When I made a decision to live in a campervan full time the steps were something like this
I stopped buying physical things a couple years out
and built a van floorplan mockup in a spare room. This taped-off area made it very clear how much space I would have. I started moving stuff that would go with me into this space in the correct spot. This had an unexpected result of letting me see that everything outside the “van” was extraneous
by the time I found and bought the van the cardboard “van” was complete and I could basically move stuff over
This was all going well until I suddenly got a work transfer and vanlife was going to happen in three weeks. I sold off everything I could (pickup, motorcycle, Kubota tractor, two scooters, etc), gave away anything friends/family wanted, and donated the rest to a local charity thrift. Everything was boxed in the dining room and they brought a truck, loaded it up, and drove off. Empty house. Which made final cleaning easier.
Once I was in the van it took
training my friends/family that I could not receive material gifts (no room)
being careful not to buy non-consumable material objects
getting rid of packaging at the point of purchase/delivery
planning grocery purchases carefully, as my fridge is 20L (0.71ft3)
When I made a decision to live in a campervan full time the steps were something like this
This was all going well until I suddenly got a work transfer and vanlife was going to happen in three weeks. I sold off everything I could (pickup, motorcycle, Kubota tractor, two scooters, etc), gave away anything friends/family wanted, and donated the rest to a local charity thrift. Everything was boxed in the dining room and they brought a truck, loaded it up, and drove off. Empty house. Which made final cleaning easier.
Once I was in the van it took