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Reflections On Space and Stuff

When visitors from another country come to the USA for the first time, most marvel at the tremendous amount of resources we Americans devote to buying personal space and possessions.

We buy as big of a house as we can afford and many times, more than we can afford. We then purchase all the land we can surrounding our home, sometimes, countless acres. Then the signs go up. As Sara and I travel this great land, we are often confronted with signs that say “No Trespassing”, “Private Beach-No Access” “Keep Out”, “Private Road-Do Not Enter” just to name a few. The closer the property is to water or the ocean, the more possessive the landowner seems to be. At Ravenoaks in Madison, Sara and I had almost three acres of land, with an orchard, huge garden and two decks surrounding the house, and a 30 by 40 foot outdoor storage building.

And as for possessions, one night recently, when I could not sleep, I lay in bed in the RV and started counting all the motors I was responsible for in our old house at Ravenoaks in Madison. Our four bedroom two story home had a formal dining room, two and a half bathrooms, a laundry room, sauna, Jacuzzi, wine cellar, full wood working shop and an unattached three car storage building. Not counting electric hand tools, and starting with the attic fan, I had purchased and had to maintain over 58 motors. There were the vehicles, of course, the mowers, the garden tiller, the trimmers, the orchard sprayer, the vacuum cleaners, the kitchen appliances, the drill press and table saw, and the list went on and on.

Selling our home and giving away most of our stuff in the past year allows Sara and me to have a unique perspective to reflect on the importance of space and things on the human condition. It took us over six months just to clean out our basement. We had mountains of “stuff”, an accumulation of 39 years of things we just had to have. We reduced the mountains to a few prized possessions that are being stored in a corner of the basement of a friend’s condo back in Madison.

We now live in a box with wheels under it. At most, our Mobile Suites RV has a total of 400 square feet of living space; miniscule in comparison to our former home. There is one very small bathroom, no tub but a shower, one short queen sized bed and a “basement” consisting of a storage area under the RV. And as for motors, counting both vehicles and INCLUDING all the hand tools, we now own and are responsible for maintaining a mere 13 motors.

How does it feel to not OWN all that personal space and stuff? Well, there is a newly acquired “inner peace” that cannot be denied. A peace based on the knowledge that we have 45 less motors to worry about, no house payment, no property tax, no state income tax and last month’s heating bill was $34. Sara can clean the entire place in about 15 minutes. We move if we don’t like the weather or the view. Our neighbors always seem interested in a chat and if they are not, it doesn’t make any difference because either they or we will be gone in a few days anyway. And the sheer freedom of traveling where ever you want, see what ever you want, for as long as you want, without all that “stuff” is hard to describe. That is not to suggest that this RV life style is not without its issues. When Sara cannot sleep, she designs in her mind our future home where we will retire when we are finished on the road. First on her list are two bathrooms strategically placed as geographically far apart as physically possible. One would understand the importance of that feature if you have ever been awaken in the middle of the night as your life mate uses the commode less than six feet from your head. Enough said. There will be no orchards or lawns to mow. The laundry room will the hub of the home and there will be a central vacuum system powered by a 150 hp engine. Sara takes her cleaning very seriously. As for me, there will be a Jacuzzi again for those long soaks, and a workshop, however small would be nice. But the days of a huge house, acres of land, an orchard and big garden are forever gone. Just the fact that we will probably be able to afford another place, however simple, someday, makes traveling easier.

As an old Biology teacher, I often referred to two principle characteristics of all living things; homeostasis and adaptation. Homeostasis (same state) is a tendency to try to keep things the same during a time of change. For example, if you exercise, the heart increases in rate to maintain the same level of oxygen in the blood. Adaptation is seemingly an opposite idea where over time organisms slowly change to live successfully in a newly changed environment. For example, a rabbit’s coat may become lighter in color if the surroundings permanently change and the lighter coat gives the rabbit a better chance of survival.

Both these principles have been at work during the past eight months as we have moved from a stationary life in a house to a nomadic lifestyle on the road.

We are constantly attempting to achieve homeostasis, (the way things were before) with such things as a small workshop for me in the basement of the RV to Sara who has replaced her long walks with the dogs each morning with bird watching adventures and bike rides. I cook with a mere fraction of the kitchen utensils we once had and the kitchen table has becomes Sara’s personal work space. Food shopping has changed to adjust to the size of our refrigerator and freezer and clothes shopping to the size of the closets. It is truly amazing how few clothes one needs to get by and still feel well dressed. Winter clothes are not needed and we operate under the principle that for every item of clothing purchased, one must be removed or recycled at the local Goodwill. One issue that has surfaced is the curious habit of Sara to buy clothes for herself but throw away mine. If this practice continues to it logical conclusion, Sara could end up being one of the best dressed RVer on the road, and I may eventually be arrested for public nudity. Sara claims that my arrest may happen anyway. I never have been particular fond of wearing clothes.

We spend money much differently since being on the road. Every purchase is now deliberated on the basis of size and weight more than cost or need. Book purchases at a bookstore, as expensive as that they can be, have increased drastically as reading is an important part of both our lives. If there is a certain book we want, we get it. The books are then recycled to family and friends. Increased postage expenses have become obvious and rarely a month goes by where we do not us all of our 1300 minutes on the cell phone. A trip to a local hardware store or Home Depot often results in purchases that can held in the palm of the hand. No more table saws or drill presses.

But as hard as we strive for “homeostasis” it is in the area of adaptation we have excelled. Not that we have changed so much but our environment has acquired little “add ons” to make life bearable. My mother had a favorite say, “A place for everything and everything in its place.” In our house, no epitaph could be more fitting. Sara and I could probably find 90% of everything we own blindfolded.

Starting with the tow truck which pulls the RV, the entire back bed is divided into special places for special things. The lockable box has built in slide shelves for tools, oil, jacks and lubricants. Also enclosed in the box a battery charger, tool box and grease gun. The rest of the truck bed contains sewage hoses in a net bag so they can dry going down the road, the grill, wok, and ground cloths in a flexible rubberized bag and scuba gear in plastic boxes.

The basement of the RV is a true catacomb of “cubby holes”. Besides my new workshop area, there are two fold up bikes in special racks, the satellite dish for TV, fishing poles in a ceiling rack, air compressor and ladder to reach the roof RV. Yes, it folds up. A sliding tray contains seven bins, each with a wooden insert to create two levels of storage per bin. Power tools, cleaners, paints, stains, rags, electrical supplies, fasteners, extension cords and household supplies are stored in the bins. On the tray is a 3,500 watt generator with a custom made box attached to the top to hold water hoses and the RV power cord for easy storage and setup. Wood for projects is stored in the basement as is a shovel, broom and extendable cleaning brush. The entire basement has been rewired with power strips where necessary. Even an outside outlet has been installed to power tools used on the picnic table and the RV security system. This home made devise consists of a 200 watt halogen flood light and 135 decibel siren which is activated by a very sensitive motion detector. The need for security is normally not urgent so the siren can be turned off, but occasionally we have used the full alarm in “questionable areas.” A 135 decibels siren right under the bedroom is a sure eye opener at night. Rounding out the security system is a 12 gauge shotgun shell plastic flare gun. As firearms are prohibited in most RV resorts and parks, this hand gun is a potent deterrent to any intruder trying to get through the front door. A newly installed dead bolt also comforts our minds at night.

In side the RV shelves have been added to almost every cabinet. Each shelf is sized to contain a specific item. The desk area has shelves for the GPS unit, camera, stereo, DVD, satellite receiver, computer printer, scanner, external hard drive and an awesome subwoofer. File cabinets have been equipped with heavy duty ball bearing shelf slides and locks to prevent roll out during travel. There is nothing like having every file you own spread out on the living room floor during travel to add locks.

In the kitchen, a roll out shelf has been installed under the refrig for easy access along with custom made rotating spice racks above the counter, rotating lazy susans in the under counter shelves, a wine glass rack complete with clothes pins to keep the glasses from crashing. All food stuffs travel in large plastic boxes to prevent spills from breakage. There is nothing like having a full jar of pickled beet juice running up and down the kitchen floor for 300 miles to prompt that little “adaptation”. The front closet near the door has room for jackets and hats, and a new rack for extra shoes.

In the bathroom there are special shelves built to fit the exact size the toilet paper rolls and new custom towel racks. The vanity above the sink has added shelves and below there are pull out shelves built to fit a variety of bottles and cans. One drawer for Sara and one for Don.

The utility closet is all Sara’s with room for the all important shop vac, iron and extra shelves above the clothes rack. The rack has even been reinforced to stand the wear and terror of road vibrations.

There are special clothes racks in the large, front closet and bright reading lights have been installed above the bed. Even little shelves have been placed near the windows to hold a coffee cup. Under the bed, there is a large storage area with newly installed lift pumps that make access when the bed clothes are on effortless. The perimeter of the bed has a shoe rack for Sara’s shoes only.

Finally in a special hidden location on the RV is a one hour burn lock box which contains passports, wills, vehicles registrations and other important papers. It is so well hidden, we even sometimes forget where it is…............ Not bad when one considers that most of these little “add ons” were constructed on a picnic table somewhere between San Francisco and New Found land…….How is that for adaptation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The RV life style is certainly not for everyone and thank God or the road would be even more congested, but with a little bit of patience and ingenuity we are learning to get by with a lot less space and “stuff”.



On the road with Sara and Don somewhere between Columbia NC and Savannah, GA.