How Many Pairs Of Underwear?

I had no idea how much to pack on our new adventure.  

In a forum about RV Travel and Working I posted that question (explicitly for clothing) and the replies didn’t really help at all.  A few people work FULL TIME JOBS and need business suits, there was one gal that mentioned she prioritized bikinis and then there were the people that had just two of everything.

This advice, in our circumstances, was useless!

First off we had to plan for Mammoth Lakes which has been under snow, 9,000 feet elevation and outdoor work that would require a uniform plus appropriate foot gear (BOOTS).  Our jobs, as we anticipate, will require 3 hours of outdoor work every day.  We are 5 miles from a laundry mat and I bought a minimalist washing machine just to make sure I had fresh underwear at all times!  I’ve got my priorities.

Going to Mammoth Lakes is not immediate (our start date continues to move around because it is still snowing there and our site isn’t ready to go yet with the full hook up we are going to have at Lake George).  We have one month of boot camp to deliver which require an entirely different type of apparel!

And what if I get asked out on a date?!  I have to have “pretty clothes” right?!

Can’t forget about a girl’s morning and evening routine.  Hair, skin, make-up…blah blah blah.  I knew this would be a difficult area going from a full vanity spread to “who knows what”.   A year ago I began paring down that part of my life.  Now I use nearly zero make-up (mascara, blush and one eye shadow).   I plan on zero make up when we get rolling across the planet.

Lastly, the subject of shoes (or foot ware in general) is a huge part of this too.  We need so many different types of shoes and that’s frustrating.

I took three closets, three open bins and nine actual dresser drawers down to two giant bins.


MY INVENTORY

What I currently own and what I started with.

40 short sleeve t-shirts for work to 10.

15 short sleeve t-shirts not for work to 10.

24 work trousers (pants, skorts, shorts) to 8.

12 sports bras to 6.

40 pairs of underwear (all sorts for all sports and activities) to 20.

20 regular bras to 6.

12 jeans down to 2 (sadly I donated my FAVORITE pair…I’m sick to my stomach about that because we all know how hard it is to find that one pair you want to wear everywhere).

10 sweaters down to 3.

8 sweatshirts down to 2.

50 pair of shoes to 10 (including new boots I had to get for “work” at Lake George).

20 dresses (all occasions) to 3…back up to 4 because I need one for a funeral.

4,000 pairs of socks to 12, including boot socks.

On one hand I feel fantastic about giving away so much.  The other side is the fact of not knowing what is on he horizon. I know I can solve my problems with a quick stop at a mall or even better a thrift store.

So much of my apparel sat untouched for months in the closets, drawers and bins.  I even had dresses that were over 20 years old with the tags on them still. Crazy.

Stuff is too easy to collect! 

The start to my process was not coming home with anything new!  I realized every single day we leave our homes and return WITH MORE STUFF.  The worst are the “just in case” items.  They oftentimes never leave their packaging OR how about the bulk purchases?  We had, no kidding, 8 Windex bottles and 6 (I’m not exaggerating) bottles of H.E. laundry detergent.  I wish I’d taken a photo.

That’s all for today!