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Nancy, he doesn’t have a pen…or a pencil…or paints… I’m NOT putting those pictures in my shredder… uh, do you REALLY want to see his “creations?” 😈
From what you describe I may withdraw my request due to the uncertain outcome that may or may not gross me out!!! 😉
I have 5 guitars, 2 amplifiers, 3,000 pounds of music CD’s and 60 years worth of tools, toys, and misc. items that I am quite attached to. I ended up with all of my Mother’s picture albums that documents my entire family of Arizona Pioneers. 8 big ones and a few smaller ones! I am in the process of selling 200 bee hives, assorted bee equipment, and assorted “things” that I thought I couldn’t live without. Every time I open a closet door, more stuff falls out on me. Living in Idaho for 20 years, I have acquired coats, ski suits, vests, long underwear, work boots, hiking boots, and comfy kickers of all descriptions. I grow a garden and start all of my veggies in the basement under 3- 1,000 grow lights. It must all go. I pull a RZR behind, and so I am already pushing the limits of my 2003 Dodge Ram Cummins Deisel. So, what will my 5th wheel carry that won’t cause me to rip the tranny out in no time? I don’t know. I wish I could take along a couple of moving vans. Sometimes the transition to a simpler life just isn’t that simple. Life is full of compromise and trade off. I plan on heading out full time early next winter. I have to step out of my old life, and into the Nomad life, but to do that, I know everything must go. I didn’t fully think this all out in the beginning. Now I walk around my place making mental notes of everything that must go. Oh, did I mention that I have collected books for many years? I have about 3,000 books, of which only about 20 or 30 I have no problem getting rid of. I guess my only option is to weight my wife, and see if she must stay behind. There, problem solved. The Roadrunner beckons. That warm desert breeze is whispering to me. 2 pairs of shorts should do. Which guitar to take, and which ones to sell. That is the horrible reality I am facing. That is the dirty road I am stuck on.
I feel your pain Doug. :wacko: I’m planning on becoming a snowbird as well. Started going through stuff, OMG. 30+ years of accumulation. Planned on using one room for stuff to keep and eventually rent a storage for the wifes’ antiques and other family heirlooms, my toolbox (1 of 2 thinned out) and more. Hope to sell the house in the spring but what an undertaking!
My wife said yesterday,… “I think we will need to plan for a bigger storage unit.” :Laughing:
Terry
My wife and I started the downsizing 6 years ago when we moved to our new home. It has been an interesting process for both of us. We actually had a second home in northern Michigan that we sold 3 years ago with the anticipation of retirement and traveling in our 5er with the possibility of full timing in a few years. We had a Living Estate Sale several years back after selling our second home. We plan on doing it again but going to do a barn sale this summer. We are getting better about not buying stuff to put in the house and trying to get rid of 44+ years of stuff. I’m the one with the most stuff. A woodworking shop that I haven’t setup yet, a toy car that needs to be finished along with all the tools. Camping/backpacking gear that goes back to my Scouting years as a scoutmaster. Fishing and hunting gear that needs to go bye-bye. So if you live in Southern Michigan and are into “stuff”, drop me a note. I’m sure I’ve got something you might want! 🙂
We just had our first online estate auction. We sold garage stuff, hand tools, power tools, etc. Tomorrow the buyers come to pick up their “new” stuff. Some things sold for more than we bought them for, most sold for less than they were worth. At least it will be gone (well, except for the ones no one bid on). It will be strange seeing the garage so bare. The auctioneer said we will have maybe 2 more auctions. It’s amazing how much stuff creeps into a house unnoticed.
Sure looking forward to full timing! We should be on the road the end of July, wish it was right now.
Well after reading the downsizing fun everyone is having. I don’t feel so bad. We finally sold out and getting rid of just about everything. The kids won’t let the grand kids come over without them. We filled their pockets with everything we could. Neighbors wave but tell us they don’t want anything either. We are heading out in a few weeks and never thought there was so much to learn. Good luck to you all. See ya on the other side of freedom.
Gwen and I thoroughly enjoyed your post. We also are starting the process. From cans of nuts and bolts, trinkets, stuff that “has value” that doesn’t seem right to throw away, the amount of small items is amazing. Neighbors say thanks for offering but no thanks. My son suggested we have a name your price thrift sale. No offer refused. Sounds like a plan. “How much do you want for this?”, “how much will you give me for it?… Sold. Cans of this and that, yeah… 10 cents but you have to take this too. I hate having thrift sales… I will give you a nickel to take it. :Winking:
Yes, the small items are a challenge. In the auction we had, the big things sold well, but the smaller stuff didn’t do so well. Coffee cans full of screws, mismatched wrenches and screwdrivers, shelves of spray paints, adhesives, lubricants, etc. Some things have value, but yet thrift stores won’t take them as donations, and sometimes they aren’t allowed to. I’m going to set stuff on the curb and post Craigslist ads in the “for free” section. Whatever is left goes to the landfill, I guess.
And I thought I was bad. We are planning to hit the road in the near future, 12-14 months. The hardest concept I found was cutting the emotional tie to the “STUFF” we accumulate over the years. including the backpack my father fabricated with his father when he was in Boy Scouting! Family memorabilia is a hard one. Digitizing photos is wonderful, however to look at and touch the original photo gives one an emotional connection with their ancestors. Don’t forget what the end plan is? Good luck to all of us in our pursuit to downsize.
Raymond Race, “Rolling with the Race’s”
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