But a new school year has called the first family back to the capital city, and Gov. Mark Sanford has to share the one room with his wife and four boys for at least a month as work wraps up in the 16,400-square-foot mansion.

Sanford said it was easy to live alone in the simple accommodations. As a congressman, he rejected his housing allowance and slept on a futon sofa-bed in his Washington office for six years to save taxpayer dollars.

"It's relatively a new experience for the whole entourage, Jenny and the kids," he said. "It gets a little bit more complicated with six of us in one room. It's kind of zany."

At least they have two bathrooms.

Jenny Sanford said a summer of fresh air at the beach has helped her family recover from inhaling toxic mold for more than a year.

"When we left, we were actually very sick," she said. "Every one of us was coughing, and when we coughed it was tinged with either black spots or in some cases blood."

This summer, the first lady also struggled with adenomyosis, a painful condition in which the lining of the uterus extends into the uterus itself. She had a hysterectomy Aug. 11.

"I'm not a doctor, so I don't mean to imply this had anything to do with the mold," she said. "It is highly coincidental that my body kind of fell apart."

The state will spend more than $1 million to get rid of the mold in three buildings in the Governor's Mansion complex.three buildings in the Governor's Mansion complex.

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