Stuff

Or...No, I'm Taking This With Me

There's a lot of transitioning going on, as I'm finishing up the final major repairs and tune ups, and getting my life moved over from the house, to the RV, and transitions cost money.



The process of moving out of my house and into the RV is not a cheap one. Aside from the simple costs of repairing what wants repaired, and paying for the improvements to come, there are small, nickel and dime transactions that are impressively draining all on their own.

Here's my shopping list thus far.

• Marine quality toilet paper. No, not the OORAH kind of marine, the boat kind of marine. Marine toilet paper is designed to dissolve better in holding tanks, like the one under an RV. You, nor I, nor anyone in my immediate vicinity, wants that thing getting clogged up on substandard toilet paper.

• Plastic and paper plates/cups/silverware. Aside from the ease of clean up (paper dishes go great in camp fires), having all of my eating utensils be plastic makes a whole hell of a lot less noise when driving around than glass, metal, and stoneware.

• Plastic dry-cleaner bags. This RV is old. Very old. Older than me. And because it's so old, every shake and shimmy and bump makes a whole lot of dust, and do you know where that dust ends up? All over my clean clothes. Now, those of you who know me intimately know that I hang all of my clothes that can be hung, and these dry-cleaner bags will go far in keeping my clothes free of the ever present dust. Also, I smoke, which doesn't help the dust situation.

• Strike Anywhere matches. Speaking of smoke. I'm going to be doing a lot of living at campgrounds, and what's a campground without a campfire? Matches are also a lot easier to use to light my stove, whose pilot light doesn't seem to work, than cigarette lighters. Add a thin layer of shellac, and those strike anywhere matches become waterproof strike anywhere matches.

• A small Air Compressor. I have a lot of tires (eight, as a matter of fact), and low tire pressure is a fact of life. As I learned when I had to remove a tire to get a leaky pipe fixed, changing a tire on this thing is a nightmare, so I'd rather spend a little money and take proper care of my tires. Plus, if I get a small enough one, I already have a place to keep it in the RV.

• One of those rooftop, water tight storage things. You've seen them, on the tops of hatchbacks and minivans. I'll be the first to tell you, I have a lot of crap, and while the vast majority of it is going into storage, I'll be taking a lot of it with me. Predominantly, my time occupying, nerdy hobbies, Having somewhere to put that kind of thing OUTSIDE of the limited living space inside the RV would be a godsend. 

And that's just the beginning. There's so much to do, and with so much to do, there's so much to buy. Keep your eyes open the next time you find yourself at a Home Depot. There's a fair chance you'll see me there.

-Z