When we first picked up the 5'er I was amazed with the amount of space in comparison with the TT. Now three weeks later starting to get a bit concerned. We purged before but now with painting the house and the upcoming rally we are starting to move things into their new home and the space is filling up quick!! I did my clothes again and an additional 4 bags went. This one smarted as I finally let go of dresses and suits that had cost a pretty penny but I rarely if ever wear. Same thing with the kitchen area...as things start to go in I just keep thinking about the things still at the stick and bricks house...I am going to have to let the quesadilla maker go for example :)
Anyways I know you purge and repurge but what about the process after you sell the house and finally move in permanently. How did that go? What did you do with that last bit of stuff?"
lindy said
05:58 AM Apr 13, 2014
Easy rule of thumb, "If you haven't used, worn, etc and item in the last 6 months pitch it" you'd be surprised at how quick you can cut down the pile of stuff.
Russ Ranger said
06:26 AM Apr 13, 2014
My wife's rule was, "If it can't be worn in the sun it has to go." It worked for her. As for me, it's t-shirts, shorts and flip flops. I have the v-stripe on my feet to prove it.
In the end Goodwill drive-up got to know us pretty well. If the kids didn't want "it" and nobody would buy "it" what choice do you have but to give it away. There was a very real sense of joy when the junk was gone.
Smile and give it all away.
Dave Buck said
06:57 AM Apr 13, 2014
After the kids took what they wanted, garage sale after garage sale, giving stuff to friends, many trips to Goodwill and Fifthwheel loaded we thought one day would give us enough time to clear out the rest and be ready to go. Ended up taking three days to clear the house. Several move trips to Goodwill, several trips to the dumpster and we still ended up renting a small (5'X5') storage unit. We finally hit the road and after like the wagon trains going west along the way we have dumped things we found we really didn't need. In fact after 2 years we still are clearing out things we have found we never use.
To be fair my wife realized this past winter that she got rid of too many of her warmer clothes and ended up picking up a few things from Goodwill. It was an unusually cold winter.
Getting rid of those last few things is hard but if you can't take it with you someone else might as well use it.
Jo and Ben said
07:56 AM Apr 13, 2014
We purged and purged and purged. And then moved everything into the RV in a rush when the house sold so fast. It looked like we had WAY too much stuff and I was feeling what you are describing--starting to think about having to give up things I had wanted to keep. But, as it turned out, once we organized everything carefully we found we actually had just enough room. Some things went into the "basement" of the RV, such as clothes for other seasons. Don't despair yet!
Jo
WestWardHo said
08:11 AM Apr 13, 2014
Trace,
I know the giving up the clothes thing. Like you, I purged and purged (and still pulled down the closet clothes rod which Jesse reinforced 😞) and then purged some more. We're still purging clothes. Make donations along the way. It makes us happy to know that someone who might need a great skirt, sweater or pairs of heels can get them cheaply. Focus on that.
It's just stuff.
Sherry
Technomadia said
09:25 AM Apr 13, 2014
You will always be purging as you discover what it is you really need.
When I first hit the road with Chris, I was moving from my 1600 sq ft house into sharing his 45 sq ft travel trailer. I had to fit everything I was bringing along into basically a plastic drawer. At first, it was a struggle, but once I let go.. it became easier as my possessions became just 'stuff'.
the hardest part of purging is not finding what you really need.....but finding that lost item you really needed and now having to get rid of it !!!!!
(It's a guy thing!)
sirwinston21 said
10:48 AM Apr 13, 2014
We are in our 6th year of full timing and we usually purge stuff about every 6 months. There just is no room for stuff you are not using.
MarkS said
11:00 AM Apr 13, 2014
Or to paraphrase what the guy said in "Jaws", "I think we need a bigger trailer!"
Dave Buck said
12:45 PM Apr 13, 2014
The hard part is finding that item you need and you know you kept but don't remember when you put it. I had a stubby Phillips screw driver and I knew I kept it. I needed it one day and knew I had it. Just couldn't find it. About three months latter I was looking for something else and it was right where I put it. That's not the only thing but I can't remember what they were. LOL
Terry and Jo said
02:37 PM Apr 13, 2014
Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. were good sources for anything that didn't go in the one big garage sale we had. (That was a neighborhood garage sale where several were opened up. Lived in a neighborhood out in the country, so the neighborhood garage sale drew a lot more people than what a single family garage sale would have done.)
If it didn't go to family or sold on Craigslist, it went into the garage sale. In the last months prior to selling the house, we had our bed, two recliners, two tables and table lamps, and my computer desk and one small table at which we ate. Those last items were given to a native American co-worker who was collecting things for folks still living on reservations out in New Mexico and Arizona.
Jo agonized that all the stuff she was putting in the coach was going to overload us with regards to our GVWR on the trailer. She was actually 700 lbs under weight. However, after three years now of "static" full-timing, it is time to purge again. Our temporary fencing and storage building are going to our landlady, who is giving us our lot free for our last three months.
As far as the process, you will be surprised how little you need things after you've gotten rid of them. My philosophy is that there are only 7 days in a week.....why would I need so many clothes?
Terry
jrzygrl64 said
04:57 PM Apr 13, 2014
Sorry, Terry, but you only feel like that b/c you are a man.
I am still in the middle of what to get rid of, what to keep, what to bring? If/when I figure out the magic solution, I will sell it in a book of instructions and be rich in our full-time RV life!
Lucky Mike said
05:43 PM Apr 13, 2014
Im not certain you rally have to get rid of anything.....................maybe the coach you bought is to small....they make them bigger every year......65 footer anyone!!! complete with multi-quad slides and a tag axle HDT
PJ Vagabond said
05:54 PM Apr 13, 2014
I have only been an Rv'r FT for 1 month and a half, and only the last week with everything moved in, sold, given away, or stored (only 5 boxes of assorted pictures, keepsakes, fabrics + 2 rolls of fabric). I am still sorting out, rearranging, and figuring out "where everything lives", as well as purging still. AND IT IS SO SO WORTH IT!!! I couldn't be happier!
NWescapee said
05:58 PM Apr 13, 2014
We're still purging!! 9 months on the road and we have yet another bag ready to go to Goodwill. Our first 2 months on the road we were literally purging stuff at almost every stop along the way trying to get to the point where we didn't need a second car. Then a couple months later we were staying at a county park that had a "campers exchange" and we left several other items that we found we just weren't using.
We arranged, re-arranged, again and again and now realize we need to totally rearrange the basement before we have the solar install done in May so we can make room for 2 more batteries, plus get rid of a few more things so we're not overweight after the solar panels and new batteries are added.
This summer when we're back in the area where our storage room is, we're working on redesigning Dale's art booth display again to shrink the space needed in the truck so we'll be leaving stuff behind in storage.
It's an ongoing process.
Camper Chronicles said
05:47 AM Apr 14, 2014
Thanks guys...appreciate hearing it first hand from those who have gone before. Lucky Mike I totally agree...and it's not just a guy thing :) Giving away nice to haves is one thing...giving away must haves is challenging. Lee is holding me to the "everything must have two purposes" rule which helps...but the Midwestern thrift in me balks at giving away or selling a perfectly good item item to buy something with multi-purpose...I know I know just gotta go with it :)
Cindi said
07:05 AM Apr 14, 2014
I have just started to fit things in and organize and am feeling challenged as well. How am I going to get along without my Kitchenaid mixer and my bread machine. I can give up the dresses and suits I no longer wear. But what about my clothes in two other sizes that I hang on to because -- you know -- I am going to get back down to that size again?
Jo and Ben said
08:08 AM Apr 14, 2014
Cindi you had me laughing out loud. I don't even know how many years I hung onto old favorite clothes that are 2-3 sizes too small because I am going to get back down to that size again. I had to force myself to donate them during the purging and there was one old favorite pair of pants that I put in the bag, took them out again, put them in again--really I will be able to wear them again someday! In the end, I had to let it all go :)
Jo
BiggarView said
11:19 AM Apr 14, 2014
We're still a few years away and we've already started the whole downsizing thinking process and it's gonna be hard to let go of some things to be sure.
On the other hand, we'll just keep it all, stow it in the rig and sleep in the driver's seat, eat in the drivers seat, fool around in the drivers seat, hook up a tube for body fluid disposal from the drivers seat to the toilet etc. until we can't stand the arm rests getting in the way of everything we do. At that point something's gotta give or go as they say.
My personal purging obstacle is going to be my huge pile of model trains. Not the actually selling of them, but the @#$!% attachment I have to them. Damned consumer society koolaid.
2riker2go said
12:39 PM Apr 14, 2014
I sorted through my clothes and separated out everything I wore to work, knowing I wouldn't need those once we hit the road. After I got done, those all went to the clothing donation box. I did bring most of my shorts, t-shirts and stuff like that - although I do have more than I need I was able to fit everything into my alloted space. We also kept some colder weather stuff - basicallly what fit into one of those short long plastic containers that we keep in the bottom of the closet. We got rid of SO much clothes....until I started filling plastic bags I really didn't have any idea of how much I had in the way of clothes.
As far as kitchen stuff, I pretty much kept everything that I really used. I used a method that I read about somewhere, maybe on here? Everytime I used a pot or pan or appliance, I put it in a "keep" area. Anything that didn't get used went. That included some cool things I had accumulated like a waffle maker, quesadilla maker, wok - that looked really great when I bought them but literally never got used. :)
Wheel_Estate said
03:34 PM Apr 14, 2014
We purged and re-purged several times, and fortunately, had space left in our rig. Over the last year we got rid of some things and added a few more, always having more nooks we haven't filled.
We both live in mostly in shorts, Ts, and flip flops and only carry a few casual dress clothes, nothing dress or formal.
We are pretty minimalistic, using many items that do double duty, especially in the kitchen. I have one adjustable alum pole that screws on a broom, a mop, window squeegee, and a couple other useful things, stores just under 4'. Things as simple as this can save lots of space. All the attachments fit in a square bucket that stores easily and has many uses also.
Even little tricks like turning folded skivvies with the folds opposing will save space in the drawer. Seasonal things like extra blankets, and jackets get squeezed down in plastic bags (trash bags), tied off, and boxed under the sofa storage. The insulated canvas windshield covers store flat under the mattress, along with other reflective window covers.
Purging doesn't hurt as much as one might think. Lighten the load, live with less junk, and soon you you'll wonder why you had all that extra stuff.
BiggarView said
04:16 PM Apr 14, 2014
Wheel_Estate wrote:
....Purging doesn't hurt as much as one might think. Lighten the load, live with less junk, and soon you you'll wonder why you had all that extra stuff.
But I need my stuff, I'll be a bad consumer! Must... stimulate.... the... economy.... Need more stuff!
Arrrgh! My bbbbbrrrainnnnn hurts! So confused!
It feels like the movie "They Live!" In it, the passive "sheep" are reading magazines and the pages show shiny new widgets, Celebs in the latest runway fashions etc. but when the hero(Roddy Piper) puts on the special glasses he sees only the word "CONSUME" on a blank white page. The message is clear.
Seriously, purge plans are in the works and it is slowly coming together.... be gone consumerist adornments, off with you life sucking useless things. FREEDOMMMMM! Here we come,.... Ooops, stumbled as I rounded first base.
Brian
woodswoman said
01:09 PM Apr 15, 2014
I'm quite a few years from retiring and full-time rving, but wow, the stuff thing is huge.
I'm in the process of getting rid of things I don't need first. Things that just sit and haven't been used or even looked at in years.
I have this bone china cup from Victoria BC, had it for almost 20 years. I think, "Oh, my Christmas cat cup from Victoria."
But this is a whole new lifestyle we're taking on. In a lot of ways it is like the pioneers of the westward expansion. They had to agonize over what could fit in the wagon, and left stuff along the trail. You had to think about the "practical" and not keep useless stuff that didn't have a real use.
Yeah, a lot of times it's not the thing, its our attachment to things. That's the hard thing. I imagine myself missing everything. I just have to believe all the stories the pros here say about the freedom of having little.
Wheel_Estate said
03:09 PM Apr 15, 2014
If you like that bone china cup enough take it with you...but USE IT, enjoy it. Otherwise, its just more STUFF you can live without.
We loved using our antique Victorian dinnerware daily, but it isn't practical for full time RV travel. My large collection of cast iron cookware had to find new homes also. And, where the heck would I have put my beautiful 200 y/o desk in this rig?? It was out of the question to keep the many collections of antiques that filled the house. Without a place to display them safely they are useless to me.
I know very well how hard it is to cut it all loose, but the trade off is well worth it to us. With all that stuff out of our lives we are free to enjoy the lifestyle we've chosen. To see the wonders we were missing living in a box surrounded by STUFF.
Fear not, if you hang up the keys there's always more stuff out there to fill another box. In the meantime, go look, see, enjoy and LIVE. Put it all behind you and soon you'll have all new memories more valued than your most prized possessions.
DenJen12 said
03:34 PM Apr 15, 2014
Ah, the enormous, and emotional roller coaster many refer to as purging....LOL. My family and I started FTing in November of 2012 and it was a crazy trip to get ready for the change. My family of 4(my husband, myself, and two young boys) and our 2 fur kids had accumulated a lot of...well, for lack of a better work, junk! Our 4 bd/2.5 bath home was full to the brim. We had 2 living rooms (one bonus room over the garage that served as family room for kiddos and the main living on the main floor)....and oh yeah, the garage.....Then there were the 3 patios of furniture and grills and fire pits and.......OH MY THE STUFF!! ok ok...back to the subject....it took about a month to "purge" most of the stuff in that home and move into our new home (our 5th wheel). I think the process was easy for me because I just convinced myself, it was this or deal with only seeing my husband for about a day or 2 a month (we full time to be with my husband due to his job that takes him all over). When put like that, all the stuff in the world couldn't even measure to as important as the time I would be getting with my husband. The kids didn't want to live apart from their step-dad and quite frankly, i could tell the dogs weren't too fond of it either. So, I went around my house and basically inventoried it all and started making piles of stuff that we absolutely used every day and couldn't live without. All the other stuff, I gritted my teeth and posted it on all the "for sale" sites in the area that I knew of. It was super hard watching stuff that we had just purchased 6 months prior (living room furniture, tv's, etc) go, because at one time, not that long ago, we had really wanted that stuff and really loved it. But, like someone stated earlier, in the end it is all just stuff. Stuff that at some point in my life I lived just fine without, so I'm sure I could do it again . Now, fast forward a year and a half later, as I begin the "purge" process again to move into our new 5er, I find that it is much easier to let things go. I'm almost positive at this point that I'm moving into my new bigger home and i won't come close to filling up all the spaces and it feels good.....gives me hope of shopping in my future ...haha...don't tell DH. Now, I must admit, I do have a small climate controlled storage unit back in our hometown in Tennessee that I put all of my Xmas decorations (handed down from my mom and stuff that I have been collecting for longer than most people can believe...i love decorating for xmas), our family keepsakes and all of my painting supplies (i'm a novice acrylic painter and there was just no room in this unit for it and that was one of those "purge" items that made the cut. It's expensive to buy all of that stuff again and I hoped to have the chance to do it again soon, and it looks as though I may in my new home). We also just recently bought a 6'X12' enclosed cargo trailer to put stuff in while we are traveling. So I guess my point is that purging is an ongoing process and no matter how long you have been doing this, I think it will always be an ongoing process. And if all else fails, watch a few episodes of the hoarders show and you should have no problem "purging" away! Good luck!
-- Edited by DenJen12 on Tuesday 15th of April 2014 03:35:51 PM
-- Edited by DenJen12 on Tuesday 15th of April 2014 03:42:14 PM
cherylbrv said
05:38 PM Apr 15, 2014
My solution is taking pictures of the items I'm having trouble parting with due to sentimental reasons, and then uploading them to my computer. Then I can view it and be nostalgic and have fond memories, the way the original item made me feel.
soos said
09:37 AM Apr 21, 2014
biggaRView wrote:
But I need my stuff, I'll be a bad consumer! Must... stimulate.... the... economy.... Need more stuff!
Arrrgh! My bbbbbrrrainnnnn hurts! So confused!
Brian
oh, don't worry about stimulating the economy. We do plenty of that as fulltimers. we just buy smaller, but usually more expensive "stuff" like tablets, smart phones, digital cameras, solar panels, water filtration systems, airbags for the truck, air HORNS for the truck, etc etc You get the idea. Heck, we even bought a "vacation home" -a Lance truck camper, so now we have to outfit THAT too!
Sue
BiggarView said
10:09 AM Apr 21, 2014
The Matrix has us trained to be good consumers. I will continue to consume even as a FTer just as you say. I'm merely mocking, in a lighthearted way, the crazy irrational fears we all have when we make significant changes to the status quo of our lives.
Fear, I spit in your face!!! Oh sorry, I didn't mean that, really, it was an accident. I submit to your will(outwardly) Just wait till fear turns it's back... the rebel in me will show him.
When we first picked up the 5'er I was amazed with the amount of space in comparison with the TT. Now three weeks later starting to get a bit concerned. We purged before but now with painting the house and the upcoming rally we are starting to move things into their new home and the space is filling up quick!! I did my clothes again and an additional 4 bags went. This one smarted as I finally let go of dresses and suits that had cost a pretty penny but I rarely if ever wear. Same thing with the kitchen area...as things start to go in I just keep thinking about the things still at the stick and bricks house...I am going to have to let the quesadilla maker go for example :)
Anyways I know you purge and repurge but what about the process after you sell the house and finally move in permanently. How did that go? What did you do with that last bit of stuff?"
In the end Goodwill drive-up got to know us pretty well. If the kids didn't want "it" and nobody would buy "it" what choice do you have but to give it away. There was a very real sense of joy when the junk was gone.
Smile and give it all away.
To be fair my wife realized this past winter that she got rid of too many of her warmer clothes and ended up picking up a few things from Goodwill. It was an unusually cold winter.
Getting rid of those last few things is hard but if you can't take it with you someone else might as well use it.
Jo
I know the giving up the clothes thing. Like you, I purged and purged (and still pulled down the closet clothes rod which Jesse reinforced 😞) and then purged some more. We're still purging clothes. Make donations along the way. It makes us happy to know that someone who might need a great skirt, sweater or pairs of heels can get them cheaply. Focus on that.
It's just stuff.
Sherry
When I first hit the road with Chris, I was moving from my 1600 sq ft house into sharing his 45 sq ft travel trailer. I had to fit everything I was bringing along into basically a plastic drawer. At first, it was a struggle, but once I let go.. it became easier as my possessions became just 'stuff'.
Here's the process I used (and wrote about later): www.technomadia.com/2012/01/excuses-stuff-2/
Best wishes,
- Cherie
(It's a guy thing!)
Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. were good sources for anything that didn't go in the one big garage sale we had. (That was a neighborhood garage sale where several were opened up. Lived in a neighborhood out in the country, so the neighborhood garage sale drew a lot more people than what a single family garage sale would have done.)
If it didn't go to family or sold on Craigslist, it went into the garage sale. In the last months prior to selling the house, we had our bed, two recliners, two tables and table lamps, and my computer desk and one small table at which we ate. Those last items were given to a native American co-worker who was collecting things for folks still living on reservations out in New Mexico and Arizona.
Jo agonized that all the stuff she was putting in the coach was going to overload us with regards to our GVWR on the trailer. She was actually 700 lbs under weight. However, after three years now of "static" full-timing, it is time to purge again. Our temporary fencing and storage building are going to our landlady, who is giving us our lot free for our last three months.
As far as the process, you will be surprised how little you need things after you've gotten rid of them. My philosophy is that there are only 7 days in a week.....why would I need so many clothes?
Terry
I am still in the middle of what to get rid of, what to keep, what to bring? If/when I figure out the magic solution, I will sell it in a book of instructions and be rich in our full-time RV life!
We arranged, re-arranged, again and again and now realize we need to totally rearrange the basement before we have the solar install done in May so we can make room for 2 more batteries, plus get rid of a few more things so we're not overweight after the solar panels and new batteries are added.
This summer when we're back in the area where our storage room is, we're working on redesigning Dale's art booth display again to shrink the space needed in the truck so we'll be leaving stuff behind in storage.
It's an ongoing process.
Jo
We're still a few years away and we've already started the whole downsizing thinking process and it's gonna be hard to let go of some things to be sure.
On the other hand, we'll just keep it all, stow it in the rig and sleep in the driver's seat, eat in the drivers seat, fool around in the drivers seat, hook up a tube for body fluid disposal from the drivers seat to the toilet etc. until we can't stand the arm rests getting in the way of everything we do
. At that point something's gotta give or go as they say.
My personal purging obstacle is going to be my huge pile of model trains. Not the actually selling of them, but the @#$!% attachment I have to them. Damned consumer society koolaid.
As far as kitchen stuff, I pretty much kept everything that I really used. I used a method that I read about somewhere, maybe on here? Everytime I used a pot or pan or appliance, I put it in a "keep" area. Anything that didn't get used went. That included some cool things I had accumulated like a waffle maker, quesadilla maker, wok - that looked really great when I bought them but literally never got used. :)
We both live in mostly in shorts, Ts, and flip flops and only carry a few casual dress clothes, nothing dress or formal.
We are pretty minimalistic, using many items that do double duty, especially in the kitchen. I have one adjustable alum pole that screws on a broom, a mop, window squeegee, and a couple other useful things, stores just under 4'. Things as simple as this can save lots of space. All the attachments fit in a square bucket that stores easily and has many uses also.
Even little tricks like turning folded skivvies with the folds opposing will save space in the drawer. Seasonal things like extra blankets, and jackets get squeezed down in plastic bags (trash bags), tied off, and boxed under the sofa storage. The insulated canvas windshield covers store flat under the mattress, along with other reflective window covers.
Purging doesn't hurt as much as one might think. Lighten the load, live with less junk, and soon you you'll wonder why you had all that extra stuff.
But I need my stuff
, I'll be a bad consumer!
Must... stimulate.... the... economy.... Need more stuff!
Arrrgh! My bbbbbrrrainnnnn hurts! So confused!
It feels like the movie "They Live!" In it, the passive "sheep" are reading magazines and the pages show shiny new widgets, Celebs in the latest runway fashions etc. but when the hero(Roddy Piper) puts on the special glasses he sees only the word "CONSUME" on a blank white page. The message is clear.
Seriously, purge plans are in the works and it is slowly coming together.... be gone consumerist adornments, off with you life sucking useless things. FREEDOMMMMM! Here we come,.... Ooops, stumbled as I rounded first base.
Brian
I'm in the process of getting rid of things I don't need first. Things that just sit and haven't been used or even looked at in years.
I have this bone china cup from Victoria BC, had it for almost 20 years. I think, "Oh, my Christmas cat cup from Victoria."
But this is a whole new lifestyle we're taking on. In a lot of ways it is like the pioneers of the westward expansion. They had to agonize over what could fit in the wagon, and left stuff along the trail. You had to think about the "practical" and not keep useless stuff that didn't have a real use.
Yeah, a lot of times it's not the thing, its our attachment to things. That's the hard thing. I imagine myself missing everything. I just have to believe all the stories the pros here say about the freedom of having little.
We loved using our antique Victorian dinnerware daily, but it isn't practical for full time RV travel. My large collection of cast iron cookware had to find new homes also. And, where the heck would I have put my beautiful 200 y/o desk in this rig?? It was out of the question to keep the many collections of antiques that filled the house. Without a place to display them safely they are useless to me.
I know very well how hard it is to cut it all loose, but the trade off is well worth it to us. With all that stuff out of our lives we are free to enjoy the lifestyle we've chosen. To see the wonders we were missing living in a box surrounded by STUFF.
Fear not, if you hang up the keys there's always more stuff out there to fill another box. In the meantime, go look, see, enjoy and LIVE. Put it all behind you and soon you'll have all new memories more valued than your most prized possessions.
Ah, the enormous, and emotional roller coaster many refer to as purging....LOL. My family and I started FTing in November of 2012 and it was a crazy trip to get ready for the change. My family of 4(my husband, myself, and two young boys) and our 2 fur kids had accumulated a lot of...well, for lack of a better work, junk! Our 4 bd/2.5 bath home was full to the brim. We had 2 living rooms (one bonus room over the garage that served as family room for kiddos and the main living on the main floor)....and oh yeah, the garage.....Then there were the 3 patios of furniture and grills and fire pits and.......OH MY THE STUFF!! ok ok...back to the subject....it took about a month to "purge" most of the stuff in that home and move into our new home (our 5th wheel). I think the process was easy for me because I just convinced myself, it was this or deal with only seeing my husband for about a day or 2 a month (we full time to be with my husband due to his job that takes him all over). When put like that, all the stuff in the world couldn't even measure to as important as the time I would be getting with my husband. The kids didn't want to live apart from their step-dad and quite frankly, i could tell the dogs weren't too fond of it either. So, I went around my house and basically inventoried it all and started making piles of stuff that we absolutely used every day and couldn't live without. All the other stuff, I gritted my teeth and posted it on all the "for sale" sites in the area that I knew of. It was super hard watching stuff that we had just purchased 6 months prior (living room furniture, tv's, etc) go, because at one time, not that long ago, we had really wanted that stuff and really loved it. But, like someone stated earlier, in the end it is all just stuff. Stuff that at some point in my life I lived just fine without, so I'm sure I could do it again
. 
...haha...don't tell DH. Now, I must admit, I do have a small climate controlled storage unit back in our hometown in Tennessee that I put all of my Xmas decorations (handed down from my mom and stuff that I have been collecting for longer than most people can believe...i love decorating for xmas), our family keepsakes and all of my painting supplies (i'm a novice acrylic painter and there was just no room in this unit for it and that was one of those "purge" items that made the cut. It's expensive to buy all of that stuff again and I hoped to have the chance to do it again soon, and it looks as though I may in my new home). We also just recently bought a 6'X12' enclosed cargo trailer to put stuff in while we are traveling. So I guess my point is that purging is an ongoing process and no matter how long you have been doing this, I think it will always be an ongoing process. And if all else fails, watch a few episodes of the hoarders show and you should have no problem "purging" away!
Now, fast forward a year and a half later, as I begin the "purge" process again to move into our new 5er, I find that it is much easier to let things go. I'm almost positive at this point that I'm moving into my new bigger home and i won't come close to filling up all the spaces and it feels good.....gives me hope of shopping in my future
Good luck!
-- Edited by DenJen12 on Tuesday 15th of April 2014 03:35:51 PM
-- Edited by DenJen12 on Tuesday 15th of April 2014 03:42:14 PM
oh, don't worry about stimulating the economy. We do plenty of that as fulltimers. we just buy smaller, but usually more expensive "stuff" like tablets, smart phones, digital cameras, solar panels, water filtration systems, airbags for the truck, air HORNS for the truck, etc etc You get the idea. Heck, we even bought a "vacation home" -a Lance truck camper, so now we have to outfit THAT too!
Sue
The Matrix has us trained to be good consumers.
I will continue to consume even as a FTer just as you say. I'm merely mocking, in a lighthearted way, the crazy irrational fears we all have when we make significant changes to the status quo of our lives. 
Fear, I spit in your face!!! Oh sorry, I didn't mean that, really, it was an accident. I submit to your will
(outwardly) Just wait till fear turns it's back... the rebel in me will show him
.
Brian