Prepping for fulltiming.

[Mrs.M]

We are prepping for full-timing this summer. We've got the new truck - yes, it will tow any of the three fivers we're choosing between. But I have one question: where did we get so much stuff? We have lived in this house for almost a quarter century, true, but we've had garage sales and given things to charity along the way. I swear it's breeding when we're not looking! It seems all our non-work time is spent sorting through and getting rid of stuff. Still, I suppose it is a small price to pay to hit the road. And if anyone can solve the mystery of why I have a case of canning jars when I've not done any canning, I would be grateful.

Mrs. M

[Doggy Daddy]

Down sizing is one of the hardest things you'll ever do.

[sprayman]

we've been in this house 39 yrs. this. i thought i did a good job of

not storing too much. we are thinking of a move summer of 2016, where

did this stuff come from.?????


Jim

[txaggie79]

Sold our house two weeks ago and purchased our first ever motorhome last Thursday. I rented a 5X7 climate controlled storage unit to hold everything that was moving from the S&B to the motorhome. We had already given away all of the furniture and some tools to kids, relatives, and Salvation Army. I have to rent a second unit to empty the house. Looks like i am still downsizing since I do not believe all of this "good stuff" will fit in the 41 ft RV.

I feel your pain.

Can't wait to get downsized enough to hit the road.

Bob

[Thornhammer]

This is Why WE Are not selling our S&B kids live 100 ft from it and will take care of it we are turning off everything power phone and stuff like that

[Dr4Film]

Downsizing is one of the hardest chores in prepping for Full-Time RV living.

Some people will start too late and then have to make very rushed poor decisions as to what needs to stay and what has to go.

The worst mistake is renting a storage unit for a very long time for "stuff" that is totally replaceable. You will pay more for the storage fees than what the "stuff" is really worth. Been there and done that! It's far better and less expensive to have a relative store the items for you.

If you are finding it too hard to let go of "stuff" then maybe Full-Time RV living is not for you.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Old Car Nut]

Funny, in one place or another I have said nearly everything posted here.

Downsizing is hard. For us there were two things that made it difficult.
1) You can only fit so much in 400 sq ft.
2) Where did all this stuff come from?

Still going through the process with a huge estate sale coming up soon. What don't sell will go to charity. I know it will be liberating to be free of all that "clutter." The only hard part will be parting with the italian sports cars.

We knew it would be hard, so we trained for it by living in that much space in our own S&B. Writing a blog post about that as our first entry. Reading through it's rather comical. When it's done I will put a link to it in our signature below.

Good luck as you embark on your journey.

[MisterT]

just wait 'til you downsize from your new 5ver.... you'll want to know again
how you can accumulate so much STUFF!! it's all relative.


The Turners
from 3,600 sqft home --to-- 300 sqft 2014 Thor Palazzo 33.3 Bunkhouse
(we know what you mean!)

[Barbaraok]

"Stuff" grows when it is stored away. And no matter how much you scale down, you will after a year or so, be going through your things asking yourself "why did we bring this along?" Trust us, you are taking way to much stuff with you, but you will figure it out as you go.

After 9 years we still clean out periodically and take things to Goodwill.

Barb

[tkcas01]

Originally Posted by Doggy Daddy

Down sizing is one of the hardest things you'll ever do.

True, our culture is so much about possessions and "trappings." I found it very "liberating" to get rid of stuff I had accumulated. The only thing not in the rig that I did not get rid of was artwork, which is stored at a relative's house. After 9 years, glad I have not been paying to store furniture, a washer/dryer and gosh knows what else!

[JFXG]

Yup. X8 on all of the above. At the start we were running out of time, so we rented a 10x10 for all the deferred decision stuff for 3-5 months until we came back to Raleigh. Plans- of course- change. 15 months later we emptied it out, and wound up selling/donating most of it. $2200 misjudgment. We're now self contained, but there's a lot of stuff that lives in the back of the car, and we have one of those Rubbermaid yard boxes hitch mounted on the back of the toad when traveling just for folding chairs and other outdoor stuff.

We're getting there!

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by Barbaraok

After 9 years we still clean out periodically and take things to Goodwill.

Barb

We will have been at this current volunteer job for 2 years and 2 months when we finally leave for Alaska on April 20th.

Still after being Full-Time for almost 13 years we are downsizing once again after accumulating too much stuff while working here.

Goodwill always wins!

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Doggy Daddy]

Don't wait till everything is sorted. It is never too early to begin the sales. When downsizing, I held them every other week over many months. Mark all those items your going to use in the RV with colored tape so they don't get sold by accident. Because it happens.
Advertise on Craigs List the date in addition specific items for sale.
I made 2 doz wood signs out of 1/8 ply. Rolled them in white , hand painted the letters in various colors Yard Sale, Fri-Sun, hrs, address and cell#. Used spray floresent paint as border frame [better than balloons]. Mentioning tools, fishing, hunting, garden items will draw in Men who will definitely call ahead. Then with cordless drill and hex screws I posted them on both wood and metal poles. They withstood rain, wind, stood out in the dark and were easily movable.
In a small note book I kept a list of minimum acceptable prices of specific items allowing inquiries and bartering. I put price tags only on certain items. Only had one entrance and exit. Had to keep an eye out for shoplifters and caught a few.
The left overs were given to the local Boy Scout Troop for their Annual Yard Sale Summer Camp Fundraiser. They carried it all away and signed a letter of donation value.

[JFXG]

Originally Posted by Doggy Daddy

...It is never too early to begin the sales......I held them every other week over many months.....Advertise on Craigs List..... I made 2 doz wood signs out of 1/8 ply........Then with cordless drill and hex screws I posted them on both wood and metal poles...... In a small note book I kept a list of minimum acceptable prices ..... Had to keep an eye out for shoplifters and caught a few.......]

Oh my, that sounds like a lot of work! ;-) We had a mover ship family furniture, china, and silver to the kids; called a local consignment/ auction to come pick up whatever they thought would sell, then the local Helping Hand to take what they wanted. Everything left I posted as driveway pickups in the free stuff section of CL, and The rest went out the driveway on the next trash day. Done. We had spent several weeks sorting and deciding, but the actual process only lasted about a week.