Downsizing and Minimizing. How we prepared to move from home to RV.

The items in your house weigh on you.

They need to be cleaned.

They need upkeeping.

They need to be organized and have a place to fit into your home.

They need so many things, and it is just draining.

I understand.

That feeling is why we joined this RV living lifestyle.

We are proof you can do it.

The question though is how do you do it.

How do you give away items you have worked so hard for? How do you choose which items to keep and which ones to let go of? What do you do with the sentimental items? Do you need to pay for a storage locker?

I am going to walk you through how we managed to downsize from 2,500 square foot to just a 40-foot travel trail, in only 2 months.

1. You cannot do anything without a beginning, so begin.

Well if you are reading this blog then you probably already took the first step, you decided to make a change in your life. Remember, this is an entire lifestyle change, not just a quick decision like buying a new couch, and as such, it deserves a lot of thought and consideration.

However, its not necessarily the change that is difficult, it is the breaking of social norms that makes this first step one of the hardest. People are not going to understand what you are doing. They are going to ask you “are you sure?”, “have you really thought about this?”,  or better yet “you have worked so hard for all of this, are you just going to give it up?”.

It is even worse if you have kids, because then everyone thinks they should give you parenting advice about taking your child away from a ‘stabile home’ and away from family who loves them.

So, if you are sure this is the next step you want to take in your life, then the first place to begin is to TELL EVERYONE. Well ok, maybe not everyone. You do not have to go and shout it from the roof top or anything, but you do need to tell your close family and friends.

Just tell them and get it out there. It is not going to be easy. You may get some backlash, but to really get things going you have to get this out of the way. It will make step 2 possible.

When we took this step, I basically just sent out a group message. “Hey guys, we are feeling the need to make a change in our life to better our family and our mental health. We are planning on moving into a RV and traveling the United States collecting memories instead of possessions. We honestly feel this is the best thing for our family and we hope you will support us in this decision.”

It was not that exact message, but it was along those lines. I found it easiest for me to just get it out there and meet it head on. Find a way that gives you the courage to get it out there, what ever makes it work for you, but take that step and make it real with the people you love.

2. Deal with the sentimental items first.

I think this is the complete opposite way that is recommended by the infamous Marie Kondo in the KonMari method, but I found it easiest to get the sentimental items out of the way. To complete this step, think about who gave you this item, and ask them if they want it back. I had a few pieces that were super important to our family, a curio cabinet that was given to us by my mother-in-law; a Christmas village given to me by my mom; crystal serving dishes given to us as wedding gifts by my in-laws; etc.

For each sentimental item, we offered that item back to the person who had given it to us. I let them know that I had loved the item they had gifted us with, but an RV only holds so many items and it was likely to get broken or not fit within the confines of our space. Before we found the item a new home, we wanted to give them the chance to take this possession back. If they did not want it or did not feel they had room for it, we completely understood and would find it a new owner. We of course did not sell this item back to them, since they had bought it in the first place that would just seem wrong.

I found that offering the sentimental back to the person who had originally given it to us relieved us of the guilt we were feeling at getting rid of something the giver had intended to be a family heirloom.

Once we got the sentimental items out of the way, it seemed so much easier to part with the less important objects we had filled our life with.

3. Sentimental items round #2

I know not every sentimental item can be given back to the person that gave it to you. Some sentimental items, like presents from your children or spouse, are just too important to part with. I understand. I am here to give you a pass on those items.

Yes, we downsized.

Yes, we live in a tiny home on wheels.

Yes, we had to get rid of 90% of our belongings, but it is ok to keep some things that are super important to you.

You do not have to give up all of your worldly possessions.

Keep them.

If you want to get rid of some of them later on, you can, but you can’t get them back once they are gone.

We found a plastic tote that would fit in the storage area under our bed, and I figured what would all fit into that tote. If it fit inside of the tote, I had no reservations about keeping it. I did have to get rid of some of the items, but I was able to keep most of them and that made my mommy heart feel good.

4. Take out what you need and sell the rest

Some people will tell you that you only need one plate, bowl, cup, fork, knife, and spoon per person, and you should get rid of all of your other dishes, but I find that just plain out crazy.

Do those people only use their dishes to eat off of?

I use plates to hold food, bowls to melt butter in the microwave, and different silverware during the cooking process. So, what you keep will have to depend on what room you have in the RV or tiny house of your choice.

With the way we store our dishes, one plate or two per person did not make that much of a difference so we chose to go with more dishes, instead of less.

Remember, you can get rid of stuff along the way, cheaper than you can gain stuff along the way.

This applies to all objects you will be moving into the RV, clothes, shoes, books, towels, pots, etc.

Take what will fit into the space and then thin it out along the way as you find out you have too much or gain new items. We have been living in our RV for just under a year, and we still are downsizing possessions along the way.

The key is to only take what will FIT into the space. If it does not have a space to call home, then it is not important enough to take with you. I figured out through this process that I found homes for the items that were most important to me or that I used daily, first. If it does not have a home, it does not go. That is the easiest way to figure out what to take.

Once you have all of your possessions in your RV, find some scales to weigh it. If it is over its allotted weight, then go through your possessions and start thinning them out until you are under the needed weight.

5. Sell all that is left.

Facebook marketplace will be your best friend. I am not even joking, you will be living with your phone as things begin to fly out of your home. The key to this process is to make it worth your while to sell the item.

Do not try and meet up with someone for an item you feel should sell for only a dollar or two. You will get frustrated and tired very quickly.

Instead, take all of those small dollar items and through them into a box, and then sell the box. I did this with all the little things like kitchen gadgets and home décor. You will be surprised how fast someone will snatch up a box full of small items priced for $5-$10. They are getting a deal and you are getting an easy way to get rid of your stuff. People love deals.

I would do this with clothes and shoes also, unless they are some crazy expensive that is worth more than $20 on its own, like a prom dress.

Also, try and set times to meet with people and do so in public. A lot of police stations now have meet up spots so that you can do so safely, if I could not meet at a police station I choose grocery stores or gas stations that would have security cameras and met during the day.

Set times to meet up with individuals and have more than one person meet you on that day at that time. I chose at least 1-2 days a week and blocked out an hour or two to meet with people. I let anyone wanting an item to know that they could meet me on those days, or I arranged to meet them on my way to or from work at public location.

I did not continuously go out of my way to meet people, because face it, you have a lot to do and that would get really old really fast.

What did not sale fairly quickly, we donated to a local thrift store. We ended up taking 3 truck loads of stuff to the thrift store and made over $3,000 on our stuff we were parting with. We had a huge house though and it was filled to the brim with stuff.

As each item left the house, I felt a little weight lift from my shoulders and felt like I could breath a little easier.

As you go through this journey of ridding yourself of most of your possessions, remember that you are not everyone else. What is important enough to keep with you may not be considered important to someone else. We each are our own person. Keep what you think is important and get rid of it as you change your mind.