Minimalist married to clutter bug.

samsontdog wrote:
I have the same problem with my DW. We are leaving shortly for only 3 days at Lake Tahoe but she has a change of clothes for at least 5 changes a day !! What can you do, we have been married 56 years and I don't see her changing !!!

X2 After 41 years in my house, I also learned to "pick my battles."

This one isn't worth it.

2gypsies wrote:
Do you load it up for her? Have her do all the packing and lifting and repacking when you return home and carry it in herself and perhaps she'll cut down. :)

I am the dear wife and I fully support the above statement. I do the majority of the deciding of what to take and more than my share of the work loading and unloading. As newbies we broke all the rules and our backs toting around more stuff than necessary...we learned. We now pack lite and love it more!

I have no clue why many other gals do just the opposite. The point all "those" gals need to understand...how much more fuel it costs to carry it all over the country, how frustrating it is to dig like a gopher to find and put things away, how dangerous it is to have so many loose items out on the counter going down the road/keeping all the cabinets and lower bays too full, and how much misery she may be putting herself & her family through. Why are they afraid simplify? I reckon it has something to do with the female nurturing/nesting/need to be prepared/take care of people deal...sad because it can all be done so much easier with more refreshing results...less is truly more!

But you guys sure are kind to let your dear ladies do what they want. Thankfully my dear one and I see a fully loaded coach as an overloaded disaster in the making. Happy safe travels no matter how you manage to do it!

Simple : If you are still in love with her as much as you were on the day you got married, let her take all she wants.

jack L

realter wrote:
my wife who rarely comes with, thinks she needs to take everything--just in case. How do others deal with this problem.?

Over time this may change. How? Ask if she'll let you make note of what she actually wore vs. what she brought. After a few trips, maybe it'll sink in. If not, then I feel for ya.

You said 'rarely', so I don't know if the technique will work. I have a hoarder too, but, in the RV, she cooperates. She still brings more than she needs, but it's not ridiculous.

She's actually made fun of me for being a minimalist. Fine, but at least I don't have to worry about breaking a leg to get to the kitchen. (Yeah, messy too).

Do you load it up for her? Have her do all the packing and lifting and repacking when you return home and carry it in herself and perhaps she'll cut down. :)

I guess I was lucky, my DW learned camping by tent camping with me for a long time. So she adapted well to not carrying a bunch of junk to litter up the tent. At first I objected to even bringing pillows, after all I had camped for years without anything, or maybe a rolled up jacket or shirt. Why carry a bulky pillow to take up space? But predictably, she won that debate. But even today we only carry about 360# of gear in the TT.

If the teenage granddaughters are with us the situation changes. After being immobilized in the TT I had them keep all their stuff in the shell of my TV that they didn’t immediately need. That wouldn’t work with a TC, though. I see three potential outcomes to your situation. You adapt, she gets tired of working around the clutter and adapts to less stuff, or she convinces you to get a 30’ TT so you can bring the house with you.:)

Key to successful camping--be very neat. Pick up and put away, don't leave it laying around. My wife's theory, arrive home with more food than you left with. My theory, eat your last snack as you pull into the driveway at home. No point in trying to swim uphill, you will lose ground. Go with the flow.

I have the same problem with my DW. We are leaving shortly for only 3 days at Lake Tahoe but she has a change of clothes for at least 5 changes a day !! What can you do, we have been married 56 years and I don't see her changing !!!

I agree with you wife..."Never know when you are going to need an extra this or that."

This is one of our storage compartments.

realter wrote:
Going camping in a small camper, I take very little. On the other hand, my wife who rarely comes with, thinks she needs to take everything--just in case. How do others deal with this problem.?

If her "clutter" was taking up space you need for yours, I could see some compromise being in order. But since you bring so little...what IS the problem?