Starrs Aboard

I have no idea what I’m doing.

Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic. I know what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to get us ready to sell our house, move into the motorhome and hit the road.

But right now? I feel LOST.

There is just so much to do, and that little clock in my head is constantly counting down.

The problem is, regular life hasn’t stopped just because we decided to completely change ours.

I still work full time. I still have a house to clean, laundry to do, groceries to buy and meals to cook. And the thing that seems to consume more of my life than anything else…going to work!

Then, somewhere in between all of that, I’m supposed to get us ready to get rid of most of what we own and move into a motorhome.

I can do this…..right?

So Where Do I Even Start?

Right now, I’m starting with the easy stuff.

The emotionally easy stuff. The things I already know I don’t want.

We’ll save the hard stuff for another day.

If I don’t use it now, I probably don’t need to move it into the motorhome, store it, or drag it along into whatever life looks like after we’re done traveling.

So I’m trying to figure out where to start. Which cupboards? Which closets? Which rooms? For now, I’m just trying to pull out the obvious things first.

I keep telling Ed how much stuff we need to get rid of.

His response?

“All of my stuff is in the barn.”

Well, technically, he’s right.

But let me explain “the barn.”

We built it about 10 years ago, and calling it a barn makes it sound like some little building out back. It’s 1,850 square feet. That’s bigger than our previous HOUSE. And it is filled with tools and all kinds of “man stuff.”

So apparently, I have a house full of things to get rid of and Ed has…a barn.

To be fair, he really hasn’t cared much about what I’ve bought for inside the house over the years. Other than his recliner (which I’m pretty sure cost more than some used cars), most of what’s inside the house really is my territory.

Hmm.

I wonder if he’s planning to put that recliner in a storage unit while we travel.

I probably need to add that to one of my lists.

We’re thinking about having a garage sale in October, and then we’ll definitely have another one in March or April when we’re much closer to leaving. But for now, the only thing I know to do is start getting rid of things on Facebook Marketplace.

That involves listing things, answering messages, waiting for people who never show up, and then eventually either selling the item or putting it in a box for the garage sale.

Which sounds simple until you realize every single thing has to be pulled out, cleaned up, photographed, researched, priced, listed, answered about, and hopefully eventually handed off to someone who wants it.

And all of that takes TIME.

Meanwhile, My Brain Is Making Lists

Because getting rid of our stuff is only one part of this.

There are lists everywhere.

Things we need to do to the motorhome.

Things we need to buy.

Things we need to sell.

Things we need to research.

We need to figure out where we’re going to establish our domicile once we no longer have a house. Then there is changing our residency, driver’s licenses, insurance, mailing address and everything else that goes along with officially becoming people who don’t have a regular home.

I’m researching RV apps, campground apps, places to stay, memberships and ways to figure out where the heck we’re going next once we’re actually out there.

I’m also trying to convince Ed that loving ice cream doesn’t mean it needs to be its own food group and that perhaps we should both work on eating a little healthier before we hit the road.

I’m sure that’s going to go extremely well.

And Then There’s This

This blog.

Or journal.

Or whatever I’m supposed to call what I’m doing here.

Apparently, deciding to document our adventure also means learning WordPress, Facebook, Pinterest and who knows what else.

But I want a “scrapbook” of this adventure, just not one that my kids will someday have to figure out what to do with. Believe me, I’m starting to realize the emotions that go along with that.

I’m 60 years old. None of this comes naturally to me.

Half the time I don’t know what I’m supposed to post, where I’m supposed to post it, what a hashtag does, why I need one, or why the same picture apparently needs to be five different shapes depending on where I put it.

But I’m learning.

Slowly.

And I’m not going to lie, ChatGPT and I have developed a very special relationship lately. It has literally become my WordPress tutor and the place I turn when I’m trying to figure out all of this stuff.

The Clock Is Definitely Ticking

When I started writing about this adventure, I kept saying we had about nine months.

Except…

Oh gosh.

It’s really not nine months anymore.

And suddenly this thing we’ve been talking about and planning for doesn’t feel quite so far away.

There is a LOT to do between now and then.

Today I may not know exactly how we’re going to get it all done.

But I’m emptying some cupboards.

I’m listing some things for sale.

I’m adding a few more things to my never-ending lists.

And tomorrow I’ll do something else.

Maybe that’s how you get ready to completely change your life.

One cupboard at a time.