What we don't need

[tomthyme]

Hello Folks!
As my wife and I are considering selling our stick and brick home and making a move to Colorado (where we will eventually buy another stick and brick home) it stuck me recently that we carry far too much stuff in our rig. Sure, we have spent 8 weeks in the rig before during a remodel, but this transition could be months before we find the right property, have something built, etc.

So, here's the.question: What things did you think you needed in your rig for your full time life that you never used (or use)?

This one might be different for the men v ladies, so feel free to consult your better half please!

Thanks all!

[bucky]

Good luck on the move. Selling and buying is a real PITA. We've lived here 20 years and trust me we got "stuff".

[Me_Again]

It is not what you take with you that is the problem. It is what you leave behind. People here in our summer park in Washington are off to clean out a 10x20' storage locker full on stuff that they have not touched in years. Said they went a couple years ago to do it and looked in the door, closed it and drove away. This time they are determined to complete the purge. We just bought a second lot across from ours so that we can have more parking, guess rigs, and a second shed. We will get rid of the 10x10 storage locker next summer. Some of the stuff may go back to Arizona with us after a Christmas visit, if DW buys her park model this fall when we arrive in Arizona. People bought our home purchase 75% of the furniture as a separate transaction. We keep enough for a small apartment or condo. What will not go in the two sheds or to Arizona will go away!

We had two garage sales and got rid of a lot of stuff.

[tomthyme]

dons2346 wrote:
Well,this is a tough question. Me,being a real Texian, I question why you want to leave Texas and move to Colorado.

Great question!

I was born and raised in the Dallas area. I am 52 and have never lived anywhere else. I'm growing tired of the 2 seasons of summer and almost summer. So, I'm hoping to experience another climate before I kick the bucket. Additionally, if I live somewhere that affords nice camping, hiking, fishing, etc. in a serene mountain environment without have to drive 14 hours, that's a bonus. Texas will always be home, but I would like to drink the water elsewhere for a bit.

[DutchmenSport]

In all reality, you really don't need to take anything, except what you need for hook-ups for the camper. You can liquidate every single item you have, and then just re-purchase when you need something.

On the other hand, you could take a 53 foot semi-truck trailer full of stuff with you, and still think you need more. It's all in how you fix your mind and adapt to what YOU consider the bare minimum.

[K_Charles]

George Carlin did a skit about "stuff" and if you take it with you it is not stuff, only the stuff you leave behind is stuff.

[2oldman]

paulcardoza wrote:
She's an impulse buyer and the contents of our storage bin show it!

I feel ya bro.

About the best you can do is provide her her own space. That way, your stuff doesn't get all cluttered up and virtually unusable. If you can't find something, you don't own it!

[JFNM]

Fun question!

Definitely too much paper and I am an all digital guy - still too much paper. Not just books/magazines but file folders of medical records, old taxes, etc... Too much paper! Mostly stuff that I am too lazy to spend hours and hours scanning.

Also, too many dishes and silverware - it just feels wrong to split up sets. For some reason, people like to give me coffee cups and I hate tossing them out. I need to learn how to re-give them away.

Sometimes it feels like I have too many spare parts but then I need one and am happy I have them.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

sdianel wrote:
Every 6 months we go thru everything in the RV and if we haven't used it within a year, out it goes.

Getting closer to that.

To the OP - we started with too much of nearly everything.

As noted - too many clothes, too many pillows, too many towels, too many tools, too many chairs, too many canned goods, too much food, too many books, too many linens, too many 'well I might need it' items.

We've also stopped buying souvenirs. The kids, grandkids, family, friends don't want them, and we have way to many. For family and friends - we send good old fashioned postcards from the places we visit. For us - we are working on a yearly photo CD of our travels.

I have also made it a practice to weigh the rig at least two or three times each year, and especially after we've been somewhere for a few months. When we are sitting volunteering or near family for our yearly visits to doctors and dentists - stuff accumulates, weight accumulates.

[paulcardoza]

LOL! I dream about doing this! DW, however, doesn't see it my way. She's an impulse buyer and the contents of our storage bin show it! 😉

sdianel wrote:
Every 6 months we go thru everything in the RV and if we haven't used it within a year, out it goes.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

Every 6 months we go thru everything in the RV and if we haven't used it within a year, out it goes. In the kitchen we pared down the cookware to one large skillet, one small skillet, small pot, large pot, pressure cooker. Got rid of lots of dishes, just kept 2 sets. Stopped collecting mugs! Get stackable storage or use storage bags. We stopped carrying a cooler but some people would use one. You can buy anything you need on the road so carry less. He pared down his tools into one tool chest. We only carry 2 folding chairs. We kept one set of linens. We remove them, wash them and put them back on the bed. Less towels. No extra pillows and blankets unless family travels with us. We no longer stock up on canned food. We buy as we go. Same for freezer items. Thought we needed a blender but didn't use it. We had 2 folding chairs for our dinette and left them in daughter's garage. We either eat outside at the picnic table or inside buffet style.

[dons2346]

Well,this is a tough question. Me,being a real Texian, I question why you want to leave Texas and move to Colorado. My suggestion to you is if you are going to keep some of your "stuff" then make sure it is stored in a climate controlled facility. This way, you will be assured that you won't have a bunch of moldy stuff when you decide to come off the road.

We have friends that stored their stuff in a regular storage unit and when they took it out a number of years later, it was basically worthless.

[Trackrig]

Then I wouldn't worry about taking much extra or different that you do now. Maybe one or two sets of better clothes to meet with real-estate people, builders, maybe an attorney.

What I would do is back up everything on your computer on something like a Western Digital hard drive in case your computers get lost, stolen, flooded, burned, etc and leave it with a friend or relative. I've had friends with everything on their laptops and someone stole them out of their car - there went all of their pictures and documents.........

Bill

[tomthyme]

Trackrig wrote:
My question is - are you only taking what you can pack in the RV to your new house period, or are you going to ship some stuff to the new house when it's built?

One of the things that would keep me from ever going full time is I wouldn't have my tools, parts, pieces and stuff from the garage.

If I knew I could ship some things later, I wouldn't take them in the RV now.

Bill

Great question Bill.

We will put most stuff in storage then move it when we figure out next steps.

I am worried about ... Um.... Overpacking 🙂 .....

[Trackrig]

My question is - are you only taking what you can pack in the RV to your new house period, or are you going to ship some stuff to the new house when it's built?

One of the things that would keep me from ever going full time is I wouldn't have my tools, parts, pieces and stuff from the garage.

If I knew I could ship some things later, I wouldn't take them in the RV now.

Bill