Luckily, I don't have a gag reflex

Luckily, I don't have a gag reflex

Luckily, I don't have a gag reflex

Luckily, I don't have a gag reflex
    The longer Courtney and I live this life of full-time travel, the more patterns emerge that help to keep us happy, yet out of each other's way as we go about our business in our 200 square foot rig.

    And luckily for me, one of those patterns has me working a lot with pee.

    Human pee. Actual liquid waste. Why, you might ask? Because we have a composting toilet that works by separating the solids from the liquids, whereby avoiding sewage. Our composting toilet is the second best upgrade we've made to our Airstream. Solar being the first.

    Me and the pee

    Every couple of days, the pee needs to be drained. Guess who signed up for the job? Or, got signed up, anyway?

    Courtney would totally gag and dry heave if she had to smell pee. Thus, it's easier for both of us if I take on that chore. I can practically shove my face into the pee container and take a giant, man-sized whiff of that dreadful liquid and not gag. It only makes sense that I accept the responsibility of depositing our pee.

    But, Courtney's all about the solid waste stuff. She's the one dumping our compost into one of those green bags for discard. She's also chopping up the coconut core to make fresh composting material. She only needs to do it every six weeks or so, but still...

    ...I think I got the better end of that deal. Though, I do help to pour out the used compost into the bag. Delightful job.

    We've teamed up!

    Both Courtney and I have our separate roles around this place. These are not responsibilities that we consciously picked out. They have emerged naturally over the past several months based on how we live our lives together.

    For example:

    • I do the pee; she does the poop :)
    • I have taken on the responsibility of vacuuming (because Courtney hates it), but she will do the "swiffering" (mopping with a wet microfiber cloth to pick up dirt and grime).
    • When we move, I'm the one preparing the outside of the rig and she's the one ensuring that we don't have a floor full of shit that escaped (dropped or moved) from cabinets or our desk during travel.
    • She is the primary planner in the household; she's the one on Google Maps at night figuring out our next stopping point - which could be something as simple as a Walmart or as elegant as a KOA. If we need diesel during a trip, she's the one using Gas Buddy on her iPhone and pointing me in the right direction.
    • Courtney also puts together the grocery list every week, which is a completely thankless job.
    • I do most things in the way of information technology around here. I maintain this blog. I'm also working with the one-and-only J$ at RockstarFinance.com building the next version of Rockstar. I do the video editing for our YouTube channel, too. The majority of those things that bring in a little extra change during the month are primarily my undertaking.
    • Courtney does maintain her own Instagram account for A Streamin' Life that's more popular than mine!
    • Courtney is the one scheduling our videos and planning what is next; she's the visionary in that whole thing
    • Courtney is the chef in the house; sometimes she even has help with the cleanup! Sometimes. Cooking is something that I've tried to make myself enjoy (yeah, like one of those "college tries"), but I don't. I just don't get my rocks off by cooking.
    • I am the primary beer and wine drinker, too. Courtney enjoys wine, but her aversion to histamines has put the kibosh on her enjoyment of an evening glass of wine, unfortunately.
    Courtney whipping up some chili

    Especially in a small space, teamwork is freaking essential. We love our new life of full-time travel, but it absolutely requires that you spend a hell of a lot of time around your spouse. If you aren't good friends and work together, things will always be way more difficult.

    Courtney will find hikes and other adventures that we BOTH enjoy, not just her. I do whatever I can to produce the highest quality videos that I can for A Streamin' Life, which is primarily her channel. Heavy lifting, too. Like the dog food bag? Yeah, I carry that shit.

    I don't help with dinner as much as I probably could, but my goal is to make it up to her in other ways. So far, so good. We're both incredibly happy and ready for more. Even when we're broken down in the middle of nowhere on westbound I-80 (yes, there's a video for that), we are both happy, healthy and living the good life.

    Together.

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    Steve Adcock

    774 posts

    Steves a 38-year-old early retiree who writes about the intersection of happiness and financial independence.