Who put all this stuff in our motorhome?

Unbelievable! I'd like to know who put all this stuff in the motorhome? Living in a small space like a motorhome, say 400 square feet, brings space management to a new level. We wanted everything to have a place so we wouldn't have to move it to sit down, go to bed, or walk around comfortably. And we did a good job of that. You learn to live with less stuff, or at least you learn to prioritize what is important to have with you. And we have the ability to carry a lot of stuff in our moho. Almost 5000 pounds of Cargo Carry Capacity or CCC. But still, where did all this stuff come from? We were only on the road 10 months!

Yes, it's amazing the amount of stuff we removed from the motorhome when we arrived back at our house! We filled the house refrig, freezer and pantry and we have an overflowing linen closet. Rick and I agreed long ago we wouldn't move because we don't like to pack and unpack. This sure felt like we moved and it makes us want to downsize even more than ever. It's made me think about having 2 of everything, one for the moho and one for the stick house, but that's not practical. Well, truthfully (don't tell Rick), I have started to accumulate separate items for the moho and the house. After all, the color schemes are totally different. The rugs, bedding and linens are different and don't cross over well. We have a new set of pots and pans for the house so I didn't have to unload them. And now that I think about it, the convection/microwave oven has it's own set of cookware. I guess I could have carried in a couple more boxes. Thankfully not.

We've started thinking about the unnecessary items we hauled around that we never needed. For one thing, we took way too many clothes! We are "jeans, shorts, and t-shirts" people and we're happy to say that's what we wore most of the time. What was I thinking when I packed all those clothes? Really, we did it together, wasn't just me. We did plan to weed out the old clothes that should be given to Goodwill and I'm pleased to say we have a box of Goodwill items being filled right now.

We don't like to run out of something (soap, TP, Kleenix, mustard, salad dressing, tuna, rice) so we tend to have 3 or 4 on hand. We're trying to change our thinking on this because guess what? We've found that even while living in an RV, you are never far from a store. Part of our buying is also for survival planning. We like to think we are prepared for emergencies and could get along with what we have on hand.

When we retired, actually before we retired, we started to downsize. Or we thought we were. We liked to think we were getting rid of all the chatzkies and doo-da's, you know, the clutter. Moving back into the house and seeing what is there makes us reconsider our possessions once again. How many pillows are required to be comfortable? (one good one!) How many pairs of tennis shoes does one need? (lots of water sandals!) How many books do we need to keep on our bookshelves when we have a fully stocked library within walking distance? (reminder to read more!) How much yarn do I need? (finish the projects!) So, once again we are motivated to downsize and keep what is really important to us. That's not to say our house will be sterile with nothing on the walls or shelves. But when we get ready to load the motorhome in 5 months we will remember the unloading.