Too much stuff - for a small space

"Oh, dear; I brought too much stuff."

Now there is nothing new about that statement; pretty much every time I go somewhere I do take too much stuff.

However...

There is nothing quite like living in a small space to make it obvious that you have too much stuff. Most of my life there has been lots of "bonus" space to stash extra stuff. Probably most Americans have that privilege; we can haul Christmas decor to the attic, stash seasonal clothing in a guest room closet, maybe store picnic and camping supplies in the basement or the garage and cram the excess food into the pantry.

In my former life, closets were relatively big and drawers were numerous. I even had a whole room designated for storage!!!

But it's different in an RV. Space is limited - with barely enough room for the essentials, let alone anything extra. There are few drawers and the closets are teeny tiny. There is no such thing as a coat closet in the entry or an unused closet in a guest room - because there is no guest room!

We do have a pantry in our rig (at least we call it that) but it's considerably smaller than the walk-in one we had under the stairs at the big house. There is no desk and there is no office - so our table doubles as our desk and my briefcase is our portable office.

...

Because there is such limited space, it becomes super-important to keep our possessions pared down to a bare minimum. Whenever we consider bringing something with us - or buying something new, we have to find a place for it. We might even measure to make sure it fits and we know that certainly it will displace something else that was already assigned to that spot. Therefore whenever we consider anything bigger than a loaf of bread, we have to weigh all the pros and cons (and ounces and pounds!) to decide if it is worth the space it will require. But somehow it's the little things (the ones smaller than a bread box) that sneak into the bags and boxes to be loaded into the rig - without having gone through that rigorous auditioning process.

Amazingly we did pretty well last year - for being our first time. Maybe beginner's luck. Maybe the hand of providence. Unfortunately I'm afraid I didn't do as well this year. I ask myself how this happened and why I brought too much stuff. Here's what I think contributed to the problem. First of all, we ran out of time because we were moving out of the cabin and getting all of our stuff from the extra sheds into our storage unit - and then we lost a week to sickness. Not taking the time to make deliberate decisions leads to sloppy packing. In the early days of the fall when I had the luxury of time, I had started the loading process and making sure the rig was stocked - with dishes and pans and utensils and all of that good stuff. But then as we were pushing to empty out the basement and the sheds, then more stuff got loaded into the righ - including "another one" of this - without us realizing that it wasn't needed - or remembering that we already had one.

Oh, well, an extra towel can't hurt, right? You can't have too many wooden spoons, right? Wrong. Only a certain number of bath towels fit on that small shelf in the closet - like two or three. Only a couple wooden spoons fit in the silverware drawer alongside those other necessary utensils.

Now don't get me wrong. This rolling home of our is amazing with all of its little nooks and crannies hidden away in every conceivable spot. The lay-out is awesome and I have to say that the designers of these rigs are to be commended. The medicine cabinet is the best one I've ever seen and yes, we take full advantage of every inch. That shelf behind the couch is a life-saver as is that one above the kitchen cabinets. And the vertical shelving by the fridge... Well, I wouldn't want to do without that. And the silverware drawer that wraps around the kitchen sink... Well, that funky drawer just makes me giggle.

So this rig is well-designed and perfectly suited for our needs, but not for many extras. Actually on this trip, there is even less storage space because I gave hubby the rights to pretty much the entire cargo hold - for his piano - because this is an important season in his musical life - so that means I don't have places to put bins of extra stuff into storage. *gulp* Consequently I need to run a tight ship which probably means that I should find a thrift store where I can donate some of this extra stuff.

But, in the meantime, I still have a laundry basket full of clothes to put away, but no place to put them. Yet.

...

As I already mentioned, this is not a new dilemma for me. Instead it is an old familiar pattern that tends to reveal itself in new exotic places. In other words it shows up pretty much wherever I live. I am so very glad that I have finally been learning to live with less.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

"A place for everything

and everything in its place."
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I remember that saying from when I was a kid and am more recently learning how important that is to my sanity and peace of mind - ESPECIALLY when living in a tiny place like this. Neatness and simplicity have such a calming and healing effect on me; therefore it is worth the cost of paring down my stuff still more.

...

Oh, and I just discovered that there will be a garage sale right here on the campground in a couple weeks - so maybe I can make some money on my "extra" stuff!!!