Getting rid of stuff

Until we went full time in our 26-1/2 RV, Jim and I lived in a 3,400 square foot home. The first year we owned the rig, every time we came back from a weekend trip, our living room felt like a gymnasium.  That much space seemed crazy for just two people, and I’ve been looking forward to living small as far as square footage goes. In our case, square footage = 140.

Our mantra was sort, consolidate, give away, recycle, toss. Repeat, repeat, repeat.   When it came to paper records, we got creative:  After what seemed like weeks of shredding, Jim actually dug a hole in an unused part of our garden and burned what was left.  Probably against city code, but we’ve got easygoing neighbors.

Lastly, we cut back big time on clothing.  Jim’s hardest task was trimming his sizable T-shirt collection down to 12. (And he’s only bought one more since we’ve been on the road.)  Eight baseball caps made the cut because, Jim says, you never know which one will best fit the ensemble.  My small wardrobe is just as casual but with only one hat.  Everything I won’t wear again or didn’t wear within the last year I gave away.   The rest fit in a few small boxes stored under our bed at home.

We may have cheated a bit, because instead of selling our house, we asked our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter to move in, which meant we could leave some big items behind.   It also helped to have a basement with room for more storage shelves – plus kids who didn’t mind leaving some of their furniture in their own home (which they rented out.) 

The down side to all this is we won’t ever have a home like my mom’s where our grandkids can find all sorts of cool, old stuff.  Other than that, it’s all good.

With the exception of two drawers and a cardboard box at the end of our over overhead cab bed, this single closet holds all of our clothing.

One of Jim's extensive Oregon State T-shirts that is biting the dust because it's finally showing some wear.