| Kari wrote recently that she would welcome an article about which small
appliances to keep and which ones to avoid hauling. Of course space and
weight are major things to think about, but I would personally consider
how much it would be used and base my decisions on that. Most of you know
that when we started full-timing in 1989 we only had a 24 foot class C
motorhome. It was wired for microwave but if we put that in we wouldn't
have room for staple groceries. After years of enjoying a microwave in
our home we did without. I also didn't have room for an electric coffee
pot, toaster or mixer. The only small appliances we had those first years
was a Dirt Devil vacuum and a small travel iron. We lived like that for
three and one half years and did fine probably because every day was a
new and wonderful adventure and we were on a wild and wonderful trip; those
appliances just didn't matter. Then we settled down, so to speak, and purchased
the 34 foot Bounder which came with a microwave and built in electric coffee
pot; I immediately rushed out to purchase a toaster and when we opened
up our storage unit to have our huge garage sale, I salvaged the slow cooker,
my iron and hand mixer. When we moved into the Dream we purchased a new
coffee pot and a coffee bean grinder so that we could always grind the
beans fresh. To this day those are the only appliances we have with us
in the motorhome.
If you love your electric frying pan and bread maker and if you have
room, take them. The vacuum you take will depend again on room and actually
how much carpeting you have. We have little (most of our flooring is tile).
When we had the Bounder we actually had a large Electrolux that we rescued
from our storage unit before the big sale and enjoyed having it, but the
Bounder was all carpeting. We gave the Electrolux to the Goodwill when
we moved into the Dream because there was little carpeting to justify having
such a large machine.
Toaster ovens are big and take up a lot of room. You can really do anything
you would do in a toaster oven in the convection or regular oven. Blenders
and food processors are nice. I occasionally miss my blender, but so rarely
that I don't think it is important. I never used a food processor so I
don't miss that. We have never known a full-timer who traveled with an
expresso machine. I also have never known of a full-timer or RVer that
carried a deep fryer. I can't think of any other appliances you might want,
but if it is important, if you use it a lot and if you have room take it.
Think of priorities and take the most important ones.
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