Stuff.
While packing up our lives in San Francisco, it was really hard to tell what things we'd need on the the trip and what things we wouldn't. We tried to default to the rule that if we didn't 100% know we'd need it, we'd leave it behind. Almost everything is replaceable, so better to need something and not have it (because you can easily get it) than to have it and not need it (because once you have it and not need it, you'll never actually get rid of it and you'll end up with a cluttered RV full of stuff you don't need). But that rule got bent pretty quickly and often. First of all, it's really easy to convince yourself that you really really might need this thing in particular. And second, there are just some things that you could easily live without, but either make your life a little bit easier, or just make it more fun or comforting or familiar.
Now that we've been on the road a while, he's a list of some of the things we're glad we have, or could have left behind.
Things We Were Conflicted About Bringing
But Are Now Really Grateful We Have:
1. Geek stuff.
So no, we don't need a squeaky catpig toy (photo cameo: personalized bobbleheads, gifted to us from Peter). Or a Chewbacca mask that growls when you open its mouth (gift from Eyal and Jen to Mike). Or a baby Groot that dances when you put music on and also charges your phone (gift from Mike to me). Or a poopmoji cross stitch (gift from me to Mike). But these things, among others, have sentimental value, and always make us laugh. We also underestimated the value of just having familiar things around. Your stuff, even if it's dorky, unnecessary stuff, does make it feel like more of a home. I have no regrets about squeaky catpig.
2. My ridiculous hair dryer.
Oh, hairdryer. How I adore thee. I was really sure I wasn't going to bring this beast, because really, how ridiculous -- this huge contraption just to spare me from having to hold a small hair dryer up to my head, or to just have wet hair for a few hours at a time. But -- shoutout to my other curly girls here -- this dryer is one of my favorite things I have ever owned. (Heather, can I get an Amen?) One, I am incredibly lazy and hate drying my hair, but also hate having wet hair. Two, this makes my hair look awesome with basically zero work, which is the only kind of vanity I have the patience for. And three, it is just. so. fun. You just get to sit there all warm and snuggly for twenty minutes and bliss out and relax. You can write (or blog!) or think or read.
The dryer disassembles into three pieces (head, stand, and rolly feet), so when we're on the road, we just take it apart and put it in what we call the "basement" (the outdoor storage underneath the RV). When we're staying somewhere other than the RV, I just bring it inside. When we're staying at an RV park, I just suck it up and use my other hairdryer. So far, it's all pros and no cons. So glad I brought it.
I got my BaByliss used on Craigslist for cheap, but looks like other brands start around $80 on Amazon, if anyone wants to get one.
3. A Snuggie.
This came into my life courtesy of my friend Andrea. I think it's safe to say that a Snuggie is something you probably wouldn't buy for yourself, but as soon as you have one, you use it all the time. I found that the Snuggie is the best passenger-seat attire out there. For long drives, it's actually hilariously useful to have those arm holes so I can have access to my phone or computer or whatever, while still staying warm and cozy. Plus it has sentimental value, so also fits into category #1.
4. The Instant Pot.
Also a gift, from our friends Tony and Dane. We have the smallest one, and it fits really easily in the RV kitchen, and is also really easy to bring in and out of places if we're not staying in the RV. All it needs is low electricity, so plus one for RV life. It's compact, and fast, and can cook anything. It's the perfect RV kitchen appliance. We probably wouldn't have bought one ourselves, but now I can't live without it. Once we're done with the trip, I think we'll buy a big one for home and leave the small one in the RV.
5. A Soda Stream.
Believe me, the ridiculousness of us not being able to survive a year without on-demand bubbly water is not lost on us, and we make fun of ourselves for it all the time. But I still do have to admit, it's really nice to have it around! It's fairly compact, we basically drink nothing but water so it's nice to have the variety, and we drink enough bubbly water that we're saving tons of money by not buying bubbly water at the store. We also occasionally get the little bottles of flavorings, so we can make bubbly juice or soda ourselves, which saves both space and money. Yes, we're spoiled brats. But we're happy and hydrated spoiled brats. (Also, another gift! Thanks, Heather! Man... this is making me realize how spoiled I am with friends, too. You guys buy awesome gifts!)
6. Our noise machine.
We bought the noise machine when we still lived in San Francisco. We lived right on a bus line and thought we slept just fine without it, but as soon as we started using it, we realized how much better we slept with it on. It's great for adding an extra level of privacy, too, when you're staying at an RV park or someone's place and you don't want to disturb them by talking or making noise. Now, we bring it everywhere we travel. This is the one we have; we also got the carrying case, which is convenient for traveling. It's the only one I've ever used that didn't bug me and keep me up with noticeable looping of noises.
7. Miscellaneous tools and tech (some of it).
Here's an actual conversation that happened in the second week of our trip:
Mike: I'm going to go set up another raspberry pi.
Me: How many raspberry pis do you have? How many are important enough to bring on a year long RV trip?
Mike (thinks really hard): Like... seven?
Mike (leaves the room, comes back): Eight.
(Leaves again, comes back): I left like three at home.
To be fair, he's used at least five of them already.
He's working some while on the road, and he's also just a handy guy, so it's nice to have gadgets and tools and cables and batteries available when we need them.
Things We Brought But Didn't Need
and Now Don't Know What to Do With
1. Meditation cushion.
Contrary to my sincere hope, having a meditation cushion does not, in fact, cause you to meditate more. And 95% of the times that I do, I just do it on the floor or in a chair or use a regular pillow, despite having this with me. But Mike got it for me as a birthday gift, and I don't want to get rid of it. So now we lug it around from place to place and I tell myself I'll use it more. Luckily, it's small. And a pillow. So it's not too annoying to have around.
2. These Ikea baskets.
Let's bring all the storage things!, we said. They'll be useful!, we said. I love these baskets and have been using them in my apartments for years now, so I thought we could use them for storage in the RV. But turns out we don't need as many storage containers as we thought, and it became apparent really early that the only ones you do want in an RV are clear so you can see what's in it from the top or side. Ones with tops and that are stackable are also useful. So now we have a bunch of cute baskets that don't seem to be available at Ikea anymore, so I don't want to throw them away, but they take up a fair amount of space. Oops.
3. This adorable step stool.
I don't even know what we thought we'd do with this. Put our feet up while we're working? I have no idea. Nothing in the RV is too tall to reach (it's an RV, after all), so this thing just ends up rattling around while we're driving. Hoping to forcefully gift this onto someone during the trip. Any takers?
*Stuff update: we bequeathed the step stool to our family in Orlando. Thanks for taking it off our hands!
4. Miscellaneous tools and tech (the rest of it).
We definitely brought too many tools, including Mike's electronics tools. He was feeling ambitious and brought all the tools he might need for projects, instead of the ones he knew he'd need for sure. And with other non-tech tools, we overprepared for everything that could possibly go wrong, and now we have multiple boxes of stuff we never use, taking up space. In retrospect, I would have been more deliberate when picking which tools we'd actually need or not, remembering that we're almost always in civilization, within reasonable reach if we need something. And also remembering that we have roadside assistance if something really goes wrong with the car.
Stuff We Didn't Think We'd Need
But Ended Up Buying
1. A portable printer.
We don't really print things much, and figured when we did need to print something, we could either borrow someone's home printer or just go to a FedEx or something. In reality, what happened instead was that my aversion to walking eight minutes each direction in order to print out one piece of paper was strong enough that I just hopped on Amazon to buy this instead. Bonus is that this'll actually be useful for work in the future (I can look all fancy and bring it to a client meeting and print something out on the spot). We still don't print a lot of things, but it's really handy and convenient to have, and I'm glad we have it.
2. Rain boots.
I left mine at home, because this seemed like one of those things that you can easily survive without. But really, it's just a lot nicer to have them, and they don't take up a ton of space. Worth it.
3. Silicone drinking cups.
Before we left, we did a fair amount of research into what materials to stock our RV kitchen with. Glass and ceramics break too easily. I don't like microwaving plastic. Can't microwave metal. Many materials would rattle around a lot while driving and be really loud. We ended up getting plastic cups (and just won't microwave in them) and Corelle plates and bowls (because while they're breakable and rattly, they're at least a lot harder to break than glass, and can go in the microwave). But then, alas! We discovered silicone!
Unbreakable, doesn't make noise while driving, microwave safe, BPA-free, dishwasher safe, and good for all temperatures. We got rid of all our plastic drinkware (except for our cute plastic wine glasses and, of course, some Mardi Gras throws) and replaced with these. Every RV kitchen (and home with children who break things) should be stocked with these.
And a related sidenote: everyone buy reusable straws! Disposable plastic straws are wasteful and bad for the environment. We have these metal ones, but there are a variety of different materials available online.
4. Humidifier.
Don't worry, there's water in there... we're not spraying Sprite all over the room.
For getting sick and for dry places. We got this travel one that you just plug a water bottle into.
5. Dehumidifier.
Yes, we know it's funny to have both a humidifier and a dehumidifier.
RV cabinets and furniture are prone to warping, and we want to make our rig last as long as possible. When we're plugged in, especially when we're in humid places, we got the dehumidifer to keep it as dry as possible in there, to prevent warping. We got this small one.
And a bonus addendum on clothes:
I blogged a while back about how nice it was to not have very many articles of clothing to choose from. It's now been five months wearing the same week's worth of clothes every day, and I'm finally growing sick of my clothes.
The main lesson is that there are a few items of clothing I brought but still don't really wear, despite having very little to choose from. I'm learning what clothes are actually most useful to have, and which ones I don't need. The main clothes I don't wear often are the Travel Clothes -- you know, the clothes you bring on vacations that are wrinkle-free and kind of dorky looking but you don't mind getting them dirty or they're good for temperature control? You know, like your cargo pants that you'd never normally wear in public or that giant sun hat? I brought some of those, thinking hey, those'll be great for the trip, I don't mind if they get ruined and they'll be comfy and I'm traveling. Except, this isn't a trip to the beach surrounded by strangers. I'm just living my normal life and doing normal things, and want to look presentable and like a normal person, not a perma-tourist. So I basically end up never wearing the Travel Clothes, and end up having more like five days of outfits, instead. Lesson learned!
Before our trip, we mailed some bags of extra clothes to Mike's parents, so we could resupply when we needed. One mistake I made was to send basically an entire new wardrobe of another week's worth of clothing, which was unnecessary because really all I need are a couple of new shirts and a dress. So now that I've gotten the resupply, I have twice as many clothes as I need. I'm going to take out all the clothes that aren't necessary, and try to get it back to about 7-10 days worth of clothes again. The rest will be gifted to my sister in law or donated if she hates them.
Another lesson is that, out of all the stuff we brought, clothes are one of the least of the worries. They're small and easy to shove into small places. Having a little bit more than a week's worth is fine.
Final Lessons
Bring the stuff that means something to you. Bring the stuff that will 100% for sure definitely be useful. Don't bring the stuff that you don't know for sure will be useful. Do ship clothes ahead of time (or just restock as-needed) but know you'll only need to replace a few things at a time. And fill your life with wonderful family and friends, and bring pieces of them with you!
