We're in the middle of our big moving out sale this weekend. And it's pouring rain and cold!!! Go figure. It's funny to see what sells fast and what doesn't sell... 2 weeks ago I had out tons of ladies clothes and didn't sell a stitch. Took them all to Goodwill and consignment. Today ladies looking for women's clothes are here. Just can't time it right.
Last night I had a minor meltdown about selling my teacup collection. I'm perfectly willing to part with it so long as we are traveling in the RV. But if we end up back in a stix and brix somewhere I'm afraid I'll regret selling all those items collected over years. Since I never had kids, there's no one to pass them to.
So after my little meltdown I'm staying positive and figuring that so long as the RV feels like home to Kevin we will be happy there. Ultimately we will probably buy a spot somewhere to have as our home base, but I'm envisioning more of a guest house on the property and still living in the RV. So we're keeping the good furniture for a 2 bedroom house and will go from there.
Wish us luck as everything else has to go this weekend!
-- Edited by Ckerr on Friday 9th of March 2012 12:04:41 PM
MaryBee said
04:15 PM Mar 9, 2012
We are getting into the nitty-gritty of selling stuff. Went thru all our old papers last night to clean out and decide what I want to put in our small Firesafe for in the camper.
My gosh...I cannot believe I kept almost every birthday card, and anniversary card I ever got! It felt weird throwing them away...just weird!
Going thru what I saved as "important" items like all my son's report cards, all his band medals,pins (he is 30) yadda..yadda... I was feeling sad and getting teary eyed, especially when I handed what I had saved all these years over to him. They are his now....do what you want with them.
Oh how I wish I could leave the "tears" out of the equation, but I am such a putz and get emotional over things easy anyway.
So...my original question....does your camper "ever" really feel like home? As I look around my home...and start to take down our photos....it makes me wonder.
Everytime I go out to our fifth wheel to put our stuff away in our "new home" I get a sense of excitement, but right now it still just feels like a camper...and I don't think I have quite exactly come to terms with the fact it will soon be our "new home".
Just feelin' sad...excited and overwhelmed today....thanks for listening.
Neil and Connie said
04:29 PM Mar 9, 2012
MaryBee wrote:Oh how I wish I could leave the "tears" out of the equation, but I am such a putz and get emotional over things easy anyway.
So...my original question....does your camper "ever" really feel like home?
We have discovered that I am a lot more ruthless in getting rid of stuff than Connie is…we're going through the process now. RV gets delivered in June (New Horizons) and the house goes on the market end of April. We are keeping some of our small art work and will find places in the rig to hang it; the expensive ones are either getting stored on my sister's wall or in a storage unit along with a few pieces of furniture (my wife's mother's kitchen table for instance); and everything else is going. We are getting rid of a little bit on craigslist but have found that the prices received and the number of buyers compared to the number of things posted is pretty small. So…we'll keep craigslisting until we start to run out of time and then donate everything left. Have found a couple of places (Am Vets, Purple Heart, and Salvation Army) that will come and take just about everything and we'll make more in tax writeoffs than we would have gotten on craigslist anyway…we're keeping receipts with detailed spreadsheets of what was in the donation and using a mix of craigslist and ebay to value items.
I think it will feel like home right away…but that's probably mostly a guy thing…women are a lot more emotional about keeping stuff on the average although I do know a few cases that are the other way around. Best approach is to just roll with it if you're comfortable with your decision.
Racerguy said
05:22 PM Mar 9, 2012
MaryBee wrote:
So...my original question....does your camper "ever" really feel like home?
Yes.
igotjam said
05:33 PM Mar 9, 2012
Short answer is YES. In our case almost from day one. You will catch yourself saying stuff like "I'll meet you at home." or "let's go home now." referring to your rv. It won't take long.
Howard said
05:52 PM Mar 9, 2012
Absolutely!!
Many of us do several different things to make our RVs feel like a home. You'll figure that out as you go along.
For those that never make that transition, most don't stay on the road.
But, what you are going through now is quite normal. It's early in the process for you and it's a big step. We do a whole seminar on the emotional rollercoaster many of us experience during the planning, transition, and beyond.
Embrace what you are feeling now. But, if RV living is really in your heart, you will eventually transition and your RV will feel like a home.
Jack Mayer said
06:06 PM Mar 9, 2012
I'll reiterate what Howard said. Your RV WILL feel like home after awhile. If it never does, you will likely leave the road. Ours felt like home after a very short time.
Know that everyone goes through the emotions that you are - some more than others. It is part of the process of "getting on the road". As Howard said - embrace it now, then move on. If you can not move on, you will find life on the road "impossible". JMO.
FOSJ said
06:20 PM Mar 9, 2012
It only took Joan and I a week before it felt like home. We had to put the MH in the shop for a roof leak discovered during a record rainfall the first weekend we were out. We had to move back to our old place for a week, on the lake with the beautiful sunrises and wildlife, only to start yearning to be at home in the MH.
MaryBee said
06:36 PM Mar 9, 2012
Thanks everyone..... you have set my mind at ease.
Once we get thru this stage, I am sure things will go much easier.
Part of my problem I think is that we have not had a chance to "camp" in our new trailer to get a good feel for it.
The weather here in Michigan is supposed to be very nice this week so we are going to pack some things up in the trailer and go out boondocking for a few days to see how things go.
I am going to work today at putting some "homey" items in our rig to make it feel a bit more like "home".
Terry and Jo said
06:56 PM Mar 9, 2012
I'll chime in and agree with the rest. In our case, getting rid of my mother's paintings (she was a self taught artist who ended up teaching painting) was the hardest thing for me to do. At one time, we had 65 of her paintings throughout the stix 'n' brix.
Jo kept all the smaller paintings and those are now on the walls of our Mobile Suites. It became home even before we closed on the house. We moved out early so the buyers could move in a week early, and we never looked back.
If you were to look at the folder entitled "Our New Home" on our Photobucket account, you could see some of those paintings. (Oh, we also changed some of the furniture. The stock RV furniture was not good furniture.)
I would also like to add that attitude is very important. As Jack said, it you can't make it "home," you'll likely leave the lifestyle sooner, rather than later.
Terry
Terry and Jo said
10:12 PM Mar 9, 2012
Carol,
Just as a thought for you. If you have the opportunity to "sell it all," do so and that way you will avoid the expense of paying for storage. Some have commented that they initially stored their furniture. They then found that their storage cost more than what it would have cost them to buy new furniture.
Good luck with the downsizing. In our case, it almost became a challenge for me to get rid of more stuff.
Terry
Racerguy said
10:19 PM Mar 9, 2012
Terry makes a valid point.We stored some "have to keep just in case" items but after 6months figured it would be less expensive to replace the items than to keep storing it.After having to come off the road and move back to a stix and brix we have figured we are still ahead of the game expense wise.
Ckerr said
10:47 PM Mar 9, 2012
Points well taken guys. We've gone back and forth about storing things. We've come to the conclusion that the pieces we are keeping are either very high quality pieces that would not be in our future budget to replace or family heirloom pieces (great-grandpa's rolltop desk) that it's just not possible to place with another family member at this time.
So for now we'll keep a 10x10 climate controlled storage space. We could conceivably pay rent on the storage space for 10+ years and still not come close to today's replacement cost of the pieces we are storing.
I know that Kevin would like us to have a home base established in that time, so we'll move things there when that happens. Of course it helps to have a couple of OTR truckers in the family to help with that when the time comes... lol
MaryBee said
10:50 PM Mar 9, 2012
Ckerr wrote:
Last night I had a minor meltdown about selling my teacup collection. I'm perfectly willing to part with it so long as we are traveling in the RV. But if we end up back in a stix and brix somewhere I'm afraid I'll regret selling all those items collected over years. Since I never had kids, there's no one to pass them to.
Awww, here....I am sending a *Big Hug* your way!
I know how you feel, and I certainly appreciate everyone's comments.
I will make it like home, already have one of my new recliners out in the (new house) that is nice. Tomorrow it is gonna warm up and then I will get out there and dive in.
Once I get my dishes, towels, TV and my "stuff", it will all be good I am sure.
It's all good, going thru my Jewelry right now and figuring out who will get what and giving it to everyone tomorrow as we are having a small Bday party here for my sister.
I actually don't think our family has come to terms with that fact we are actually doing this...but tomorrow as I am sending them home with some of my stuff I think they will realize we are dead serious!
Technomadia said
11:55 PM Mar 9, 2012
I had some emotional reactions to parting with stuff. For me, it was going through old business records that brought up memories from childhood (family business). I made myself time to go through it, and in the end - very worthwhile.
Having a party to give your stuff away is an excellent way to pass on treasured items. We called ours 'House Cooling' Parties - instead of bringing a gift for a house warming, people who attended had to take stuff with them. Now when we visit our friends, we get to see our old stuff treasured in their homes.
As far as your RV feeling like home. For me, I noticed it took a couple months to make the transition. The first several weeks felt more like an extended vacation that would soon come to an end. Once it really set in that this new awesome life of travel was permanent... I embraced it as home.
- Cherie
'Home is not a place. It's whereever your passion takes you' - Sheridan, Babylon 5
RVPAINTER said
12:21 AM Mar 10, 2012
CKERR - we rented an 8 x 8 climate controlled storge unit - we have an extensive collection of very costly antiques - a lot of them are 1 of a kind - the antique market today like the economy is down the tubes. People will not pay the true value besides which antiques are not selling these day - so we decided to hold onto our valuables until the antique market improves or..........
There are some things that make no sense to just "DISCARD!"
Full time RV-ing is a life style not the end of a life.
2riker2go said
02:17 AM Mar 10, 2012
We went down to TN last year to pick up our camper, and by our third day in it, on the way back to New York, it already felt like home to us. Right now, we are in the home stretch of getting the house cleaned out. We are planning to move into our fiver in the driveway while our house is for sale - and we can't wait!!
SueMac said
04:34 AM Mar 10, 2012
As others have said, it will feel like home, especially when you get some personal touches into it. We have a place for a few photos that I'll hang when we get in there. And hubby will have his small church organ along and I'll have my computer and camera. We call our RV our "Home on Wheels". Tonight I put a few silk flower arrangements in the coach. I use the clear "Quakehold" on the bottoms of the vases and they won't move at all. Another personal touch.
The first time we full timed we got rid of a lot of stuff except for the few antiques and stuff we just couldn't part with. When we got this house we really had to start over. So this time we are still getting rid of some stuff, but keeping other stuff so we don't have to start over. Each person has to do what is right for them.
The first time it is hard to part with stuff and clean it out. The 2nd time, it is much easier....LOL
DorisandDave said
07:38 AM Mar 10, 2012
The first couple of months we lived in our 5er at least once a day one of us would look at the other and proclaim "I can't believe this is our home" with a huge smile on our faces!!
laurly said
05:15 PM Mar 10, 2012
We are cresting our 6th month living in our 5th wheel. I went through all kinds of emotions as we were getting rid of 'things'. I took pictures with my camera of sentimental things that I knew we couldn't keep, and I can 'look' at them digitally. When I realized I had things that I didn't realize I'd even looked at in years it made that easier. Then the flood came. Took everything and the decisions all away. Once and done. I find I don't miss it at all. However, I do get a little emotional knowing all that was lost...baby books, scrapbooks, etc. It goes away quickly.
By the way, it does feel like home
SueMac said
05:23 PM Mar 10, 2012
How awful to loose everything in a flood! We have been fortunate not to have to deal with that.
I scanned in old special cards from my parents and some hubby has given me through out the years including the ones he gave me on our wedding day. Also took all the old photos and scanned them in, restoring the ones that needed some help. Now I have all of them on the computer and backed up in various places. Took the actual photos and boxed them up and they'll go into storage. Not having to deal with photo albums sure saves space.
MaryBee said
05:41 PM Mar 10, 2012
SueMac wrote:
How awful to loose everything in a flood! We have been fortunate not to have to deal with that.
I scanned in old special cards from my parents and some hubby has given me through out the years including the ones he gave me on our wedding day. Also took all the old photos and scanned them in, restoring the ones that needed some help. Now I have all of them on the computer and backed up in various places. Took the actual photos and boxed them up and they'll go into storage. Not having to deal with photo albums sure saves space.
Photos...don't know what I am gonna do yet. I feel like if I scan them I probably won't look at them anymore then I do with the pics already on my computer and cell phone. LOL I am giving all my hard copies of my photos to my sister for safekeeping.
janieD said
03:52 AM Mar 11, 2012
There are services that will digitize photos and the price isn't exorbitant for it. That's what I did and it makes me happy that I have that digital copy.
SueMac said
04:03 AM Mar 11, 2012
Just make sure you have a digitized copy backed up somewhere. When it comes to computers things are known to fail. Since my hobby is photography and restoring old photos, I did my own, but the services are sure a help if you need it.
Happy and safe travels.
Hinkle Hut RV said
05:45 AM Mar 11, 2012
Mary--
No worries... it will feel like HOME!!! :) I too got a little sentimental when going thru all our "stuff" before the big "yard sale" we had before we packed up and moved into the RV. I just kept telling myself "it's just stuff"... and when I had things I rarely used I thought if I could sell them and/or give them away to someone else who could get some use out of them that made all the difference for me.
Also, saving all your favorite pics to a digital pic frame adds a nice touch to be able to see all your fav pics while in the RV!
And you can't forget that the "fur babys" will make anywhere seem like home... :) (we have two Shih Tzu's as well!)
Good Luck!
Nadene
Waggin Tails said
12:16 PM Mar 11, 2012
Mary, It feels like home when you live in it. When we were parked in front of our house while moving things into the RV, we decided it would be better to actually sleep in the RV. The reality of our RV feeling like home came one day when we were working in the house and decided to fix something to eat. Our toaster-oven was in the RV. I wrote about that on our blog here. http://www.waggintailsrv.com/2011/10/hard-dayweekend.html
Ovctober 7, 2011 was the toughest day in the transition.
SueMac said
01:51 PM Mar 11, 2012
Great blog and wonderful wood work! Things your family can treasure for ever.
Ha...fur babies. Our traveling cat is so worried he'll be left behind (he REALLY doesn't need to worry....LOL) that every chance he gets, he's out of the house door and out to the RV. Yesterday we were packing and thot' he was in the house. He had gotten into the mud room and was up on top of the cabinets (a favorite place to sleep). I left the door from the mud room to the garage open and the big garage door was open too, as well as the door to the RV. We weren't in there but a few seconds and here came Max. He made himself at home on the buffet in front of a window. Then he spied me putting a few books into a cabinet. "Open door-insert cat". He had to get on my shoulders and into the cabinet. Then to the bed to roll and make it his. The other cat isn't so fond of traveling but Max loves it. We'll get more sorted this week and will try to get it out for a few days to test all the systems. Then it will be hard to go back to the house. We have family coming the end of the month so we can't take off yet. (darn). After all the Easter music, we won't be so tied down.
MaryBee said
02:03 PM Mar 11, 2012
Hinklehutrv wrote:
Also, saving all your favorite pics to a digital pic frame adds a nice touch to be able to see all your fav pics while in the RV!
And you can't forget that the "fur babys" will make anywhere seem like home... :) (we have two Shih Tzu's as well!)
Yes! I have a digital pic frame and I was thinking of using it! Good idea. (Now you no what I will be working on!) Filling all my thumb drives with photos so I can use them in my digital frame!
and you are so right...my little "babies" Minnie and Maggie do make it feel like home. I cannot imagine my home without them! Don't you just love Shih Tzu's?
rvingft said
08:45 PM Mar 11, 2012
Yes, the RV will feel like home.
In addition to the digital frame, once you have acquired a couple mementos from your wonderful RV travels you will be reminded of just HOW nice it is to be able to experience those moments.
The fur-kids will bring another sense of, ahhh.... Life is GOOD! to your space.
And then, just wait until you are able to meet good RVing friends at a rally and RE-unite with them on the road somewhere else to create even more fuzzy feelings.
As you go you will grow ... and realize that RVing full-time is a GREAT life. Its not the "stuff" that this life is made of, it's the "moments" that being mobile allow us to experience.
Enjoy the process :D
Dreamers said
11:42 PM Mar 11, 2012
Oh yes, it will feel like home. In fact so much that you won't be able to imagine living in that S & B with all the upkeep and lawn work. We spend 4 days in ours shortly after we bought it to find the kinks, etc and make sure everything was working properly. We then went back to our house and after one week we decided to move to the RV while cleaning out and dealing with the house. The RV just felt like home immediately so never had any problems leaving the house. We do have a 5 X 10 climate controlled storage room for our pictures, scrapbooks and a few family antiques. We gave the kids all they wanted and a lot they didn't want plus many sales. Don't miss the stuff. It's such a feeling of freedom and we love it.
We've actually been on the road one year this coming March 21st so this week we bought ourselves a first anniversary gift - a beautiful southwest motiff wool rug (4 X 6) to go on our living room floor. Looks beautiful! Who says you can't personalize these assembly line rigs.
Just think of the positive side of things and good luck.
Judy (& Bob)
MaryBee said
12:55 AM Mar 12, 2012
I worked all day today moving stuff in and arrainging things in a fashion I feel comfy with.
Still trying to decide how I want my craft space, but all in all it went well today and things are starting to feel much better now that I have a few things in my cupboards and stuff.
I worked all day and did not come close to even filling all my cupboards and closets. I am amazed at how much cupboard space I really have. :)
I was going to try and hang a few pictures today but what do you all hang your pictures with? I did not want to put holes in my nice walls. Then, do you take down your pictures when you are travelling???
This week I am going to work on my pictures for my digital frame, although I have TONS to get scanned!!
Bill Adams said
02:29 AM Mar 12, 2012
VELCRO!!!! Also Command Strips. We have no holes but we have many things mounted. I have not chimed in here but I must tell you that I am more at home in my RV than I ever was in my house! This is a great place and I have been happily living in an RV since 1997.
Racerguy said
05:04 AM Mar 12, 2012
Make sure you get the industrial strength velcro.
dream reachers said
06:09 AM Mar 12, 2012
We have a digital frame that once was filled with pictures of our old life and is now filled with the beautiful places we have visited. There is a whole big wonderful world to explore just in North America. You will soon see how small your old world was. We love our traveling home and have no plans at this time to settle down. Home sweet home whereever it is parked.
53 Merc said
02:09 PM Mar 12, 2012
OK, I just can't help myself. I have refrained from posting on this subject, but I feel it is time to define "home" as I see it. What is home anyway? My definition is where my loved one(s) is(are). I can be and am happy when I am near them. As I was growing up, I was "trailer trash" as dad was a driller. He moved the very first drilling rig into Farmington, NM. We moved often and I never felt deprived of "home". As a for instance, I attended 5 different schools during my freshman year. One of those schools I was at twice. I am positive my circle fo friends was broadened and enriched by the ability to make acquaintances easily. Some of them, I am still in contact with after all those years. IMHO, if you are warm and comfortable and your spouse or significant other is near, warm and comfortable, you are home. An old adage says, home is where the heart, and it rings true.
MaryBee said
02:16 PM Mar 12, 2012
53 Merc wrote:
OK, I just can't help myself. I have refrained from posting on this subject, but I feel it is time to define "home" as I see it. What is home anyway? My definition is where my loved one(s) is(are). I can be and am happy when I am near them. As I was growing up, I was "trailer trash" as dad was a driller. He moved the very first drilling rig into Farmington, NM. We moved often and I never felt deprived of "home". As a for instance, I attended 5 different schools during my freshman year. One of those schools I was at twice. I am positive my circle fo friends was broadened and enriched by the ability to make acquaintances easily. Some of them, I am still in contact with after all those years. IMHO, if you are warm and comfortable and your spouse or significant other is near, warm and comfortable, you are home. An old adage says, home is where the heart, and it rings true.
YOU are RIGHT!
Hinkle Hut RV said
12:25 AM Mar 13, 2012
We use the command strips to hang stuff in our RV as well. I have a few pics but I have just "set" them up on the shelf and take them down when we travel. I didn't want to put holes or mount anything on the walls just yet. I have a couple of med size totes I take everything off the counter and shelves and put in the totes when we travel. The totes fit nicely inside when slides are in so it works well. They also work well in underneath storage holding various items while we are parked as well.
Kitchen decor, baskets, rugs/mats, and bath rugs really help make it more like "home" as well... :) I also brought one of my SCENTSY warmers with us in the RV and I am so glad I did... :)
And yes... SHIH TZU'S ROCK!!!
SueMac said
02:51 AM Mar 13, 2012
We spent the day working on the coach. Loaded a lot of food and bathroom stuff (except last minute stuff). It is feeling more like home all the time. Also took a load to the 2nd hand store and a lot of stuff we are saving to the storage place. Tomorrow we have errands to run and a dr. appt. Then we'll do refer and freezer stuff.
We are going to take off for a week for a shake down cruise. Only so much we can do at home without FHU's. The park is south of town, since we have to be at church Wed. p.m. for bell and choir practice and the bells are playing this Sunday. So can't go far, but we can get out in the rig. Then we'll bring it back home until the middle of April. We have to be in church for Palm Sunday and Easter. Then Bob will fly down to see his 98 y.o. dad and stay a week. That will give me the week to get the last minute stuff in the rig as well as box up what we are going to keep. When he gets home we'll get help moving the furniture into storage, and giving away some of it too. Then we'll be in the rig full time!
Neil and Connie said
03:42 AM Mar 13, 2012
Bill Adams wrote:
Also Command Strips. We have no holes but we have many things mounted.
I was wondering how those held up to keep things on the wall. Do you find yourself having to periodically replace them as they age and the stickum stops working?
Neil and Connie said
03:47 AM Mar 13, 2012
MaryBee wrote:
I worked all day and did not come close to even filling all my cupboards and closets. I am amazed at how much cupboard space I really have. :)
That bodes well for Connie and I…we're trying to sort out what to keep and what to take as well. I think we're over-keeping stuff because I'm concerned about storage space. She thinks we're under-keeping and will have space left over. After several 'debates' about this we decided to wait until the 5ver is in the driveway and then somebody will get to say I told you so
RVPAINTER said
09:36 AM Mar 13, 2012
Look for the follow 3m product - very, very strong for holding pictures to the wall. Just check surface suggestions as if the wrong surface - some of the surface can come off when removing - they hold very very wel.
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Tuesday 13th of March 2012 10:26:08 AM
Terry and Jo said
05:39 PM Mar 13, 2012
When Jo hung my mother's paintings in our fiver, she used the Command Strips. Being that a number of them are in frames, she used the larger ones and put four on each with the frames. Some smaller ones or without frames don't need so many strips since they are lighter.
From what we have seen, the Command Strips work pretty good. However, other than some used at work, we can't speak too much toward the longevity of their usage.
I will state that if you do decide to remove the strips from the walls, be absolutely certain to remove them in the proper way or you will damage the wall finish.
We've not towed the fiver that many miles, but so far none have fallen from the walls. Here is one stuck on the wall of the bathroom that has a fairly heavy frame with it. It is roughly an 8" x 10" painting.
We've not towed the fiver that many miles, but so far none have fallen from the walls. Here is one stuck on the wall of the bathroom that has a fairly heavy frame with it. It is roughly an 8" x 10" painting.
Looks like they're good stuff then; I'll pick some up as well as the 3M Dual Lock for mounting things semi-permanently.
MaryBee said
01:20 AM Mar 14, 2012
Well, we have our "maiden voyage" for a week and we are leaving tomorrow. Only going about 30 miles fromt he S&B but we are looking forward to our getaway.
I bought some of the Industrial 3M Velcro today. I haven't hung pictues yet cuz I am not sure if I really want to put them on my walls, but I did use a piece on the bottom of my Clorox Toilet Wand Brush in the bathroom and it seems to work really and stick well to our tile...haven't been down the road yet with it but hopefully it will still be in the same place when we get to our destination tomorrow!
SK and Hutch said
02:31 AM Mar 14, 2012
We have hung several framed pictures using Command Strips. The largest is 18x24 and has glass. We have travels about 5000 miles with the 5'er over the last year and it is still firmly attached. Can't answer about possible wall damage yet.
On the question of feeling like home. We moved in and never looked back. It was home day one.
SueMac said
02:38 AM Mar 14, 2012
To Ken & Mary,
We're doing the same thing tomorrow. Going about 30 miles from home also for a week to test out all the systems. When home we only hook up to 50 amp. With FHU's we'll test out the washer and dryer and other systems. Should be fun. Then back home for awhile, probably towards the middle or end of April, then we'll be able to get out again.
MaryBee said
09:55 AM Mar 14, 2012
SueMac wrote:
To Ken & Mary,
We're doing the same thing tomorrow. Going about 30 miles from home also for a week to test out all the systems. When home we only hook up to 50 amp. With FHU's we'll test out the washer and dryer and other systems. Should be fun. Then back home for awhile, probably towards the middle or end of April, then we'll be able to get out again.
Well SueMac.... hope you guys have fun!
It is about 5:00am and I am so excited to get on the road today!
Amazingly...here in Michigan the next week will be in the 70's and 80's!! The warmest March I can ever remember!!
SueMac said
02:24 PM Mar 14, 2012
We've had the warmest winter in eons! It was almost 80 on Monday, and 75 yesterday. Will be warm for the next few days, but maybe rain by the weekend. We're holding our breath for the spring blizzards. We need the moisture, but I'd love to pass on the snow drifts and ice. Lots of spring calfs coming early too so we're hoping the blizzards don't get them.
Have a great trip! And we'll wait for your report on how the rig goes. Same here...I'll report on our new one too.
granny said
02:55 AM Mar 15, 2012
Yes, yes and yes. It does feel like home. We sold our home in October and have been living fulltime in our 38ft 5er ever since. It is amazing to me how much it feels like home. I like you saved everything but after a life time of all that STUFF I was feeling ready to rid myself of so much. Our 4 children are grown so they have taken their stuff. I admit that my two sons, the youngest still have a couple of tubs in our storage unit. I managed to have my daughters take as much furniture as they could , we sold a ton, donated a ton and then put the rest in a 10x20 storage unit. The plan is to downsize that within the year. I also had my Mom's stuff to go through. She lived with us for 5 years before she passed away at 93. I cried and cried as I went through stuff but I knew that when I was done it would be a relief and I can tell you that it is.
It feels so good to be rid of so much stuff. Now we are free!! I kept a few small things to hang on the wall in the 5er. I change out pictures of the 7 grandkids in small frames and we have a digital frame as well that constantly shows pics.
I know how hard it is right now for you but it will get better. Your trailer will feel like home cause remember Home is where your hear is..........
MaryBee said
11:10 AM Mar 15, 2012
Thanks Granny, good to know.
We made it thru the first night of our "maiden voyage" and it was wonderful!
The trip north went well, our fiver pulled like a dream I hardly knew it was even back there!
So far so good...sat last night watching movies with our Shih Tzus snuggled in and it really did feel like home. Our dogs really seem to feel cozy too!
My only complaint is that internet service here in the deep woods is less then stellar and I really do need to find a good cell booster! That will be on my list before my next trip for sure!
We're in the middle of our big moving out sale this weekend. And it's pouring rain and cold!!! Go figure. It's funny to see what sells fast and what doesn't sell... 2 weeks ago I had out tons of ladies clothes and didn't sell a stitch. Took them all to Goodwill and consignment. Today ladies looking for women's clothes are here. Just can't time it right.
Last night I had a minor meltdown about selling my teacup collection. I'm perfectly willing to part with it so long as we are traveling in the RV. But if we end up back in a stix and brix somewhere I'm afraid I'll regret selling all those items collected over years. Since I never had kids, there's no one to pass them to.
So after my little meltdown I'm staying positive and figuring that so long as the RV feels like home to Kevin we will be happy there. Ultimately we will probably buy a spot somewhere to have as our home base, but I'm envisioning more of a guest house on the property and still living in the RV. So we're keeping the good furniture for a 2 bedroom house and will go from there.
Wish us luck as everything else has to go this weekend!
-- Edited by Ckerr on Friday 9th of March 2012 12:04:41 PM
We are getting into the nitty-gritty of selling stuff. Went thru all our old papers last night to clean out and decide what I want to put in our small Firesafe for in the camper.
My gosh...I cannot believe I kept almost every birthday card, and anniversary card I ever got! It felt weird throwing them away...just weird!
Going thru what I saved as "important" items like all my son's report cards, all his band medals,pins (he is 30) yadda..yadda... I was feeling sad and getting teary eyed, especially when I handed what I had saved all these years over to him. They are his now....do what you want with them.
Oh how I wish I could leave the "tears" out of the equation, but I am such a putz and get emotional over things easy anyway.
So...my original question....does your camper "ever" really feel like home?
As I look around my home...and start to take down our photos....it makes me wonder.
Everytime I go out to our fifth wheel to put our stuff away in our "new home" I get a sense of excitement, but right now it still just feels like a
camper...and I don't think I have quite exactly come to terms with the fact it will soon be our "new home".
Just feelin' sad...excited and overwhelmed today....thanks for listening.
We have discovered that I am a lot more ruthless in getting rid of stuff than Connie is…we're going through the process now. RV gets delivered in June (New Horizons) and the house goes on the market end of April. We are keeping some of our small art work and will find places in the rig to hang it; the expensive ones are either getting stored on my sister's wall or in a storage unit along with a few pieces of furniture (my wife's mother's kitchen table for instance); and everything else is going. We are getting rid of a little bit on craigslist but have found that the prices received and the number of buyers compared to the number of things posted is pretty small. So…we'll keep craigslisting until we start to run out of time and then donate everything left. Have found a couple of places (Am Vets, Purple Heart, and Salvation Army) that will come and take just about everything and we'll make more in tax writeoffs than we would have gotten on craigslist anyway…we're keeping receipts with detailed spreadsheets of what was in the donation and using a mix of craigslist and ebay to value items.
I think it will feel like home right away…but that's probably mostly a guy thing…women are a lot more emotional about keeping stuff on the average although I do know a few cases that are the other way around. Best approach is to just roll with it if you're comfortable with your decision.
Yes.
Absolutely!!
Many of us do several different things to make our RVs feel like a home. You'll figure that out as you go along.
For those that never make that transition, most don't stay on the road.
But, what you are going through now is quite normal. It's early in the process for you and it's a big step. We do a whole seminar on the emotional rollercoaster many of us experience during the planning, transition, and beyond.
Embrace what you are feeling now. But, if RV living is really in your heart, you will eventually transition and your RV will feel like a home.
Know that everyone goes through the emotions that you are - some more than others. It is part of the process of "getting on the road". As Howard said - embrace it now, then move on. If you can not move on, you will find life on the road "impossible". JMO.
Once we get thru this stage, I am sure things will go much easier.
Part of my problem I think is that we have not had a chance to "camp" in our new trailer to
get a good feel for it.
The weather here in Michigan is supposed to be very nice this week so we are going to pack
some things up in the trailer and go out boondocking for a few days to see how things go.
I am going to work today at putting some "homey" items in our rig to make it feel a bit
more like "home".
I'll chime in and agree with the rest. In our case, getting rid of my mother's paintings (she was a self taught artist who ended up teaching painting) was the hardest thing for me to do. At one time, we had 65 of her paintings throughout the stix 'n' brix.
Jo kept all the smaller paintings and those are now on the walls of our Mobile Suites. It became home even before we closed on the house. We moved out early so the buyers could move in a week early, and we never looked back.
If you were to look at the folder entitled "Our New Home" on our Photobucket account, you could see some of those paintings. (Oh, we also changed some of the furniture. The stock RV furniture was not good furniture.)
I would also like to add that attitude is very important. As Jack said, it you can't make it "home," you'll likely leave the lifestyle sooner, rather than later.
Terry
Carol,
Just as a thought for you. If you have the opportunity to "sell it all," do so and that way you will avoid the expense of paying for storage. Some have commented that they initially stored their furniture. They then found that their storage cost more than what it would have cost them to buy new furniture.
Good luck with the downsizing. In our case, it almost became a challenge for me to get rid of more stuff.
Terry
Points well taken guys. We've gone back and forth about storing things. We've come to the conclusion that the pieces we are keeping are either very high quality pieces that would not be in our future budget to replace or family heirloom pieces (great-grandpa's rolltop desk) that it's just not possible to place with another family member at this time.
So for now we'll keep a 10x10 climate controlled storage space. We could conceivably pay rent on the storage space for 10+ years and still not come close to today's replacement cost of the pieces we are storing.
I know that Kevin would like us to have a home base established in that time, so we'll move things there when that happens. Of course it helps to have a couple of OTR truckers in the family to help with that when the time comes... lol
Awww, here....I am sending a *Big Hug* your way!
I know how you feel, and I certainly appreciate everyone's comments.
I will make it like home, already have one of my new recliners out in
the (new house) that is nice. Tomorrow it is gonna warm up and then
I will get out there and dive in.
Once I get my dishes, towels, TV and my "stuff", it will all be good I am sure.
It's all good, going thru my Jewelry right now and figuring out who will get what and giving it to everyone tomorrow as we are having a small Bday party here for my sister.
I actually don't think our family has come to terms with that fact we are actually doing this...but tomorrow as I am sending them home with some of my stuff I think they will realize we are dead serious!
Having a party to give your stuff away is an excellent way to pass on treasured items. We called ours 'House Cooling' Parties - instead of bringing a gift for a house warming, people who attended had to take stuff with them. Now when we visit our friends, we get to see our old stuff treasured in their homes.
As far as your RV feeling like home. For me, I noticed it took a couple months to make the transition. The first several weeks felt more like an extended vacation that would soon come to an end. Once it really set in that this new awesome life of travel was permanent... I embraced it as home.
- Cherie
'Home is not a place. It's whereever your passion takes you' - Sheridan, Babylon 5
There are some things that make no sense to just "DISCARD!"
Full time RV-ing is a life style not the end of a life.
As others have said, it will feel like home, especially when you get some personal touches into it. We have a place for a few photos that I'll hang when we get in there. And hubby will have his small church organ along and I'll have my computer and camera. We call our RV our "Home on Wheels". Tonight I put a few silk flower arrangements in the coach. I use the clear "Quakehold" on the bottoms of the vases and they won't move at all. Another personal touch.
The first time we full timed we got rid of a lot of stuff except for the few antiques and stuff we just couldn't part with. When we got this house we really had to start over. So this time we are still getting rid of some stuff, but keeping other stuff so we don't have to start over. Each person has to do what is right for them.
The first time it is hard to part with stuff and clean it out. The 2nd time, it is much easier....LOL
By the way, it does feel like home
How awful to loose everything in a flood! We have been fortunate not to have to deal with that.
I scanned in old special cards from my parents and some hubby has given me through out the years including the ones he gave me on our wedding day. Also took all the old photos and scanned them in, restoring the ones that needed some help. Now I have all of them on the computer and backed up in various places. Took the actual photos and boxed them up and they'll go into storage. Not having to deal with photo albums sure saves space.
Photos...don't know what I am gonna do yet. I feel like if I scan them I probably won't look at them anymore then I do with the pics already on my computer and cell phone. LOL I am giving all my hard copies of my photos to my sister for safekeeping.
Just make sure you have a digitized copy backed up somewhere. When it comes to computers things are known to fail. Since my hobby is photography and restoring old photos, I did my own, but the services are sure a help if you need it.
Happy and safe travels.
Mary--
No worries... it will feel like HOME!!! :) I too got a little sentimental when going thru all our "stuff" before the big "yard sale" we had before we packed up and moved into the RV. I just kept telling myself "it's just stuff"... and when I had things I rarely used I thought if I could sell them and/or give them away to someone else who could get some use out of them that made all the difference for me.
Also, saving all your favorite pics to a digital pic frame adds a nice touch to be able to see all your fav pics while in the RV!
And you can't forget that the "fur babys" will make anywhere seem like home... :) (we have two Shih Tzu's as well!)
Good Luck!
Nadene
Mary,
It feels like home when you live in it. When we were parked in front of our house while moving things into the RV, we decided it would be better to actually sleep in the RV. The reality of our RV feeling like home came one day when we were working in the house and decided to fix something to eat. Our toaster-oven was in the RV. I wrote about that on our blog here. http://www.waggintailsrv.com/2011/10/hard-dayweekend.html
Ovctober 7, 2011 was the toughest day in the transition.
Great blog and wonderful wood work! Things your family can treasure for ever.
Ha...fur babies. Our traveling cat is so worried he'll be left behind (he REALLY doesn't need to worry....LOL) that every chance he gets, he's out of the house door and out to the RV. Yesterday we were packing and thot' he was in the house. He had gotten into the mud room and was up on top of the cabinets (a favorite place to sleep). I left the door from the mud room to the garage open and the big garage door was open too, as well as the door to the RV. We weren't in there but a few seconds and here came Max. He made himself at home on the buffet in front of a window. Then he spied me putting a few books into a cabinet. "Open door-insert cat". He had to get on my shoulders and into the cabinet. Then to the bed to roll and make it his. The other cat isn't so fond of traveling but Max loves it. We'll get more sorted this week and will try to get it out for a few days to test all the systems. Then it will be hard to go back to the house. We have family coming the end of the month so we can't take off yet. (darn). After all the Easter music, we won't be so tied down.
Yes! I have a digital pic frame and I was thinking of using it! Good idea.
(Now you no what I will be working on!) Filling all my thumb drives with photos so I can use them in my digital frame!
and you are so right...my little "babies" Minnie and Maggie do make it feel like home. I cannot imagine my home without them! Don't you just love Shih Tzu's?
In addition to the digital frame, once you have acquired a couple mementos from your wonderful RV travels you will be reminded of just HOW nice it is to be able to experience those moments.
The fur-kids will bring another sense of, ahhh.... Life is GOOD! to your space.
And then, just wait until you are able to meet good RVing friends at a rally and RE-unite with them on the road somewhere else to create even more fuzzy feelings.
As you go you will grow ... and realize that RVing full-time is a GREAT life. Its not the "stuff" that this life is made of, it's the "moments" that being mobile allow us to experience.
Enjoy the process :D
We've actually been on the road one year this coming March 21st so this week we bought ourselves a first anniversary gift - a beautiful southwest motiff wool rug (4 X 6) to go on our living room floor. Looks beautiful! Who says you can't personalize these assembly line rigs.
Just think of the positive side of things and good luck.
Judy (& Bob)
Still trying to decide how I want my craft space, but all in all it went well today and things
are starting to feel much better now that I have a few things in my cupboards and stuff.
I worked all day and did not come close to even filling all my cupboards and closets.
I am amazed at how much cupboard space I really have. :)
I was going to try and hang a few pictures today but what do you all hang your
pictures with? I did not want to put holes in my nice walls. Then, do you take
down your pictures when you are travelling???
This week I am going to work on my pictures for my digital frame, although
I have TONS to get scanned!!
We have a digital frame that once was filled with pictures of our old life and is now filled with the beautiful places we have visited. There is a whole big wonderful world to explore just in North America. You will soon see how small your old world was. We love our traveling home and have no plans at this time to settle down. Home sweet home whereever it is parked.
IMHO, if you are warm and comfortable and your spouse or significant other is near, warm and comfortable, you are home. An old adage says, home is where the heart, and it rings true.
YOU are RIGHT!
We use the command strips to hang stuff in our RV as well. I have a few pics but I have just "set" them up on the shelf and take them down when we travel. I didn't want to put holes or mount anything on the walls just yet. I have a couple of med size totes I take everything off the counter and shelves and put in the totes when we travel. The totes fit nicely inside when slides are in so it works well. They also work well in underneath storage holding various items while we are parked as well.
Kitchen decor, baskets, rugs/mats, and bath rugs really help make it more like "home" as well... :) I also brought one of my SCENTSY warmers with us in the RV and I am so glad I did... :)
And yes... SHIH TZU'S ROCK!!!
We spent the day working on the coach. Loaded a lot of food and bathroom stuff (except last minute stuff). It is feeling more like home all the time. Also took a load to the 2nd hand store and a lot of stuff we are saving to the storage place. Tomorrow we have errands to run and a dr. appt. Then we'll do refer and freezer stuff.
We are going to take off for a week for a shake down cruise. Only so much we can do at home without FHU's. The park is south of town, since we have to be at church Wed. p.m. for bell and choir practice and the bells are playing this Sunday. So can't go far, but we can get out in the rig. Then we'll bring it back home until the middle of April. We have to be in church for Palm Sunday and Easter. Then Bob will fly down to see his 98 y.o. dad and stay a week. That will give me the week to get the last minute stuff in the rig as well as box up what we are going to keep. When he gets home we'll get help moving the furniture into storage, and giving away some of it too. Then we'll be in the rig full time!
I was wondering how those held up to keep things on the wall. Do you find yourself having to periodically replace them as they age and the stickum stops working?
That bodes well for Connie and I…we're trying to sort out what to keep and what to take as well. I think we're over-keeping stuff because I'm concerned about storage space. She thinks we're under-keeping and will have space left over. After several 'debates' about this we decided to wait until the 5ver is in the driveway and then somebody will get to say I told you so
Look for the follow 3m product - very, very strong for holding pictures to the wall. Just check surface suggestions as if the wrong surface - some of the surface can come off when removing - they hold very very wel.
http://www.itapestore.com/3mduallockreclosablefastenerinformation-buyduallockhere.aspx
Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Tuesday 13th of March 2012 10:26:08 AM
When Jo hung my mother's paintings in our fiver, she used the Command Strips. Being that a number of them are in frames, she used the larger ones and put four on each with the frames. Some smaller ones or without frames don't need so many strips since they are lighter.
From what we have seen, the Command Strips work pretty good. However, other than some used at work, we can't speak too much toward the longevity of their usage.
I will state that if you do decide to remove the strips from the walls, be absolutely certain to remove them in the proper way or you will damage the wall finish.
We've not towed the fiver that many miles, but so far none have fallen from the walls. Here is one stuck on the wall of the bathroom that has a fairly heavy frame with it. It is roughly an 8" x 10" painting.
One of Mom's paintings
Terry
Looks like they're good stuff then; I'll pick some up as well as the 3M Dual Lock for mounting things semi-permanently.
we are looking forward to our getaway.
I bought some of the Industrial 3M Velcro today. I haven't hung pictues yet cuz I am not sure if I really
want to put them on my walls, but I did use a piece on the bottom of my Clorox Toilet Wand Brush in
the bathroom and it seems to work really and stick well to our tile...haven't been down the road yet with it but hopefully
it will still be in the same place when we get to our destination tomorrow!
We have hung several framed pictures using Command Strips. The largest is 18x24 and has glass. We have travels about 5000 miles with the 5'er over the last year and it is still firmly attached. Can't answer about possible wall damage yet.
On the question of feeling like home. We moved in and never looked back. It was home day one.
To Ken & Mary,
We're doing the same thing tomorrow. Going about 30 miles from home also for a week to test out all the systems. When home we only hook up to 50 amp. With FHU's we'll test out the washer and dryer and other systems. Should be fun. Then back home for awhile, probably towards the middle or end of April, then we'll be able to get out again.
Well SueMac.... hope you guys have fun!
It is about 5:00am and I am so excited to get on the road today!
Amazingly...here in Michigan the next week will be in the 70's and 80's!!
The warmest March I can ever remember!!
We've had the warmest winter in eons! It was almost 80 on Monday, and 75 yesterday. Will be warm for the next few days, but maybe rain by the weekend. We're holding our breath for the spring blizzards. We need the moisture, but I'd love to pass on the snow drifts and ice. Lots of spring calfs coming early too so we're hoping the blizzards don't get them.
Have a great trip! And we'll wait for your report on how the rig goes. Same here...I'll report on our new one too.
Yes, yes and yes. It does feel like home. We sold our home in October and have been living fulltime in our 38ft 5er ever since. It is amazing to me how much it feels like home. I like you saved everything but after a life time of all that STUFF I was feeling ready to rid myself of so much. Our 4 children are grown so they have taken their stuff. I admit that my two sons, the youngest still have a couple of tubs in our storage unit. I managed to have my daughters take as much furniture as they could , we sold a ton, donated a ton and then put the rest in a 10x20 storage unit. The plan is to downsize that within the year. I also had my Mom's stuff to go through. She lived with us for 5 years before she passed away at 93. I cried and cried as I went through stuff but I knew that when I was done it would be a relief and I can tell you that it is.
It feels so good to be rid of so much stuff. Now we are free!! I kept a few small things to hang on the wall in the 5er. I change out pictures of the 7 grandkids in small frames and we have a digital frame as well that constantly shows pics.
I know how hard it is right now for you but it will get better. Your trailer will feel like home cause remember Home is where your hear is..........
We made it thru the first night of our "maiden voyage" and it was wonderful!
The trip north went well, our fiver pulled like a dream I hardly knew it was even back there!
So far so good...sat last night watching movies with our Shih Tzus snuggled in and it really did feel like home. Our dogs really seem to feel cozy too!
My only complaint is that internet service here in the deep woods is less then stellar and I really do need to find a good cell booster! That will be on my list before my next trip for sure!