How do you downsize possessions for the fulltime RV lifestyle?
How do you downsize possessions for the fulltime RV lifestyle?
Where does one start in downsizing from a house to an RV? What should be sold or given away first? What is the next layer of things to get ride of, etc.? What does one need to be sure to keep?Start by packing the stuff you need the most in the RV. Sell or give everything else away. If you put it in storage, you will just see someone buying it at auction on Cable TV.
PS - Take lots of underwear.First choose the necessities only for sleeping, dressing, eating, batheing and maintaining one's health. If there's pets they must be provided for. Then ascertain how much room you have for the other necessities in your life (and those are different for all of us). From there, space permitting, I'd choose things like tv, cd player, books and whatever hobby materials one considers necessary. Once those things are in the RV you know what must be disposed of however you choose. I have friends that rented storage for family heirlooms and keepsakes they couldn't part with -- wound up they ony Rv'd three years so had memorabilia ready when they established another home.
Look at your items one by one, take an inventory for each room.
Ask yourself, how much do I need or use this item? Can the same results be achieved without it?
I started in the kitchen............
the counter top standing mixer.........great for making bread.......but most batters can be done with a cheap electric mixer, and I have learned to knead dough!
The pannanni grill................toss it.........cast iron is far more durable and versatile
The electric skillet.......if your RV stove is propane.........keep it, it will do the same job as the stovetop, with far less heat.............keep the electric skillet and a crock pot. I , now, rely heavily upon my outdoor grill.....good food, less cost, and no added heat in the home.
Electric knives? If you have room, ok, but learn to use 2-3 different knives effeciently.............that big treasured meat slicer had to go..........I am no longer slicing hams for 40 sandwhiches anyway, since the kids are grown and gone. If is just the two or one of you......eat off of the stove top and pass those cherished and beautiful serving bowls and cake plates on to your daughters. Keep only the bare nessessities.
Your need for bedlinens will decrease............all you need is one change
Go through your closet, keep the clothes you need most........casual , at home for comfort or church or bussiness wear..........keep a couple of each other styles available.
Your bathroom will be small, even in a luxurious RV.........you might need to let some hair accessories go........you might need to condense your tools, but do not give up bandaids or q-tips!
Keep your photos......take them out of the frames and put them in an album. Many awards and drawings from my children are in albums also. I still treasure them, I still have them........they just not all on display in the hallways and walls.
I also parted with many books.........but not the reference books, not the Bibles, and certainly not my own personal journals. This is what under the bed storage is for, for me.Simplify your life, downsize your stuff! Whether you are downsizing into an RV for a life of full-time RVing or downsizing to move to a smaller home, here's what to keep, what to donate and what to trash. read more
