#5 The Purging Begins

and We don't drink that much

We've decided the house goes on the market the middle of next month.  In the mean time we are going through our stuff, trying to decide what to do with it all.  I'll start in the kitchen; LJ the garage.

As I start going through the hutch I realize how much crap I never use is in there.  Oh there are a few items that are keepsakes or that I use regularly.  But for the most part it's "oh yea.  I forgot I had that".  I'm honestly not having an issue saying adios to 95% of the stuff.  That leaves 5% of things I need to get over or store if I can't use it in the trailer.  Nobody needs this much stuff.  Imagine the amount of $$$ I have spent on everything over the years, only to store it.  You know, on the off chance I might use it someday.  And now I want to store it for the future?  Oh good grief.

Just Stuff that collects dust

Our son, Jeff, and daughter in law, Amy, came up today.  They staked their claim on some items.  Our poor Amy was trying to be nice while saying yea to that, uh, no to that.  I forget not everyone has the same taste as me.  Plus they don't have as much room to store excess stuff that they'll never use like I do.  Obviously she is much smarter than I am.  I'm glad we have the kind of relationship where they get stuff, we give stuff and no one gets offended by saying no.  I did kinda feel like my mom, though... she's always trying to make me take stuff when I visit.  That was me today lol...here do you want this?  Here, take that!  Surprised my son didn't start calling me Joye (my mom).  But I think it was successful.  Kids are getting things they can use and now I know what gets given away, sent to goodwill or sold.  Productive day.  But still overwhelming because there is SO MUCH STUFF left to deal with in the house.

Prime example:  I do have a lot of pampered chef stuff.  My sister sold it and I was always buying it.  Seems wrong to garage sale it but worse to donate it. So maybe I'll keep the stuff I really use...those very few things.  I can put those in the trailer.  The rest?  Bite the bullet and let it goooooooooo. Oh look!  there's that pampered chef dumaflatchit I paid a lot for that has never been used. I'm really not sure what it does, but it's cool!  Maybe I should keep that.  LJ once again just gives me his infamous "look".  Those who know him understand.  Those who don't, it's indescribable but effective.   Fiiiiiiiiiiiine. I'll part with it and it's brothers and sisters and cousins.  Remember..You are on a mission.  Failure is not an option.

Oh.  And then there's patio stuff, yard tools, yard art (i.e. Crap).  I sweet talked our dear Amy into putting some of the yard stuff in her yard...until we settle down again someday.  The rest?  I'm okay with that stuff going to the garage sale.

The purging has begun.  But there is still sooooo much to do.  I will admit... I'll be glad when this part is over.  In the meantime...just breathe and remember what's in front of us.  Freedom and the Open Road.

#4. The Why

Little man loves his campfires

I find this interesting.  When our friends and family find out what we are doing, inevitably the first thing said is "no!"  The next is "why?!?!  What about Scooter (our Yorkie)?"   Some are supportive.  Some just tilt their head in wonder.

ARE YOU CRAZY??????? Nope...well maybe a little...

Maybe we are.  But we are taking the chance and going for it.  There are so many reasons why we have decided to embark on this journey.   I'll try to answer those questions.

First...why?
Because we can.
We are not tied down to anything.  Kids are grown.  The kids think it's great and are behind us 100%. Grandkids aren't little ones any more, the youngest being nine.  They all live their own busy lives.  Just because we are travelling doesn't mean we won't see them. We are in good health mentally and physically.  But who knows what the future holds.  So we say we do it now, while we can.  Don't want to look back in a few years saying cudda wudda shudda.

The freedom.
Imagine being able to up and go when you want.  No encumbrances.  Talking to friends and strangers who have maintained their home while traveling extensively has enlightened me. Each and every one says they never felt truly free. They always had in the back of their mind how are things at home.  Others we have talked to who full time say there's nothing like the complete freedom it gives you when you get rid of everything.  Selling means no worrying about who's going to take care of the house/yard while we're gone.  We have great neighbors here at our home who would gladly take care of things, but we would rather enjoy the true freedom.  Another good thing about RV living.   What if your RV neighbor is a pain, or you hate where you are "living"?  You hook up and change spots or even parks!  You can't do that with sticks and bricks so easily.  Freedom.  Freedom to decide at a whim to move on.  So much to see in this great country of ours.  The point is we are free to do whatever we choose, when we choose.  Things to see/do on our schedule...nobody else's.

The cleansing effect.
By selling everything, only keeping those precious items, you clear your mind and soul.  Thirty eight years of accumulating crap.  How many times have I moved that knick knack?   How long have I had that thing, whatever it is?  Time to let it go.  Others who have done it say it's the most liberating thing they have done.  So we circle back to freedom, again.  I will hang on to those precious keepsakes...for now.  I don't want to have regrets.  I'll give the kids the stuff I have saved from when they were little.  I've had those boxes with their names on it for years.  It now belongs to them.  Now it's their stuff to have and do with what they please.  But the rest?  It's just things.  Replaceable things.  Garage sale / consignment time.

The money.  Yes.  The money.
When the house sells EVERY thing we owe will be paid off.  No bills.  Can you imagine nothing coming out of your check but those forever bills you can't get away from  (insurance, health care, cell phone bill, Onstar etc).  Other than that, our regular living expenses, such as gas, RV parks, food, incidentals will be it.  NO mortgage, car payments, utilities, credit cards...nothing else.  So the rest of our retirement checks go in the bank.  By our calculations the bank account will grow rapidly.  As suggested by our research, we have accounts at three different banks.  One our checks go into automatically.  We will transfer our monthly budgeted living expenses to another.  That's the only one we will use for that, lessening the chance for identity thieves accessing our money.  The other will be used to save for side adventures, such as cruises, entry into parks, etc.  A budgeted amount will be transferred into that one, too.  I certainly won't be buying stuff since we are living in a trailer.  No where to put it!  The key is to live within those budgets and watch the main account grow.  We should be sitting pretty by the time we revert back to sticks and bricks living...if we ever do lol.

M/C trip to Glacier NP

Reconnecting.
LJ and I have always been close.  We are friends as well as spouses.  Without the stresses of "regular" living we can get even closer.  We are both on the same page with doing this adventure.  We both plan on having fun.  He always does what I want to do or says "go ahead, have fun" if it's not something he's interested in.  So now I plan to be the yes person, too, because I will no longer have to worry about what that side trip costs or do we have time to do it.  This will be a great adventure.  We plan to make a grand time of it, doing things together.  Like going to see the battlefields, those cadillacs buried in the desert, the giant ball of string.  Maybe we'll follow dives and diners or do the rest of Route 66.  The whole USA is out there (and parts of Canada) for us to see.  But when we need space he promises to park us near a casino because that will occupy me for hours while he watches tv in the RV lol.

ATV camping with Scooter

Puppy dog.
As for Scooter; he loves the RV.  He always gets excited when he sees the trailer hooked up.  As long as he's with us, he's happy.  And just think of all the new things he gets to sniff and pee on. He'll be just fine.

I hope that answers the "Why".  As for the "No", I don't know what to say.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder?  It's not like we're going to another planet or another country.  We'll be around.  Isn't that what FaceTime, Facebook, texts and blogs are for? To keep in touch?  Absolutely.  Ain't modern gadgets great!
Can't wait to get this party started!

#3. Getting started

Good grief.  So we've made this life altering decision but where do we start?  All the stuff we have read says do it, just doesn't say how exactly.   LJ and I have been married 38 years this December.  To put it mildly, we have accumulated a lotttttt of crap.  All of it must go.  What do the kids get/want...what gets sold...what gets donated.  Just the thought is daunting.

So, in my infinite wisdom, I have decided to start with clothes.  There's only so much closet space in an RV so we will keep only what's necessary.  When we sold our last house I got rid of bags and bags of clothes.  LJ got rid of the stuff he never wears.  His donations fit in a medium suitcase we donated with room to spare.

If you have the space, aren't you supposed to fill it?

Me? I used several 30 gallon trash bags.  You'd think I was a clothes horse or something.  Among other items, 50 t-shirts!  Who the hell needs 50 t-shirts?  I am truly a T-shirts and jeans kinda gal, but seriously? 50?  Ridiculous. That's what happens when you have a closet the size of a small bedroom.  In reality, 40 of those 50 t-shirts I hadn't worn in years....damn shrinking moths.  I tend to keep clothes I like long after they no longer fit.  You know...just in case I lose weight. Yep...I'm a dreamer.  I was quite proud of myself for having the willingness and sense to purge.

So now it's time to do it again, only this time nothing gets stored for later.  We decided we will need warm and cold weather stuff.  Must be prepared for changing seasons!  Then we discussed it.  Isn't the whole point of this to travel?  To winter in warm places, summer in cool places?  And honestly..Do we really dress differently for warm and cold?  Nope.  Fashionistas we are not.  We pretty much wear the same stuff each week.  T-shirts, jeans.  So after having an honest discussion, this is our changing seasons plan:  Cold weather: sweater, sweatshirt, or coat ON.  Warm weather: sweater, sweatshirt, coat OFF.  Ingenious.

So let's get started.  Closet first.  Why is it so easy for men?  LJ says "I'll keep 3 pair of jeans, one work/play and two every day.  I'll keep these four T-shirts, three long sleeved shirts, two pullover collared shirts, one work shirt, one pair of dockers and my riding gear".  Done.   He can be so irritating.

I looked in our closet and thought...hmmmm.  I'll need regular clothes, semi nice clothes, dressy clothes, work clothes and casual wear. How am I going to fit it all in the trailer?  LJ just looks at me..."really?", he says.  "You wear the same four shirts every week.  You never dress up because you hate it.  You are a jeans, T-shirts and tennis shoes woman.  Keep one good 'dressy' shirt and move on.  You have a teeny closet in the RV".  Did I mention he can be irritating?

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.  I'll start with my t-shirts.  Oh look! I count 30 various colors and styles. Apparently I'm a slow learner based on the last move.  Fortunately these are not expensive.  I pick them up cheap at WallyWorld.   Only a third actually fit me now. Hmmm.  Apparently between the washing of the cheap shirts and those pesky shrinking moths that follow me around, the rest are too small.  So out they go.  I can always buy more.  Maybe having a dinky closet will break me of this obvious T-shirt fetish I have.  This isn't going to be that hard after all!

Same with jeans.  I have 7 pair of  "I'll lose weight someday" pants.  I think those acid wash ones might be out of style.  I've moved them three times.  Goodbye old friend.  Time to go.  I'll only hang on to my every day jeans and crop pants ( three each).  And dressy clothes? LJ's right.  I do hate dressing up.  It's just not me.  I will keep a couple blouses that go well with jeans.  If that's not dressy enough for the "occasion",  I'll be busy that day.  After all, we're living in an RV.  Who knows where we will be.  

Thank goodness I'm not a shoe person.  Two pair of tennies, one pair "looks good with jeans but not dressy" shoes, riding boots and some flip flops.  I'm good.  Same for LJ.

I don't wear a swimsuit for fear of being harpooned, so that's one less thing I need.  LJ will have his, along with some shorts for hot weather.  I have crop pants for that.  See...already making progress on my obsession with clothes I don't wear.

Socks, underwear are easy.  We have friends (who shall remain nameless)who, while on our motorcyle trip to Milwaukee (Harley 100th Anniversary), decided not to wash their undies.  Wear 'em, toss 'em, buy new ones.  Seemed a bit ridiculous to us at the time, but LJ just reminded me of it, which made me laugh.  Should we?  Naw, we're good.  The trailer has drawers for those things and I plan on having a washer dryer in the RV.  I will only take a couple pair of pajamas, though, which means parting with the other five pair...don't ask, but I've entered counseling.

As for Scooter... he's only got a few things, and they're small.  Besides...we are taking his closet with us.  It'll fit in the Toy Hauler garage just fine.

Repurposed cabinet LJ made in high school

So the clothing thing is settled.  Now on to the hard stuff.

'til next time.

#2 Decision made.... time to get on with it

So after a lot of talking, thinking and more talking, we have decided to go for it.  Why not? Life is too short and if not now when.  But where do we start?

We searched the Internet for articles on full time RVing.  One of our favorite books is "Motorhome and RV Retirement Living The Most Enjoyable and Least Expensive Way to Retire" -by Jerry Minchey.  It has lots of interesting info for the new guys...like us.  We got it on Amazon.  It's a quick read but informative.  There's a lot of information out there if you just look.

After a lot of thought, we've decided that to live full time in our trailer, we need a different one.  I want an additional half bath.  Sometimes at our age, waiting for someone to get out is not an option! We still need a garage (so a toy hauler) so LJ can take his atv.  There's a lot of areas across the country for him to explore.  And I need a useable kitchen because I am not eating out all the time.  The larger toy haulers give us abundant storage and the garage with it's own tv makes a great separate family room for some separation of space.  It also has extra beds in case someone wants to come see us while we are on the road!  So number one...sell the old one.  Find a new one.

We've decided to keep Nevada as our home base for now, so only a few things to take care of there.

The hard part is going to be getting rid of stuff.  I have gone from "I have to keep that" to "I want to keep that" to "get rid of it all".  I'll let you know how that goes.  More thinking and planning.  After all...what we keep has to be stored somewhere, so is it worth it?

Then of course..selling the house.  What fun...but oh the rewards.  Fortunately our house has gone up in value so in a way, our decision to buy was a blessing in disguise.  More $$$ for our adventure.

The transition from sticks and bricks to RV life will be stressful, but worth it.  Stay tuned for what we do to prepare.  We will share what we've learned.  I'll let you know how it goes!

#1 Decisions... Decisions...should we or shouldn't we

For years my dear husband LJ and I talked about traveling the US for months at a time, but it seems something always got in the way...kids...work..laziness.  We did travel the US on our Harleys for three weeks each summer (yes I had my own) and that was fun, but we were always on a time constraint.  Had to be back for work or to take care of the house or ran out of money.  It never seemed long enough.

We finally retired in 2004.  We thought now we can do whatever we want, whenever we want.  But, alas, we were in a routine..or in reality, a rut.  We had several opportunities to head out on the open road, but never did.  I wasn't mentally ready to leave behind the family and life long friends.  We have grandkids in Northern California.  We also have grandkids in England.  They need a place to come to when they visit.  I wanted to live close enough to see family and a house big enough to accommodate them all visiting at the same time.  LJ just wanted to travel.  So we (Ok..I) compromised.  We left Taxifornia and moved a couple hours away to Northern Nevada.  We bought the big ol house I insisted on.  Five bedrooms, three bathrooms, 4000sf on an acre with a 6 car garage...for the two of us.  You know...so there was room when the family showed up.

the big ol house

 And they did show up.  It was wonderful.  But their lives got busy.  Our California son has enough kids for a basketball team.  That's a lot of packing up to come see us.  It became terribly expensive for our daughter, her British husband and three kids to fly over the pond.  Visits were becoming less frequent.  Easier for us to go see them, be it England or Northern California.

We had made loads of new friends and loved the area we lived in.  So yes, the big beautiful house was wonderful.  And time consuming.  And expensive.  Water and utilities alone were crazy.

But, we could afford it.  We had a good retirement after all those years working.  But we didn't neeeeeeed it.  And as much as I loved it,  I'll admit there was always something missing.  But we stayed put, because, you know, it was easier than uprooting.   We had poured our heart and soul into our forever home.  Well, when we bought it that was the intention.

our harleys in Utah

Early on we sold the Harleys (been there done that for 15+ years). We took loads of cruises.  We bought a boat.  We bought a small travel trailer.  We bought atvs.  Then .....We sold the boat (too expensive and didn't use it enough).  Sold the travel trailer (too small) and bought a toy hauler. ( Now we could camp with the atvs!)  We missed our Harley trips but the Harleys were long gone and after all...how many toys do you need. (I know.. all of them, but I digress)  All the while we were spending money maintaining the big ol' house.  It did cramp our style.

our party boat...fun with the grandkids

our itty bitty trailer

the atvs

  LJ would often mention going full time RVing.  But noooooooo.  I didn't want to give up my stuff.   And I was worried that, although we had been married over 30 years, worked together and now spent 24/7 together, we would kill each other living in an RV.  Sooooo I resisted.  I won.


In the fall of 2014 we finally decided to give up the big ol house.  Made sense.  It was too big for just the two of us.  Visits from the family were so very rare so we could no longer justify it.  We sold it, had the movers come and we stored everything.  We didn't buy a house immediately but that was our (my) intention.  We moved the two of us and our little yorkie, Scooter, into our toy hauler in a local RV park.  We spent 7 months there, all the while looking for a new place.  Smaller this time...room to keep the RV...less upkeep so we can travel (Or so LJ thought).

Scooter and me

the toy hauler that was our home

All the while we were living in the RV park, LJ said we should travel around.  Poor guy.  I had a million excuses why we couldn't.  It's winter.  How will we look for a house.  Blah blah blah.  He's really not a pushover.  He's a peacemaker.  Plus I think he was a little concerned, as was I, whether or not we would truly like it.  What if full timing was a mistake?  What if we sold everything and hated it, or worse, what if being cooped up in a 400sf  "house" was too much to take and we started hating each other?  So we stayed in our comfortable rut.  And I was happy... him?  He was okay with it because if I'm happy he's happy.  But it really wasn't what he wanted.

After 6 months of searching, we finally found a place in March 2015.  Five whole miles from our last place.  Perfect views of the mountains from the back yard; an older home with a great floorplan on an acre so the RV could be at home.  AND it was 3000sf, with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms!  You know...room for family to visit.  DID I learn nothing???  I'm a reasonably intelligent woman but stubborn.  But this was it.  The house we would spend the rest of our days in.  LJ liked it, too, so decision was made.

I could sit here all day...love the view

We do love our life and our home, but here it is....two full years later.  2017.  We certainly aren't getting any younger (I'm 62...the old guy is 68).  And we BOTH actually find ourselves missing the simplicity of trailer life.  So here we are with the decision of a lifetime.
Do we ...or don't we.....