At first I started being picky, I'm not retired yet, so maybe I should hang on to this and that, but once I got going, I realized I needed to be ruthless. It got easier once I got in that frame of mind.
Dropped off the bags at the Salvation Army store, hopefully the clothes will find a good home. It is amazing how much stuff we've accumulated.
It is a two edged sword, having to get rid of things that we won't need on the road, clothes, furniture, electronics, tools, even a piano (we both play). But someday in the future (hopefully not too soon) we're going to need the stuff all over again.
So along with our plans to get ON the road, we're also planning on how to get OFF the road.
When that days comes, we hope to have found a nice area to live, close to or centrally located near some or all of our kids. We want a low cost of living, state income tax free state where it is mostly warm. Snow does not fit into the plans.
From here, things are a little fuzzy, buy, or rent? Snow Bird ? Should we store some furniture, or ditch it all and start over again? What about storage costs compared to re-purchasing? We'd be real interested in what you fulltime folks plan on doing when you shift gears someday.
One thing won't change, we will continue to RV, we'll of course downsize to a smaller RV, maybe a Class C with enough space to take a couple of grandkids with us for a summer trip or two. We won't need anything too big because it won't be for fulltime living. Just big enough to be comfortable.
So tonight I'm just thinking "out loud". During my military career, I learned that it is important to plan ahead and re-evaluate things every five years. Hopefully, after five years of fulltime traveling, we'll decide we like it and want to do it for another five years.
Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.
I smiled while reading your post today. with 30 years being a Coastie, uniform and civilian gear and 7 years in corporate, I dumped all the dress clothes (except one dress uniform for final use). I carry one dress slacks and sport coat. Last May I was forced to wear a tie for an event, so I had to buy one.
ReplyDeleteWe do not plan to do this forever, so we saved some antiques and misc other stuff in a storage unit. Everything else furniture wise went out the door. If you plan to travel full time for a number of years, I doubt that financially it is justifiable to pay for storage. We did it because some of the stuff we saved just cannot be replaced (emotionally), so we just sucked it up and recognize it is just a cost for what we want.
Our criteria for our next (final?) home will be in an area just as you outline. We also plan to continue to travel in a smaller RV, unless we revert back to boating.
At the moment, if we had to stop soon, it would be FL.
It is fun to plan, and with any luck no decision is irreversible.
boy you have alot on your mind!!..if it was us?..or when it is us?..I say get rid of as much stuff as possible..find somewhere to store the items you cannot part with.....and get out on the road as soon as possible!..one plan at a time..and the other one leave it on the back burner..
ReplyDeleteTo accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France
ReplyDeleteIt's a dilemma, for sure. Ron and I were both ruthless when we sold our respective houses, but I did hedge my bets when I sold my rig and moved into his. A friend already had a storage locker and I shared hers. None of this was at all planned, but those things did come in handy when we bought the winter home. At least we have two sets of kitchen stuff. However Ron does haunt garage sales looking to replace tools he once owned. Whatever you do it will be right and wrong. :-D
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