OMG So much sh..t
We are soon to take delivery of a newer caravan and consequently OH has been nipping up to storage and bringing home the contents of our current one. I cannot believe that our spare room (albeit small) is packed with all the stuff we have accumulated. We
have not been very strict with ourselves but now the de-crap starts. Last count, I had 25 toilet rolls, 5 shower gels and 50 melamine plates. Two plastic electric kettles (and a hob kettle), 10 melamine mugs and four dog beds. 10 towels AND four beach/pool
towels, not to mention five pairs of crocs (or equivalent). It's all going. No WONDER I have to struggle to find space for wine. The decant continues. Has anyone else decanted recently.
Comments
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Don't you ever De-clutter? You need to get rid of everything you don't need as you go along.
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at the end of November ,when we have had our last outing we give the van the "deep clean" and we go through everything , did we use it and do we need it ,is what we ask as we take it out the van , it seems to be a way to keep unwanted stuff out the van .....
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We emptied our van when we sold it, then promised myself we would travel light in the new van, but still have find we carry too much stuff!
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My goodness. That's a lot of stuff you've kept in your van. Each spring, our van goes in for servicing and is completely emptied, so that gives us an opportunity to decide what stays and what goes back in.
I think many of us take things 'that might be useful' but are never used.
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It is amazing where we put it all, since moving to a M/H we don't have the same worry about weight as we did with the caravan so we have to be be very strict with ourselves as I think we would end up with half the contents of the shed. OH goes through his
tools and says" I might need that" or "that might come in handy" I'm as bad with food when going away I take far too much. In the last 2 years we have kept a speadsheet of the things that go into the van. When we get back anything that didn't get used comes
off the list (unless spares like bulbs etc) I used to take spare bedding and spare towels, not anymore they get washed then back to being used, we can always buy more if we need to clothes
are the main thing when going away as we usually cross 2 seasons so need to take quite a lot.0 -
I know exactly what we've got in ours - so we don't ever need to declutter. We have just what we need, and enough for two guests, and no more - certainly not fifty plates! I can't imagine how you get all that lot in - and it must add a great deal to your
caravan weight!Just think how much easier it will be when you can put your hands on anything you need without your cupboards being full of stuff you aren't using!
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Trouble is, we use the van year round. I will always need it next time
Are you expecting an outbreak of dysentry then? I suppose the more plates you eat off, the greater the risk.
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I am bad about de-cluttering but you never know when........
On my visit to my son for Christmas (they have building work going on) I took so much stuff out of the van for them to use I am hoping most of it got back although I know a doormat and dustpan brush did not. I have the d'pan
but the brush vanished!I also lent the golfing umbrella to ease the trip to Maternity in a deluge. And 2 waterproof coats! The list is endless!
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We always think caravan, not mobile skip!
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I know exactly what we've got in ours - so we don't ever need to declutter. We have just what we need, and enough for two guests, and no more - certainly not fifty plates! I can't imagine how you get all that lot in - and it must add a great deal to your
caravan weight!Just think how much easier it will be when you can put your hands on anything you need without your cupboards being full of stuff you aren't using!
I'm like Val. I know exactly what we have in our van. I have a very detailed list which shows how much we paid for the item, where it is kept in the van etc. Everytime we move stuff to and from the van the list gets altered. One column of my spreadsheet
tells me how many items I should have in the van, so I always remember to put stuff back. When I take stuff from the van there is even a column for me to put where it goes to etc. I'm very OCD.David
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We're the same, our very first van had far too much stuff, so we de-cluttered after that and now travel quite light. We do tend to pack removables in a bit, like rucksacks and books etc. that's where are clutter starts but these go back home again at the
end of a break.0 -
We decluttered when we changed our van in March. I promised myself that I would not slip back to the old ways, but gradually some stuff has crept back in. However, the van has been emptied again for the service, so once again the stuff will be filtered
again. New Years resolution, ban the clutter. Wonder how long before that one is broken, lol.0 -
We just empty it when we change it throw out what we do not need and that is a lot and start again. With only two of us and near twenty feet of caravan body there are lots of places to put more stuff so as long as it does not fill up we take no notice.
Our daughter has a golden rule that if you have not used something for over a year you do not need it and it sounds like a few more than us should follow suit.
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It's like Newton's laws of physics. Junk expands to fill the space available. The last boat I had had so much stowage space I kept losing things. Weight wasn't an issue with that though.
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Van gets decluttered each year when we empty it for its service, but gets recluttered each holiday as we pack extra stuff 'In case there isn't any in the van''. Once ended up with eight kitchen rolls, and two of everything for the bathroom!
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Van gets decluttered each year when we empty it for its service, but gets recluttered each holiday as we pack extra stuff 'In case there isn't any in the van''. Once ended up with eight kitchen rolls, and two of everything for the bathroom!
Write your comments here...not just me then? FYI my bottom is getting very numb on the naughty step.
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When we changed our caravan for the motorhome we couldn't believe all the clutter we had in the caravan and vowed that it wouldn't all be going in the motorhome when we got it and so far we have managed that. In our motorhome we only take what we need including a few other things such as windbreak and an extra couple of camping chairs in case we have guests. Also we empty the van every year for its annual service (usually in February) so we can re-evaluate what we need and what we don't for the season ahead.
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I think we are not too bad, but then OH is paranoid at the thought of the van being overloaded. I am the hoarder!
I am usually in trouble for taking along too much stuff, and anything heavy is relegated to the car.
The front chest of drawers is where we tend to fall down, all manner of stuff gets crammed in there.
We do clear out most stuff for the service, but pots, cutlery and crockery are always left in as they are not obstructing any work.
We do adjust quantities depending on whether we are expecting guests.
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In our motorhome we only take what we need including a few other things such as windbreak and
an extra couple of camping chairs in case we have guests. Also we empty the van every year for its annual service (usually in February) so we can re-evaluate what we need and what we don't for the season ahead.Interesting, we never take extra chairs for guests. We only take 2 chairs for ourselves and we always either take our chairs to friends or vice versa. Extra chairs = less room for wine on the way back from France
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When we go on site, we get our local removal company to bring all stuff.
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I know exactly what we've got in ours - so we don't ever need to declutter. We have just what we need, and enough for two guests, and no more - certainly not fifty plates! I can't imagine how you get all that lot in - and it must add a great deal to your
caravan weight!Just think how much easier it will be when you can put your hands on anything you need without your cupboards being full of stuff you aren't using!
I'm like Val. I know exactly what we have in our van. I have a very detailed list which shows how much we paid for the item, where it is kept in the van etc. Everytime we move stuff to and from the van the list gets altered. One column of my spreadsheet
tells me how many items I should have in the van, so I always remember to put stuff back. When I take stuff from the van there is even a column for me to put where it goes to etc. I'm very OCD.David
First nomination for COTY 2017 then!
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We are soon to take delivery of a newer caravan and consequently OH has been nipping up to storage and bringing home the contents of our current one. I cannot believe that our spare room (albeit small) is packed with all the stuff we have accumulated. We
have not been very strict with ourselves but now the de-crap starts. Last count, I had 25 toilet rolls, 5 shower gels and 50 melamine plates. Two plastic electric kettles (and a hob kettle), 10 melamine mugs and four dog beds. 10 towels AND four beach/pool
towels, not to mention five pairs of crocs (or equivalent). It's all going. No WONDER I have to struggle to find space for wine. The decant continues. Has anyone else decanted recently.Write your comments here...OMG 5 pairs of crocks.
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Every time I read the OP I still have a chuckle at the 4 dog beds
David
...but at least they dont have a spreadsheet detailing where in the van they're stored
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As someone who have never been a caravanner (and have started with a small mototorhome then a medium sized one and now a campervan) I simply don't understand the amount of equipment which some people caravanners and m/h ers perceive that they need to enjoy
the countryside. Awnings, (as opposed to a rolller type sunshade) windbreak. Satellite TV dish and stand, barbecue awning heater sunlounger large table etc etc just don't figure in our thinking mainly because we are looking for an experience different from
home and we can't see any benefit in replicating home in a different place.I am not saying that the "overloaded" approach is wrong just that I don't understand it.
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