New York to the Outer Banks

Hey everyone!! [Video is linked at the bottom]

We are FINALLY at our motel, Sea Foam Motel, and ready for some sleep.  We left yesterday (Sunday) at 6 p.m. instead of waking up super early Monday and wasting almost all the day driving.  We basically drove through the night - just two 45 minute stops for power naps, and twice to get gas.  NOT BAD, right? It really wasn't, it was just a really long night.  We drove through Pennsylvania through rain storms and dreadful fog (we were only on the road because we were hugging the white line on the road and going 20 miles an hour, so we were ready to stop/slow down as needed).  And then we got in to Maryland.  The goal was to drive through D.C., see the White House, etc.  but we didn't realize that they closed (and heavily guarded) the entrances after a certain time.  Which was fine, we still drove by a bunch of governmental buildings, Watergate, memorials and statues,  and the Pentagon, which was pretty cool.  Nothing really entertaining happened in Virginia, except for driving through a tunnel near Norfolk.  By the time we hit North Carolina, the sun was just starting to come up and we saw a beautiful sunrise.  But boy, were we out of it. Forgetting that many people are on island time, we headed over to the Aquarium and had a blast.  Came to the motel, checked in, and successfully took a nap.  Went grocery shopping (YAY! They upgraded us for free to a room with a kitchen with all the supplies: pots, pans, silverware, dish set, etc.) Can we just take a moment and see how amazing our view is???? 

We are SO close to the ocean.  I get to sit here next to the sliding door and write this blog post and listen to an ocean that is just over the dune.  I suppose I haven't really explored/expected any thing else other than the hotels like Litchfield Beach, Sands, etc. that had the long wooden boardwalk to the beach.  There's a gazebo to walk through with benches in them, but you are on the beach, not walking down a catwalk.  We stuck our feet in the water --- BRRRRR!!!!! Hopefully when we get down to South Carolina and under the Cape the water will be slightly warmer to actually enjoy putting our feet in.  There were a few brave souls in wet suits who spent HOURS in the water surfing.  Good for them, I'm sure I would be out there as well if I owned a wetsuit.  Maybe some day.  

Before I share our YouTube video on our Day 1 (and a half if you count last night?), I'll post a few pictures that aren't on the video that I really like.  

The two turtles above are one of MANY the aquarium takes in for rehabilitation, and it is open for the public to see, explore (behind a barrier), and ask questions.  Would LOVE to do that as a volunteer.  

Shawn pondering the size of him vs. the many animals out there in the wild! It was such a great day.  We cooked dinner, dabbled with editing our video, and are winding down for bed, even though it's not even 9:15 😂😂 More to come tomorrow, because IT'S SHAWN'S 28TH BIRTHDAY!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!! 

Enjoy, let us know what you think/like/would like to see, etc.! Good Night! 

We Are On YouTube!

Okay, please bear with us! We are totally new to having a camera around us, totally new to having to think about what to show and even how to edit the videos into something manageable.  

Day 1: What We've Learned
-  The basics of iMovie
-  We need to get a tripod for the camera to make it not as wobbly 
-  We need to watch more tutorials on iMovie
-  We're obvious beginners in front of the camera!
-  It's totally weird to think that we'll be watching ourselves on the TV/computer. 

Our new-to-us Georgie Boy Pursuit is a GREAT vehicle.  When we get some more basics down, things put away, & the weather gets nicer, we'll do a full tour of the inside and the outside.  But here's a sneak peek at our new home! 

Follow us on YouTube: Get Lost! With Shawn & Jen

Let us know what you think, and let us know what you want to see!! :)

Packing, Downsizing, and Moving Efficiently

We've been downsizing our four bedroom home for about 9 months now, and boy has it been a process! We've learned what works best for us, and how to get stuff done.  Hopefully this post helps you with any questions about the process, what it's like, and how to decide what goes and what stays.  If I don't cover what you want to know, comment below or shoot me an email! 

GETTING RID OF THINGS:

STEP 1:  Garage Sale
We started by going through the house, and getting whatever we wanted to get rid of, and putting it in the garage.  Then, we applied for a garage sale permit, which cost a whopping $5 (check with your town or village clerk to see if this is necessary, it varies! And sometimes there are free weekends where you don't need to pay a fee!). 

We ended up having two garage sales.  We paid for a weekend, and our village had a free garage sale weekend a month after where we were able to sell what was left over from the first garage sale.  We advertised for the first one by making flyers with our address, the time of the sale, and some of the major ticket items we were getting rid of.  We also had two pretty darn cute kids showing off some of the merchandise! The second sale was advertised in the Pennysaver because it was Village-wide and listed every house that was participating, so we didn't do anything for that.  We had some fun during the sales and were happy to begin our "letting go" journey.  We weren't sure if we were going the apartment route or Travel Trailer/Motorhome route, but we knew we had to downsize. 

STEP 2: Sort It Out! 

If you have more than a few months before your move, this will be ongoing.  Letting go of things can be emotional.  It can also be liberating. 

Clothes: Before you begin the sorting process, know what you can realistically be able to bring with you or how much you want to get rid of.  Set a goal for yourself.  For me, it was to go through my dressers & closet every week and to get rid of at least one item that I didn't wear or use.  Some weeks, I would only put in a shirt or a pair of shorts in the donate bag.  Other weeks, I would fill an entire garbage bag.  Small progress is still progress! 

Every time you do a load of laundry, dump it on the bed/floor/folding table.  Decide what you want to keep and what you can donate or throw out. Then worry about folding what you are keeping.  Don't bother holding on to socks with holes unless you actually do use them consistently.  Don't bother keeping those clothes with holes, stains that won't come out, etc. unless you actually will continue to wear them.  

All other items: It's kind of hard to dump kitchen items all over the place and everything in the bathroom closets on a bed, especially if it can leak.  So let's make a plan.  Let's clear off that kitchen table.  Go through one room of your house.  Put anything you find that you can donate on the table, and anything you can throw out in a garbage bag.  If you find anything that you can give to a friend or family member, text or call them as soon as you are done cleaning out that room! Don't procrastinate - it will just sit around.  Congratulations! You've accomplished a MAJOR thing! Reward yourself with a cup of tea or a relaxing bath.  NOT by buying something for yourself (unless it's something you need or a pedi/mani type deal).  Now let's do the same thing next week in another room.  Or, if you don't have time, do as much as you can until you have to stop.  Repeat until you are downsized to where you want to be.  

STEP 3: Get rid of it! 

- Make a run to donate the things you've collected.  Be sure to get a receipt - you can include that when you do your tax returns if you want! If you have items that are too heavy to move or you don't have a truck to get rid of something big, like a bed frame, check out the Salvation Army! They have a truck that comes to pick up your donations.  Just check out their website before you set aside items for them, as they have limitations to what they can take.  We've also donated to Goodwill and Savers.  

- Give any items to friends and/or family! 

- Make sure to remember to get your garbage out to the curb (or in the dumpster/down the chute/whatever your situation is).  Out of sight, out of mind! 

***For things you really have to keep but don't have room for, consider renting out a storage unit.  They come in many different sizes and can be climate controlled if needed.  I STRONGLY recommend stopping by a few different places to see for yourself what the units look like and bring along a measuring tape.  I made the mistake of renting a unit that is advertised as 5x5 and reassured by the workers without measuring.  I knew the space looked small, but hey, I'm not in the storage unit business.  But my piano that is 4 feet 8 inches doesn't fit flush against a wall.  It has to be diagonal in the unit, decreasing the amount of space we have to put boxes in with it.  PLEASE don't make this mistake if you have something sizable.  

PACKING & CLEANING:

Supplies:

Boxes

Duct Tape

Markers

Newspaper/bubble wrap

Garbage bags

Optional: Glass of wine, music

Tips that helped us:

- Set up two boxes at a time, so as you go through your things you can put fragile things in one, and everything else in the other.  

- As you go finish a cupboard in the kitchen or bathroom, vacuum & wipe it out! This will save you time later on. 

- Contacts holders make great places to keep two pairs of earrings! 

- Label the side of the box with where it is supposed to end up, like "Kitchen" or "Bathroom" or "RV" or "Storage" and on the top, list what is inside.  If the box contains fragile items, write that on the side as well, so people helping you know not to put anything on top of the box or to be careless handling it.  

- Put clothes in bags if you can! You can even keep them on the hangers.  Use it like a garment bag!  You can also put any sheets/other bedding in bags as well.  Just make sure that the bags are a different color from the garbage bags! 

- If you can, try and move things to the new place before the official "move in" date. It doesn't hurt to ask! I was able to do this when I bought the house (everything just stayed in the garage until the move in date), and we are doing it now with the motorhome.  Anything that doesn't have to be climate controlled, we are moving.  

- Think positive.  Your mindset is half the battle. 

I'm sure I've forgotten some things, but I hope this helped even just a little bit.  We're hoping to be out of the house unofficially in about a week.  We're still not sure when the closing date is, so that's TBD. Fingers crossed that things can work out! 

Thanks for reading! Let me know of any good packing ideas that you have - we still have a little more to go! Also any good organization ideas for an RV? I've been scanning Pinterest.... Decisions!  

A Lifestyle Change (For the Better!)

Hey everyone!! Some of you more consistent readers may notice the change in layout a little bit, font change, etc.  This is only the beginning of a pretty big lifestyle change.  We are hoping to gain some more followers, even if they are just family and close friends keeping an eye on our whereabouts and what we're up to.  We are also in the process of making a YouTube channel (which isn't live yet), so those videos will be posted here too. 

Shawn and I are hoping and praying that the buyers of our home follow through with the deal.  We're thinking they will, because the most stressful part of the selling process happened Friday: the bank appraiser came out.  SO blessed that he was professional, understanding, and helpful.  He knew that boxes stacked in a living room are nothing new when people are moving, he knew that the last thing we want to do is put more money in to the house (and thankfully we don't have to!) and understood we are counting on this deal.  Thank you Scott for being so understanding and practical. 

After a full year of doing research, talking with families, going to shows, and investing a significant amount of time going through finances, apartment prices, travel costs, accessibility, and talking about our dreams (and everything else), we've come to a decision. We asked ourselves how much house we really use and need.  We DEFINITELY don't need a four bedroom, two bath house with zoned heating. So what would we do? We are buying Shawn's grandpa's Class A motorhome!!!!! Not a pull behind, not one that goes over the truck bed, not one that just sits in a truck bed, and not a van one! This one is 35 feet long, and has so many perks that we never thought in a million years that we could afford.  This investment is SO amazing to us, that I feel that the benefits could fill two posts at least! The journey to this point has been incredible in so many different ways, and while I certainly had nights where I just wanted to sit, snuggle, and eat some raspberry sorbet, I knew the outcome was worth this process.  I knew the process was going to be scary, but to me, having regrets and not following my dreams (and Shawn for his) was much scarier and unnerving.  

Okay, bear with me here.  We know that many people don't know about or understand this lifestyle, and feel that it isn't the best route.  Why would we want to be mobile? Why would we want to downsize? Why would we want to buy something instead of rent? Why, why, why! So let's lay this out. But first thing's first.  Sorry, not sorry if I sound like a b***h.  It may not be the best route for YOU but after so much time researching, this is the best lifestyle choice for ME (and Shawn). We hope that you take the time to understand the reasoning behind our decision, and hope that you will grow to love our experiences and understand that it wasn't a spur of the moment decision/a one sided decision/biased/not researched/whatever. We know that you may not like the decision, but we ask that you respect it. 

#1: COST EFFECTIVE! 
So for the price of the RV, it is considerably less than what I would pay in rent nearly anywhere in the country (unless I lived in the ghetto with shootings, slumlords, and a high crime rate). For less than $40/year, we can get a Park pass where we can stay in National and some State parks FOR FREE, or a significantly discounted price (like $4-10/night). We can also sign up for Good Sam, where we would get discounts to stay at parks in that club.  Can we also just take a moment and appreciate KOA work program??? It's something Shawn is looking in to.  From what we gathered, he would work there, we wouldn't have to pay a nightly hookup rate (water, sewer, electric, depending what they have) or pay a discounted rate, and any work done over the price of the space is take home money.  Shawn's a landscaper, has experience as a construction worker, cement worker, electrician, went to school to be a mechanic, and is a general contractor.  So, as Aunt Julie would say, "in my humble yet always correct opinion," he's pretty handy to have around and any KOA would benefit from having him there.  KOA's are across the country, and if one is in need of help for x amount of time and if it works with the school schedule, we can go spend some time there, make some $, and have an adventure. (I'll probably work 10-15 hours/week lifeguarding hopefully to add to an income, where I'll apply as a student, on the school schedule, as our address will be out of town.  More on that later.)

So let's also add under this, we're paying ONLY insurance (which is around $250/6 months), phone, gas for the motorhome, groceries, maintenance, and any site fees if we aren't boondocking (which is what we plan on doing the most - we'll have a built in generator, so we will be entirely self sufficient).  We plan on eventually adding solar power, so that will add to our battery life.  We're also going to change over to LED lighting, which will be almost a 90% difference from fluorescent and will help our battery life, decrease fire risk significantly, and add to the life of the lights.  

No more gas bill.  No more (higher) electric bill.  No more cable/internet when we can use phones as a hotspot.  (We might get something internet wise from Verizon at some point in the future, but starting out, we aren't worried about this detail.)  No more property tax.  No more quarterly water bill.   I'm selling my car, so no more insurance on that.  Shawn's going to be putting his truck in storage, so no more insurance on that.  YES, we will be getting a vehicle to tow behind our motorhome, but more on that later.  

#2: FREEDOM!
We are able to be extremely flexible in where we go.  We don't have to worry about animal care if we want to travel to another part of the country.  We don't have to worry about leaving an apartment full of personal belongings behind during a hurricane.  We don't have to worry about not being able to see parts of the country because plane tickets are just too expensive.  We don't have to be limited to Graduate School area during school breaks.  The list of things WE DO get is ginormous.  We get beachfront sites for a week that is HALF the price of a hotel for ONE NIGHT.  We get to be off-grid.  We get to explore different towns, cities, cultures, communities, and so much more.  We get to learn about lessening our carbon footprint.  We get amazing views.  We get sundowners.  We get amazing experiences.  All of which are to be documented and put on YouTube and on here.  We get more time to learn about ourselves individually and as a couple.  I'll have more time to read.  Shawn will have more time to do his list of things he loves to do.  We get to make friends across the country.  We get to make unexpected experiences into memories.  We get to "live on less so we get to LIVE more" (Less Junk, More Journey).  

We aren't naive, we don't expect everything to work out perfectly.  Heck, we already have a small to-do list! But we have a general idea of what to expect after doing a considerable amount of research over the past year.  To get an idea, check out blogger and YouTuber "Less Junk, More Journey" a couple with a toddler who RVs full time. Another favorite is  "Gone With the Wynn's" on YouTube and their personal website.  They spent years full timing in their RV and decided to transition into a catamaran and try to live as off-grid as possible. Both of these are our favorites, as they have SO much information to digest and share their bad experiences so people get an idea of what they are getting themselves in to (and also share the good!).  

I don't want to make this post super long, so I guess I'll end it here.  But I want to leave you with a quote that sums up the adventure, said by Marissa from "Less Junk, More Journey"

"We RV because we crave a life of less junk and more journey. Less house, more living. Less cleaning, more mingling. Less monotony, more memories. Less commute time, more family time. Life is short. It’s all about the journey and having no regrets!"