By Amy Callaghan Tiny Living WITH Big Things...And Loving It
TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | DEC 2018 15
The day has finally come! By the time you’re reading this article, I’ll
be setting up winter camp at our very own River’s End Campground! We
will be up front and to the leftish this year, so if you see us outside come
join the soirée! We are parked next to some friends we met last year, Mark
and Lisa. Can’t wait to see them and more of the Tybee and Savannah
family, since what seems like an endless stay in Statesboro, Ga. For the
peeps that aren’t informed, we’ve been out in BFE while Robyn finishes his
degree at Georgia Southern. I am so fortunate to have been able to stay in
business on Tybee with the talented April Solomon at Sea Strands Salon.
The most exciting news is that Robyn is graduating college December
7th, 2018! There will be a party at Huc A Poos that night after 7pm.
Everyone is welcome to come celebrate this awesome victory with us!
Trust me, you can’t miss the 6’7” buff Lurch. Just don’t bombard him with
too many shots or “what’s next” questions. He’s got until March to figure it
out, so let’s not rush the fun!
Let me catch you up as best I can on the Rona, Gerdi and companions
saga. If you’re just tuning in, Rona is our 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 dually
diesel beast of a truck. Gerdi being the forty one foot long, 450 sq. foot
fifth wheel pull-behind camper that’s become our first home we own. The
companions include two cuddly pit bulls, Frank Zappa and Opie (the most
amazing rescue boys from our local Savannah area), Robyn (husband,
hunky side-kick, tamer of the most untamable coiffure), and yours truly,
Amy Callaghan (aka Batman or Amy hair).
On to the part that I’ve been drinking, I mean avoiding - Rona. If you ask me
about the truck, you’ll be greeted with the deepest guttural UUUGGGHHH.
Rona has been the bane of our existence. PERIOD. We haven’t really been
calling her by name, use your wild imaginations as to what she’s been
called lately. She’s been in and out of the garage at least 6 times over
the year. Long story short, she has a lot in common with Frankenstein’s
monster. I’m not going to list everything that was replaced, we would all
be making that guttural noise while crying on the floor and that’s no bueno.
Let’s just say she’s alive for now. Moral of the story is don’t be an idiot. Get
a CARFAX on any vehicle you are going to purchase, trust me it’s worth the
couple of bucks to know something versus a couple of grand to find out
later. Could’ve saved me from now crying on my kitchen floor with an open
bottle of champagne at 1am. Which reminds me of my favorite persons
quote, Cameron Spencer, “Always keep a bottle of champagne in your
fridge. That may be the exact reason you’re celebrating. Because you have
a bottle of champagne in the fridge.”
We went from renting a three bedroom house to renting campground lots
while we owned what we were living in. If we wanted to, we could take our
whole home on vacation. No pet sitting bills, forgetting that favorite shirt,
or did we seriously forget our deodorant? We haven’t taken it on vacation
yet because adulting has got in the way, but we could if we wanted. Plus
the bill for that would be a whole other jerk to think about right now.
That being said, let’s ease y’all into this bottle with gleeful feelings and
go-getter attitudes.
Not everything has been rainbows and butterflies, but overall our home,
Gerdi, has been an absolutely wonderful life style change! You’ve probably
heard me shout this after too many shots, but I really mean it this time, I
REGRET NOTHING!
December 18th marks our one year living in OUR tiny home. It doesn’t
matter if you have 2000 square feet or 450 square feet, we can all agree
on one thing: A year really flies right before your eyes. A lot has happened
and I haven’t documented like I thought I would, you know blog, vlog or
even just journal something. No, that’s still too many deadlines for the
deadline queen. I can’t even write a story on time each month for this
magazine, let alone an interwebs thingy mavlogger.
There’s been at least 3 purges of our crap, and every time we have
a glorious dance party after. The chores have been cut even more than
they were before. Weird fact, I thoroughly enjoy cleaning my home. I find
satisfaction in knowing I did the work thing, to make that thing not a dusty
thing anymore. However, it got to a point that I no longer enjoyed dusting
all the things. You’re probably noticing the repetition of that word and I
hope it annoyed you. It truly annoyed me that I couldn’t remember why
or how I acquired the things, I just had a lot of things. If you feel similar
towards these things, I hope this ‘things’ part helps you out.
One method that kind of worked for us in getting rid of things, is pick
a drawer/cabinet/counter/whatever that is overflowing or underused, and
put everything in a box. Within 30 days, if you used something, find it a
permanent home and what’s left in the box, toss (unless it’s important
documents for taxes!). Which leads us to some of the flaws of this method.
You have too many days to change your mind and keep the unused things
for no good reason other than spite, or the off chance you might use it
again in 5 years. Another issue is you forget the box’s original intent and
you add everyday items like tax papers. Said box is shoved in an empty
cabinet to accommodate a lovely cobweb family.
Another option is to pick up a knick-knack you’ve been dusting since you
can or can’t remember and ask yourself: Do I love it? Is it useful? Do I really
want to keep dusting it? Does it have sentimental value? If the answer to
all or most of those is no, CHUCK IT AND DON’T LOOK BACK! I don’t miss
my dust collecting knick-knacks one bit! I realized I bought crap to fill in
empty spaces, and it was so unnecessary. I wanted to incorporate these
cute things to show my style. My style and preferences have simplified so
much in a year. I don’t like having things on my entertainment center and
cluttering up my bookshelves. I want to just see the books and pictures of
family I have and not all the unnecessary things I had.
I am now enjoying my favorite beer in my cozy living room of less
things I liked and everything I love. There’s been a sense of liberation in
my new style of living. We still look at each other frequently and say with
joy and content that this is our life. We are making our life happen and
happier. We really don’t need the tiny things that collect on shelves. We
want the memories, friends, family, and laughter surrounding us. With all
of my heart I truly hope you are all surrounded by that during the holiday
season. If you need a friend I’ll be at Rivers End.