50 Pounds of Stuff in a 20-pound Bag

Remember the puzzle where there were nine numbered tiles and one empty space and you had to put them in order but could only slide one tile at a time into the empty spot? That's what's been going on in our house on wheels (H.O.W.). We thought we got rid all the stuff we accumulated over 32 years of marriage and beyond but no, we still have way too much. It's amazing how indentured we feel by all our possessions. We don't own it, it owns US!

Our H.O.W, affectionately called our "training wheels" has extremely limited storage especially for anything of substantial size. I never thought a sewing machine would be a problem to stow, but it is. I've got a camera bag that holds all my gear. Not much mind you: one body, two lenses, a flash, some filters, lens-hoods, batteries and chargers. Too big. I'm downsizing all my technology, including selling off my "digital darkroom". One-piece fishing rods, gone. Cold-water waders, history. I don't know what I'm going to do about my tools. They're really heavy and take up a lot of space, but I still need to maintain and do repairs on the car and the H.O.W.

Eventually we plan on replacing our front-engine gas training-wheels with a rear engine diesel, (AKA a diesel pusher). That style of H.O.W. typically has storage bays (a basement) that is fully enclosed and somewhat climate controlled. Also, with the engine in back there is no drive train extending front to back so the basement can be a lot bigger. With a big, clean, weatherproof, critter-proof basement, storing heavy and/or bulky items there becomes feasible.

For now however, the puzzle game continues.