After nearly two years on the road, living in campgrounds for about 3 weeks at a time in my tiny trailer, I usually have what I call a “pain point.” It’s the thing that bothers me most in the moment. At one time, my pain point was my ARB refrigerator, which I bought for $850 to supplement my small trailer refrigerator.
The 50-quart ARB weighed 50 pounds empty and I set it up under my awning at each campground. When it came time to move camp, a dreaded the thought of lugging that heavy refrigerator to my vehicle and hoisting it up there. That was my pain point. So even though I loved the ARB, it had to go. I sold it for $700. Not bad! For a while I used a cheap cooler and ice packs I froze in my trailer. Eventually I bought another refrigerator for about $200 that weighs only about 20 pounds empty. Much better! No dread now when it’s time to pack up.
Another time, I realized my pain point was how I had my clothes arranged in my trailer. They were in cloth baskets behind my bed area. They were hard to get to, and I never knew what was back there. So I sacrificed one of my seating areas and installed four attractive plastic drawers with translucent front panels. My clothes are nearby and I can see what I have to wear.
I have identified my current pain point: Dry skin. I’ve always had dry skin. It’s mostly hereditary and partly from living in the Southwest of the United States. And it’s from being outside a lot of the time, which I love and need for my soul. Even when I’m not outside, I’m never more than a few feet from the outdoors. That’s what it’s like living in a tiny trailer. And it’s from age.
So what to do? I have a favorite face cream, Dr. Hauschka Revitalizing Day Cream, but there have been times in the past two years where I couldn’t justify putting out the $50 or $75 (list price) to buy it. As a freelance writer, my income suffered as I was adjusting to this lifestyle. So I bought off the shelf stuff from Walmart, like Aveeno Daily Mositurizer with SPF 15. That’s fairly natural and gets a good score from Environmental Working Group. But it just doesn’t do for me what Dr. Hauschka Revitalizing Day Cream does for me.
So I recently noticed that the drama and trauma of getting used to this lifestyle has faded. I know what I’m doing. All my systems are in place. I’ve purchased everything I need for a comfortable and harmonious life. And I recently returned to the west from a few months in Florida and the cross country traveling took a toll. That is behind me.
So my income has gone up. And my outgo has gone down. So it was time to get my skin some relief! I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the 3.4 oz. bottle was only $31.99 instead of the list price of $75. So I ordered two bottles! As I’m sitting here typing, I’m waiting for the text telling me the deliver has been made to the campground office. I can hardly wait to drive down there and get my package and open the bottle and feel that natural creamy goodness soaking into my dry skin.
So in a few minutes, the current pain point will be solved. Now I wonder: what’s my next pain point? Whatever emerges, you can be sure I’ll solve it. That’s just how I roll.
