My job title hasn’t changed since we lived in our sticks and bricks house.  A year ago, I gave notice relinquishing my professional title of sales manager for a wine importer, but through our changes in lifestyle, I’ve proclaimed myself Estate Manager.  I’m not sure how it started.  Perhaps it began when Brian and I purchased our sailboat.  He was captain, and I referred to myself as “first mate” or, when being funny, “the rope bitch.”  That was until a friend, playing a similar role on her boat, declared me “admiral.”  She explained to me that I oversaw the whole fleet—sailboat and dinghy, and therefore was the admiral. 

Or maybe it started during an estate planning meeting with a financial advisor who asked lots of questions, including what percentage of household maintenance we each took responsibility for and how much we farmed out to lawn service, housekeepers, etc.  My percentage was quite a bit higher than Brian’s (ahem) 2% and what we paid professionals to do for us.

Then again, maybe it wasn’t until later when we were downsizing and chose to have an American Dream Estates Sales manage the sales of accumulated things.  Since we had an “estate” sale and did “estate” planning, certainly, there was a need for an Estate Manager, right?  Keep in mind that we didn’t move out of a massive house with a yard with multiple outbuildings that might, in my head, make up an estate. 

Referring to the approximately 500 square feet of living space of our motorhome (with the slides fully extended) as an estate is funny, and it allows me to continue to earn my title as “Estate Manager.”  What, you might ask, does the estate manager do? 

Well, these days, it’s a job that requires many different hats.  While not complete and in no particular order, here’s a list of this rig’s estate manager’s responsibilities:

• Provisioner – groceries, household supplies, toiletries.  You name it.  I’m buying it!
• Sommelier, aka Beverage Manager – curating our onboard wine cellar and beer vault, creating and serving cocktails, wine/beer food pairings.
• Housekeeper – from toilets to windows and from ceilings to floors, I’m cleaning it all.  If you’ve never RV’d in the desert, you have no idea what dust is!
• Clutter Space Consultant – living in a small space means that everything has a place.  It seems like I’m constantly pulling things out and putting them away.  We’ve downsized a couple of times since we moved aboard, but as we approach our first anniversary of living on the road, I’m preparing for a major clean-out.
• Chef – meal planning and execution (currently open for lunches and dinners, with an occasional full-service breakfast for good measure)
• Dish Washer – all dishes are hand washed. Yes, we could add a small drawer-sized dishwasher, but I wouldn’t want to sacrifice the storage space.
• Laundress – no, not of money, just clothes.  We do have an all-in-one washer/dryer unit.  It’s great to be able to do laundry at home, but with a very small tub, I’m doing about six or seven loads per week for the two of us.  Since a load takes about 2-½ hours to complete, I do some laundry about three days per week.
• Head of Waste Management — If you’ve ever lived or traveled in an RV or a boat, you know that someone has the pleasure of emptying out the black (bathroom) and grey (other wastewater) tanks. Since I’m doing laundry and the grey tank can fill up quickly, this generally falls to me. Luckily, we haven’t had a “poopsie” yet.
• Cruise Director – from organizing a Skype call with friends to planning time on our adventures in national parks and other places, there’s a lot of planning and research that goes into the social and adventure side of our lifestyle.
• Motorcoach Maintenance Crew – I’m not the head of this department, but I am definitely on the crew.  And I manage some of the maintenance for us – tire pressures, battery maintenance, minor cleaning of the exterior.  I also function as the assistant to the head of this department for all major projects.
• Estate Planner – we needed to update our wills and some trust information when we became residents of South Dakota.
• Travel Agent – we negotiate where we will go and generally where we will stay together.  I make the reservations and adjustments to trips as needed.
• Personal Secretary – I make appointments for the maintenance and repair departments, reserve tables for occasional nice dinners, and schedule doctor’s appointments, dog-grooming appointments, pedicures, and other personal maintenance needs.
• Accountant – while we pay most of our bills through auto-pay from our checking account, I am tracking our expenses, and maintaining logs by category for our spending.
• Dog Walker – I try to make sure that Skipper gets his walks and has opportunities to run and play as needed. We live by the motto, “A tired puppy is a good puppy.”

I don a few other hats in addition to those that fall under the Estate Manager’s job description, especially Wife, Dog Mom, Blogger, and Social Media Representative.  Between all of these things, I generally manage to keep myself busy Monday through Friday from about 7 or 8 a.m. until about 8 or 9 p.m.  I work shorter hours on the weekend, leaving time for our adventures, playing a game, or watching a movie.  Sure wearing some of these hats gets old sometimes, but who likes every single aspect of their job?  Don’t you know that that’s why you spell “WORK” with four letters?  It’s like other four-letter words – a little DIRTY.  I don’t see things changing for us any time soon.  My jobs are keeping me busy, and all in all, it’s awesome! 

Please note:  I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on my work if it weren’t for Brian and all the hats that he wears in our family, including (but not limited to) – Bread Winner, IT Department, Bed-Maker, On-Site Repair and Maintenance Department Head, Bike Mechanic, General Trouble-Shooter, and Chief Researcher.