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Old 24-03-2017, 16:39   #46
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

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(PS. We rented our house because the real estate market hadn't recovered yet and we store stuff in the garage - it's working out fine.)
Thanks for this info. We are taking off November 1st, but have decided to rent instead of sell, at least temporarily, to ensure we are truly happy being sailing vagabonds. But really, who wouldn't?
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Old 24-03-2017, 22:05   #47
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

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Thanks for this info. We are taking off November 1st, but have decided to rent instead of sell, at least temporarily, to ensure we are truly happy being sailing vagabonds. But really, who wouldn't?
That sounds like a very smart plan.

In my rough estimate, based on people we met along the way, only about one in ten new full time live aboard cruisers make it through the first two years.

Out of the hundreds of boats we met I can only think of a tiny handful who had been cruising more than a decade.

These are not good odds if you are attached to your stuff.

That said, we are happy to give up all of our stuff very easily. Especially if we know it means we are going to live on a boat again.
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Old 24-03-2017, 22:37   #48
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

Hi Kerimoonbeam, I can suggest renting a furnished room. This is especially good if it is near the location you plan to store your boat initially.

You have somewhere else to go besides the boat while you are getting used to it.

You don't have to figure out how to get permission to live aboard, just stay 3 days a week on the boat. (This is a huge factor on the west coast where I am, liveaboard is not easy to set up. lots of waiting lists)

I like renting a furnished room in a house because almost every time the whole house is fully equipped. like right now I am sitting on a nice large couch, watching big screen TV, fireplace, fully set up kitchen, and I rent month to month. the room has bed, desk, garage parking, I only brought my skis, surfboard, bike, and boating gear. All this furniture, and long term billing such as leases, electric cable phone are handled by the home owner.

I also get to have a dog while I live here, and it stays with the owner when I move aboard.

It is a problem to get rid of things if you are still somehow attached to them. the moment you are ready, the stuff will go away. Watch out for buying new stuff though, it can be a treadmill.

Good luck!
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Old 25-03-2017, 01:15   #49
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

Hi, great topic. Everybody has a different set of priorities - we gifted everything that didn't earn a right to be on the boat. It was a good feeling donating it and even now, we still need to purge further. As they say, "less is more" 😀
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Old 25-03-2017, 02:04   #50
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

I've lived on board for years, and a few different boats. I have an area where I keep my special stuff. There are a few paintings, a special wooden box, we'll actually 2 that where presents and a few other bits and bobs and a teddy bear that's as old as me and done 24000 miles. Have had a few lock ups, got one at the moment but in reality lock ups just my eat cruising $ vouchers. Ow.
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Old 25-03-2017, 15:58   #51
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

Less is More!
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Old 25-03-2017, 17:10   #52
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

When I posted my question, I was thinking things like, "What if as soon as I start selling stuff off, the couch, chair, TV, and bed all go and I need to spend more time here in Nebraska for some reason. For example, if I set my retirement date to April 30th and on March 31st all my seating and bed sell...
Then I read a bunch of your posts and the ones that had themes like "get rid of it all" were the ones that felt right.
So, I put everything up for sale, called my sisters to see which (if any) family heirlooms they might like to have. The hardest things for me to part with are the art works I have collected. Most are signed and numbered prints (not originals and maybe "print" is not the right word. Lithograph maybe?) Then I have two signed and numbered works from an artist I had the amazing good fortune to call friend. I'd give them back to him, but he's currently out of the country travelling for a couple years. And I have my original sculpture, again from an artist I met at one of her shows, and it's just such an amazing work. I paid several hundred dollars each to have the pieces framed. And a keepsake signed and numbered poster from my days as a classical radio announcer that I just paid over $300 a month ago to frame. I just LOVE my art sooooo much. But, it's still just "stuff."
Today, I took my most loved books to this little bookstore near my house and sold about 10 very nice books for a total of about $10! LOL! The copy - 2nd printing - of James Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake," I let go for $3 because I wanted it to have a good home more than I cared about getting closer to the value of what I think might be a collector's edition. Who cares. I have two goals: (1) get rid of everything that won't fit in a safety deposit box at a bank on the east coast (my loosely planned "home base") and (2) have other people (the buyers) carry it all away so I don't have to! LOL!
So, as soon as the junk is gone and I have a renter for my house, I can tell the office "I'm retiring right now" and get in the car and head to Florida where I'll eventually sell the car.
I've had lots of nice offers from people saying they'd teach me to sail - one even offered me a nice little boat for free! Not a liveaboard, but a very nice little weekender.
So, the plan as it has advanced since I posted this question is: once I'm free of the stuff, the house, and the job, to head to Florida and start boat shopping. I think I have someone who will help me with the boat shopping and learning to sail - even offered to lend me a boat to practice sailing! And, I have an ex-brother-in-law nearby (we're very good friends) who I can stay with (near Jacksonville, Florida) while I boat shop and/or find a place to live if I can't just buy a boat and immediately start living on it.
I thought about hanging onto a few paperback books or maybe some of my tools, but there's a chance I'll be a guest on someone else's boat (crewing) and I'm just assuming they're not going to have room for me to have a bunch of stuff - no matter how much I love it - so pretty much everything is going, one way or another.
I got rid of basically everything when I moved to Oregon from Missouri in my late 20's and again when I moved to Ohio for grad school and again when I left Ohio after grad school. So, getting rid of stuff certainly can pluck at your heart strings, but I can't think of anything that I would not part with for the chance to be sailing along with dolphins swimming alongside my boat! I saw that on a couple YouTube videos! That's what I call thrilling! That is living!
I'm probably going on too long here, but I'll just add this. I'm taking a big risk here if living aboard doesn't work out. It could be a very expensive mistake that I really can't afford. BUT, if it does work out for a few years (I'm 63 years old), I'll have had a marvelous time, worked hard for myself, seen things I never thought I'd get to see if my access was only via standard vacation type travel (I can get lots of places very cheaply if the wind permits and my boat and me and whatever crew are able). So, when it's time to move back ashore, I might be a pitiful old lady living in near poverty, in a tiny dreary apartment, but that hides the fact that I had some seriously awesome adventures and met wonderful and interesting people all along the way and during those years, I was truly FREE! No dragging my tired arse out of bed on Monday mornings to go push papers in a giant bureaucracy, no stress that is not directly related to life aboard (yes, I've heard it can be really difficult) but it's not the same kind of stress insane bosses can create. If I'm somewhere that isn't what I'd hoped, I can just unfurl the sails and head off to blue water.
I'm sure I've got lots of rude awakenings awaiting me, but my life has never been easy and I'm not a wuss and one of the most thrilling experiences of my life was the one and only time I actually sailed, I took control of a little 16 foot sailboat, felt the wind fill the sails, and the boat respond to my actions and I fell head over heels in love.
I've always been on the wrong side of the locked marina gates just yearning. The sight of a harbor full of all kinds of boats sets my heart aflutter and the sight of a boat sailing along is like the greatest gift. I would love to find a more experienced person to join forces with - a friend, boyfriend, husband, a group of good fun folks - and be able to rely on their knowledge and experience, learn boat maintenance and all the rest and all while "living the dream." LUCKY ME! Oh my gosh! LUCKY ME! YAY!
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Old 26-03-2017, 08:00   #53
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

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Originally Posted by KeriMoonbeam View Post
.............................
.......................... I have an ex-brother-in-law nearby (we're very good friends) who I can stay with (near Jacksonville, Florida) while I boat shop and/or find a place to live if I can't just buy a boat and immediately start living on it. .............
Nancie and I are in the Jacksonville area and our boat is still with us here. Send me a PM when you're here and plan on boat shopping. We could enjoy being a resource in helping you buy wisely, marina choices, sailing, local destinations, etc.
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Old 26-03-2017, 12:07   #54
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

KeriMoonbeam said: "I thought about hanging onto a few paperback books or maybe some of my tools," ... This got to me because one sage piece of advice I got from my father in the early years and never forgot was, "DO NOT SELL YOU TOOLS. You can do without a lot of stuff in this world, but you cannot work or earn a living without tools".
This stood me in good stead many years ago when the going was tough and we occasionally wondered where the next meal might come from ... but that was before we stepped on a small ocean liner and came to live in this land of plenty.
No, life has not always been a Rose Garden, but I wouldn't have missed any part of it. We have truly lived our lives!
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Old 26-03-2017, 14:19   #55
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

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"DO NOT SELL YOU TOOLS. You can do without a lot of stuff in this world, but you cannot work or earn a living without tools".
Today's tools might be a laptop, editor, compiler, and wifi. Easy to take on a boat.
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Old 26-03-2017, 14:37   #56
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

I have (sadly) outlived many of my relatives, and had the unpleasant task of going through their homes, to dispose of their possessions. It is striking how much stuff which was so "special" to the owner ends up in the trash, or donated. Perceived value or importance grossly exaggerated.

My (now ex) wife valued her special silverware collection, until we visited a local store that bought old silverware. They had the fancy wood boxes of silverware by the hundreds, stacked to the ceiling. The only value was in the silver, nothing more. Better to put your money in the bank.

Never keep something because you think you should. If you are keeping something for a child, just give it to them now...if you wait till you are dead they likely won't want it anyway.

There are two things you should accumulate...shared experiences, and (digital) photos of your adventures.

My grandmother had a great set of pots and pans which she kept for years. And although I still use them to this day (and on my boats), I know I could replace the whole lot for $99 (with a really good black friday sale) and then I wouldn't be missing so many lids and broken handles.

My grandparents fled the Nazis out of Austria, leaving everything behind. My grandfather had been an auto mechanic. He sold his tools before he left, and bought a set of watchmakers tools. So he was able to bring a set of tools with him, and make a living, and the whole set fit in his pocket.

And as for expensive jewelry...try to sell a diamond and you'll realize that its not worth anything like you thought. Appraisals are for insurance. Reality is about 75% less.

I have a very fancy set of china, handed down from family. Older than me. It was never used until I got it. It can't go in the microwave or dishwasher because it has real gold trim. My kids prefer the blue melamine I bought for the boat.
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Old 26-03-2017, 15:09   #57
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

I think the OP is arriving at the right conclusion.....Special Art pieces and valuable family heirlooms (not pots and pans) can be loaned/gifted to family and friends to enjoy.
I would limit the number to about 5 of the best pieces, that I would want back

One reason is,....If moving back on shore I would automatically be downsizing from a large house to something much smaller
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Old 26-03-2017, 17:47   #58
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

Didnt get rid of everything....stored it for a few years...then got rid of it! 😩

Then bought it again, then got rid of it, now buying again to furnish new house! 😩

A lot depends on where you think you might end up. If back at the same geographic location, and can stow it cheap, then maybe keep some.

If you think you might end up ashore in another country then get rid of it...used household goods are worth pennies on the dollar and international moves are expensive. Im on my third now. 😩 Definately not worth shipping. Cheaper to buy local.

We lived aboard for a few years then I decided to put the boat back to work. Took all the live aboard junk off. Stowed it for a few years...and then chucked most of it when cleaning out storage. 😩
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Old 26-03-2017, 19:26   #59
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

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.........
........... One reason is,....If moving back on shore I would automatically be downsizing from a large house to something much smaller
I understand this! After fifty years from college dorm rooms and college apartments to small boats and then a medium sized boat, we are wallowing around in 1,300 square feet. We only use half the space in three of the rooms and none in another room. The two closets and two bathrooms would be ample space if it were designed right.

Most of the actual room is just carpeted open range to walk from one functional setting to another.

'no grab rails, but we're stable!
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Old 27-03-2017, 09:14   #60
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Re: Did you get rid of "everything"

I think the OP will find a market for a secnd hand Honda Civic. they are certainly popular in the UK so why not US.

We're packing at the moment.
I'm not selling absolutely everything and not even a lot of things, not yet. We've done a "Burn, recycle, keep, donate, sell" exercise with everything and are buying two shipping containers to put it all in. Most of what we're keeping is the more valuable furniture, artwork, precious items gathered on our travels and things that would be very hard to replace e.g. engineering machines that took an eternity to source and aren't made any more.
We'll see how we feel after they've been in storage a while.
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