Where did all this stuff come from?

[grizz272]

Our RVing needs changed in November. We decided to buy a fifth-wheel.
We get the new camper in march. The Wif and I went down to our current camper and started cleaning it out. I had forgotten we had all this stuff in there. I took four bins out of the outside storage area. Fire poker, hand tools, and misc stuff. We packed 2 bins up inside and have at least 4 more bins to pack up. We have not even got to the storage area under the bed. The thing of it we use all the stuff that is in the camper.
We generally have a rule. If it is not used during a camping season then it is removed at the end of the season.

[memtb]

There are some items we haven’t used in several years.... but they are on the “must keep” list. With the winter that many people are experiencing, this immediately comes to mind....tire chains or cables for the camper, are at the top of the list. Don’t want to use them, haven’t used them in a while.....but they're always there!

[Lwiddis]

Dry camping or boondocking most of the time adds to the items I might need but I do pull out, thin and repack the outside storage on the last full day of all trips. Don’t go overboard on leaving tools, rope, hoses, tape, lubricants etc. home.

[dodge_guy]

I always laugh when someone says “I don’t have anymore than 5-600lbs of stuff in my trailer!”.

I have a lot of stuff. 2100lbs over the dry weight to be exact. And we use most of it. What we don’t use one season may get used the next!

[MDKMDK]

wildtoad wrote:
One of us lives by the op’s rules. One of us doesn’t!

x2. "I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it" has been my mantra for almost a decade on the road. It has saved our bacon on occasion, but honestly, not that often.
Now that we're downsizing from an A to a C, I think I'll have to inventory the toolkit and "essentials". Minimalist DW will be there every step of the way with price tag stickies and trash bags, I'm sure.

[Cloud_Dancer]

It took me and my friends 5 months to clean out my airport hangar. I'm like a hoarder, kinda. I need bigger houses and a bigger motorhome and a bigger boat. When I die, the storage company will end up with a lot of stuff. They know how to get rid of it.

[jplante4]

I have a 1 year rule on my flight bag. At the end of the year, whatever I think is extra weight goes into my locker. Over the course of the year, the locker gets emptied and the bag gets heavy again.

There is a minimum equipment list for camping. I know I needed to buy a few things I left at home on our first long trip.

[mowermech]

Over the years, I have found it to be a "Law Of Nature" that "stuff" accumulates to fill all available space, plus 10%, regardless of weight.
If you clean it out in the spring, it will be full by the end of the year, leaving you wondering "Where did all this "stuff" come from?"
Some "stuff" is necessary, even though it seldom gets used. For instance, in the back country we are (used to be? I'm not sure the rule is still in effect.) required to have an axe, bucket, and shovel with us. They are still in the basement of the motorhome, and there they will stay.

[wildtoad]

One of us lives by the op’s rules. One of us doesn’t!

[Old-Biscuit]

When we FTD we had Three basic rules:

Hit a Cat Scale at least once a year
Hadn't actually used it in 6 mos. then it goes
1 bag in 2 bags OUT

Served us quite well
Could Open ANY cabinet, drawer, storage compartment and SEE what was in there w/o having to DIG for it

[FunnyCamper]

We are more minimalist types but we have to get rid of stuff at the end of the season we never used that we packed, luckily it is never that much 🙂
I am so less is more and I find I don't need much anyway. Also end of season we are sure to clean, de-clutter and maintenance etc. It is important to take care of your junk 🙂

[Wanderlost]

We have the same rule, and have done a pretty good job of adhering to it all these years. As a result, when we were full-timing, we had empty shelves and compartments, because we just didn't have a lot of stuff onboard.

Quite refreshing. Now, if we could only do the same thing in the S&B...