I was feeling a bit homesick the other day. We’ve been work camping for several weeks now and while I love living in our RV, I sometimes still miss home. I was contemplating the calendar (counting down the remaining days) when it hit me. I loved our RV, but our RV just wasn’t loving me back! I needed to make the RV feel more like home.
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Who lives here?
Here’s what I mean. Because making this trip had been a rather quick decision, I hadn’t packed along our Nix play (digital photo frame). The sentimental, handmade quilt for our RV bed didn’t come along with us either. (It was the hottest time of the year, so who needs a quilt, right?) Even the calendar I’d been staring at was from a bank! Why hadn’t I packed the calendar that our grandkids personalized for us? As I gazed around our RV’s interior, I quickly realized that it might as well belong to a stranger. Nothing (and I mean absolutely nothing) gave even a hint about us or our personality. It was as sterile and cold as an operating room.
Outside? Meh
Our RV’s exterior was much the same as the inside. It lacked anything “homey” or reflective of us. No outdoor plants, flags, or other decorations. When we’d arrived, several weeks ago, it was raining, so we didn’t put out our RV mat or retrieve chairs from the basement. Since that time, we just hadn’t taken the time to fully “set up” like usual.
Inexpensive solutions to make your RV feel more like home
What to do now? I didn’t want to purchase another Nix play or buy new sofa pillows and wall art. I needed a quick, easy, and cheap fix. So, I went to the local Dollar Tree. (Yes, due to inflation, Dollar Tree has raised its prices to $1.25. To me, that’s still quite a bargain!)
I found several items that would quickly turn our “blah” RV into something much better. In fact, I had to carefully sort through the different items in order to stick to my budget (five bucks.) I didn’t want to purchase things we already had at home. No sense in having duplicates, after all.
Placemats
I finally settled on two plastic placemats for our table, for a total of $2.50. Each mat featured an old pickup truck with a truck bed full of fall flowers. Since we’re working in a farming community, the farm truck seemed fitting. The wording on each mat read: “Make memories along the way.” What a good reminder for me.
Dish towels
I also purchased a dish towel that read: “Simmer down and roll with it.” I need that admonition on days when things don’t go as planned. The humor helps me not to take things so seriously. The towel cost $1.25.
Photo frame
Finally, I found this decorative item. The metal house has a circular opening that I thought could work as a picture frame. I printed out a photo of our grandkids and taped it behind the opening. The picture frame now sits on the sofa’s end table where I see it often. Cost? $1.25.
And more…
There were many other items I could have purchased to make our RV feel more like home. The store had wall clings just perfect for the RV bathroom and/or bedroom. There were candles and twinkle lights. There were whiteboards and chalkboards, too—perfect for writing encouraging words or a grocery list.
Outside
We finally took the time to spread out our RV mat and set up the camping chairs. We got out the grill and portable propane firepit, too.
I might make a return trip to Dollar Tree. They had really cute yard stakes and hanging signs that would add pizazz to our outdoor space. But for now, I’m feeling much better. And all for around five dollars. Money well-spent because it makes our RV feel much more like home.
How about you? How do you make your RV feel more like home? Please share your ideas in the comments below.
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Thank you, Gail. DW and other DWs went shopping while we were all at Newmar’s service center in Nappanee, Indiana. DW brought back to the RV several decorative items. She used Earthquake Putty to attach them to a back corner of the bathroom vanity, to a back corner of the kitchen counter, and to one end of a window sill. Later we bought this tabletop fireplace (https://a.co/d/9A64rLN) and attached it to the opposite end of the window sill, also with Earthquake Putty. One of the DWs from the shopping expedition disliked a picture that came with her RV and gave it to DW. It now hangs in the hallway to our bedroom.
Great ideas. I too love the dollar stores, I can change things out more often if I’m not spending a lot of bucks! A can of spray paint can do cool things too. I need to set me a limit “before” I go into dollar store, cause I can come up lots of ideas and spend too much, or just take in a 5 dollar bill 🙂
We have fridge magnets and art work from our Grandkids on the fridge doors too. I look at them all the time.
We lost a beloved brindled Dalmatian that traveled with us all over the US on vacations for over 14 years , he would have a fit when he heard that Diesel engine start, he knew he was going on vacation. I miss him so much, we still travel with our 2 other Dalmatians. So I decided to give our LondonAire a Tiger look!! I got MacKenzie Childs Serengeti “floor mat, guestroom towels, tissue boxes, trash and, and entrance mat. I can’t wait to go on our next adventure to Fredrericksburg food and wine fest next month with all our new decor. We took down the silly wall art and put up a aviator Dalmatian painting.
Almost everything in our trailer is the same stuff we have at ‘home’. Same dishes, silverware, place mats, and just about everything else. The trailer feels like home just hopping in when it’s parked alongside our house.
And after spending almost two years in it down in Houston (we live in northern NV) REALLY helped it feel to like home (because it WAS).
Same here Tommy. Except for the silverware it’s homes sweet homes !
It’s weird, but our seasonal (winter) RV isn’t home until I hang the lights on our little entrance door deck. It is a string multi-color bulbs about the size of the old incandescent bulbs. Each has one LED and is slightly less bright than a night-light. I put them on a timer for dusk plus 4 hours. Other than building lights, the RV park has no lighting.
With short winter days it is often dark when we return from activities with friends, and when the dog and I make our last outing for the day. The colorful line of lights is cheerful and tells us we have returned home.