Personality changes when spending a lot of time in your RV
Camper Chronicles said
07:30 AM Jul 3, 2014
Started this in another thread but moving it over here... I have seen a major personality shift since we bought the fifth wheel which really surprises me. I've never been the best housekeeper..in fact I'll admit it I was a bit of a slob. But because I am a bit claustrophobic I am obsessively cleaning...and I find I actually enjoy it...partly because the RV is super nice and I want to keep it that way, partly because it's small and doesn't take that long to clean, and partly because I just want to...which is really new. Anyways it's a major personality shift for me and I find it interesting. Lee keeps commenting on it as well it's very noticeable.
I was wondering if anyone else has experienced a personality shift once they started spending a lot of time in their RV (FT'ing or not)
TRAILERKING said
07:53 AM Jul 3, 2014
Lee and Trace wrote:
I was wondering if anyone else has experienced a personality shift once they started spending a lot of time in their RV (FT'ing or not)
Oh yeah...........................Once I step up in mine and take off on a journey I never want to come back home.
Technomadia said
09:43 AM Jul 3, 2014
Oh. so true on the cleaning thing. I find I'm less tolerant of clutter around the RV than I was in my regular house, and its so rewarding to see results fast with a little effort. Now, if only I could get Chris to make the same shift :D
The other big changes for me have been:
- I used to be really schedule oriented and needed to 'have a plan'. I've relaxed so much, and now go with the flow with ease. I find I'm much more adaptable, and far less likely to make promises involved planning and scheduling to others. For instance, instead of telling someone we'll 'arrive to X town on Wednesday afternoon'... I'm very clear with saying 'It's looking like we could be passing through sometime mid next week - NST of course.' (NST - Nomadic Standard Time) I also get anxious if we have too many plans, because I know how quickly things can change (bad weather, a break down, getting distracted)
- I used to be quite introverted and had little ability to be in large groups, or speak to new people. I've definitely improved there! I'm still introverted, but because I travel in my home and can recharge when needed, when I am around people I have more reserve tanks to operate from.
BiggarView said
10:22 AM Jul 3, 2014
Technomadia wrote:
...Now, if only I could get Chris to make the same shift :D...
Cherie, Chris being one us (male of the species) is genetically programmed not to change... it's the way of the universe. Women on the other hand change all the time, No wonder we are mysteries to each other.
Just sayin'
Brian
Dog Folks said
12:05 PM Jul 3, 2014
My wife says that I am a grumpy more often. She maybe right, but I love this lifestyle.
kb0zke said
12:15 PM Jul 3, 2014
CHANGE??!!
el Rojo and Pam said
04:24 PM Jul 3, 2014
I think I'm actually more tolerant of clutter now that we are living in the 5er, as I never imagined that I'd be living with a Dyson next to my bedroom dresser most of the time, but it doesn't bother me. I couldn't talk my S&B house cleaner into coming on the road with us, so it's nice to have a smaller place to keep clean. I too was a planner...not anymore, much easier to live one day at a time and to go with the flow! (Though, I'll admit that took some time to get used to) ... Pam
NWescapee said
11:41 PM Jul 3, 2014
Hmmm, I guess the clutter sort of depends...We both get busy with our full time jobs and clutter happens. However, I do love how quick it is to reduce clutter and clean when needed.
I've gotten in the habit of doing a thorough house cleaning when we arrive, while Dale is hooking up water, electric, putting up antennas, etc. I'm cleaning. With so many of our stops being about a week in duration, that means just a little cleaning in between and another thorough cleaning a week later. Every month or two there's a "big" project such as taking the whole house vac out to sweep all the tops of the slides, vents, etc. Dusting is never ending, but again it only takes 10 minutes to do this chore for the entire 5th wheel, less when I get the "don't touch" look from Dale for certain surfaces, such as his work bench
I have to admit, I do absolutely love the fact that there is a lot less surface space to clutter, Dale is very good at filling all available space with clutter and I truly didn't expect that to change once we went on the road full time. Happy to say my expectations have been met.
Seriously, for us it truly depends on how busy we are, the week before an art show all bets are off as to the clutter level in the trailer! Tools, materials, half finished work, mostly finished work, etc. cover many of the available surfaces all related to getting ready for a busy art show weekend. By Sunday night of an art show it looks like someone has brought a tornado inside and quite frankly we're just too tired to care. If we're not relocating right away it's usually Tuesday before things get back to a normal level of clutter vs. the insane level.
Now, have to confess, a month ago we were having friends over for dinner so we went into an intense clean / declutter mode after being stationary for a week. 4 weeks later Dale still can't find where he stashed some quick connect water hose attachments he bought, we're both sure they are here somewhere.....
PIEERE said
04:59 PM Jul 11, 2014
Since I moved in the 5th wheel it seems to.be easier to motivate myself to keep it clean and organized. Still can't find stuff until I buy a replacement
LOL!
Barbaraok said
10:24 PM Jul 11, 2014
Truth is that entropy (the state of disorder) is always increasing in the universe - some of us don't try to fight it. But for those that do, thank you, you are at least balancing some of the disorder the rest of us are creating.
Barb
BiggarView said
03:56 AM Jul 12, 2014
Barb, by any chance have you have you ever read "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov? Your entropy statement brought that back into my mind... now I have to go find a copy and re-read it. Great thought provoking premise. Sorry didn't mean to go off subject.
Brian
-- Edited by biggaRView on Saturday 12th of July 2014 04:37:42 AM
Camper Chronicles said
06:18 AM Jul 12, 2014
It's ok Brian glad you understood Barb's comment it was a bit over my head lol
WestWardHo said
08:22 AM Jul 12, 2014
We are both clutterers! Because we're buying then adapting a home from the road and working through complicated VA forms, it's only gotten worse. Jesse loves to printout contracts/paperwork/emails and then wander off to do something else. If we are static for a while the piles become one big one before they are sorted through and put in folders. If moving every day as we are doing now, I find a small stack every day to decide where they go while tearing down.
We have found that tote bags with folders in them keep us somewhat organized by project as our filing cabinets are full.
Like others here I appreciate how quickly I can get our RV cleaned and organized. Much easier than a S&B!
Sherry
Barbaraok said
10:01 AM Jul 12, 2014
Lee and Trace wrote:
It's ok Brian glad you understood Barb's comment it was a bit over my head lol
Entropy is a measure of disorder in a system - has to do with the Laws of Thermodynamics. Clutter is a localized version of entropy in action. In essence, it doesn't matter how hard you work to keep things orderly, the universe is heading towards disorder ( increased entropy) and is going to win.
It is a favorite topic of science fiction writers.
Barb
WestWardHo said
02:06 PM Jul 12, 2014
Hey Barb,
Love your explanation and that the universe is headed towards increased entropy! Sure seems like it! 😄
Started this in another thread but moving it over here... I have seen a major personality shift since we bought the fifth wheel which really surprises me. I've never been the best housekeeper..in fact I'll admit it I was a bit of a slob. But because I am a bit claustrophobic I am obsessively cleaning...and I find I actually enjoy it...partly because the RV is super nice and I want to keep it that way, partly because it's small and doesn't take that long to clean, and partly because I just want to...which is really new. Anyways it's a major personality shift for me and I find it interesting. Lee keeps commenting on it as well it's very noticeable.
I was wondering if anyone else has experienced a personality shift once they started spending a lot of time in their RV (FT'ing or not)
Oh yeah...........................Once I step up in mine and take off on a journey I never want to come back home.
The other big changes for me have been:
- I used to be really schedule oriented and needed to 'have a plan'. I've relaxed so much, and now go with the flow with ease. I find I'm much more adaptable, and far less likely to make promises involved planning and scheduling to others. For instance, instead of telling someone we'll 'arrive to X town on Wednesday afternoon'... I'm very clear with saying 'It's looking like we could be passing through sometime mid next week - NST of course.' (NST - Nomadic Standard Time) I also get anxious if we have too many plans, because I know how quickly things can change (bad weather, a break down, getting distracted)
- I used to be quite introverted and had little ability to be in large groups, or speak to new people. I've definitely improved there! I'm still introverted, but because I travel in my home and can recharge when needed, when I am around people I have more reserve tanks to operate from.
Cherie, Chris being one us (male of the species) is genetically programmed not to change... it's the way of the universe.
Women on the other hand change all the time, No wonder we are mysteries to each other.
Just sayin'
Brian
I think I'm actually more tolerant of clutter now that we are living in the 5er, as I never imagined that I'd be living with a Dyson next to my bedroom dresser most of the time, but it doesn't bother me. I couldn't talk my S&B house cleaner into coming on the road with us, so it's nice to have a smaller place to keep clean. I too was a planner...not anymore, much easier to live one day at a time and to go with the flow! (Though, I'll admit that took some time to get used to) ... Pam
Hmmm, I guess the clutter sort of depends...We both get busy with our full time jobs and clutter happens. However, I do love how quick it is to reduce clutter and clean when needed.
I've gotten in the habit of doing a thorough house cleaning when we arrive, while Dale is hooking up water, electric, putting up antennas, etc. I'm cleaning. With so many of our stops being about a week in duration, that means just a little cleaning in between and another thorough cleaning a week later. Every month or two there's a "big" project such as taking the whole house vac out to sweep all the tops of the slides, vents, etc. Dusting is never ending, but again it only takes 10 minutes to do this chore for the entire 5th wheel, less when I get the "don't touch" look from Dale for certain surfaces, such as his work bench
I have to admit, I do absolutely love the fact that there is a lot less surface space to clutter, Dale is very good at filling all available space with clutter and I truly didn't expect that to change once we went on the road full time. Happy to say my expectations have been met.
Seriously, for us it truly depends on how busy we are, the week before an art show all bets are off as to the clutter level in the trailer! Tools, materials, half finished work, mostly finished work, etc. cover many of the available surfaces all related to getting ready for a busy art show weekend. By Sunday night of an art show it looks like someone has brought a tornado inside and quite frankly we're just too tired to care. If we're not relocating right away it's usually Tuesday before things get back to a normal level of clutter vs. the insane level.
Now, have to confess, a month ago we were having friends over for dinner so we went into an intense clean / declutter mode after being stationary for a week. 4 weeks later Dale still can't find where he stashed some quick connect water hose attachments he bought, we're both sure they are here somewhere.....
LOL!
Barb
Barb, by any chance have you have you ever read "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov? Your entropy statement brought that back into my mind... now I have to go find a copy and re-read it. Great thought provoking premise. Sorry didn't mean to go off subject.
Brian
-- Edited by biggaRView on Saturday 12th of July 2014 04:37:42 AM
We have found that tote bags with folders in them keep us somewhat organized by project as our filing cabinets are full.
Like others here I appreciate how quickly I can get our RV cleaned and organized. Much easier than a S&B!
Sherry
Entropy is a measure of disorder in a system - has to do with the Laws of Thermodynamics. Clutter is a localized version of entropy in action. In essence, it doesn't matter how hard you work to keep things orderly, the universe is heading towards disorder ( increased entropy) and is going to win.
It is a favorite topic of science fiction writers.
Barb
Love your explanation and that the universe is headed towards increased entropy! Sure seems like it! 😄
Sherry