Camping: A Lesson in The Beauty of Minimalism

By: Karen Pfeiffer Bush, CEO of Housewarming

My family and I love to take off in our little 16-foot camper and find new and exciting destinations throughout Washington State. There are so many beautiful places and amazing campgrounds in our beautiful corner of the country.

We crossed almost all of the main Washington mountain passes over the past year as we took to the great outdoors in lieu of airline travel due to….well, you know. After each trip, we took stock of which items we used that were packed into our little camper and those that we just never removed from the valuable storage spaces. After each adventure, we removed a few items from the camper. It is so nice to be dialed in so that we only have to pack our food and clothes for each of us and we’re ready to roll. Having only the items that we use in the camper makes set up and clean up super easy too.

Everyone’s got a beach towel and a shower towel, bedding and basic toiletries clean and stocked in the camper at all times. We’ve downsized our pots and pans to have only just what we regularly use for food prep and serving. We’ve got a hot cup, a cold cup and water bottle for each one of us and one extra of each in case we bring a guest along. We’ve got just the right amount of plates and silverware so we’re forced to fully wash and put everything away after each meal.  It’s a tight operation!

Over the many years of helping people downsize and prepare themselves for a move and/or for selling their homes, I have preached the message over and over again: Only keep what you use, love and need! I admit that my home does not fully reflect this philosophy but I remind myself to think that way when I’m organizing spaces and evaluating what we’ve got and how to keep it orderly.

If you’d like your home to be a “tight operation” where you’ve got what you use, love and need and you know just where to go to find it: think like you’re camping. Whether it be display spaces, storage areas or floor space, each piece of your home is valuable real estate. Focus on having only those things that you use and things that make you feel happy when you see them, and you will have a peaceful and visually pleasing home.

For more inspiration for downsizing and organizing, please see these past blog posts:

Aging in Style | Sorting Out Our Stuff
Ten Tips to Cut the Clutter and Calm the Chaos This Fall