A few days ago we made a quick trip to the local Walmart to purchase some items for our family Christmas gathering. I had sworn off stepping into another Walmart until after the holiday shopping rush, but it is a short distance from where we are staying and you just can't beat their prices. Besides, I don't mind spending our money with them because the company is very good to RVers. Unless restricted by local ordinances, most Walmart locations allow overnight boon docking in the parking lots. This is not an option most would choose over a nice campground with full hookups, but it's comforting to know it is available in the event of breakdowns, traffic delays or inclement weather when you're on the road.
Happily, the store was not that crowded. Yet as I walked around watching people rush through the isles loading their carts with gift items, I was reminded how drastically our lives have changed in relationships to material things and time since undertaking this full-time RV lifestyle. We were given two pieces of advice before hitting the open road that have changed the way we live and proven invaluable in making this journey a joy as opposed to a burden.
The first, and most important, is learning that less equals more.
If you research the numerous blogs dedicated to the full-time RV lifestyle there is one consistent theme: in order to transition from a typical sticks and bricks existence into living in an RV you must be prepared to do with less to accomplish that goal. There is just no way around it. An RV has less storage space than a typical house for unneeded "stuff". The transition makes you sort through what is really necessary as opposed to just things that can, at the core, be easily sacrificed while still maintaining a quality life. Besides, the bottom line is that more things in an RV = more weight which = less miles per gallon of fuel.
When we purchased our unit Howie (House On Wheels Is Excellent) the previous owners, who were full-time Rvers for three years, gave us an insight to the lifestyle that we have always remembered and adhered to - if something new comes in, something old must go out. It's not always easy, but learning to do with less "stuff" can be very liberating.
The other piece of advice that has enhanced our current life is learning to slow down.
Most people when entering the full-time RV lifestyle travel as fast as they can trying to see it all at once. We can attest that doing so will wear you out very quickly and make the overall journey less than enjoyable. Almost everyone who has been on the road for an extended length of time will tell you there comes a point when you realize it is impossible to see it all in one lifetime, no matter how hard or fast you go. An awareness eventually arises that while you rush to see as many places as possible, you are also missing the experiences that arise from staying in one place for awhile; the opportunities to make friends with local people, enjoy regional foods and truly feel the beauty and differences in surrounding landscapes. After one spends a lifetime raising a family, meeting work and social schedules or fighting traffic during daily commutes it takes awhile for the mind to transition to a slower pace. But once that transition occurs, time takes on a deeper and richer meaning.
Our hope during this Christmas season is that everyone receives the blessings we have been given by applying the above pieces of advice to their daily lives; the blessings of learning that less really is more and that spending quality time with loved ones is priceless.
copyright 2009 Lane A Geyer
photo by Deb
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