When we decided to move into a fifth wheel, the shopping process was a little overwhelming at first. There are SO many options. Do we go new? Used? Do we even need a fifth wheel or will a travel trailer work better? What features do we HAVE to have? How much money should we spend? Are we crazy??? 

Seriously, so many things went through our heads at the same time. 

Now that we’re six months away from that buying process, I have to say that I think I have a little more clarity about how I would do things if we were going to do it again. 

Here are a few tips I have for anyone looking to buy a fifth wheel, especially for full time living. 

1. Go look around. If you can go to an RV show, do it. Don’t go with ANY expectations. Just go and start looking at what’s available. You’ll get a feel for what dealers you want to work with as well. Some will make sure you know that if you’re not ready to buy, you’re not important to them. STAY AWAY FROM THOSE GUYS. 
2. Decided what your nonnegotiables are. What things do you KNOW you can’t live without. What things are you hoping to have? For us, it was dedicated sleeping spaces for each kid. I did NOT want to be making up a table every night. It was also really important that it was well insulated, so we only looked at models with an Arctic package. 
3. Decide what you absolutely don’t want. What things aren’t important to you? For instance, I did NOT want a fifth wheel with a bathroom right IN the bedroom. I don’t know why but that was something I was not okay with. My husband wanted as few slides as possible, because slides can fail and he wanted less points of weakness. 
4. Decide what your budget is. One thing I would probably do differently here is look at models that were under budget as much as possible, and not at the top end of our budget. We weren’t really 100% sure on what our budget should be, and we were pushed into looking at some that were way out of our range. Thankfully the rig we ended up with was in our price range. 
5. We decided to buy new. I’m not 100% sure that I would do this again, but we wanted the peace of mind that comes with the manufactures warranty. 
6. Do research on the manufacture. Look up forums and find out what kinds of problems people have had with that manufacture. Do they pay out on their warranty work (some companies are known for not paying for work that should be covered). Do they have tons of recalls? We actually called up the manufacture of our rig before hand and asked them a few questions. They were very helpful. 
7. Once you find the model you want, shop around. We found ours at a local place, for a decent deal. But when I did some searching, we found that exact same model at another dealer just an hour away from us. That dealer happened to be discontinuing this particular model, so we got it quite a bit cheaper AND the sales tax was less in that area. 
8. Be prepared to say NO. The dealer tried to upsell us on quite a few different things. Just keeping singing that no key. We didn’t want slide covers or little vent things to go over the top. We didn’t want any of that. 
9. Be prepared to walk away. I PROMISE there are other rigs that will work if the dealer isn’t giving you the dealer you want. Remember that THEY want to sell the trailer more than you want to buy it. So if it’s not working out, be patient, and walk away. On one that we walked away from, the dealer called us three or four times trying to get us to buy it at a better deal, but we had moved on at that point. Don’t forget that you’re in control. You’re the one who chooses if you buy it or not. 
10. Don’t tell them you’re going to live in it full time. Some places won’t finance or even sell you a fifth wheel if they know that. So keep that information to yourself. 

Enjoy the buying process! And if you’re wondering, we ended up with a Dutchman Denali 280 LBS and we are so in love. It’s been perfect for my husband and I and our three kids. 

This is the floor plan: 

It has a loft where my son sleeps, and a bunk house with two beds for my girls. So everyone has their own sleeping space. It has just two slide outs (the kitchen and the closet in the bedroom) so my husband got what he wanted with the minimal slide outs. We honestly could do without the outside kitchen, but it is fun to use once in awhile. We’re thinking about converting it into some kind of storage, but for now, we’ll leave the kitchen as is. 

I’d love to hear about your experience shopping for a fifth wheel or travel trailer! Leave me a comment and let me know how it went! 

The post Things To Think About When Buying A Fifth Wheel appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

We live in a fifth wheel with our three kids, which means space is VERY limited. We have to be very careful about what we bring into our house, because there just isn’t room for junk. When I was searching for Christmas gifts for this year, I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a list for you all, to save you a little time! I hope you find it helpful! 

Tip: Get things that are in sets. Our system is a bag system. Each set of toy is in a bag/box. The kids can only get out one toy at a time, and every toy belongs somewhere. It makes cleaning easier, and it’s easier to organize that way. 

1. Clip on dolls.

You can get these at Costco, or on Amazon. My girls (and my son) love playing with these. And they can actually dress them themselves (See ya later, Barbie!). 

2. Magformers.

All three of my kids (and my husband) love playing with these. We get a new set about once a year to add to what we already have. They stick together, so they’re easy to pick up and they don’t make a huge mess.

3. Legos.

We only have Duplos, and plan on keeping it that way. We have a tub that we keep under our bed. We get them out about once a week for the kids to play with and they play with them for HOURS. I think it’s because they’re not available to them all the time. 

4. Cars. 

Never, ever, underestimate the power of a Hot Wheels car. All three of my kids love driving cars around the trailer. They’re small, and they don’t make a mess. If we had to choose ONE toy, it would be this one. 

5. Play animals.

We have a little tub of plastic farm animals and it gets played with quite a bit. These ones DO make a bit of a mess, but the kids love them so we deal with it. Again, they only get ONE set of toys out of at a time, so that really helps keep the mess down. 

6. Kindle Fire.

This tablet has been so nice to have. I am not a huge fan of screen time, but sometimes mama just needs a break, you know? This tablet is cheap, and my kids LOVE Amazon Freetime. 

7. Small play kitchen.

We don’t have one of these (yet), but I think my kids would love this one, and I wouldn’t mind finding a place for it since it’s so small.  

8. Art supplies.

These are obviously a necessity for growing kids. I just have a small plastic bin full of them and they get put away when not in use.  

9. Puzzles.

You can never have enough puzzles. They don’t take a lot of space, and they keep kids busy for a good amount of time. 

10. Melissa and Doug.

I can’t even pick on thing from this company because they have SO many good things that work in small places.

Are you looking for suggests for Stem based toys? Check out this post!

Thank you for reading & support me & my little blog! Don’t forget to like/comment/share/email to your grandma or whatev. 

The post Ten Toys That Are Great For Small Places appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

I talk a lot about how much I love our fifth wheel. And I do. We live in a fifth wheel with three kids, age 5, 4, and 2. Our primary reason for living in it is to save money, and have the freedom to go to where the opportunities are. Right now, we’re in Colorado, because my husband could take a year of classes here for free (thanks to his Native American heritage). That wouldn’t have happened without the fifth wheel. 

BUT. It’s not all butterflies and roses, people. There are a few things that are really tough! 

1. Laundry. I REALLY wanted a fifth wheel with a washer/dryer combo, but it just didn’t happen. We are lucky where we are at, because we have access to a washer/dryer for free, but it’s still a pain. In our last location, we had to use the laundry mat and a hand crank machine. This is the one we have. It actually works well, but it’s for sure not as convenient as a good old fashioned washer and dryer. 

Movie nights are much cozier now. And that’s not a bad thing.

2. Clutter. While we have WAY WAY less stuff, and it is easy to clean, quickly, it seems like the messes explode almost instantly. It’s REALLY easy for three little kids to make a HUGE mess in 100 square feet of living space. (Imagine that). 

3. Early mornings. Or the lack there of. I used to get up before the kids, but any movement now will wake them up. That means if dad goes to class early, the kids are awake. Early morning workouts can’t happen. Eating before the kids wake up can’t happen. I really do miss that early morning solitude. 

Meditation used to be peaceful

4. Fridge space. Actually, freezer space. I’ve been able to make the fridge work pretty well, but the freezer is SO tiny. I’m used to having an extra freezer (two actually) and now having just this small freezer has been a challenge, but it’s not terrible. 

Late night crafting doesn’t happen often anymore.

5. Dumping the black tank. Okay, this actually isn’t that bad. But I had to put a fifth thing, so I put this down. It is way easier than I thought it would be. Every two weeks, or so, I pull a handle, and hook up a hose and let it run for awhile. Then I unhook the hose and push the handle back in. Easy peasy, but it’s something I definitely don’t love doing. 

That’s really all I can think of right now. All in all, we’re so glad that we’re living in the fifth wheel right now. As the kids get older, my tune might change, but for now, it’s exactly where we’re supposed to be.    

The post Five Things We Don’t Like About Living In A Fifth Wheel. appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

We recently started homeschooling and we are LOVING it. We have done homeschool preschool, but things feel so much more official now that we have a kindergarten student. 

 

Now, before you tell me all the reasons why we SHOULDN’T homeschool, let me just tell you that we prayed about this. Like a LOT. We know, for sure, that this is the right choice for our family right now. Next year, that may not be the case. But right now, this is what we’re supposed to be doing. So, we’re doing it! 

Since starting, I have found a few great resources that I wanted to share with you all! 

1. All In One Homeschool 

I really could just stop after this one. It’s AMAZING. It’s great for preschool age as well. The reading program they have is super simple and it really helped my son get a jump start on reading. 

2. Zearn 

This is a math curriculum. It’s fun for the kids, and is common core based, so if you are planning on putting your kids in school later on, they’ll under stand all the “make ten” stuff. My four and five year old both do this website and like it. 

3. Coding.com 

This is super fun, and it teaches kids how to code! My favorite part is it makes them THINK. It teaches the way computers work, and it teaches logic. 

4. Khan Academy 

This doesn’t have a TON of stuff for young elementary aged kids, but it does have some good math classes, and TONS of stuff for older students. 

5. Teachers Pay Teachers  

This one is great for worksheets and other things like that. I get lots of writing practice pages from this website. Not everything is free, but lots of stuff is free. 

6.Handwriting Worksheets

This is another one that I get handwriting worksheets from. This one is great because it lets you create your own worksheets. I make worksheets with scriptures and things like that using this website. 

7.Armor Your Children

This one is for you LDS mamas. This blog has a year long program set up with a different theme each week and a different scripture for each day. It’s been a great way to start off our day. 

8. Brain Pop, Jr

This one has a different free educational video each week. My kids love it. Most of the site is a paid subscription, but we just watch the one video each week and call it good! 

9. Book Advventure 

This is a great way to motivate kids to read! 

10. Starfall
Full disclosure, we DO have the paid membership to Starfall, but there is LOTS to do without paying anything. My four year old especially loves this one.&nbsp

——-BONUS——-

If you’re really interested in homeschooling and unsure of where to start, I strongly encourage you to research online charter schools in your state. My son is enrolled is Idaho Idea, an online Idaho Public Charter School. They helped us come up with the curriculum and I check in with them once a month. It’s the best of both worlds!

What are you favorite free resources???

The post 10 Free Homeschooling Websites for Elementary School appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

One question we get a LOT when we tell people we are living in a fifth wheel is: What about your stuff? Where did it all go? 

My answer: It’s gone. 

All of it. 

Well… almost all of it. 

See, we moved from a 3000 square foot house into a 32 foot fifth wheel. We had a LOT of stuff that wouldn’t fit. Couches and chairs and dressers and clothes and toys.. and toys.. and toys….. 

But the good news for us was that MOST of our stuff was what I like to call Vintage Good Will. We hadn’t bought ANY of it new. Most of it was given to us or we bought very cheaply second hand. So getting rid of it wasn’t too hard. Anything that was in good shape, went to our yard sale. We had a two day yard sale and made about a thousand dollars. Everything that was left was donated. Baby clothes went to some needy families, everything else went to Goodwill or the dump. We saved a few things, and we have a storage unit that is 5 feet by 10 feet. It holds our camping stuff, a table, a gun cabinet, and some other random things that are important to us. A few other things are at my in laws house. When I say a few other things, I mean a headboard, a changing table (both thing I made and didn’t want to part with) and four or five small boxes. 

And that’s it. Everything else, we got rid of. If it didn’t fit in the trailer, it’s gone. 

At first, it was really tough! Making the decision about each thing that would stay or go was hard. But as time went on, it got easier and easier. Instead of deciding what I would get rid of, I decided what I would keep. For some reason, that was easier for me. 

I used the Kon Mari method to go through a lot of things. You know, if it doesn’t spark joy, don’t keep it. Which led to me getting rid of all of my dishes and buying some of the Pioneer Women line for the trailer. 

Side note: That’s one of my favorite things about the trailer. Everything in it is something that I absolutely wanted here. Everything makes me happy. There isn’t anything in here that I don’t love. 

The kids actually did really well going through their stuff as well. And we made a lot of room for toys, so they didn’t have to get rid of any of their very special toys. A few things that they were hesitant about getting rid of, but I didn’t want in the trailer, went to Grandma’s house and they get to play with it there. They were fine with this arrangement. They actually play a lot better with fewer toys than they did with lots of them. 

I did save a LOT of space for books, but we have since switched to E Readers, and I may be getting rid of some of the books to have room for other things. I haven’t decided about that yet. Books are so hard to get rid of. 

We got rid of a lot of clothes. I used a capsule wardrobe as my inspiration for my closet. I have a few more than 33 things, but not a lot. My husband did the same and his clothes actually only take up a VERY small closet and one cupboard above our bed. 

One thing that I think is really interesting, is that since we got rid of all of our stuff, not one time have I been sad, or wanted something that I got rid of. Not ONCE have I been like, “I should have kept X” or “I really miss Y.” Neither have the kids, or my husband. 

Turns out we just don’t need as much stuff as we thought we did! 

If you’d like to hear more about WHY we moved into a fifth wheel, check out this link. 

For all other fifth wheel related posts, click here. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post! Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment! 

The post What to do with your stuff when you’re living in a fifth wheel appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.