Downsizing - 2 yrs and counting

[MilesandSmiles]

I'm two years and one day away from my planned retirement, and transitioning into full-timing. My wife and I realize that we've got a LOT of downsizing to do as we'll move from a 4 bedroom house to a Class A.

My questions are: How long did it take you to sort and get rid of stuff before going full-time? And, how did you get rid of your stuff? Estate sale? Auction? We're sure that we'll give much to charity, and put some in storage for our kids when they get out of college, but that leaves a lot to dispose of.

Please share your experiences -- and what you'd do differently!

[MTHome]

We weeded through stuff starting in January, but I'm not a saver anyway. After the house had a contact, we did a big purge that didn't end until right before we pulled out of the driveway the last time. Everything else including the grand piano fit in a 10x20 storage unit. If we decide to full-time longer than 2 years we'll purge more. Seeing as we are only 35. We'll need stuff again at some point.

[billkaufmann]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
WE told family.....come get what you want NOW!

Then we told friends....come get what you what NOW!

Then we put the basics in our 5vr.
Then we put what we wanted to keep in our 5vr (being extremely conservative)
Then we put what we thought we might need in our 5vr.


THEN Estate Sale.....
Contacted auctioneer. He came out---we told him EVERYTHING goes. And we want it know that it leaves day of auction.
He advertised for 3 weeks prior to auction date.
Workers came out week prior and sorted/boxed items up into 'lots'
Day of auction 130 people showed up (out in the boonies of So. CAL. High Desert -----1 mile of dirt road to house from asphalt road)
Auction started at 9AM......5PM EVERYTHING was sold.

Some things went cheap...some things went for more......some for a lot more.
Auctioneers cut..25% (Advertising/sorting/boxing/handling sales/accounting)
Our cut...75% and we didn't do anything but sit back, watch and be entertained by folks bidding on our junk.

Easiest chunk of money I ever had placed in my hand.

Sounds like this is the way to go. Thanx Old Bisquit

[Cloud_9]

Our experience was, nobody wanted any of our stuff, tried family, friends, etc. seems there were no youngsters , newly weds etc. Also we found we had collected over the years a bunch of things, some of which would be difficult to sell. After much searching we found an auctioneer who would come to the house, take away the contents, stage and sell it at his facility. His, commission was 25%, He sold it all in one session, some things we did poorly on, but many others, we made out very well. also, the "empty" look may have helped in selling the house, dont know, but we found a buyer soon after. The main thing is do not get discouraged.

Carl

[NYCgrrl]

I suspect the "correct" way to full time is just as varied as the people who choose to do it.

2gypsy found one way and a new residence to boot. soos went into it in another manner and is just as happy. I think the one consistency is knowing your own mind.

So far I've sold items on CL, private sales and am contemplating using a consignment shop for clothing. The very first items I rid myself of were from the kitchen probably because stuff from there constituted my largest collection. That was kinda funny as I've always tried to edit what I store and use in that room.

Next stop is seasonal items (again)and a lot of that will probably wind up on EBay as the payback there is fantastic from my POV. Made a tidy sum selling Christmas ornaments there last year. Didn't start listing until late October and by mid December everything I wanted to sell was gone, generally at an average of 78% of the original price.

Been selling excess and impulse purchased camping goods since last spring. I "box" the more mundane items (tent stakes, cording, table clips,etc) with bigger ticket items like lanterns so I get my outlay back without a loss to me. Following the seasons does a good job of maximizing interest and monetary return.

Ultimately, I'll be selling curtains, drapes to people in my building as they know it'll fit their space. Thank goodness for the mailroom bulletin board.

I know what large items I want to keep and have no problem paying the "toll" for them; this does not include items like electronics since they change up every few years. Since I do know where I'll wind up at the end of this adventure/bucket item, I do have a need, use and place to store goods w/o paying an extra cost for the privilege. On the bright side I will already have many basics and vetted extras for my new brick and mortar space when I move on to my next life want.

[soos]

When we went fulltime 6 years ago we knew that it wasn't a
"forever" plan. We figured we'd travel for a few years, until we didn't want to anymore and found "the" place to live. We made the decision to fulltime in April and closed on the house and left in July of the same year. Unlike many, we put some of our stuff in storage. DH built most of our furniture so we kept it, and all his specialty tools etc.
Moat of our stuff was sold on Ebay and Craigslist,and two garage sales. I specifically listed pricy items like guitars etc., on the garage sale ad, and sold many items before the garage sale. I removed them from the listing if they sold ahead of time.
We never did find the "perfect" spot but after 6 years DH has run out of projects and wants his tools back. So we are building a winter home in AZ, where we'll get a chance to use our boat more often. We can still travel whenever we want.
There is no rule that says you HAVE to jump in with both feet. I think anyone who isn't sure fulltiming is for them, might consider storing stuff for a while.

Sue

[azrving]

Thanks 2gypsies
Good point on the furnishings. I like reading everything I can about this issue.

[2gypsies1]

It's one thing if you say "I'm going to TRY out full-timing for a year and see if we like it" - then keep your stuff and pay the storage fees for it.

However, if you go into it saying "We're going to travel and see this wonderful country of ours - SLOWLY" - then sell the stuff. That's what we did.

After 16 years we found an awesome 55+ community that we would have never dreamed of living previously. Many of the homes sell completely and very nicely furnished because older folks pass on and their kids don't want to deal with the 'stuff'. We didn't have to buy one thing for ours and the furnishings were top quality and matched the Southwest area. Had we kept our furniture for 16 years and paid storage - YIKES! Plus, it would be very old-fashioned for today.

If you don't make a definite commitment you probably won't be successful.

As for an 'exit plan'. The only one we had, along with our full-timing friends, was sell the house, invest the money and make no other plans. Some folks think they have to have a house to come back to. Will you really want to go back to where you lived? Bitter cold winters? Would you be able to take care of that big house?

Even if you have medical issues, you can get through them in an RV as easily as in a house. We've done it and seen it done over and over. A friend right now is on dialysis and still traveling. Many folks get cancer and are treated while living in their RV. Same goes for various surgeries and joint replacements. In fact, from experience it's a lot easier to recoup in a RV where things are close requiring minimal walking. Physical therapists and visiting nurses will also come into your RV for treatments. It all can be done.

Bottom line - go into it with a very positive attitude and things have a way of working out. Enjoy the new lifestyle!

[NYCgrrl]

Whoa many of you are so fast!
I am on my 15 month hallmark of down sizing and no where near the end, LOL.
However I should point out that I'm not planning to give up a stick and brick residence (just move to a different less expensive residence) or start handing out the family heirlooms. My kiddos know they'll have to wait for me to die for that to happen and stay on their best behavior/work habits interim.
I worked for this stuff ya bunch o' squirrels.........

[MilesandSmiles]

This is all very helpful!

[starlingt]

We started in July and were complete in October. We expected the house to take longer to sell but it went in two weeks with a month to get out. Put some stuff in storage (10X10)gave a bunch of it to kids, the rest went in a garage sale and to the Salvation Army and AmVets. Never missed any of it. Good Luck and safe travels.

[TechWriter]

Estate sale -- our real estate agent arranged it.

[dahkota]

If you think about it, you really only live in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom. You have two years - get rid of the stuff in all the other rooms first. Get rid of the stuff piled in the attic or the basement. That should keep you busy for six months. Then start whittling down the duplicates and triplicates you have.

The first, most important thing: stop buying stuff!

I quit my job on June 30 and renovated the house and got rid of stuff for six months. January 26, we went full time. We also had a four bedroom house. After the first two rooms were emptied and painted, I used one for storage stuff and one for full time stuff. Any time I noticed the pile in either getting too big, I went in and parsed what was needed vs. what was wanted. Moving the stuff around, particularly the stuff destined for the RV, helped pare down what was left - all that weight and bulk had to be carried...

We have now been fulltiming for 1.5 years. We have space and weight to carry more stuff but I often think we have too much stuff. We have stuff we haven't used in more than a year! So we will pare down some more before we hit our second year.

As for an exit plan, we sold our house after fulltiming for six months - we wanted to make sure we liked it. We did. We put the profits away for a rainy day - the day we decide to stop full timing.

We don't miss our stuff. Everything we need we have. Replacing the stuff we don't need - household furniture - won't be too expensive; people buy new furniture every 10-15 years anyway. Our storage stuff fits in a small closet in a relative's house. Most of it is photographs/keepsakes and power tools.

[azrving]

We only 1/2 time but let me ask what the exit plan is in case I do consider FT some day. Thanks

[tjfogelberg]

The other side of the coin is that if you add up how much it costs to replace your "stuff" - the figure is astronomical. You have to be 100% sure you don't your stuff anymore. The cost of replacing later is prohibitive. If not sure, get rid of the junk and put what you don't take with you in storage. You can always get rid of it later. Yes storing things costs $ and takes time to properly pack and store, but it might be stuff you want back someday.

Todd