Decluttering Your Stuff

How many do I really need?

I can’t hike in these!

I love the view!

With less than 2 years before I move into my RV full time, I decided to take the advice of so many fellow campers and start to declutter my life.

This is a lot harder than most people realize. Things can take on very special emotional meaning, especially as we get older. There are sentimental things, our children’s and grandchildren’s gifts and let’s not forget the family heirlooms.

I heard someone on You Tube say that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be a storage facility for someone else. I didn’t really understand what they meant until I started seriously downsizing. Just because you loved someone or something holds a special memory for you, doesn’t mean you must have that item taking up space, to keep the memory. The memory lives on long after the item.

Now, I am not suggesting you should get rid of everything. For myself this meant not keeping everything that had meaning. I’ll explain more in step three.

1. Make a plan - Decide what you want to focus on first. Pick one area, room or even drawer to start. Do not try to tackle various areas all at once. You will become overwhelmed and may give up. I speak from experience!

2. When tackling clothes, my rule of thumb is this. If I answer yes to all three questions, then I keep it. If no, to any of them the item has to go. Did I wear it more than once in the last year? Does it fit properly? Would I buy it again?

3. When it comes to keepsakes, I decided to pick one item that had belonged to the special people in my past. An example is, I kept my grandmother’s bible and a pocket knife of my grandfather’s. Some of the other items, I shared with family members.

4. With rooms like the kitchen or bathroom, I asked myself three slightly different questions. Do I use this item more than once a week? Does it have more than one use? If it broke, would I go out and buy a new one this week? I tried not to ponder on the answers. Just yes or it had to go!

I was feeling great at this point, until I turned around and saw the pile in front of me. I felt like it was mocking me! All of my hard work and now everything was staring back at me!

I had been telling myself for years, I would have a big yard sale if I ever decluttered my home. The truth is that if I hadn’t done it by now, I would just end up with this pile in another room waiting for that day. The best thing for me, was to donate everything.

Once the things were out of the house, I had such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment!

I’m glad I started early because this is going to be an ongoing process. Don’t be disappointed in yourself if you have to repeat the decluttering process several times. I’m finding it gets easier each time.

If you are planning on hitting the road someday, get started now. A little decluttering goes a long way.

Good Luck! Keep your eye on the prize! RV Life!

Make a plan. Take a deep breath!

Let’s do this and go camping!