CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One Charlotte family is starting off the new year by jumping into a new adventure. Robbie and Samantha McLaughlin, along with their five children and four pets, downsized from a 3500 square foot home to a 380 square foot home on wheels.
Over the last few years, Samantha found herself growing tired of the sheer amount of things the large family had to keep up with. For the past decade she and her husband have been working in ministry in the Charlotte area. Around Thanksgiving, something sparked a desire for change.
"I just really became overwhelmed with all the stuff, and all the time that we spent cleaning and taking care of just all the stuff," Samantha told NBC Charlotte.
Seeking inspiration, she started following some other families on Instagram and realized there might be another way to live life -- one with less materials.
"I started kind of dropping hints and saying 'maybe one day,'" Samantha said about trying to convince her husband. "Then 'one day' became a lot sooner."
It took her a few months to get her husband Robbie on board. But after he recently resigned from his job, she saw as an opportunity to push the idea.
Robbie said it all clicked for him when realized just how much time they spent working to buy a home in the first place.
"Then we spend so much time working to fill up that home," Robbie said. "Then when we have free time, when we're not working, we're spending time maintaining that home."
The couple decided if they wanted to live freely, they had to give up the house they believed was holding them back.
"I became convinced that our home was supposed to be a tool for us, but we had become tools for our home," Robbie said.
The couple said friends and family, while ultimately supportive, questioned why they would make this leap. The McLaughlins expected this, so they held off on telling anyone until they had already purchased the truck and the equipment.
"Our new motto is experience over things," Samantha told NBC Charlotte.
They said the biggest challenge is the number of people in the small space, but they made sure to have a space that felt like their own within the home-on-wheels.
The McLaughlins spent the weeks before move-in renovating the RV to make it feel like home. The family has been documenting their journey on their Instagram account, @bigtribetinyvibe.
Prior to this new challenge, Robbie spent the last 15 years in vocational ministry leading local churches. He said the consistent message through his work is whatever someone may be going through, there is hope.
He hopes to continue to share that message through the family's new adventure.
"We just really want to be communicators of this message of hope," Robbie said. "No matter how dark the tunnel is right now, there's light at the end of the tunnel -- and what you're facing today is seasonal, it's momentary."
The family started renovation over around Thanksgiving of 2018 and moved in around Christmastime. As it's only been a few weeks, they're still adjusting, but they say they are getting there.
The McLaughlin’s say they've cut their monthly living expenses from more than $2,600 dollars to just $550.
It's not just about saving money -- the family now spends more time together. For the kids, it's a learning experience. The couple says they want their kids to know what's out there beyond the Carolinas.
"We are all part of this human race together, and it makes up this beautiful canvas," Robbie said. "What you've seen in Charlotte, North Carolina isn't the only thing that's out there."