How to Live in an Airstream
- 1). Declutter your life. Even the largest Airstream is a shoebox compared to even a small apartment. Before you move into your Airstream, sell or donate everything that you no longer need.
- 2). Choose a domicile. Even if you live full-time in your Airstream, the rest of the world does not recognize it as a home. You are legally required to have a domicile, which is different than a simple residence. Your domicile is where you pay taxes, vote, serve jury duty and perform other responsibilities of citizenship. Each city and state sets its own requirements for declaring a domicile, so research your options.
- 3). Rent a mailbox. Most business can be handled online, but some items must still be mailed. Choose a facility that is flexible and will send your mail whenever you choose. Normally your mailbox serves as your legal domicile address, but this is not possible in all states. Depending on how your domicile is set up, your mailbox may be separately located.
- 4). Rent a storage unit to hold everything you could not part with, but do not need every day. Examples include holiday decorations, heirloom furniture and sentimental collectibles. Your storage unit need not be located in your domicile location.
- 5). Organize the Airstream. Organization begins when you unpack your belongings and decide where each item will live. Set up a system that works at the beginning, and never go to bed without putting everything away. Otherwise the clutter will seemingly multiply overnight.
- 6). Enjoy the comforts of home. Just because your home is small and movable is no reason to give up the things you enjoy. The RV lifestyle is no longer austere or rough. Some RVers do crafts. Some enjoy board games. Many work online. Hundreds of TV stations, many of them offered in HD, are available through portable satellite dishes that are no longer prohibitively expensive.
The key to enjoying the comforts of home in a small RV is to learn adaptability. Your RV stove may not generate enough heat to boil a large stockpot of water, but a portable hot plate will. Setting up a portable satellite dish is difficult the first time, but much easier the 20th time. There is nothing that you can do in a traditional home that cannot be done in an Airstream with a bit of ingenuity and practice.