The Road to a Less Cluttered RV Lifestyle

Downsizing from a life full of stuff can be so liberating. But just because you live fulltime in an RV does not mean that you won’t find yourself falling back into old habits and filling that RV with camping gear or other things. A less cluttered RV will leave you room for the things you really need and when space is at a premium- that’s important!
When you have a system for deciding what to bring into the RV it will help keep you from collecting items that you will use only once – or never at all.

Related Read: Downsizing

These are my tips for buying smart.

First, ask yourself these questions:

• Is it practical?

• Is it sensible?

• Is it durable?

• Is it actually useful?

• Can it serve more than one purpose?

• Is it easy to store?

• Can I find the same thing that takes up less space, has more uses, costs less, etc.?

When I see something that I want, especially if it is on the expensive side, I give myself 24 hours. This means I walk away from it, go home, put some distance between myself and the item. If in 24 hours I still want it, I go ahead and buy it. However, you would be surprised at how many things I no longer want after 24 hours.

I am a huge list maker. I make lists of the things that I need or would like to have, such as a sauté pan or bookends. I keep this list on my phone so that it is with me all the time. Then when I am out and see a good sale or some cool item, I check to see if it is on my list. If it isn’t then I do the 24-hour thing. If it is on my list then I evaluate the price and other attributes to determine whether or not it will fit well in our home.

RVs are small and it doesn’t take much for our stuff to take over. If you are an impulse buyer you can get into trouble pretty quickly. The next time you feel compelled to buy something on impulse, take a step back and evaluate your motives. Do you really need it? Or is it just another cool, shiny thing that will take up space?