Shopping and Purging

Okay, let’s get into the lifestyle of living tiny. What I mean by this is when we went from a 2200 square foot house to our 371 square ft fifth wheel, we quickly realized our lifestyle had to change. The way we shop for personal items, the way we shop for groceries, the way we shop for holidays and more all had to change.

Our rule for personal items is one new item in then one old item must go. This means if we want to buy a new shirt then we must get rid of an old one. Same goes for the kids. One new toy in then one old toy must go. Now, we are human, and we do slip sometimes but we try to be mindful and stick to the rule most of the time. 

Even with all the mindful shopping rules we have set for ourselves and our tiny living lifestyle we still manage to collect a lot of stuff. Changes in seasons cause us to have extra pieces in our wardrobe. Holidays cause us to have extra decorations we don’t typically have. Growing kids means growing out of clothes, growing out of toys and games. So, I would say we easily go through our storage areas and closets once a month to see what we can donate and do not need anymore. Purging has become a part of our lives, and we thoroughly enjoy the process. Something about it has become very freeing and liberating for us. Even our kids, as they get older, are helpful with this process. This wasn’t always the case with the kids. When they were younger it was a very tough process for them to handle and understand. Now we feel like it is finally sinking in that it is just stuff and instead of just sitting in our closets or the bottom of our toy bins we can donate it for someone else to enjoy. This lifestyle is teaching us, not just our children, a different way of life and we love it. We are not consumed with consuming, instead we are selective and mindful of our purchases. I hope this inspires you to do the same. As always, happy camping, y’all!