It's been a year

October 25, 2013, we packed everything we owned into this truck & trailer and hit the road.

Frequently asked questions:

Any regrets about selling your home?

     NO! We had lived in our 5th wheel for several months at a time over a period of a couple of years. We had everything we needed with us and whenever we came back home we were overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we had acquired that we were living happily without.

Did you get rid of everything?

     Almost. We have a small storage unit which I intend to empty by Christmas.

Was it easy?

     NO, but it was do-able. I didn't want my kids to have to do it for me. Nobody has that kind of time or energy.

How did you do it?

     One item at a time. I went on-line where you can find anything, typed in "how to downsize into an rv" and got all kinds of help. I have found (voice of experience here) that I do not need to recreate the wheel; I'm not Captain Kirk - somebody has gone there, done that before me and I get to profit from their experience. There are four basic areas to consider: (1) Clothes and Shoes, (2) Kitchen and Household Items. (3) Files, Papers and Office Items and (4) Tools and Garage Items.

What was your first step?

     We bought a bigger trailer - 35' Jayco with lots of storage space. (The way Dick told it, I got a bad case of "trailer envy" when I saw the 5th wheel Joe and Ruby Orick were living in. It had three slides which made the interior like a reasonably sized apartment.) 

     We moved everything out of the old trailer and into the house and then only put into the new trailer what we wanted to keep forever. I thought I was ruthless until I ran into the couple who downsized to a camper! That's harsh.

What challenges have you faced?

• The hardest part of downsizing was family memorabilia and tools.
• Insurance companies don't like to insure people who randomly move about the country.
• The US Post Office doesn't care for that either so getting the mail was tricky.
• We did feel an increasing desire to have a "home base" with a street address so were intending to look around in Clackamas County for that when we returned "home" in July.
• Traveling without mod-cons (modern conveniences) can be a challenge: cell phone connections can be spotty, wi-fi weird, no dishwasher, laundromats

What about family and friends?
     Let me just say that my covenant relationship was with my husband. (Wither thou goest, etc.) We didn't have all the answers. We didn't even know all the questions. Any decision has challenges.

The bottom line: Any regrets?

     NO. It was a great year. I'm moving ahead in a way I never thought possible but I do not intend to be bogged down in the Slough of Despond. I'm living life in time until I'm reunited with my sweetheart in eternity.