There are few things I have gotten for the trailer that have worked out really well.
I brought a wooden toolbox I had made that has a rope handle. I filled it with jars and a utensil holder to store all my silverware (4 place setting set from Ikea) and kitchen utensils. Since my trailer only has 2 smallish drawers in the kitchen using the toolbox freed those drawers for other things.
I then added the OXO rotating utensil holder for my longer cooking utensils.
I obviously have to pack these when I’m moving the trailer, but have loved having everything within grabbing distance when I’m cooking.
Another kitchen addition is the Kamenstein Perfect Tear Wall Mount Paper Towel Holder in Stainless Steel. I had the counter top one in my house and like this one just as well. No paper towels spooling off the holder.
I researched and decided on the Seville Classics UltraSlimline Tower Fan 40-inch Tower Fan. It helped so much on stiflingly hot days this summer. It helped keep my electric bill down since I was monthly and paying for power at that time.
Since I am a little vertically challenged I needed a step stool. I got this little thing that folds flat for storing but is strong enough to feel safe.
And I feel I should mention my felt heart garland. I have several garlands (fall leaves, old-fashioned Christmas bulbs, the hearts, and bunnies) that easily store in a plastic baggy when out of season and add next to no weight to the trailer. I must have my holiday decor :-).
When I was going through the decision process of what kitchen appliances to take in the travel trailer I decided an Instant Pot was one of the best things I could get. It has mutiple functions in one appliance: Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Saute/Browning, Yogurt Maker, Steamer & Warmer.
Here it is on my counter top extension and ready to make Thai pasta.
I had never used a pressure cooker before so I bought it a few months before hitting the road so I could figure out how to use it. It’s become one of my favorite appliances. Some of the things I’ve made:
Hard boiled eggs in 5 minutes that almost peel themselves
The best shredded chicken ever (and you can use it SO many ways)
5 minute Thai pasta
Chicken enchilada soup – pressure cooker infuses the flavor
Boiled white potatoes and sweet potatoes
Turkey breast for Thanksgiving
Homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving (it was easy and awesome)
I’ve been so busy learning the pressure cooker aspect that I haven’t tried it as a slow cooker yet. I will have to buy the slow cooker lid soon so I can try that out.
And no, no one paid me to write this post. I bought my Instant Pot (before the prices came down :-()and will purchase the lid myself. I just wanted anyone with a small cooking area to know what a great appliance this is.
Since I cook almost all my own meals and rarely eat out, spices were going to be important to me when I started traveling full time in my trailer. But how to store them in an accessible way?
My preference was to have magnetic spice containers so I purchased the Kamenstein 6-Piece Colored Magnetic Tin Set from Walmart since they had the best price.
Before selling the house I washed them, labeled them, and filled them with spices.
When I got settled in to the travel trailer the problem became what to stick them to. The only metal in the entire place is the vent hood over the cook top. I tried them there and really hated it.
I researched online and wasn’t really wild about any of the high price magnetic board options I found. So I prowled the aisles of the big box home improvement stores until I ran across 6″ and 18″ pieces of metal for around $6. I had to go through all of them to find the one in the best condition (still some defects on it), grabbed a roll of 3M heavy duty double sided mounting tape for around $4 and headed back to the trailer to decide where to put it.
The area of wood on the side of the pantry that faced the microwave was the perfect size. After mounting the metal sheet all 18 spice tins would fit with a little room for some other magnets.
I have read reviews that the tins rust but that hasn’t happened and I’m at Padre Island National Seashore right next to the beach. I have also read some RVers leave these in place while traveling. Not me. I pack them into a grocery bag when I’m on the road. The mess that would be created if tins fell and spewed their contents all over just isn’t worth the risk to me.
Having these magnetic spice tins handy is definitely one of my favorite things cooking in my travel trailer.
The showers in most RVs are little and mine is no exception at 40 inches wide and 24 inches deep. Fortunately, I’m short so the lack of shower head room is no issue for me.
The shower curtain that came with the travel trailer was awful — nasty, scimpy material on a poor ceiling sliding mechanism. I wanted a rod that would allow more room when showering, but not be sticking out in the way when not showering.
I found the Stromberg Carlson Extend-A-Shower in satin nickel. The best price I could find at the time was the sale price at Camping World. This shows how it works:
It was a pain to install because I was worried about mounting on the flimsy trailer wall at the back. I had the wood cabinet in the front. Needless to say, I am gentle with the rod when opening and closing the curtain and I don’t hang anything heavy on it.
Shower curtain in drying positionShower curtain in showering positionShower curtain when dry and not in use
I wanted a decent polyester shower curtain that would dry quickly, not mold and mildew, and could be machine washed. I got a standard shower curtain and cut it down to the appropriate size for my little shower.
The rod is not metal, but painted plastic so I wouldn’t recommend metal shower curtain rings. I picked up a 99 cent bag of Ikea silicone shower rings – they work great and don’t damage the rod.
I absolutely love this shower rod. It makes my little shower feel roomy enough when showering, and everything gets out of the way of the toilet when not in use. Highly recommend the rod and it comes in two sizes: one for 35″ to 42″ openings and one for 54″ to 60″ openings.
I’ve had six good quality resin Adirondack chairs for quite some time. I bought them for my house in Texas that was a soft moss-green with snow-white trim and the original forest green color of the chairs was perfect for the white decks on that house. I also had three forest green tables and one white table. They all held up really well on the west-facing decks that baked in 110 degree Texas summers, but I did freshen up the color on them three years ago with a coat of forest green paint.
The problem in 2015 was they were no longer the perfect color for my house in Florida which is light gray with white trim and a bronze screened in porch. The bronze wasn’t my choice. The screen installers accidentally installed on the wrong house when there were several new construction homes on the block so the builder ended up giving it to me for free. Not my color choice, but I loved the price. Forest green furniture in bronze screened porch is a complete snooze-fest, yawn, boring.
I wrestled with what to do. Should I get rid of the furniture? Did I want to invest a whole lot of money in new furniture? In the end, I couldn’t justify getting rid of perfectly good stuff so I decided to paint the chairs and tables vibrant beach colors to brighten up my screen porch and patio.
Color and Paint Choices
[nggallery id=11]
Note: the colors in the pictures in no way represent the actual colors – the actual colors are much better than the pictures.
Six chairs meant six colors. I had painted one chair white last fall, and while it was boring, I thought I would leave it for now.
The first color I tried was Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover in Lagoon. I bought 2 cans and it took less than one can to cover one of the chairs and the color was gorgeous. I was sold on painting the chairs.
Next I tried Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover in Coral. Again it covered flawlessly and the chair was beautiful. I bought Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover Seaside (a light aqua I love) and Sun Yellow and ran out of colors I liked so I bought Krylon Cover Maxx Ultimate Coverage in Sea Glass which has some green in it. I just didn’t like the Lime Green Rustoleum offered so I finished up a couple of tables with Valspar Tropical Foliage Satin.
Lagoon – Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover
Seaside – Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover
Sun Yellow – Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover
Coral – Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover
Sea Glass – Krylon Cover Maxx Ultimate Coverage
Tropical Foliage – Valspar
Painting the Furniture
I was completely happy with how the Rustoleum paints went on in their colors. The Seaside and especially the Sun Yellow took a little more paint to cover the forest green, but the application was easy and nice quality. I could turn the cans sideways or even upside down to get to awkward spots and the spray was uniform and beautiful.
The Valspar Tropical Foliage took more paint to cover and the application was close to the Rustoleum paints except for a tendency to splatter heavier drops on a regular basis. I have no idea why it was happening. I had thoroughly shaken the cans and continued to shake them throughout the spraying process so that wasn’t the cause.
I didn’t paint the bottom of the seat on the chairs since it would never show in any way, but I did paint all sides of the legs and the backs of the chairs thoroughly so they would look good from any direction.
Krylon Cover Maxx
Spraying the Krylon Cover Maxx Ultimate Coverage was an entirely different experience. The paint didn’t cover well at all, was watery so it ran where the Rustoleum paints never did. The application and coverage were so poor compared to what I experienced with the other paints I was really disappointed. The color was gorgeous, but when it proved to be a massive pain to get it on the chair I didn’t have any interest in trying it on a table, especially since it took the entire two cans to cover one chair.
Coverage
For the record, two cans of Rustoleum paint covered a chair, a table, and a bowling ball (for yard décor) in Lagoon, Seaside, and Coral. It took almost two cans of Sun Yellow to cover the chair.
One can of Valspar covered two tables which was not impressive coverage.
Two cans of Krylon Cover Maxx barely covered a chair and that was barely covering it.
My vote is for Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover
Since the resin furniture I have painted a couple of wood items with left over paint and still love the Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover.
My money is on Rustoleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover in the future if I want an easily applied flawless finish without having to buy many cans of paint to do it.
If you want to know if a can of paint will spray in all directions (upside down, sideways), check the cleaning directions. If the can says turn it upside down and spray until no paint comes out that means it isn’t meant to be used upside down. If it says wipe the spray nozzle off when done using it, that’s the type you want.
Just a quick post about a product I’m trying — I am not sponsored by these folks are anyone else.
I read about StopLossBags in The Family Handyman magazine and wanted to try them since I’ve had to throw away a considerable amount of varnish and polyurethane over the years. Storing polyurethane and varnish is a matter of protecting it from air and these bags look like they will solve that issue.
I used a small funnel to store about half a quart of leftover oil-based polyurethane and was able to easily push the product up to the top of the bag forcing all the air out before closing the bag. The bags arrive with lots of directions and even plans for building a small stand to facilitate filling bags.
After spending months researching alternatives to a bed frame I stumbled across universal Bede’s at us-mattress.com. With all my research, how had I never seen them before? Here’s their description:
Are you tired of metal bed frames limiting the space underneath your bed? I don’t blame you! Here’s a tip – get rid of that metal frame and experience the new generation of mattress support! These bed legs are made from 100% recycled plastic and are available in four different heights so you can customize the amount of storage space under your bed.
The Universal Bedlegs System easily attaches to the box spring utilizing two components: the threaded base plate and the bed leg. The threaded base plate installs directly onto the box spring and the leg simply screws into the threaded area of the base plate to complete the installation. Once the base plate is secured to the box spring using a power screwdriver, you can easily resize the height of your bed without any tools by simply attaching a different size leg. Please note that this system only works with box springs that have a wooden center support and 2.25″ wood sides. This product is not compatible with box springs that have metal center supports.
• Made from 100% recycled plastic
• Available in four heights: 3″, 5″, 7′ and 10″
• Optional headboard brackets will accommodate most headboards
Includes:
Twin: 6 Threaded Leg Stems, 6 Base Plates, 24 Philips head screws
Full: 9 Threaded Leg Stems, 9 Base Plates, 36 Philips head screws
Queen: 9 Threaded Leg Stems, 9 Base Plates, 36 Philips head screws
King: 12 Threaded Leg Stems, 12 Base Plates, 48 Philips head screws
They are also available on Amazon in more colors and at $60. I wanted black so I went with the cheaper price. The 7” queen set was $55 and free shipping so I ordered them.
I had seen other furniture legs online, but they were at least $8-10 each and needing 8-9 of them I didn’t really want to spend $100 just for legs. $55 seemed pretty reasonable for what I thought were metal legs.
What I failed to note and was shocked to discover when the package arrived is the product is made of plastic. Didn’t read very closely, did I? The pictures looked metal, I thought metal, and didn’t see plastic. I mean – who would support a bed on plastic brackets and legs?? Apparently I would since I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want a heavy wood frame, I didn’t want to eliminate the box spring with a platform in humid Florida (I think the mattress needs to breathe), and I was sick to death of bed frames and bed skirts and was ready for a totally different look.
Installation and reinforcement
I leaned the mattress and box spring against the wall and disassembled the bed frame that was heading to the spare bedroom. Less than a year old and the fiber cover was already loose a quarter of the way around the box spring. I put the box spring on the floor bottom side up and since the fiber cover was already so loose I removed it from 3 sides.
I examined the structure and was appalled. Knotty 1 x 3’s – knots are always weak spots. I thought paying almost $1000 for a mattress and box spring would get me something fairly decent. Considering I had to do a warranty claim on the original mattress because it broke down so badly and these were new replacement pieces less than a year old and clearly not of good quality, I guess you have to pay a lot more. Lesson for next time.
I ran to HD and bought 1 x 4’s to add some strength to the frame since I was taking the metal support away. I glued and screwed the boards in. I hoped this would add a little strength to the frame. I stapled the fiber covering back in place, ran a row of binding tape down the center and stapled that so the fiber wouldn’t sag in the middle.
Before installing the leg brackets I figured out the best placement and cut away padding so they would fit flat against the frame. Each bracket installs with 4 screws. When they were installed I added adhesive back Velcro hook around the entire bottom edge of the box spring and stapled it down. I planned to have Velcro loop on the edge of whatever bedskirts I make so they can be easily changed. I didn’t want to permanently “upholster” it and be stuck with the same color all the time – this way I will be able to change it out.
Flipping it over
The installation instructions tell you to have 2 people to flip the mattress over so you don’t snap off the legs on one side. I got around this by putting the box spring up on 8” boxes. When I went to lay the mattress on the floor one edge was caught on the boxes so it was 1” off the floor. Then it was just a simple matter of lifting the edge of the box spring to remove the boxes. No broken legs (mine or the bed) and only one person to flip it.
The jury is out
I have no idea if these legs are going to work long-term, but I’m going to give them a try. I have considerable concern about my crappy box spring with no metal support for it, which is no fault of the legs. I don’t know if I’ll slide the bed and a leg will end up breaking off since they’re plastic, although the bed does slide fairly easily across the carpet. I don’t know if I’ll stub my toes on the legs and end up hating where they’re place.
So far there are no suspicious noises from the bed frame – no creaking or cracking sounds, thank heaven, but I sure won’t put it to the test by jumping up and down on the bed. Hopefully 9 legs under the bed will adequately support the spring, mattress, and me.
I do know I love the look with NO BED SKIRT. The legs don’t look obviously plastic. I like the black with the barnwood headboard. I want a plain white coverlet and pillow shams and then a bunch of coastal pillows on the bed. I’m still totally undecided about the color for the fabric cover for the box spring, but I’ll figure it out. I may have to get everything else in place before the right color become apparent to me.
I may make 6” rolling drawers and paint them the same color as the headboard for storage under the bed.
I will post a follow-up in a few months about how the legs and frame are holding up.
I am a big advocate of good tools for painting since they make a huge difference to how difficult it is, how long it takes, and how it turns out. Buy good tools and take care of them and they will last for years and years. So I thought I’d run down my favorite paint tools and why I think they’re essential.
Paint
It doesn’t matter how great your painting tools are if you’re applying poor paint. Bad paint isn’t just a pain to apply — it’s a pain to have on the walls since it doesn’t clean up (it wipes off instead) and then it will be a horror to cover when you decide to paint again using a better paint.
I don’t mean paying $70-100 per gallon either. Read reviews like the ones available on the following links and decide. Both say Ace Royal is a great paint for the money. You don’t want paint that spatters and takes multiple coats to cover. Most people need paint that’s scrubbable too.
I bought a quality fiberglass extension pole for rollers a long time ago, have used it too many times to count, and it’s still in great shape even though a little paint spattered. I don’t mean something like a broom handle, but a light-weight non-flexing pole that is expandable. What’s important is that the pole locks so it doesn’t slide when extended and the threaded part holds the roller frame tightly so it doesn’t loosen all the time. Painting stairwells and ceilings while standing on the floor (or stairs) is worth it’s weight in gold. They cost around $25.
Roller frames and rollers
Don’t go cheap on the frames. Screeching frames are no fun. Good ones, if cleaned after each use, they will be nice to use for years. I recommend everyone have at least 9″, 6″, and 4″ for different projects.
Don’t go cheap on roller covers either or you may have lint and fuzz coming off on your walls. This is another time quality product can be cleaned and reused for years. I have to admit I wish I could just pull off the used roller and pitch it in the trash, but that is so not environmental I make myself do the dreaded roller washing after painting. Anyone know a quick easy way to clean rollers and brushes?
Pelican Pail and Liners
I’ve only had my Pelican Pail for a couple of years and don’t know how I worked without it before. It has a magnet that holds a brush in place and it’s designed for hanging a 4″ Wooster roller frame from the edge. It makes cutting in a room so much easier that painting a room takes less time. I love the thing and really enjoy disposing of the messy liner when I’m done for the day.
Roller pan liners
I have found a transparent green liner that is rigid enough to use alone and wash if you want to reuse. Walmart has them for around $1.50 so it doesn’t break my heart to dispose of them. The flimsy ones you have to put in a metal tray are more trouble than they’re worth in my book.
Edge painter
Rather than precariously reach from a fully extended extension ladder to get that corner spot at the top of the stairwell use your extension pole and the Trim Smart from Mr. Longarm. It’s a life saver — literally. I recently painted my kitchen that has cabinets on the walls where the cathedral ceiling peaks. There was no way I could get a ladder so that I was anywhere within striking distance of cutting in the ceiling for several feet on either side of the peak. I went out to the garage, dug out my Trim Smart, put it on my extension and got it painted without killing myself. Just be careful to not load too much paint on it so it squeezes out in places you don’t want it. I used my 4″ roller to apply paint to the pad. Just playing it really safe since I couldn’t reach the spot to fix it if I messed it up.
Shur-Line Gallon Store and Pour Paint Can Lid
This ad for the Store and Pour Can Lid says you can store paint long-term with this lid, but I haven’t tried that. I use it while painting for several reasons.
It makes pouring paint incredibly clean and neat.
It keeps the edge of the can clean so you can use the original lid for storage and get a really good seal with no paint running down the side of the can.
The lid keeps the paint sealed up while you’re working so it doesn’t start drying out on top even if you take a break.
It washes up easily so it can be used over and over again.
Glad Press’n Seal
Weird painting tool, but this is my latest painting discovery. I have painted an almost obscene amount an awful lot of cabinets and bookcases using a small roller pan for multiple coats of primer and paint on each project. That could add up to an almost obscene amount of clean up which tends to make me cranky.
I tried foil for the small roller pan with okay results. Then I decided to try Press’n Seal and fell in love with it. It’s sticky so it stays in place, but pulls up easily when you’re ready to clean up.
I also use Press’n Seal to wrap brushes and rollers before dropping them in a zip lock bag and sticking them in the refrigerator overnight. It keeps the paint wet and contains it so I just have to peel off the plastic and dispose of it before painting another coat.
If you’re working around things like a toilet tank that you’d rather not slop paint all over you can wrap it in Press’n Seal until the paint is dry.
It’s a great paint tool and I keep a large roll on hand for projects.
Roller pan line with Press’n Seal4″ roller wrapped in Press’n Seal
If you have any favorites let me know — I’m always looking for ways to making a paint job easier.
I thought I’d give you my 2 cents worth and do a blender review.
I don’t really use a blender for much other than smoothies, but I am a devoted consumer of protein smoothies so my blender gets used almost every day for lunch. I need one that crushes ice easily, is fairly easy to clean, and holds up well under a lot of use. Once again, I am not sponsored by either company so this is unbiased by money, but it is biased by experience.
There’s no doubt that Kitchenaid blenders have a motor that does a great job of pulverizing ice. Where Kitchenaid has failed on two consecutive blenders is in the blending container. The first one had a rubber washer that would get moldy and gross and need to be replaced. The last time I called Kitchenaid to get another rubber washer they said the blender was a poor design (no kidding) so they discontinued it and wouldn’t even sell parts anymore. A ploy to force you into getting another blender? It worked for me. I wasn’t using a blender that was sealed on the bottom by a moldy piece of rubber.
Next Kitchenaid blender the seal failed around the turning part for the blade and there was no way to repair or replace it. I gave up on Kitchenaid at that point. Their blenders aren’t cheap and if they couldn’t build a container that lasts I was going to try another brand.
Which brings me to the Ninja. I have to admit that when I first tried it I thought it was a pain in the butt. The container has to be locked on to the base. The lid has to be put on the container with the lid arrow lining up with the arrow on the handle of the container. The lid has to be locked down. Fail to do any of these three properly and the power button will not come on. Having used the Ninja for a while, this just isn’t a big deal anymore.
KitchenAid KSB1570SL
Intelli-Speed™ Motor Control – The Intelli-Speed® Motor Control senses contents and maintains optimal speed to power through all ingredients.
5 Speeds/Crush Ice/Pulse Mode – Stir, chop, mix, puree or liquify. Pulse mode works with all speeds for staggered blending, while the crush ice feature pulses at precise intervals for optimal ice crushing results.
Soft Start® Feature – The Soft Start® Feature starts the motor at a slower speed to pull food into the blade then quickly increases to the selected speed setting.
Ninja Professional Blender (NJ600)
Soft Start® Feature
The Soft Start® Feature starts the motor at a slower speed to pull food into the blade then quickly increases to the selected speed setting.
Model – NJ600
Power – 1000 Watts
Speeds – 3 Speeds + Pulse
Blender Pitcher Capacity – 72 oz. (9 cups)
Blade Technology – Total Crushing Technology
Warranty – 1 Year
BPA Free
Dishwasher Safe
Whats in the box? 1000 Watt Motor Base, 72oz. Blender Pitcher, Blender Pitcher Lid, Total Crushing Blades, Instruction Book, Quick Start Guide, Inspiration Guide
Blending
The blades on the Kitchenaid blenders were permanently installed in the bottom of the container and it’s what failed on both blenders I owned. The Ninja has a set of removable processing blades. The blades are exactly like my food processor only more blades and taller. It’s nice the blades are removable for cleaning.
What’s not so nice is the consistency of my smoothies. The Kitchenaid blenders were true blenders and everything came out with an extremely smooth “blended” consistency. The Ninja processes like a food processor and the food is chopped up more than blended. I have to admit I prefer blended.
The the blades in the Ninja do a heck of a job chopping ice though. Not sure why the fruits I put in the smoothie are a different texture while the ice is certainly pulverized.
The Ninja container has a very dark green cast to it and I suspect there are some kitchens it would not look good in because it might clash with decor colors. Look at it before buying.
Cleaning
I love the removable blades on the Ninja — it’s so much easier to get everything really clean so that’s a big plus for the Ninja.
Durability
Kitchenaid pretty much proved to me they don’t hold up. The containers on both failed and the motor was going on the second one — but that could have been caused by the leaking container that allowed food and liquid to seep down into the motor.
Time will tell, but I hope it’s possible to order parts for the Ninja. Like if the blades start to fail or if the part that turns the blade starts to leak, maybe you can get replacements. Of course, the motor is the key — it doesn’t matter if the container and blades hold up if the motor fails, but so far I’m glad I made the switch to Ninja.
