Last week I talked about my current plans for Laverne and for early retirement. I am ever so excited about it and I have so
much to do to prepare and get ready.
Laverne is a 19ft motorhome that I've been restoring since I purchased her in the spring of 2017.
Since then I have been working to restore her interior and exterior as
time and finances have allowed. So far we have taken her on only one adventure
to test her out and determine what needed to be done and I was very happy with
her performance. The biggest thing that
keeps her grounded is that she needs new tires, six of them. So for safety sake she is not allowed out of
the neighborhood.
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| One of the large storage bays I've refurbished |
Inside Laverne has an amazing amount of storage as well as a few smaller storage areas you can access
from the outside. Over the years I
have cleaned all of those storage bays up and refurbished them so they are
really nice, clean and very usable. So
what do I plan to put inside my motorhome?
That is a really good question!
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| Lightweight & durable |
Food & Kitchenware -
I will do a whole other post on this particular subject. As you might imagine I've got a good list
going and a lot of ideas. You may
remember last year I found a vintage set of melmac dishes on eBay. They were still in their original box.
CDs & DVDs - I plan
to spend a fair bit of time in remote areas without wifi or cell service so I
will be old schooling it a fair bit. I
don't want any subscription services either so streaming music isn't my
bag. Laverne has a nice stereo in the
cockpit so depending on what kind of a day I'm having this hard rocking mama
has it covered. I had put my old laptop
in to use as a TV and it has a DVD player so I can watch my favorite movies
like Tombstone or My Cousin Vinny. When
I'm in town and have a wifi connection I can watch Youtube or Amazon Prime. Prime is probably the only thing I will keep
and Netflix will likely go.
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| I got this vintage sewing box to store my supplies in I already know where it will go inside Laverne |
Craft & Sewing
Supplies - I have designated a fair bit of my storage space to this because
crafting and sewing are going to be a huge part of my retired life along
with the travel and outdoor activities. I've
been downsizing, sorting and organizing these things quite a bit so not only
will these things fit in Laverne but so they are more manageable too. I'll do another post on this too.
Quality Shoes & Good
Clothing - I have one closet for hanging items and several bins. Most of the bins will be in the cabover
sleeping area next to my bed. I am still
working on my "bedroom" storage areas and I'm sure there will
be a post about that as well.
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| "New" active wear from the thrift store |
There is much more that
will be added to her and of course I will need to keep weight in mind so I
don't overload her. A common mistake
made by a lot of people is to overload their RVs. Fortunately Laverne is a very rugged all
season motorhome with a steel frame and a solid chassis and I know that I don't
need a whole lot to be happy so weighing her down isn't a huge concern but I do
want to be mindful. More posts to follow
on how I get her road ready and outfitted.
I'm definitely in my happy place!
Yeah!!!! I can't wait to hear more about Laverne and her storage spaces and your bedroom! So exciting!
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be fun!
DeleteIt sounds like your plans are coming together! Did you decide on a solar generator yet? I had considered a Jackery but now the Bluetti is getting such good reviews.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking the Jackery 1000 myself. With the solar panels.
DeleteSounds like such a fun & exciting adventure, even during the preparation phase
ReplyDeleteI love it! :o)
DeleteThis is so exciting. Getting her ready is part of the fun. I admire your independence and courage to do this. It’s a dream of mine.
ReplyDeleteI am sooooo excited.
DeleteWe also didn't use streaming subscriptions. (We did recently start sharing Amazon Prime with a daughter -- but for the shipping benefits, not the movies.) And I had collected literally hundreds of DVDs, mostly from the $1-2 bin at our library's used book store. So we got three of these black cases:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Fasmov-Binder-Wallet-Black-Storage/dp/B0769L6Z6M/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=black+DVD+storage+case&qid=1624574571&sr=8-2
They hold DVDs and CDs -- I separated movies, music, etc. by category (Westerns, SCi-Fi, etc.). They're easy to use and flip through, and they've kept our collection safe through more than two years of traveling! You should look into getting one of these for LaVerne -- they're less than $25.
Thanks for this! :o)
DeleteThis is the exact case we got. (We have three.)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Binder-Holder-Storage-Capacity/dp/B00DIHVMEA?pd_rd_w=Q4Fhw&pf_rd_p=d93af0ec-0925-424f-adfe-bd7170a550eb&pf_rd_r=RQPCYHD0VHAWMQ7N55H3&pd_rd_r=b266a65a-981a-4c65-9a09-a129ed17dead&pd_rd_wg=Vb8aX&pd_rd_i=B00DIHVMEA&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_rp_16_t
I am a planner too so I understand your excitement about planning for this next chapter of your life. The nice thing is you don't have to take a lot of things like books. Just stop in to a used book store, library book sale or thrift store. I can almost always find a few books. We had a friend who traveled full time with her husband and son in an old Rambler station wagon. They relied on thrift stores for clothing as their son out grew his or they wore theirs out. If things were still in good shape they would donate the items they didn't want anymore. I think the kitchen is a potential area for too much weight. Think carefully and maybe craft some list for basics like food and spices to carry and then some to get by until you hit a store with good prices. Maybe even a master list of some of your favorite meals for yourself. Believe me it is different buying just for yourself so you might as well have the things you like and want. This saves money with less waste. Also keep in mind that things shift when you travel. For a funny light hearted movie on traveling watch The long long trailer with Lucille Ball. lol. It seems like you have honed your things down pretty well and unless you really love something I wouldn't put every little thing into a storage. And depending on what you are storing it might be worth it to find a temp / humidity controlled storage. At least see if they are something you want - price might be a bit higher but in the long run it might be worth it. Take care.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I love that movie. I'm going to dehydrate quite a bit and my dishes are lightweight plastic so I'm thinking I'll be good. Some things I'll be a minimalist with so I can save the weight for other things. I agree about the storage unit and may see about one with electricity too. Checking all my options. :)
DeleteP.S. My son just bought an Artic Air off Amazon for 32.00 it is small and portable and cools a room down in nothing flat. He loves it. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteooooo! good to know.
DeleteIt sounds like you have everything well thought out.
ReplyDelete