New and obsessed

[Cheli]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this concept although I feel it's been jammed deep down in my soul for a while now.

About three years ago, after an ugly divorce, I came across the tiny house movement.  This was so appealing to me and I dove in and researched anything and everything I could about it.  I love the minimalist and self sufficient lifestyle and thought of purchasing land somewhere and building my own tiny house, but realized  I still don't want to be tied down to one location.

Then I though of building a tiny house on wheels (THOW) and then also decided that wouldn't a be realistic option for me for several reasons.  First off, I know I can build a tiny house on my own with help from friends but realized it could cost me $10-20k or even more and then I would still need to buy a truck to pull it around the country.  Being a single woman traveling solo across the country I feel there are too many things that could go wrong with towing a house around, and it's also not very inconspicuous.  So decided that wasn't the option for me either.

So the past year I've been just trying to downsize my home by selling anything I can get rid of, you know, get rid of all the unnecessary stuff that we become attached to.

Then a couple of weeks ago I came across a blog post about traveling the country in a van.  Wow!  Really?  Why didn't I think of that?  Then the ah ha moment hit me.  I can do that.  I can sell everything, buy a van and customize it with comfortable accommodations to travel.

Now I'm obsessed, it's all I think about.  I joked with my sister saying that I'm tired of the standard way of living and I'm running away from home.  I decided that is a perfect name for my blog.  hahaha  The adult version of running away from home with positive attitude, not the snotty little kid sick of the rules and storming to a friends house for the night.

So I am super new to this but I'm ready to do it and want to as soon as I possibly can.

I look forward to getting to know a lot of you and learning whatever I can to make this dream a reality.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

welcome your story is common on here, you are not alone, I am sure you will get a lot of advice if you ask questions. good luck.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Cheli! Very nice start on your blog! I'm going to take a guess that you don't have the van yet and the photo is your dream van? Keep us updated on your search and customizing.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[mockturtle]

Yes it's an obsession. Welcome to the land of the Obsessed.

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard Cheli
You've come to the perfect place to find out what you need to know about l;iving on wheels and creating your new home.

 

[Cheli]

Thank you for the warm welcome. I've spent all day on this site reading everything then saw there was a forum so had to join.

Correct rvwandering, I don't have the van yet and that is my dream van.

I'm hoping that by being a part of this community it will force me to follow through with this dream. You know the saying about being around people that you want to be like, I believe in that.

 

[SaltySeaWitch]

Hi Cheli  

I went through the exact same process. Started out tiny house obsessed but too many zoning laws say you can't do it, mobile tiny house just not practical, then looked at RV's but I would have to gut it so it looked like a cute tiny house, then fell in love with tiny house mini school buses but the gas mileage.....ended up thinking van.....and been van obsessed since lol. Trying to sell my house and then I am heading west!

Welcome and I look forward to making the journey along with you to van life 

 

[Lj Unlimited]

Welcome Cheli. You have joined a good group. I spent about 6 months lurking and joined the forums just a week ago. So much good info here. Even found quite a few people very close to my area. Plotting my escape from the status quo has become top priority for me as well. I hope you find or build the perfect vehicle for your needs. To me this is half of the fun.

 

[BradKW]

Hey Cheli!
If you haven't found them yet, there's a great youtube channel associated with this site: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_W_E5SFCxwpSOaqMjOOBTg/videos

Enigmatic Nomads.

I've just started watching them and been enjoying it

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome and do unleash your passion for this life of freedom.

If you can just get a starter Van it won't take much to be on the road.

You are welcome to look at my website below and see how I started out.
Just a plywood floor with carpet on it, a bed, a cabinet/kitchenette
and a ice chest.  I later designed an Awning system that made it much
more livable.  This was done "low bucks" stuff found in flea markets
and yard sales. 

All the best !  

 

[Theadyn]

Hi and Welcome!!

 

[wagoneer]

Hello and welcome we all be helping you as much as you need, choosing the right van is important, if you plan on driving a lot milage will be important if your like me ( i like standing up in my home) think high top. harder to find but worth the effort. Older conversion vans are nice but usually have outdated in-efficient and lots of shag carpet everywhere really holds in the smell. I chose the venerable E350 with a semi high top and
7.3 diesel it gets decent milage 18-23 mpg. Diesels are not for everyone.

 

[Cheli]

Yes I'm thinking a high top conversion van is my best option. I'm tall so can use the extra height. haha

It's weird because I sit here and look around my house and think of how hard I've worked over the years to have a beautiful home and all the things I've worked hard to have and it scares me to think of making that leap of faith and selling it all to have nothing. But then I think of how I'm tired of being tied down to one place and working to pay rent and how I don't really need all of this stuff. It's an internal struggle but I know I will get past it and not regret it while every day I'll get to experience new things always meet new people and create wonderful memories.

Did anyone else go through that struggle and how did you get past it?

 

[ldmccain]

Welcome,  
Still struggling, have gotten rid of a lot of stuff over the past couple of years.  Still have some sentimental stuff I'm slowly weeding through.  I asked my son and niece if they wanted quite a bit of stuff, especially pictures and items that had come from their grandparents.  A lot of the stuff I just looked at and if I couldn't remember when I had used it or why I had it away it had to go.  

It wasn't easy I needed that stuff.  

My house is a whole different issue. I am simply unwilling to sell it for less than 45,000.  The city has passed a rental property ordnance so there are houses for sale everywhere around me. I can see 4 for sale standing on my front steps.  2000 square foot houses are selling for 45,000 right now.  I will be paying it off or paying on it until the market improves some.  

In several ways not being able to sell the house is making this more difficult.  
I still have this huge box to store all my stuff in.  Would be easier if I only had the RV / trailer and if it didn't fit it has to go..

Good luck and keep chipping away, even one thing gone at a time is progress.

 

[wagoneer]

Kettle of fish the house across the street just sold for 1.4 mil. **** how can I escape now. Just keep working on it. I am not too much RUM. Money will not happy you make.

 

[BradKW]

Yes I'm thinking a high top conversion van is my best option.  I'm tall so can use the extra height.  haha

It's weird because I sit here and look around my house and think of how hard I've worked over the years to have a beautiful home and all the things I've worked hard to have and it scares me to think of making that leap of faith and selling it all to have nothing.  But then I think of how I'm tired of being tied down to one place and working to pay rent and how I don't really need all of this stuff.  It's an internal struggle but I know I will get past it and not regret it while every day I'll get to experience new things always meet new people and create wonderful memories.

Did anyone else go through that struggle and how did you get past it?

Try to group all your "stuff" together in your mind and give it a name...let's use Willy. Willy is now your dependent. Willy may not seem to eat much, but the truth is he just keeps growing...and the bigger he gets, the harder it is to even notice that he's packing on the pounds. While I personally have a thing for chocolate, Willy finds he has a special weakness for things that fill empty spaces, and things that just might someday be useful.

Willy never contributes a thing to paying rent, yet Willy often takes up amazing amounts of space. Let's face it, Willy is pretty much deadweight...and a costly one at that.

But when Willy was young and lean, he was actually a pretty useful fellow to have around. And the old Willy is still hidden under there, its just hard to find him. He's hidden under layers of forgetfulness, sentimental defense systems, and identity projection. So the first step is to identify just where exactly the old Willy really is. To start, there's a couple things that can be helpful:

1) Clear a spot in each room, or a spot in your head where you can keep track. This is where you place items that you actually USE. Keep track of frequency too...an item that gets touched 7/7 days is definitely part of the old Willy...items that only score 1 in 7 most likely are not.

2) Do you have boxes from your last move that still have stuff in them? And we're not just talking about big moving boxes...anything with a lid, down to Tupperware with a stash of thread, unknown keys, and old connectors kept just in case PCs start using PS/2 instead of USB again. If you haven't touched it in a year and perhaps aren't even sure what's in there, fair to say this is one of deadbeat Willy's favorite hiding spots.

3) Do you have lots of drawers? Try tabbing them all closed with some blue tape. Keep track how long it goes without even being opened...and anything that comes out, keep it separate.  As big as Willy is, its amazing how he can hide in drawers.

4) Willy hates to diet, and one of his best excuses is Sentimental Value. "bbbut...Aunt Martha gave that to me just before she passed!", "one day the kids will REALLY be happy I saved all their birthday cards and elementary report cards!".  Willy can really play dirty here, and until the item is gone, making "decisions" is like pulling crabgrass...you never get the roots and will waver in the future. A good way to trick Willy is to tell him these things are going to a big farm, where they will have room to run and be happy. In my experience, a cheap rental unit or a relatives attic can make a great farm.

 In short, see all that stuff for what it truly is: a big weight that holds you back and costs you money. The more you see through all Willy's rationalizations, the easier it becomes to want to get RID of it instead of KEEP it.  And of course remember to be grateful that you have all this time to work with Willy...consider all the people who wake up one day and find Willy is gone in a flood or fire.

Good luck to you 

 

[Damian Rolling]

Hi Cheli,

I had a similar experience.

Once I read about people giving up their homes and stuff to hit the road I became obsessed. I’ve always loved road trips and knew the number of places I want to see are endless. I did a LOT of research and planning; five months ago I moved into a camper van. Now 20k miles later I have no regrets.

About minimizing - it is tough. One thing that helped me is a book by Francine Jay titled “The Joy of Less.” She provides a detailed plan for minimizing and how to rationalize letting things go (especially sentimental items).

I have a nephew who was going to college and getting his first apartment; transferring stuff to him was easy. I had a charity come to my place with a truck and haul a lot to their thrift store. I would have trouble now listing what I gave up. I had a couple hundred books but realized copies of most were available in the public library, so I donated what I had to the library’s bookstore. I still buy books, but almost all digital.

I still have some stuff in storage, but after being without it for a while I expect I’ll get rid of a lot of that too.

I hope this helps.

Damian

P.S. I like your blog layout.

 

[TruckCamperJim]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this concept although I feel it's been jammed deep down in my soul for a while now.

About three years ago, after an ugly divorce, I came across the tiny house movement.  This was so appealing to me and I dove in and researched anything and everything I could about it.  I love the minimalist and self sufficient lifestyle and thought of purchasing land somewhere and building my own tiny house, but realized  I still don't want to be tied down to one location.

Then I though of building a tiny house on wheels (THOW) and then also decided that wouldn't a be realistic option for me for several reasons.  First off, I know I can build a tiny house on my own with help from friends but realized it could cost me $10-20k or even more and then I would still need to buy a truck to pull it around the country.  Being a single woman traveling solo across the country I feel there are too many things that could go wrong with towing a house around, and it's also not very inconspicuous.  So decided that wasn't the option for me either.

So the past year I've been just trying to downsize my home by selling anything I can get rid of, you know, get rid of all the unnecessary stuff that we become attached to.

Then a couple of weeks ago I came across a blog post about traveling the country in a van.  Wow!  Really?  Why didn't I think of that?  Then the ah ha moment hit me.  I can do that.  I can sell everything, buy a van and customize it with comfortable accommodations to travel.

Now I'm obsessed, it's all I think about.  I joked with my sister saying that I'm tired of the standard way of living and I'm running away from home.  I decided that is a perfect name for my blog.  hahaha  The adult version of running away from home with positive attitude, not the snotty little kid sick of the rules and storming to a friends house for the night.

So I am super new to this but I'm ready to do it and want to as soon as I possibly can.

I look forward to getting to know a lot of you and learning whatever I can to make this dream a reality.

 

[Cheli]

Try to group all your "stuff" together in your mind and give it a name...let's use Willy. Willy is now your dependent. Willy may not seem to eat much, but the truth is he just keeps growing...and the bigger he gets, the harder it is to even notice that he's packing on the pounds. While I personally have a thing for chocolate, Willy finds he has a special weakness for things that fill empty spaces, and things that just might someday be useful.

This is an awesome way to look at it, thank you and that will most definitely help me as I go through my stuff.

I should add that my concern isn't getting rid of all the stuff that clutters my, you know all the little things that we just hold on to and fill drawers with.  My anxiety is when I get to the point of getting rid of all the bigger things, the higher priced items that I've worked hard for in the last couple of years to make my home the way I want it.  The things like my brand new furniture set, the big screen tv's, the dining room set that took me six months to find exactly what I wanted, the bureau that I waited a year and a half to get because I always had other bills to pay. 

To me, that is where things get real.......it's the point of no turning back.  And once I get rid of all those things I won't have them again.

I know it's silly because I want to live a different life that I have now but for some reason that part scares the heck out of me.  hahaha  Does that make sense?

 

[mayble]

Yes I'm thinking a high top conversion van is my best option.  I'm tall so can use the extra height.  haha

It's weird because I sit here and look around my house and think of how hard I've worked over the years to have a beautiful home and all the things I've worked hard to have and it scares me to think of making that leap of faith and selling it all to have nothing.  But then I think of how I'm tired of being tied down to one place and working to pay rent and how I don't really need all of this stuff.  It's an internal struggle but I know I will get past it and not regret it while every day I'll get to experience new things always meet new people and create wonderful memories.

Did anyone else go through that struggle and how did you get past it?

We've been brainwashed to believe that the beautiful home and all the things are the keys to "success" and happiness, then we realize that either we aren't like most folks, or we've been lied to all of our lives because we've done everything by the book and still aren't content.
If you're lucky you come to that realization sooner rather than later - I'm fifty-two and just recently got it.  Now I have a lifetime of lessons in the form of wasted money and time that I'll never recover, but the best I can do is take those lessons to heart and stop chasing the dream that was never really mine to begin with.  I plan to spend the winter sorting through twenty-plus years worth of treasures and sell it all, along with the house in the spring.