How often have we said, “If I only knew then what I know now, my life would be so different”? But if that were so, would we learn those lessons that seemingly are only learned the hard way?

Living on a 24-foot sailboat (without kids), a 42-foot powerboat (with kids, as well as various and sundry pets, to include a dog, a cat, two gerbils, and an ant farm), and a FEMA trailer all have one thing in common: when you come right down to it, there is very little living space. Having been divested of most material possessions on at least three separate occasions, I consider myself fairly qualified to write about scaling back to the absolute necessities and the bare minimum.

Compared to what was available back when I first lived aboard (1979), a massive amount of how-to advice and information is readily available now via the Internet. This morning I had time to do some research, and felt giddy clicking on link after link, skimming articles and blogs on how to downsize and go RVing full-time. Websites like http://fulltimervingmadeeasy.com and http://www.technomadia.com/the-finances-how-to-afford-it/ are doing a great job of stoking the seed that has been planted.

With our downsizing plan in mind, one of the thoughts I had this morning had to do with our current RV, a Montana 5th wheel. I found myself thinking about the couple of furniture pieces from our home that I’d like to take along, however that would require
moving some things around so as to maximize space, like possibly removing the dinette. I am critically viewing anything and everything in the house from the standpoint of, “Do I really need this?”

A few hours later when I was on the phone talking to my daughter, I told her my plan of wanting to take our La-Z-Boys from the house. But if I did that, I wondered what I’d do with the lounger. At this, my daughter interrupted sarcastically, “Oh, please! I’m sorry that your RV doesn’t having enough room for all of your furniture! I have to worry about whether we have enough room (in their vintage Airstream) to bring a second swimsuit.”

I laughed out loud; she had put things in perspective as only Kate can. This time around though, I’m going to be smarter about what I choose to take and what is left behind. I’ll find out if experience really is the best teacher.