In 2019, we had decided we would quit our Bay Area jobs in early 2020 (which we did), sell our house, and hit the road full time in the RV for a travel sabbatical. Due to Covid, that timing didn’t quite work out as planned. At the beginning of the pandemic, all national parks and a lot of state parks were closed and even when we did venture out in June of 2020 in the RV, there was continued talk of multiple Covid waves, which could mean additional closures. Thus, we kept our training wheels on by keeping the house as our quarantine plan B.
After just 4 months on the road, we gained the confidence needed to remove the training wheels. We returned to the Bay Area to sell the house!
We spent the month of November completing our Marie Kondo downsizing tasks (link to more on that topic here), moved our one-of-a-kind items into a 10×10 storage unit or into the RV, had the house staged (it looked better than it ever did when we lived there) and sold our house in December of 2020.
Moving Day 
Final Donations
Before 
After 
From 2100 sq ft down to less than 300 sq ft (between the storage unit and the RV)! There’s a real freedom in minimalism. Also, I’m proud to say our carbon footprint is now substantially lower [water, gas, electricity and even clothing contributions (link here)]. Lastly, much to my surprise, it’s rare that we miss any of it!
Every now and then I think it would be nice to have the motorcycles, a liquor cabinet, and a living room large enough for Bailey to run circles around the coffee table, but those moments are few and far between. When I really analyze why I miss them, I realize it’s not “the things” I miss. It’s the experiences associated with those things. One quick glance around wherever we are that day in the RV and it’s easy to leave the old things behind in exchange for all our new experiences.
Legs kicked out, streamers on display, smiles on, and a seemingly endless sidewalk….we’re enjoying the ride!
