Learning what you can live without

Storage solutions in a 5th wheel have been well thought out. But going from living in a 850 square foot apartment with garage to a 300 square foot travel trailer is going to be a stark difference, no matter how you do the math.

One thing I am not content about is having to rent two storage units for all the stuff (i.e. junk) that cannot fit into our new living space, but we have yet to find the time to sort through and discard. Some of these will be easy decisions, once we stop to take a breath and start purging. The punch bowl set from our 1971 wedding will probably be the first to go, followed by the boxes of books from homeschooling, which was 30 years ago. These are definitely things I can live without. The fact that they have been in storage for all this time obviously attests to this fact.

What I am uncertain about, however, are the things I use every day... or plan to use, once my life is back on an even keel. Things like kitchen utensils and small appliances. I love to bake, but how practical (or even possible) is it for me to have my KitchenAid mixer and VitaMix blender in the 5th wheel? Or my assortment of knitting needles and yarn and various unfinished projects? And where do I even start on my books?

Didn't I think this through before taking the leap? Yes, I thought about it - but how does one really think something through before actually living it? There are so many unknowns, and this is previously unexplored territory for me, so the simple act of thinking something through is purely hypothetical until you actually walk through that door.

My very handy husband has been over-the-top gracious and thoughtful in all the things he has done these past few months in readying our new abode. Even going so far as to pour a concrete slab for a patio to keep down the mud tracked in, building a set of steps for a landing to help me enter and exit the trailer easily, he really has made this transition so much easier and I am beyond grateful for the things he has thought of that would not have occurred to me.

So, my next mission, should I choose to accept it, is to figure out exactly how many whisks and coffee mugs and measuring cups and jackets and books and changes of clothes I really "NEED" to do life.

My guess: Not nearly as many as I currently own.