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Old 10-28-2005, 09:25 AM   #1
powerstroke73
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all your stuff

I was just sitting here dreaming about the day when My wife and I can start fulltiming and was wondering what everybody does with there stuff?. If you sold your stick house, where do you keep all of your keepsake like pictures? Do you keep all your clothes with you? And all of the stuff that is too heavy to carry with you all the time?
 
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Old 10-28-2005, 10:03 AM   #2
Parrothead
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Allen
I'm sure you are going to get as many answers as there are full timers. We are making plans for that day also. We plan to sell everything except good wood furniture. We will rent a storage factility for those things. We also plan to store my almost complete (44 of 47) Michener books, my collection of Gorman pictures, and my angel collection. Family photos are being transferred to CD's and we will distribute hard copies to the four girls and grandkids. We have some antiques that will be stored (family heirlooms). A lot of it is dishes and glassware. All the wood furniture that is stored will be filled up with other things that are being kept. We will take the clothes we need and get rid of the rest. We don't plan on being real cold or real hot so that limits the range of clothing needed. We will each keep one good outfit (for weddings and funerals). We have already gotten rid of a lot of things. There are probably hundreds of things we haven't thought about yet but we have time. Our children and grandchildren are probably going to make out like bandits.
Happy trails..............
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Old 10-28-2005, 10:48 AM   #3
H. John Kohl
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When we got ready to move to Australia we knew we would be moving back into the trailer instead of a stick house. We looked at the stuff and sold most of it. If we had not looked at it or used it for the last 18 years then it was time to let it go. The good thing about our move was we did it fast. We made a decision to get ride of items and they were gone. If you slowly do it you will find those treasures you want to keep and they will sit on the shelf again for 10 years.
We are having a yard sale here in Australia today and I found a cup in the sale items that I wanted to keep. Forgot I had it. It is still in the pile. If you want to pay storage for items, I recommend you only store items you need and use, not those that have stayed in the closet.
Best of luck and tow safe.
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Old 10-28-2005, 11:03 AM   #4
gkbutler
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When we got ready to full time, we told the kids to take what they wanted. Fortunately for us, the younger two were just getting ready to start their households, so they took most of the furniture. We rented a U-haul and loaded up the rest and took it to the older three. We told them to go through the rest and decide on what they wanted. Anything left would be donated to charity. The antiques were distributed equally and the books were donated to the library in the campground we stay at in the spring and summer. We also made a lot of trips to the local recycling centers getting rid of things.

We also made about 8-9 trips to the Goodwill donation center when we cleaned out the closets. It is amazing what accumulates in the attic and basement over twenty two years.
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Old 10-28-2005, 12:43 PM   #5
Glenn and Lorraine
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If the kids didn't want it than it was sold or given away. We have nothing in storage other than some photo albums that are stored in a facility already rented by Lorraine's niece.
We made the decision to go full time rather abruptly. In April I bought a new John Deere riding tractor with mower deck and snow blower. By August I was trying to sell it and by mid-October the house and everything in it was sold or given away and we were full timing.
As far as collections, family heirlooms and keep sakes. Well that kind of stuff would have been passed on to the kids when we were gone anyway so we figured why wait. You'd be surprised what you may call a family heirloom or keep sake your kids may consider it just old stuff. Stuff they don't need nor want.
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Old 10-28-2005, 12:57 PM   #6
Parrothead
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Maybe I should have clarified why we will put some things in storage. After the fulltiming is over in however many years, we plan to rent or buy a small house or apt or condo or mobile home to live in. Both of our Mothers have lived long after our Fathers died and we are trying to plan ahead somewhat. I don't want to be old and no place to go. Also our family heirlooms are things that are somewhat valuable not just pictures or keepsakes, a lot of china and Crystal and quilts. But then this is just like your choice of TV or Monty, each person has their own preferences. I like peanut butter on my pancakes and waffles - most people think I'm crazy - but it is good!
Happy trails....................
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Old 10-28-2005, 01:30 PM   #7
powerstroke73
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I dont think your crazy Ed I like them that way too.
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Old 10-28-2005, 02:57 PM   #8
Joyce H
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We are only semi full time. We downsized to a much smaller summer vacation home in WV which was already fully furnished and our Montana in which we travel from September to May. We did as many have already mentioned. Gave our kids first option, had two estate sales, and donated to charity to write off our taxes. We stored photos and things we felt we could not part with in the vacation home. This was all done a little over a year ago and we are still finding items to discard. Amazing how little we really need. We love our new lifestyle and have no regrets on parting with all that "STUFF"!
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Old 10-28-2005, 03:25 PM   #9
sreigle
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My folks have our piano. Everything else we could not / would not part with is stored in our kids' basements. Climate controlled storage is another option.

For everything else, we gave the kids whatever they wanted, sold some things such as the snowblower (yeah!), donated what was of value that way, and called an estate auction company to come pick up the rest and send us a check when done. Garage sales was an option and probably would have netted more money but we didn't want the hassles and wanted it done quickly. Besides, garage sales are not a good option in February and March in northeast Kansas.
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Old 10-28-2005, 04:17 PM   #10
jsrang
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Great question. When we went FT last year, a good portion of the stuff was distributed amongst our three Kids. The rest went to Salvation Army, Good Will and The Womens Resource Center. We went from 2 houses to 1 house to the Monty which was quite a shock to our system, but the tax write-offs helped us to get over it...and we haven't looked back. Maybe we will go back to a more permanent house or condo in 15-20 years, but that is so far off into the future that we won't think about those necessities until then. Until then "Happy Trails". This is an awesome lifestyle and one that I would highly recommend to anyone who is still adventuresome.
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Old 10-28-2005, 06:16 PM   #11
mobilrvn
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The operable word here is "stuff". WE live by Janice Joplin's song, "freedom is nothing left to lose". The lighter the better. We gave our stuff to the kids and what they didn't want (and we were surprised by the amount of our treasures that they didn't want) went to Goodwill. If there is something you gave away and want it replaced, go to Quartzsite and you'll find it there.
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Old 10-29-2005, 04:25 AM   #12
Gypsy
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Like many others, I got rid of as much as I could when I closed down a 3-story 5-bdrm house. Part of my inspiration came from reading about a couple whose house burned and they lost everyting - no decisions to make, they simply started over to create an RV life.

I told the 'kids' to come get anything they wanted. I donated to charities, held garage sales, then hired professional auctioneers to sell the big stuff. The only things I stored were family heirlooms, photos, tax records and other essentials that couldn't be replaced. It seemed silly to store furniture that I wasn't in love with, and to pay storage for an indefinite time, when I can go to estate auctions if/when I want to furnish a stick house again and buy someone else's treasures. (Which I'm now thinking may never happen - I love this full-time RV lifestyle!) I continued to lighten my load as I traveled, and just stored another few boxes with a sister-in-law. Both the Ram and the Monty feel better on the road with a couple hundred pounds left behind. (Now I need to put myself on a similar diet!)
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Old 10-29-2005, 01:03 PM   #13
Ontheroad
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We did it in four steps.
1. Stored mementos with our son.
2. Gave stuff to the kids until they ran when they saw us coming.
3. Yard sale.
4. Dump.
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Old 10-30-2005, 05:36 AM   #14
patodonn
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Elimination of the "stuff" was a most liberating experience! AGree with most of the above..We looked at EVERYTHING; house, garage, attic...if we hadn't used it in the past year, it was in the "probably gone" pile. If it wasn't really necessary for starting a new (and smaller) home someday, it was added to the pile. We did not keep any major appliances..they don't store well. Kids got whatever they wanted of all of that stuff. REALLY important family memorabilia and a few heirlooms were kept. Not a lot of that, once you divorce yourself from the "gotta keep" impulse.

My best "tip", after you decide what to really keep, is to get rid of the rest of the "stuff" via an "estate sale" conducted by a professional. In the long run, will save your most valuable three things...time, effort and stress. You will probably come out equal to or ahead $$-wise, since they know what things are really worth, and how to sell them. That beautiful lampshade isnt really Tiffany, but that old pipe collection of you grandfather's is worth a lot more than you thought.. Best of all, they donate whatever is left to a charity and you get the write off, AND they clean up after it is all over. That was our experience...hope it helps..
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Old 10-30-2005, 05:59 AM   #15
vickir
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When sorting through the 30+ years of accumulation (after the kids had taken what they wanted), we asked ourselves one question ... "can it be replaced?" If the answer was no (antique, family heirloom, or keepsake), it went to storage ... kids' basements in our case. If the answer was yes (furniture, tv, vcr, appliance), it went to the auction. As PJ said, the time, energy and stress saved by putting in the capable hands of professional auction people is incalculable.

And, it's really pleasantly surprising to learn how much you can withOUT!
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Old 10-31-2005, 08:09 AM   #16
Bob & Lee
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we have been in our RV for two years now and the only thing my wife missed is the Ice Machine and we can get one of those, and sometimes when it is cold I miss my garage. when we left our house we moved into the RV in the back Yard and what didn't fit...Kids here it is, when they visit bring your trailer..we kept our fond things and photos which will be put on CD and then given to the kids.. love it.
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Old 11-02-2005, 02:48 AM   #17
drifus
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We have our stuff in 1 10x24 storage unit and a 1 5x10 climate controlled. I will get rid of my things come spring. I have a collection that I want to keep but that will fit in a 5x5 climate controlled once I have downsized. GW (girlfriend/wife) will get rid of some stuff but I imagine that keep a lot of it.
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Old 11-03-2005, 02:06 PM   #18
Kimmrg
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We sold all the furniture, what we could not sell we donated to the local animal shelter for their rummage sales. I got rid of so much, the plants went to friends to remember me by. We have a storage unit in Fairbanks that has much of the same stuff as other folks, photos, taxes, my quilting fabric stash....our mittens and fur ruffs, and the tail gate to the 2003 truck we already traded away. The more we got rid of the better I felt. Of course we were woefully overloaded when we left Fairbanks, just like most starting out full timers, but like Gypsy I keep off loading stuff where I can. You are gonna love it!
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