Going full time

[Bob_Vaughn]

As I watch the rv shows on tv and see all those folks who sell everything they own and take to the open road. I wonder how they sell all their possessions. We never do well with yard sales and end up with a nickel on a dollar for things if that much. I do not want to give away the things I have spent 50+ years acquiring. So how do people do this without getting skinned....

[ouremptynest]

We went the auction route. We moved everything we needed into our RV and took some items with sentimental value to family. And then we called an auction company to handle the rest. We didn't life a finger and EVERYTHING was gone, down to the extra cans of house paint in the garage.

[Acdii]

A HUGE bonfire!

What I would really like to do is blow the house up though.

All kidding aside, the auction sounds like the best solution. Will be doing this in 15 years myself, and going through what will be what by then, and where to base from, etc. I didn't even consider the stuff part, figured by then it would be mostly gone.

[Clay_L]

We sold a lot of stuff, gave a lot to our kids and places like the Salvation Army.
We did not follow the advice of many about getting rid of everything and put quite a bit in storage (10 by 30 storage unit).

After 11 years of full timing we bought a house in western CO and had all of our stuff moved here from NH. We had sold all of the big appliances and most of the soft furniture but still had a lot of stuff.

I am sure glad we did not follow the conventional advice and get rid of all of it.
We have spent about $15,000 buying what we need for the house - stuff that we sold for maybe 10 percent of what it cost back then.

If we had to replace what we had stored - like guns, complete woodworking shop, my wifes equipment for building miniatures, her genealogy research records and small appliances, desks and office equipment, and my electronic gear, it would have cost a lot more than what we spent for storage.
Some things like heirlooms that came from as far back as our great grand parents could not be replaced at any cost.

[qtla9111]

It's a lesson most people never learn. As consumers we buy so much junk that has little or no value. There's so much of it out there in most cases you can only give it away.

Teach your kids and grandkids that because it's on sale you really don't need it. Teach them to buy things of value. Yes, that takes time but it is much easier to sell handcrafted furniture, art, instruments, etc. than factory manufactured "stuff".

And, those things have sentimental value and are worth handing down.

[tinner12002]

Were dealing with that now as I've finally got her convinced that its all just "stuff" and needs to go. I also have stuff that I'm getting rid of, told her if it doesn't fit in the 5th wheel it isn't going and we don't need it. She has an attic full a shed full and a 3rd bedroom full of stuff, so we have a ways to go but since my purchase of our new toy hauler, full time castle, reality has set it and now she's onboard!

[beemerphile1]

Here is my plan, many of our children have already stated they want this item or that item.

We will have an auction. Each child will receive a credit to be spent at that auction. If not spent at the auction, it is lost.

The children get what they want fair and square and their bidding helps drive up the prices which benefits us.

[Barbilou_and_Fu]

We had some yard sales, where stuff went for a nickel on the dollar. Kids and friends took very little. We opted for a storage unit for the rest, which we paid for 10 years. Believe me, nothing in there totaled what we spent on that storage fee over 10 years.

If I had it to do over, I'd try Craigslist, and start earlier. There are many online garage sale sites in our area now, do a search on Facebook. And for the FEW things I'd want back some day, find a trusted friend with some space in a garage or basement.

[BarbaraOK]

1968mooney wrote:
Remember, when you quit fulltiming, you get to purchase all those items new again.:B

No. Because I wouldn't want all of that stuff. People hung up on 'stuff', even if it's 50 yrs worth, will never make a success of fulltiming. You either embrace having freedom, or your stuff owns you. ??

BTW, people in S&B replace furniture all the time. And you can't take it with you when you die.

[Dance_Chick]

Bob Vaughn wrote:
As I watch the rv shows on tv and see all those folks who sell everything they own and take to the open road. I wonder how they sell all their possessions. We never do well with yard sales and end up with a nickel on a dollar for things if that much. I do not want to give away the things I have spent 50+ years acquiring. So how do people do this without getting skinned....

I suspect that if you're attached to "the things you've spent 50+ years acquiring", then you're probably not ready to full-time. While I've not done it, it appears from what I've read that one can't really care about all those things and must be happy to keep only what's absolutely necessary.I read of how freeing it is to do away with most things. So, maybe you're just not ready....or never will be.

[older_fossil]

We went through this a couple of years ago when we decided to go full time. We realized that we had little emotional attachment to most of our "stuff" and did not want anything left in a storage facility. What really surprised us was the magnitude of the logistics just to dispose of everything. Our son and D-I-L didn't really want anything. We sold some stuff via a local Facebook group, CraigsList, and a garage sale. A LOT of stuff went to local charities and even some stuff went to the dump. We had a few rather specialized items (like a large diamond rock saw and other lapidary equipment) that took a while, but they eventually sold. We still had some stuff in storage while we ordered a class A coach to full time in. Most of that ended up being disposed of after we put what would fit into the new coach. We still carry stuff in the coach that we will likely get rid of soon.

[FunnyCamper]

not there yet but gonna do an estate auction, 1 day, get rid of it all and move forward in my life. stuff and junk ain't holding me back for long when I get my opportunity to go full time

[ependydad]

Great question. We've been fulltiming for 2 years now and have a $325/month storage bill. We want to get rid of most of it this coming spring.

I'm debating between yard sales/donations and simply calling in an estate auction.

[jplante4]

Moved from General RVing

[4ramblinbob]

It has taken me 3 years to get rid off stuff and allocate it to others etc. etc. this also includes my own small business. House is tentatively sold now and most of the furniture goes with it.
Finally!!!