According to this article from TIME, an astonishing 4.2 million women returned to the home between February 2020 and April 2020 and as of June, 2021 – nearly two million have yet to return to the labor field. Even so, families are finding affordable ways to include traveling in their budget. Across the board, couples with children are driving the enthusiasm and interest in camping.
During a time with so many inconsistencies, transitions, and abrupt changes, we have never been more grateful to be a nomadic family; traveling and working from wherever it is we place our feet. Peace has found us over the last six years and you quite literally couldn’t pay us to leave this lifestyle; a lifestyle that we have grown to love while finding solace and purpose. The last six years have been FULL of trial and error and because of our persistence…we know what works and we know what definitely doesn’t. We’re going to reveal our top products for in the home, on the road, and while exploring.
Top Products for Kids to Keep in Your RV
Being a digital nomad doesn’t mean that you can’t live a life that carries both luxury and simplicity. The space you create within your rig matters. Have you heard the saying, clutter smothers and simplicity breathes? Command hooks will be your best friend and will help you organize while reducing clutter. Another must-have for inside your home are the right towels. You don’t know until you definitely know. You need towels that have the appropriate absorbency, durability, and will maintain softness all while fitting in a small space.
Speaking of small spaces, traffic within your space will be at an all-time high, all the time. Just as your towels need to have durability, your indoor and outdoor rugs need it as well. We only use Ruggable because they are so easy to maintain. These rugs have a thin top layer that velcros to a cushioned pad. The best part about them? They are machine washable! There is also a huge variety in sizes and designs, making them perfect for anyone to find the right fit for their home. Outdoor rugs are also a necessity; they are great visually, creating a “room” feel outdoors while also helping the outdoors stay outdoors.
Being on the road and constantly being outdoors and in a variety of communities makes us susceptible to a myriad of good, and bad, bacteriums – whether they’re from the great outdoors or the grocery store. Having an at-home apothecary is CRUCIAL to support your body while maintaining and encouraging good health. Without having access to a “home” doctor at all times, it’s important to us that we are empowered to be good stewards of our bodies, physically and emotionally, through the use of the highest quality essential oils, vitamins, supplements, and homeopathic remedies. We don’t leave home without them (pun intended!).
Travel Accessories for Kids on the Road
Traveling to and from your desired destination takes strategy, preparation, creativity, and patience as a family on the road. The four of us, Nate and Christian, Eleanor (9), Anderson (7), and our service dog and best roadie, Sage, have got it on lock.
Kids and long car rides don’t have to equal the incessant “are we there yet’s” if you don’t want them to. Wherever you are, there you are, right? Podcasts have been a game-changer for our family. Our favorite podcasts to listen to are: What If World, The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, and the Adventures of Red Knight. Podcasts allow your kids’ imaginations to run wild, offer space to connect for the entire family, and create opportunities for learning and parents hear us now: you won’t get bored with them! We listen as a family and then Eleanor and Anderson have iPad’s that they’ll listen with if they prefer to do their own thing.
Don’t sleep on investing in good kids headphones, iPad holders, and lap desks. This makes travel days so much easier from giving them space to be individuals to homeschooling to eating on the go. If you want to know our tips and tricks in regards to booking and planning, see our top tips over on our Instagram account!
Gadgets Every Kid Explorer Needs
Once you get to your next destination, after setting everything up, the next best thing to do is EXPLORE! Get out and create an experience with your family. Create a tradition for the first time you’re visiting something. We find feathers and rocks, amongst other things, that we love to keep and can remember exactly where we were when we added that piece of nature to our collection. Exploring is fun in and of itself, but having the right gear matters more than you know.
Gear extends far beyond backpacks, but our fave backpacks are the Osprey Daylight backpack because they are lightweight and have plenty of places to organize and keep our water (always have enough) while feeling comfortable on our backs. The BEST water bottle – and we’ve been through quite a few – has been the Kleen Kanteen style of water bottles. To really explore well, it’s all about the footwear. We choose to wear Altra Lonepeaks for our hiking shoes for many of the same reasons we chose our backpacks; durability, lightweight, and because they support the natural shape of our feet with a wide toe box, it’s the best minimal footwear option.
Last but not least, if you don’t have the Gizmo Pal Watch for your kids, we honestly need to know how you parent because this watch has been the best life hack for our children and us. The Gizmo Pal Watch allows our children to have the independence they need and desire while staying connected to us. It is a kid-friendly smartwatch specifically designed with their safety in mind. It has many features but our favorites are the GPS tracker and the ability to call up to 10 trusted contacts. We love that we can give our kids the freedom to be them while having the peace of mind that we can connect whenever our instincts, or theirs, tell us to.
Learn from our victories and mistakes, keeping secrets has never been our thing – the world is too big and beautiful to see and there’s so much out there for anyone who dares look for it. We are so emphatically excited for anyone who decides to make their own lives their living adventure and we feel this urgency to help any and all who enter this lifestyle. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok: @projecttrek and subscribe over on Project Trek – YouTube, to see all of our highs, lows, and in-betweens (trust us…we hold nothing back). We CANNOT wait to meet you while living life by design! Let’s go!
