What tricks has your trailer taught you

[Gina D.]

every little thing counts..

I have brought a few of my "Must Dos" from camping into my house in a small, but effective effort to help cut household costs.

My outdoor lighting is now all solar powered by left overs or "Go betweens" from the tailer. I have purchased extra fixtures as spares for the trailer that get used outside at home. There is no real good reason to let something sit in a cubby unused "just in case".

I do not flush my toilet after each use. I have to conserve water in the trailer, and after discovering it does not take a whole reservoir to get the job done in a sanitary manor, (I learned this from porta pottie use, actually) I simply close the lid when done and flush only after 4 or 5 uses of #1s. (#2s never sit.. sorry, I am not THAT advanced LOL!) My dogs have learned to drink from a REAL water dish now.

I have looked around at my spread out factor in the house and have brought many items into one room/area to share lights and resources, rather than having the comp "over there" and the TV.. "over yonder" lighting both areas at once because I move back and forth frequently. Having everything in the same space in the trailer has taught me it is OK to multi task in one spot.

Because the trailer is so efficient when it comes to environmental control, I sometimes go sleep in it to stay cool, rather than power up all my household fans to cool the larger space. The fantastic fan run on 12v is replenished by solar charging during the day. The trailer is secure and in a mostly quiet space and it's easier to cool its small square footage than my bedroom or living area. This winter, I may do the same with the propane heater running.

Some would gasp at this, but my dishes now sit until there is a full load, just like when I am boon docking and am in water conservation mode. (I do not have a dishwasher) The dishes are stacked neatly to one side, but since there is only one of me here, it may take several days to get a sink full.

For in between large laundry loads, I hand wash my, er, "unmentionables" instead of running the washer and hang to dry. They will go in a regular load if I have larger items to wash of course.

What other "camping" practices have you brought into your home and are now standard operating procedure?

[Carol Ann in TO]

Not a common practice yet but the other night as we finished making our online shopping choices for LED trailer lights we stopped to see what they might have for the house.