Most of your stuff isn't worth much and the kids don't want it. So moving becomes one of attitude and determination. While we don't full time (5-6 months on the road) when we got an as is offer on our house we cleared out 35 years of stuff in 8 weeks. It went to charity (good for write offs), we sold some and gave the rest away. The kids took a few items. Absolutely no reason to take 2 years.
We shipped about 10K lbs and 5K would have been enough. You could put whatever you really want in storage for say 6 months.
I guess I mainly want to know, how did you all get rid of everything? Don't want to just give it away! I guess an auction is the best way.
Like I said did you feel you got a fair price? Ripped off?
I look around and it's like "where did all this stuff come from"?
Anyhow Thanks again!
Mercifully, we fell into full-timing gradually, so we were able to gradually get rid of stuff. There's still a few bins stored at my MIL's house. We kept some of the good china and the Christmas ornaments; the good china is stored (carefully packed) in the rig for special occasions and we pick up the Christmas stuff for the season and drop it off after.
We sent some stuff for auction, and held onto some stuff I am not ready to let go of yet. We got less at auction than I thought the stuff was worth, but more than we would have gotten at a yard sale. A lot of stuff went to the Salvation Army; they take almost everything in our neck of the woods, and I felt good that I was giving things that would help someone else.
Quite a bit of things that had sentimental value went to friends and family who I know will treasure the stuff the way I did. That helped me a lot with letting it go, and it's probably what's going to happen to the rest of the stuff in storage. Some of the furniture we kept my MIL is using in her new house. That's good, makes me feel good about it all.
If I was less of a packrat than I am, I'd pull the stuff I was undecided about or wanted specific people to have and put it into storage to revisit. Then have a whole house auction. And I'd go someplace far away for the auction itself; I've attended those as a buyer and they are rough for the owner.
We're full-timing now, loving our cabin (fifthwheel) on the lake/at the beach/in the mountains/close to the city.
Don't wait 2 years. With your situation, I would find it hard to justify 2 months. The hardest part is overcoming inertia (an object at rest tends to stay at rest). You can always find another project or reason to stay an extra week or month and next thing you know it's 10 years later and you still haven't left. Set a date and whatever is left on that date goes to the good will and you drive off. 95% of the problem is solved since the wife is pushing you to go.
Sell the stuff for what it gets. Furniture, clothes and knick knacks have almost no value on resale. Some sentimental or family oriented items can be given or stored with the kids or other family members. The rest is just stuff.
How we approached it:
Went thru things the first time and if it was questionable we kept it. That got rid of around 1/3 of our stuff.
Went thru things a second time after having thought about some of stuff that was in the back of closets for years and were up to around 2/3 of our stuff gone.
On the third time thru, stuff went into 3 catagories (take with us, store, or gone). By this point we had really thought about what we wanted to keep and were a little more firm about having a reason to keep an item. We've got about a pickup load of stuff in my brother-in-laws pole barn and the rest travels with us. All told we got rid of 80-90% of our stuff and do't miss it.
We gave some stuff to friends and family. Most went via garage sale and the stuff that didn't sell went into the trash or to the good will.
The best time to go is now. If you are unsure of the lifestyle, a 6 month journey could be an option but you will never relax because the house will be on your mind every time a storm rolls thru or will it get broken into.
Tammy Mike & the Bilge Rat (AKA: Diego)
Ford F250 7.3L
1997 Sunnybrook 27' 5er
1995 Gemini Sail Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and 5er
Unfortunately my mother and MIL passed away within a few weeks of each other, last year. I learned a lot of really interesting lessons about possessions and their value.
You have made several comments concerning "not wanting to give it away" and other statements expressing a deep concern and attachment to your "stuff". There were five family members involved in our collective estate liquidations. One (me) is an absolute minimalist who has virtually no attachment to anything material. Another brother was attached to his Mom's stuff to the point that there was a debilitating, yet temporary, mental health crisis. As you might imagine, the process was long and not pretty. The biggest issue was not who keeps what, it was the value of "stuff" and how little respect(value)is bestowed upon it by everybody from auctioneers to realtors. In some cases, family members thought that they had something worth a fortune, and nobody could be enticed to drag the item away for free!
In your case, hitting the road for six months to a year, while leaving everything intact is a GREAT idea. When it comes to stuff, distance make the attachment a lot weaker, and your relationship to it becomes a lot more healthy.
When you return to tackle the issue, find a few experts to help you decide what to do. We found an older auctioneer who was blunt, yet dead on, regarding the value of everything he sold. A good realtor, and a good relationship with the local Good will and Salvation Army stores will also be invaluable.
Hit the road, relax, enjoy. Get your mind reset to the new life you really want. Come back and quickly tackle the stuff and sail off again. Good luck and have fun!
I'm not a full timer but I'll chime in anyway. All your possessions are just stuff. Don't be too concerned with recouping any monetary value. Full Timing is all about carefree freedom to go with no strings attached.
Your stuff is all relatively worthless monetarily and will only serve to tie you down and inhibit you from being totally free.
As your already mentioned time is of the essence in terms of your health and longevity. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Don't squander time and the opportunity to go worrying about a few trinkets and heirlooms.
07'Duramax dually,12'Open Range 399BHS
Hawkshead TPMS,Hensley BD3,Killerbee exhaust brake
Blue Ox Bedsaver,air bags w/compressor
Arvika pin box bike rack,Bak Flip tonneau cover
5500 Onan LP,EMS-HW-50
14'Porta Bote w/8.0 Nissan
Vu Cube 2000,Splendide 2000S
Thanks again everbody. Things just got a bit easier for us. We have one son living close. The other two are about a thousand miles away. The son who is here, and his wife want our housse, and most of our furniture. So it looks like things will be easier than we thought.
Problem solved!
2000 F-350 V-10 SRW Super Cab, 4x4 Short Bed. Prodigy Brake Control, BilSteins, and Scan Gauge II! 2003 Jayco Designer 31RLS (33ft)
I'm not a judge, it's just a nickname! "SEMPER FI"Vietnam 1968!Don't act stupid- We have congress for that!
Lantley wrote: I'm not a full timer but I'll chime in anyway. All your possessions are just stuff. Don't be too concerned with recouping any monetary value. Full Timing is all about carefree freedom to go with no strings attached.
Your stuff is all relatively worthless monetarily and will only serve to tie you down and inhibit you from being totally free.
As your already mentioned time is of the essence in terms of your health and longevity. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Don't squander time and the opportunity to go worrying about a few trinkets and heirlooms.
With the exception of the first sentence,this is just what I would have written. We took a four month "maiden voyage".When we returned,the plan had been made.It took us two months to get rid of the "stuff",keeping 4 small boxes to store with our DD,get the house rented out and get back on the road.That was 5 years ago,with no regrets.
BTW,I was 68 DW was 67 when we took off.
'04 33.5 CKQG Hitchhiker Discover America
04.5 Dodge 3500 CTD SRW
Pac Brake,Max Brake
Fulltimers since '06
Judgerr wrote: Thanks again everbody. Things just got a bit easier for us. We have one son living close. The other two are about a thousand miles away. The son who is here, and his wife want our housse, and most of our furniture. So it looks like things will be easier than we thought.
Problem solved!
Alrighty then!!!! Sounds like a few months and you can hit the road.
Things are working our for you. ;-)
Quote: “I really want to go, but I’m afraid it is too late, and I really should stay" syndrome, if there is such a thing.
That is a very normal reaction, and it is the #1 reason for some never doing the things that they dream of. Only you can determine when you are too old for things, but at the same age as you are, we are not too old.
My wife is celebrating her 79th birthday next week by doing her first ever, dual skydive! It is one of those things that she has always wished that she had been able to do and so our three sons have paid for her to have that experience. The thing that makes these experiences memorable is the overcoming of the fears that would prevent us from reaching our goals!
Good travelin! ........Kirk
Professional Volunteer
Fulltimer for 11 years, URL:www.adventure.1tree.net
We are full-timers and we got rid of everything that wouldn't fit or be need in our 34' motor home. We sold some stuff, donated stuff to Goodwill and my wife's church, I gave lots of stuff to the school I taught at, give some items to family, and junked a bunch of stuff. It was very liberating to say the least. You'd be surprised how much stuff you have that you will never use or really use. We haven't sold the house due to the house market at present, however, we have rented it to our son and his family. We did change state residency from Maine to South Dakota to get away from Maine's very high taxes. Now we do volunteer work at state parks so we get a FHU site and it does give us something worth while to do as well. It is a great way to see the country and live in some truly awesome state parks. How long can we full-time as long as we can, one never knows what life will bring so we are enjoying every minute of every day. So far we are loving this life style and are having the time of our lives. Whether full-timing is for you only you can answer that question, it is different for everyone. Good Luck and Enjoy Life!
Jack & Peg
USN Ret AGC
K1ZMB
Sioux Falls, SD
06 Itasca Horizon 40KD
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