What was your hardest 'thing' to give up?

[miss-m]

Hi guys,

We are just entering the 'oh my God, are we really doing this?' zone. We have lived aboard for 18 months straight and love it, but all this time we've had a dirty little secret.....
We have a storage unit round the corner!

In this we have 2 double beds and mattresses, about 7 bookcases, boxes and boxes of cds (yeah for ipods!) our winter clothes (now that its summer) dvd boxes and general other 'stuff' which we kept in case this living aboard thing didnt work out right and we wanted to get another house.... talk about having your cake and eating it!! Im so ashamed!

Anyway, to cut a long ramble short, we are now sorting through and disposing of those 'things' which seemed so so important to us- and finding it surprisingly easy.... except for one thing each. For me, it's my books. I love old, traditonal hardback books with proper dustcovers... and I have a lot of them. We're keeping one box each of really personal stuff at my parents, but I cant keep my books and it soooooo hard to get rid of them. For my other half, it's his motorbike. (For those that know about bikes, its a Suzuki GSX 1400). It was his engagement present- I got a diamond, he got a bike. Fairs fair. Anyway, we REALLY cant take that, but cant part with it either!

I was wondering what everyone else's nemesis possession was to get rid of?

[Minggat]

We have a storage unt as well. It's bad. I have a couple of "vintage" sports cars. Only one fits in the storage at a time, so the other one is in a friends back yard. And as long as I have the storage unit anyway, might as well keep all the other things I haven't gotten around to parting with yet. It wasn't so bad when the boat was in the same country.

Before I bought the boat I picked up a book for my wife called A Womans Guide to Cruising. In it a couple of different individuals talked about storing their treasures. One said that after several years, she came back and marveled at what she must have been thinking to pay to store it all. The other said that she had stored it with different family members. Some had divorced, one had developed alzhiemers, ect.

All I can say is, the time will come when I will no longer justify keeping my crap. In the meantime, I pay... in one way or another.

[ssullivan]

Libraries and "Give a book, take a book" are a cruiser's best friend.

Why keep the books? Have you re-read them all this year, or are they really just trophies?

You can donate them to a library. That's what we did with our several bookcases.

The motorbike?

It will sit in there and rot. Tires will rot away, it will corrode to some extent, it will depreciate and be worth next to nothing when you come back. Best to sell it, put the cash in an interest-bearing account or investment portfolio, then buy a new one when you return.

It's not the bike that's great... it's having a bike when you're on land that's great. Keep the cash set aside for a brand new bike when he gets home.

This is the way you should approach it. Paying for storage for the bike (or especially the book) over the years will cost more than buying the stuff new again when you return.

Think clearly... don't attach emotions to junk.

Originally Posted by miss-m

Hi guys,

We are just entering the 'oh my God, are we really doing this?' zone. We have lived aboard for 18 months straight and love it, but all this time we've had a dirty little secret.....
We have a storage unit round the corner!

In this we have 2 double beds and mattresses, about 7 bookcases, boxes and boxes of cds (yeah for ipods!) our winter clothes (now that its summer) dvd boxes and general other 'stuff' which we kept in case this living aboard thing didnt work out right and we wanted to get another house.... talk about having your cake and eating it!! Im so ashamed!

Anyway, to cut a long ramble short, we are now sorting through and disposing of those 'things' which seemed so so important to us- and finding it surprisingly easy.... except for one thing each. For me, it's my books. I love old, traditonal hardback books with proper dustcovers... and I have a lot of them. We're keeping one box each of really personal stuff at my parents, but I cant keep my books and it soooooo hard to get rid of them. For my other half, it's his motorbike. (For those that know about bikes, its a Suzuki GSX 1400). It was his engagement present- I got a diamond, he got a bike. Fairs fair. Anyway, we REALLY cant take that, but cant part with it either!

I was wondering what everyone else's nemesis possession was to get rid of?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Libraries and "Give a book, take a book" are a cruiser's best friend...
.. It's not the bike that's great... it's having a bike when you're on land that's great. Keep the cash set aside for a brand new bike when he gets home...
... Think clearly... don't attach emotions to junk.

What Sean said.
"Stuff" is the bane of the live-aboard/cruiser.

[Islandmike]

We are in the process of geting rid of stuff as we speak. Books are a hard one for me, but we have decided to keep only some of he tech books that may help us out on the cruise. We have given our 4 kids everything they want, we auctioned off most of the big things that were left. We will give away much and then have a final "yard sale" at the end of June., and finally a big dumpster! It was very difficult at first, however, it gets easier as you go.. It is like an avalanche.

[miss-m]

Thanks for the replies

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Why keep the books? Have you re-read them all this year, or are they really just trophies?

The motorbike?

It will sit in there and rot. Think clearly... don't attach emotions to junk.

Maybe I didnt explain myself clearly. We are already in the process of getting rid of our stuff, and also the storage- including the bike and books. Im finding it interesting how some things which seemed so important this time last year, I have no problem disposing of, but others are a little harder. But we know it's worth doing it- I dont need any convincing of that!

Im sure everyone who has sold up and moved aboard had an item which made the whole thing really tough. I was just wondering what those things were for everyone else- for no good reason than pure nosiness!! (sp?)

[Sandero]

I think you need to store the things which you love, may be valuable as in art, even if not monetarily valuable and the consumer rubbish get rid of.

I loved having books around. But in reality once read they are decoration and ego things usually. When I cruised I did what Sully notes, read a book and give it to someone else to read. The absolute favs, you keep and perhaps re read.

I loved having so few possessions and don't like acquiring them when I am land based only to know that in the end they will be disposed of. I don't have kids to deal with so most will end in the trash or given to charity. Possessions are a waste.

[Troutbridge]

I only kept the books that I re-read on a regular basis. The only 'stuff' that I stored with a friend is six Queen Anne chairs with seat & seat-back covers that I watched my late mother embroider. It took her several years and shortly after she completed them she was diagnosed with cancer. Although I don't particularly like the chairs themselves, they were always 'there' when I was growing up and somehow I just can't get rid of them even though I don't know when I'll be living onshore again.

[Einarr]

While I can not speak as a liveaboard cruiser. I can speak about living on less.

I was in the military for eight years. Lived out of a wall locker, rucksack or duffel bag for about 40% of the time and the other 60% was spent in garrison inthe barracks. Ownership of stuff is limited due to space requirements. I have been out of the military since 1991, and I seem to find that I have retained the same attitude toward "Stuff". Granted I do nto live such a spartan life as I did but I find that I have far fewer possessions than the majority of my friends, well practically all of them.

I too am a book lover, I have several shelves full. But if I had the opportunity to get on a boat and go tomorrow. I find that I would have no problem just walking out the door and leaving the majority of stuff behind. I doubt that i would even come close to filling my little Neon with stuff.

Having been in other countries and seen what people have for their possesions I conclude that American are silly. They have way too much junk that they never use.

I take the philosophy that if I have to wipe the dust off of it or I have not touched it in 6 months, I really did not need it in the first place and I get rid of it.

One of the biggest things that I have noticed is cloths, most of my male friends have two to three times as many cloths as I do, most of the ladies have 5 to 6 times the amount. I just dont understand why they have them if they are not going to wear them but once every six months, baffles me.

[sundowner]

Miss-M,

I'm right there with you. I'm in the process of exploring this sort of life change myself and have already sold my dream home, moved into a temporary smaller home, hoping to sell another property, have had numerous garage sales, donated a lot of items, and yet still have FAR MORE stuff than any person my age should be allowed to have or really needs.

I too have a hard time getting rid of books and I know why. My father LOVED books and passed some of those attitudes down to me. Growing up we always had libraries of books around the house. For me, it is difficult getting rid of them, along with many other things, but I will admit I'm also a bit of a pack rat, a condition I'm trying to remedy. I have a motorcycle as well that I too enjoy, along with other possessions, some of which I will not choose to get rid of at this time due since I won't necessarily be living aboard 100% of the time and haven't even acquired a boat yet anyway. Other possessions are due to my love of so many outdoor activities (skiing, climbing, camping, etc.)…a jack of all trades and master of few.

I think its fine to have a storage space to store items you like or might want to keep for the future. Not everyone will live on board full time or forever. If you have LOTS of money, then its no problem to sell or give away most things and just buy them again, however for many people it might make sense to spend one or two hundred dollars a month on a storage room for a few years if they have many thousands or tens of thousands of dollars worth of things that they have spent many years accumulating, knowing that if they sold those item now they might only get back a small fraction of their value. I do know one couple that got rid of everything but what they could fit in a 10'x10'x storage room and went sailing for several years.

The reality and my encouragement to all who desire to explore this type of lifestyle: start paring down your stuff now. Even if some of us never go (which I'm sure I will), most people really don't need all the things that we as Americans are so used to accumulating. The person with the most toys at the end really doesn't win. If you are not careful with your possessions, they will come to possess you. It's amazing how the anchors in our lives are often the ones that anchor us to shore and prevent us from pursuing our dreams instead of the ones we truly yearn for (the ones on a boat) that keep us safely away from shore. In my case, I love the mountains and the ocean and want to incorporate both into my life.

Possessions give us a sense of security, but it might be a false sense of security in some ways and the freedom achieved by divesting possessions and the ability to drop our preferred anchor of choice anywhere we like might be the greatest freedom and security of all.

Life well.

[rebel heart]

I miss my office in my old house. Having an entire room for myself, my desk, my computer, and my books was awesome. Now I have an edge of the main cabin table. :-(

I like the things I have a lot more than I miss anything. I'd probably add a nice, big, hot shower to the list as well.

I spend a lot less money on junk though. Now I only buy things that are disposable or permanent.

[George Elliott]

I miss being able to make 5 gal batches of draft beer, Bitter to be exact. The light lagers that you encounter out here get a little boring. But boiling 5 gal of wort on Thalia is just not possible. Good luck George

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

I miss my office in my old house. Having an entire room for myself, my desk, my computer, and my books was awesome. Now I have an edge of the main cabin table. :-(

Another reason I am catamaran bound - his and her hulls.

[Red Charlotte]

I miss having a couch that we can cuddle on together.

I also miss having good lighting.

It was really hard to get rid of my books, but I'm okay with it now. It was just hard to do. I did keep all of my framed artwork; it's in storage at my brother's.

[Cowboy Sailer]

I have stored: Quality old furniture that I refinished. My guns. Photo albums and 35 mm slides my father took. Also in storage I have a home movie of my grandmother who was born in 1878 and died in 1962. Some handwork from my mother and grandmother. Heirloom dishes and silverware. Hand tools. I sold all of the electric tools but stored the gasoline powered chainsaw, I should have sold it too! I bet when we open the storage building next year we will wonder, “why in the world did I keep this!” It wll have been over ten years since I loaded and locked the storage building.