With renewed commitment I wanted to take it to a new level and live a very simple life. Next, I spent 136 days hiking the Appalachian Trail and living out of my backpack. Then, we downsized again, moving into a 372 square foot apartment, and gave more junk away. In 2011 we downsized and moved to a 2 bedroom condo and started giving things away. I moved a few times, eventually living in a palatial 5 bedroom house, filling it with more stuff. I moved to California in 2006 with a 24 foot U-Haul completely loaded with junk. When I take my final breath in life, I won’t care about those items, all I’ll have will be the stories in my head. The real treasures are the stories I have, not the trinkets I bought in China, the race medals I’ve won, or that First Methodist Church sign I stole in college ( did I ever mention that I’m sorry about that?). The real treasure is the memories…not the “stuff” that triggers the memories. I feel like I’ve taken it one step further. No gold, no money, no “treasures” as the world would like us to think, just the “stuff” that really matters. I’m reminded of the movie Richie Rich, when the bad guys kidnap the family and get the code to their secret vault at Mount Richmore, only to find that the treasure is merely the family’s precious memories and keepsake items, worthless to the crooks. (This seems to be a common theme in my life. (I’m also rentless, which is pretty awesome.) Yes, I am “houseless”, but I’m not homeless. I have a home, it just happens to be a 35 square foot 2006 Honda Element. Some people call me homeless, but I don’t see it that way at all. no…no.No…NO….NOOOOOO! It can’t be…that Chris Farley skit…it’s me! As I shake myself awake I take solace in the fact that at least I’m not living in a van down by the river, I’m living in a van down by the Pacific Ocean…that’s gotta be better, right? I live in a van down by the river! – Matt Foley

Sleeping in honda element