. What I will say, is that it really does take a close relationship and an equal commitment to your journey to keep on going. Fortunately, we have both of those things (at the moment anyway, there’s still time!).
So, if you’re thinking of travelling longer term or living in a very small space, here are some of our top tips, that have helped us along the way. Of course, these will be different depending on your kind of life-style, your type of relationship and your budget, and of course if you have your little furry friend/s with you. I hope they will give you some insight, if you’re considering it.
Communication – Verbal and Physical
So, in a house or flat, you can generally move around each other without getting in one another’s way. In our moho our living space, storage, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom are in 13 m2. The kitchen and bathroom are half a metre apart, so we’ve found that improving our communication helps massively. We tell each other what we would like to do and where we want to move to and are prepared to be patient if one of us is cooking. We have an agreement if you can get passed without getting in the others way (e.g. not touching /bumping into) we go ahead. It sounds silly, but I found it helps to put my hand on Dan to let him know I’m there, before trying to move past. We’ve learnt to really be mindful of where our bodies are within the space. It takes practice, but one day, it just feels normal.
Know each other well
We’ve been together for 13 years and have been backpacking years ago, where we stayed in lots of hostel dorm rooms with others, so we know each other pretty well. Knowing these things before embarking on a long adventure in a small space is a good indicator of whether it is likely to work. We tend to know each other’s stress triggers (buttons not to press) – so we do our best to avoid these where possible.
We all have bad habits (I know it’s hard to believe) so it’s important to consider if you could put up with them in a smaller space, as you can’t just escape to another room. Well there is the tiny bathroom but that is not particularly private. It’s best to try to be extra forgiving for these, and give each other space, if necessary, go out for a walk. We’re not perfect, we can get irritable with one another and can say things we don’t mean. So it’s important to not hold a grudge, apologise, hug it out and let it go…..oh and don’t forget to laugh it off.
Another thing, you need to be aware that the bathroom is not sound proof….yes this also means you have to be totally comfortable with one another! A good question to ask yourself is, are you comfortable farting in each other presence… if the answers yes, I’m pretty sure you’ll be ok.
Time Out
We spend a lot of time having fun together, but it’s equally important I feel to make sure we have our own space and are supportive of one another taking time away from the other. Dan likes anything techy or practical, so he was really hands on with setting up our mohodiaries website, and all the other technical stuff that comes with it. I like running, yoga and meditation. Also, we sometimes do our own thing in each others company, but don’t interact. To do this, you must be comfortable with silence (eg not talking), but a lot of time we’ll listen to music.
Home Comforts
If you’re going to be away for a while, no doubt you will get a bit home sick at some point…it has happened to us. It helps us to keep in touch with our friends and family so it’s good to have a mobile with you. We also made our Moho nice and cosy with a few of our favourite cushions from home. Dan would say a few too many! Marley also has his favourite bed/cushion with him too, which he often goes back to. A good old sniff and hes transported back home…happy days! He also has lots of his favourite toys to chew on and play with. We really think it has helped him transition to this way of life. Remember, a happy doggie equals less stress.
Pet Time
We tend to go for walks together, as well as apart. Having Marley with us is great for that too, but there are also many places he can’t go. We are travelling in hot countries also, so one of us often needs to stay in the moho with him to keep the windows open. We had different expectations of how travelling would be at the start, and have had to adjust these so that Marley is ok in the hot temperatures. If you’re thinking of taking your dog on your travels, again you really must be totally committed to prioritising his or her needs over your own, especially in hot countries.
We prefer wild camping, so for us these means we don’t feel comfortable leaving him in the moho. This means we don’t spend much time without him unless we’re in a more secure environment, such as a campsite. That’s not to say all campsites are secure.
Dan and I absolutely love Marley to bits, you can probably tell we’re both obsessed with him, but I think a trip away in a small space with a dog would not make for a happy time, if only one of you dotes on your dog. This scenario would likely cause a lot of friction between you both.
We have found it so helpful, particularly with Marley to have some routine and structure to our days. It can be quite hard for dogs to settle into the travelling life as the environment is constantly changing, so if you can keep some similarities to home, then I think they will cope much better. Examples are we keep to our morning and evening walks with him, avoiding the midday sun (12-5pm, sometimes even later), and keeping meal times the same. A happy dog makes for happy doggy parents, and this means its easier to be in a small space together.
Keep Tidy
Fortunately, Dan and I like tidiness, so if one of you is not tidy, you may have you’re work cut out, as there is just not the space to be messy. It really needs to be a shared effort as it soon becomes a complete mess otherwise, and of course very frustrating if only one of you is sticking to it. For example, when you come indoors rather than dump your stuff on the side it’s better to spend an extra few seconds putting it away where it belongs.
Cleaning and Chores
As boring as it sounds, it’s important in a small space to keep on top of the cleaning inside, which we do daily, this is especially needed if you have a dog. We have our cordless Dyson with us, which is AMAZING – so sexy I know! (If you want to buy one, see links below)
One of the worst chores is emptying the toilet, so we agreed upfront that we would alternate responsibility of doing this. Believe me, sharing the shitty jobs makes for a good team, so we take turns.
Be Organised
Before we left for our trip, we spent a lot of time finding homes for specific things in the moho and bought storage boxes to keep things tidy. This applies to the interior and exterior. Knowing pretty much where everything goes, we’ve found works well and means we don’t get stressed out constantly looking for things. Remember, frustration can easily turn into conflict in your relationship. Believe me, if you’re stressed, you will take it out on the person you are with.
We have a handy IKEA hanging clothes unit we put in our wardrobe, so we have our own space for clothes. We found out after testing the moho out in the UK that whenever we arrived somewhere, and opened the wardrobe door, all the clothes came tumbling out. This was so frustrating, especially as it usually happened to me. You don’t want that constantly happening for the next 6 months! Fortunately, my super nifty mum made some velcro straps to stop this happening. Thanks Mum!!
When on the move, it can be so irritating hearing things rattle and bang, and its also worrying not knowing if something’s getting damaged. We have rubber mats in the kitchen and bathroom cupboards to stop this happening. These are just some little simple things to think about….they really have helped us to avoid becoming irritable, as otherwise you could easily take out on the other.
Are you going to be travelling with your dog, or pet? Early on we allocated Marley an area which he calls home, and feels safe and cosy in (he does still treat the place like his own though). We think this has helped him settle, but also it means we’re not tripping over him all the time.
Minimalisation
When packing for your trip, I would absolutely recommend you keeping in mind that you have a limited amount of space, so only take the things you really do need and maybe just a little more. We had a tick/check list which really helped. We didn’t pack lots of clothes and that is probably far easier when travelling in hot countries. To be honest, we probably still don’t wear half the clothes we brought with us. We made sure we had a couple of empty spaces, which has really helped because despite trying to be minimal we have needed them for the things we barely use. Hymer’s are really good for storage!
Check out our youtube channel for an interior tour of our Moho.
Supermarkets – Don’t overbuy
Again, you can’t do big food shops like when living in a house/flat, as you end up struggling for space to put things in. If you do manage to squeeze it all in, you can’t see it or properly access it, and can forget where everything is. I hate it if food turns, so we avoid that at all costs! We’ve found it’s better to go food shopping more regularly than over buying (as much as Dan loves to do the latter).
Treats and Having Fun
We have a budget but it’s not so small that we can’t treat ourselves occasionally. Keeping track of the finances can become a little addictive, even a challenge, but it’s so important, if you can afford to, to factor in treats. If you know us well or you’ve been following our journey, you will know that we tend not to take life too seriously, so I totally recommend being able to have lots of laughs,
Slowing Down the Pace
We found this happened quite naturally, but we probably should have been more mindful at the beginning to not feel we have to do everything we can quickly and then move on. It’s exciting moving onto the next place, but it can also be tiring researching where that place will be, and you don’t want it to become a chore. We were often staying one day in each place, and now it’s more like 2-3. Marley also prefers this, as its tough for him to constantly have to sniff out his new home on arrival.
