What in the heck do I do with all my extra rugs, blankets, sheets, towels and other junk I have stored at the house? I constantly find myself thinking about clearing stuff out in prep for full timing next March. I go to put in in the garage sale area, and then stop and think... Hey... I might need that! I have no problems getting rid of furniture and large items, but do I keep 75 toothbrushes and 30 towels?Please help my brain click to a different direction if I need it to!Thanks for your KIND responses and understanding. I know most full timers without a S&B have been here. :ECheryl

If you decide that you can do without some of your blankets, sheets and towels, I am sure your local Animal Shelter will be glad to take them off of your hands.

Liferdog wrote:If you decide that you can do without some of your blankets, sheets and towels, I am sure your local Animal Shelter will be glad to take them off of your hands.Absolutely. I do that anyway, along with food and other requested items. Actually, there are 2 shelters that are in our will, if there is anything left!

I just went through this in June. I began shedding items such as furniture, kitchen items, tools, clothes, etc 1 year prior. By the time the house sold I thought I'd whittled it down, via "garage sales", Craig's List and non-profit donations, to a manageable level.Reality set in when I drove the, new-to-me, Class A home. No way could I get all I set aside into the limited space, so I gave more to non-profit and neighbors/friends. After 3 months on the road I can truthfully say I don't miss anything I left behind. I can even get rid of a few more things if I so desire.30 towels? I've got 3 bath towels. Bear in mind I'm single traveling with 2 dogs. I've got a set of 4 dinnerware. A few dish towels, Oven Mitts, Kitchen utensils, etc. Minimal pots, pans and baking items.Unless you are a True Hoarder, believe me, you'll find you can get by with a lot less than you think. Good Luck!Mike

You just need two sets of everything. One set in use, and one set in the wash.Any more than that you will not use. You will just carry and store it.

When we started fulltiming 13+ years ago, we had sold the house and virtually everything in it, given away most of the rest and headed on down the road in a 33' fiver (5'longer than we'd needed because of what we thought our 3 (now 1) cats might need). They couldn't have cared less. We didn't put anything in storage nor did we keep a "home base". Everything we thought we'd need, we had with us. A year later we took inventory and found that about 30% of what we had with us we hadn't seen or touched in that year. Out it went. To this day we still subscribe to the notion that if we haven't seen or used it in the last year it is gone. We also hold firm that if something comes in, something else has to go out. Those notions have enabled us to downsize to a much lighter and shorter (29') fiver which enables us to get into the older SP and NP and older private park sites which we much prefer. It took us 5 years before we reached the point that we hadn't seen or used something that had to go.Except for a few nuts, bolts and other fasteners there is nothing that we're carrying that we've not utilized in the last year and are still carrying.

Sometimes I Think I'm A Hoarder! | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

gatorcq
Explorer
Sep 27, 2014
For every 1 item you buy, you have to remove 2 items.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Sep 27, 2014
Just keep repeating that the million of full-timers out there got through this. I will, too! :)
Nutinelse2do
Explorer
Sep 27, 2014
Thank you all so much. I have been excited for a while, but now I am getting the tummy knots!
The thing I find amazing after 20 + years of rv'ng is how your mental state just kicks into the zen mode when you are in the coach or driving the truck. It is such an awesome feeling.
I sure hope, after 15 years of planning and dreaming, the full time lifestyle lives up to our expectations.
But like everyone knows, a bad day of camping is better than a good day at work!
Travel safe everyone.
Cheryl
NYCgrrl
Explorer
Sep 27, 2014
Nutinelse2do wrote:
Hi.
Thanks everybody. No, do not want to have a storage unit. I told DH last night about my post. He just laughed and said.... Yup
I thought in the last couple of moves since 2011, I had got rid of a lot, but there is so much to go yet.
I did a reality check last night and realized I don't need six bathroom rugs and twenty bottles of Bath and Body Works lotion.
Started going through and weeding out some of my crafting supplies and books. When my hands used to work correctly, I was a pretty awesome scrollsawer, so started going through patterns and books last night. I would like to bring some ( maybe 20 ) of my hundreds of acrylic paints with me, but don't know with the new uocoming lifestyle, if I will even use them.
I did dump a bunch of stuff in the trash and recycling though, so I guess that's a start.
It's pretty exciting. We have been looking forward to this for so long, but now that it's close, it's getting a little scary!
Thanks again

Oh yeah. You've got it bad;). I recently donated a much smaller amt(only 2 shoe boxes worth) of acrylics to a local school. Only kept the primaries plus white,black and certain metallics. Weeded through my silk dyes in the same manner and donated to a senior citizens' center. Next stop the true source of my addiction: fabrics. Invited a niece who just purchased a house over. Going to open up my stash of home decor fabrics to her and instead of hovering around, take a walk in the park. She can call me when it's packed and out the door. Only way I'll accomplish that lightening of the load. I'm doing my organizing for a different reason than you as I only plan to be on the road for a year or two but the withdrawal pain is still the same.

GL in full timing and "de-hoarding" simultaneously.
Dog_Folks
Explorer II
Sep 27, 2014
camperpaul wrote:
I carry more than one hammer:
Claw hammer

Framing hammer

Ball peen hammer

Lather's hammer

5 pound sledge hammer (short handle)

12 pound sledge hammer (long handle)

Gotta have the right tool for the job.

BTW - the Lather's hammer doubles as a hatchet.

Only one needed, if the 12 sledge does not work, you don't need it fixed. :B

Actually, I am jealous that you have the room to carry all of them.
camperpaul
Explorer
Sep 27, 2014
I carry more than one hammer:
Claw hammer

Framing hammer

Ball peen hammer

Lather's hammer

5 pound sledge hammer (short handle)

12 pound sledge hammer (long handle)

Gotta have the right tool for the job.

BTW - the Lather's hammer doubles as a hatchet.
SCR
Explorer
Sep 27, 2014
Your Hoarder traits will be cured as you make the final move in to your RV....Limited space has the final say in what stays or goes.
Dog_Folks
Explorer II
Sep 27, 2014
Nutinelse2do wrote:
Hi.
Thanks everybody. No, do not want to have a storage unit. I told DH last night about my post. He just laughed and said.... Yup
I thought in the last couple of moves since 2011, I had got rid of a lot, but there is so much to go yet.
I did a reality check last night and realized I don't need six bathroom rugs and twenty bottles of Bath and Body Works lotion.
Started going through and weeding out some of my crafting supplies and books. When my hands used to work correctly, I was a pretty awesome scrollsawer, so started going through patterns and books last night. I would like to bring some ( maybe 20 ) of my hundreds of acrylic paints with me, but don't know with the new uocoming lifestyle, if I will even use them.
I did dump a bunch of stuff in the trash and recycling though, so I guess that's a start.
It's pretty exciting. We have been looking forward to this for so long, but now that it's close, it's getting a little scary!
Thanks again

You have started, and that is the most important thing. Your words indicate that you are starting to feel that excitement and freedom of purging.

Of course, this is a major change in lifestyle and being scared is only natural. You will get over that in the first day of full timing.

Good luck and keep us posted. We love sharing your excitement.
Nutinelse2do
Explorer
Sep 27, 2014
Hi.
Thanks everybody. No, do not want to have a storage unit. I told DH last night about my post. He just laughed and said.... Yup
I thought in the last couple of moves since 2011, I had got rid of a lot, but there is so much to go yet.
I did a reality check last night and realized I don't need six bathroom rugs and twenty bottles of Bath and Body Works lotion.
Started going through and weeding out some of my crafting supplies and books. When my hands used to work correctly, I was a pretty awesome scrollsawer, so started going through patterns and books last night. I would like to bring some ( maybe 20 ) of my hundreds of acrylic paints with me, but don't know with the new uocoming lifestyle, if I will even use them.
I did dump a bunch of stuff in the trash and recycling though, so I guess that's a start.
It's pretty exciting. We have been looking forward to this for so long, but now that it's close, it's getting a little scary!
Thanks again
C-Bears
Explorer
Sep 27, 2014
It was kind of a process.....we started with a 10x30 foot rented storage shed full of stuff we just could not part with. After a year we finally realized we should get rid of most of that "stuff" so now we only use the back 10x10 area of the storage area for storage and the remaining 10x20 is for storing one of our cars during the winter. You may start out with one or two storage units, but if you continue to full time you will soon get rid of stuff and get rid of some if not all of your storage units.