Full-Time RVing Mistakes: Bringing Too Much STUFF. Here’s What One RVer Has Pitched So Far…

Howdy! Are you stressing or debating whether or not you need to bring “X” with you to full-time RV?

That’s SO easy to answer.

If you are questioning it, you DON’T need it! Trust me. I have thrown out about HALF of what I originally launched with.

I can show you what I have pitched. I took photos of most of the stuff I have given away, but not all of it.

Therefore, You likely will only see 3/4 of what I didn’t need.

I really should have my rig weighed again to see how much lighter it is. It has to be.

Here’s what I have pitched:

#1. Almost everything in this photo!

This is the night I first stayed in the RV. I had to get everything in from the house since the renters would be moving in. What a mess! Where did it all go? Mostly under the bench seating its sitting on. MOST of what I can see in this photo is now gone. I still have the gray blanket, the white pillows, the little storage boxes, the Mac power cord, the fan, some of the towels, and just a few of the clothes. No kidding. All the rest you see, besides the stainless steel dog bowl, are gone. (The yellow bowl broke) Even the carpet is gone! I gave the old Ipad to a friend. (I have a new one) Why have two? The long thing I still have. It’s  the topper for the window. It’s back up, obviously. Anyhoo, I’m much freer feeling and a lot lighter!

#2. A FULL-SIZE vacuum cleaner? 🤣

This one cracks me up because of the vacuum cleaner. Still, I needed SOMETHING to vacuum that carpet I no longer have! AND the hanging clothes are funny to me now. I only boondock, so I am always on dirt roads and the inside gets DUSTY AS F***. I can’t hang clothes back there! The only things I still have from this photo are the suitcase, the white storage box, and the water jug. Possibly a few of the hanging clothes. (jackets) The bucket went back to my rental in Florida, the bird feeder to my dad and stepmom and the dog crate to Alaqua Animal Refuge. God knows what was in the green storage container. As well as the boxes behind the clothes that you can’t see. All gone. 

#3. My bike

I left the bike in Montana. I just didn’t use it enough to deal with it. For some people, they do have bikes and do use them. Not I. Only when I was moochdocking did I use it. On BLM roads? Nope. This wasn’t a mountain bike. Also- this was the last time I washed the outside of the RV. This was around June 2015. 😆

#4. Extra clothes and hangers.

This was my next little purge, January of 2016. There was more, for a group ‘swap’ where we all brought stuff out to a table that was up for grabs. A few items were taken up before I got a photo of them. Some cooking utensils, I remember. Books likely as well? EVERYONE brings too many clothes when they start. I hear it all the time. You JUST DON’T NEED that much. You wear the same things over and over again. Just keep those. Half of them. 

#5. This stuff.

This was in Mar. SO much stuff I didn’t need!I did this because I was in a campground (rare) and cleaned out the back of the dusty bed of the truck. Was getting really sick of maneuvering stuff around all of the time. I have tools. Good tools. I had duplicate tools, so some of what you see here are duplicates. 

#6. This stuff I had NO USE FOR whatsoever.

Nope. Totally don’t need. I didn’t know that when I launched. I do have batteries in the rig. But these can’t help me, really. Not enough to tote around all of the time. The tool I would have kept, but it wasn’t heavy duty enough to really do much of anything. Around March or April of 2016.

#7. Things I hardly touched

MORE SHIT. Dumped this stuff back in mmmm, maybe October ’16? One does not need to keep every single thing on hand they have ever purchased in their life. If I need some Sea Foam, I can go get some. This Sea Foam is probably ten years old and no good anyway! I kept the Dyson after a fellow RVer told me about the battery getting loose and how to fix it. It SEEMS to work better now. At one point, I had THREE VACUUM CLEANERS. Three. OMG. I also had three chairs. Now I only have two. Just in case someone visits that doesn’t have a chair. Fair enough.

#8. Things that got harder to let go.

Each purge gets a little harder. It’s easier at first when you have so much crap, you’re letting go of stuff that has no meaning at all, like Sea Foam. Now, I am down to purging clothes that I do actually like but never wear anymore or are like 10 years old. They end up at the bottom of the pile since they are never worn. And Beary- I thought would be my mascot, but I never put him out at campsites. It rains and all, so….trying to remember to bring him in? Puh-lease. Not this girl! Some kid will enjoy him more than I do. At least I rescued him from the desert. December ’16.

#9. BIG purge- stuff that I COULD use one day, but haven’t, so See Ya!

And finally, this big purge. I could finally let go of shoes (heels) I really NEVER get to wear, I never carry a purse, RIDING BOOTS- haven’t used them even once, shoes that don’t fit, extra dog coats, extra doggie bags and doggie bag holders, sheets I don’t use anymore, glasses and a jacket I have like TWO of already. They were almost identical. It’s all gone. (I still have the pillows in the background) 

My cabinets and drawers have room in them now. Under my booth seats, it’s getting close to being empty. My TRUCK bed only has a gas tank, propane tanks, snow chains, my camping chairs, a jack, my portable generator and just a few other things.

There’s ROOM in there. Plenty of it. I want to eventually get a shorter rig, and that’s what I am moving towards. The lighter the load, the smaller of a rig I can fit into. The less gas I use. The less I have to worry about the weight of my rig. The more water I can carry to a site because I don’t have to worry about my total weight.

Besides all of that, it FEELS good. I know how to find things much faster and easier.

I know because they are not buried among other stuff I don’t need. I still have a ways to go.

It is NOT an easy process, nor can most do it overnight. I have been doing it since I started selling and giving away all the STUFF from my house to get it in rental condition.

That started in October of 2014. I just went back there in October of 16 and got rid of even more.

I left it a little furnished in case I wanted to come back. I sold:

1. A queen bed with side tables
2. 2 dressers and lamps.
3. Three bookcases.
4. My paddleboat. (Well, I think the lady just took it actually. We’ll see if I get a check in the mail. Haven’t so far)
5. Curtains
6. My TV

I also got rid of this extra stuff from my shed:

It’s not like I have been collecting as I go. I RARELY buy anything these days. Food, propane and gas are mostly what I buy.

Well, that’s about it. I still have makeup, books and maybe a few more shoes and clothes that I can get rid of. For now, they don’t take up much room and don’t weigh much so I am not in any rush.

It’s a process. But it’s a freeing feeling!

Happy New Year, Y’all!