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Old 04-18-2006, 03:01 PM   #1
jrgwdenner
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Oh, my goodness, we might fulltime????

Glen and I calculated that we will be on the road nine months out of twelve this year so we might as well fulltime. That was the easy part! Now we're back at the stick house and looking at all the stuff that we have to sort through to make this happen. Can you say overwhelming? I must say that I really admire all of you who have accomplished this major task.
 
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Old 04-18-2006, 04:12 PM   #2
stiles watson
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One of the things that helped us tremendously was having a short term date rather than a non-specific long term goal. When we determined what we wanted to put in the Monty and what we refused to part with, i.e., goes into storage, we engaged an estate liquidator. They came in and displayed our stuff for sale.

They said don't throw away anything. It may have value to someone. They unloaded closets and the attic. They sold half empty paint cans, a bucket of old nails and bolts, all the junk in the garage after I had extracted the tools I wanted, and everything else in the house and closets. After they sold everything saleable, we gave the rest to charity and then they cleaned up.

We got much more than we would have gotten in a garage sale with a lot less hassle.
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Old 04-18-2006, 05:37 PM   #3
jrgwdenner
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That sounds like a great plan, Stiles. Ours may be a little more complicated because we have some furniture/antiques that we're just not going to part with. So we will be putting more into storage than we will be selling. But we'll get it done. It's just a bit overwhelming, and we expected that. And our fulltiming goal won't be met until the summer of 2007, Lord willing, so we have lots of time. Of course, we also hope to be on the road about eight out of the next 12 months (or more??).

It does amaze me at how much emotion is involved in going through all your life's possessions and the memories that it stirs up.
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Old 04-18-2006, 10:55 PM   #4
stiles watson
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Just some thoughts for you to ponder. You don't even need to respond. If you are truely going to go fulltime. You know, sell the house, etc., you will have to pay storage for umpteen years without anyone seeing those goodies except you and then only when you go to the storage facility to see how badly the vermin have invaded your stuff.
  • Give the kids an early inheritance. Our daughter got the silver and the china, Daughter-in-law got all the bulky kitchen appliances like the Kitchenaid mixer, Son got my extensive theological library, other son got all the extra tools Brother-in-law got the bigger power tools.
  • Most family pictures get stored in a forgotten box, discovered again when the owner dies and the survivors go through them and say, "I wonder who that was?" Answer: give them to your technically oriented offspring, to scan them in, and put them on DVDs and give a copy to everyone. It is also a great way to label the pictures without the ink bleeding through. After they are scanned in , give them to the kid that seems to be the pack rat of the bunch and you have your DVD for the RV.
  • We will never go back to the stick house even if we can't stay fulltime in the RV, so the antiques were also divided among the three children. Sooner or later, they were going to get them anyway. So now they won't fight over stuff after we die 'cause there ain't no stuff to fight over.
  • The Montana gets willed to the son with the six children. He is gonna need it.
If you need to put some suppositional strings on those gifts, do it. My children said that if we ever needed any of it back, just ask nd it would be ours.

To quote a famous preacher: "Free at last! free at last! Great God Almighty, free at last!"


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Old 04-19-2006, 01:29 AM   #5
gkbutler
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Like Stiles suggested, we gave the kids an early inheritance. We get to see them enjoy the things they wouldn't have gotten if we had not made the decision to full time. The family heirlooms went to her brother and his family. We can visit them anytime we feel the need. So far we haven't missed them.

As far as the rest of the stuff went, after the kids took what they wanted, everything left was sorted into a Charity pile and a junk pile.
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Old 04-19-2006, 02:21 AM   #6
jrgwdenner
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We are actually going to keep our home and rent it out under the care of a rental management company. And we will be putting about half or less of our furniture in climate controlled storage. The house and most of the furniture are less than five years old and our rental income will cover the storage expense. I'm sure it is great to sell everything but we are not in a position emotionally to do that at this time. We do plan to give/loan our antiques to our children.

I have come to realize that each person's emotional makeup and life's experiences play a big part in how fulltiming and the dispersal of goods is accomplished. For us, there are some things that we will keep, even if we don't ever look at them again. Some day we will reestablish our home in a stick house and I will be very glad to have saved some things.
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Old 04-19-2006, 02:46 AM   #7
Joyce H
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Judy, I know how overwhelming this transition seems at the beginning. When we retired we decided we needed at least one year to make the transition. We too invited all the children to choose any items they wanted, moved special things like photos etc. to our small vacation home in the mountains of WV, and fully outfitted the Montana. We then had a huge estate sale, donated some things to charity, and gave a large amount of our larger furniture that did not sell to the buyers of our home. The new owners were thrilled as they were moving up to a much larger home and could not possibly furnish all the rooms without our gift. The greatest feeling was the realization that this was just all "stuff". Needless to say now we are 9 months in the Montana and 3 months in the mountain house and quickly get rid of any excess or things we are not using. Just take it a step, day, week at a time and all will fall into place.
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Old 04-19-2006, 02:59 AM   #8
jrgwdenner
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Thank you, Joyce, for the encouragement. It is overwhelming, makes sleep difficult, and confuses me easily (not that that is anything new). We'll get it done somehow. It would be easier if our children were living closer to us, but both boys live or will soon live over 700 miles aways. Our daughter is closer but doesn't have room for too much. But we'll do the best we can. We have a year to accomplish this but we hope to be on the road for most of that year so we don't really have all that time.
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Old 04-19-2006, 03:23 AM   #9
Wifeofdano
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Glen & Judy,
I have a very good suggestion for you on how to deal with your situation. There is a book titled " Clutter's Last Stand ". The author is Don Aslett. It is so incredibly good, you can't believe it. It changed my life, and Dano & I are in the process of "de-junking" now. It is VERY overwhelming, but you can get through it! Please, get this book and give it a read. Let me know what you think. I believe that anyone who is going to be fulltiming ( or not ) should read this book.
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Old 04-19-2006, 04:44 AM   #10
adelmoll
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The only thing that I can add Judy, is to do whatever you are comfortable with or you will not be happy. We did the same as Stiles did because we felt that if we ever go back to a stick house, we would want different things anyway. In fact, even if we had moved to a smaller townhouse, we would not have taken our furniture but you have to be okay with it in your heart. Even if a year down the road you go back and get rid of everything then. It's funny the things I thought I had to have in the Montana when we started out and how that has changed already. We drop large bags of stuff that I just had to keep at the Salvation Army in almost ever town we stay at for more than a week. If I haven't used it this past year, we don't need it. Works for us now but it wouldn't have a year ago.

Helen
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Old 04-19-2006, 04:55 AM   #11
jrgwdenner
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Thanks for the book suggestion, Lisa. I will look into that.

Helen, that is very wise advice. The process is different for everyone and we will do what we're comfortable with or not do it all. That's what everyone should do. Things will definitely change in the Monty. They already have for us, too. It will be fun.....someday.
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Old 04-19-2006, 12:54 PM   #12
Parrothead
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Judy
I totally understand where you are coming from. We have much the same ideas. When we go full time, a lot will go in storage so that when we are really old we can have a home again. Good luck with your process.
Happy trails.........................
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Old 04-19-2006, 02:12 PM   #13
jrgwdenner
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Thank you, Sue. Today we even experienced a little pleasure in clearing things out. It helped a great deal to have the kids step up and say that they will take things on loan while we're on the road. We'll get it done in time. It's so much work in comparison to life on the road. I guess that's why we like escaping to our Monty.
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Old 04-19-2006, 04:16 PM   #14
Lstierw
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As some of you know a couple of years ago we lost 3 parents in just 7 weeks and it was alot to process. We waited 18 months or so, but also realizied that life is very short and you really can not take it with you. We sold everything and our kids and their families got the stuff. If we end up buying a house eventually we will get it back for a short while and then it will go back to them anyway.....if you love the fulltime lifestyle don't worry about the small stuff...........Les
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Old 04-19-2006, 04:47 PM   #15
bob n pam
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Judy, I don't have any good advice, just a hug when you're feeling overwhelmed. Take as many as you need.

Hugs - Pam
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Old 04-19-2006, 04:49 PM   #16
rogersuemegan
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Wow how exciting!! I envy you a little, I would like to but hubby isn't ready. He thinks that he has too much stuff that he isn't ready to part with!! I try to tell him with 5 kids, 10 grandkids and now 1 great grandson we could loan it out to them and tell them if we change our minds we could re-claim his things. Maybe in a few more years....
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Old 04-19-2006, 05:08 PM   #17
jrgwdenner
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We have toyed with this idea for several months and have a year to prepare, including traveling time. We're past the decision which makes it easier. It's a daunting task but we'll get through it. We'll be glad to get back on the road.

Thanks for the hugs, Pam. You know they're needed. Sue, I wish we had a few more kids who could take our stuff. I love giving it to them better than selling it to strangers.
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Old 04-19-2006, 05:44 PM   #18
Imp
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Congrats Judy & Glen on your decision. When it finally falls into place it will be such a freeing experience. Bob does not miss the yard work. We also saved way too much, in fact I am going through the Monty again and removing some things which I was sure we would need, but didn't. It all takes time and try to take what time you need so you don't have any regrets. Enjoy your time on the road...
Myrna
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Old 04-19-2006, 05:52 PM   #19
vickir
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I can't wait to see where you're going to put all your craft stuff!
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Old 04-19-2006, 07:42 PM   #20
Montana Sky
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Judy,
Congrats on the upcoming "new lifestyle". I was talking with my folks the other day about them "selling it all" and hitting the road. My mom had 1 thing to say, "I am not selling anything in our house." It is over 33 years of marriage, kids, and her life wrapped up in there. If the time comes they choose to hit the road, they are going to downsize into a condo or gated community and come and go as they please. Get one of those places where nobody really knows if someone is home or not. Where lawn and snow is taken care of. =) I only have 32 more years to go until I am in that position.
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