Gradually preparing to take the Plunge

Matt and I plan to do the Great Loop and cruise for several years.**It will be a few years until we GET to that point, but we've started looking at our stuff with an eye towards figuring out what we are or aren't going to take with us.* We aren't pack rats by any means but we aren't going to need*all this stuff from an 1100 sq ft condo*on a 35 foot trawler.* We aren't planning on coming back to where we currently live.*

So the question, what do we do with our "stuff" we aren't taking?***

Do people generally get rid of everything,*have a storage unit somewhere, or perhaps still have a residence with some stuff stored in it? *I have heard the suggestion to buy a condo/ house*in a good vacation rental market and leave the "can't part with it" stuff locked up in a storage closet there.*

Thoughts?* thanks!

Pineapple Girl wrote:

we aren't going to need*all this stuff from an 1100 sq ft condo*on a 35 foot trawler.*

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Coincidentally, that's to*be my housing-to-boat ratio.

Once you figure out the cost of shipping and storing versus buying new stuff, it might surprise you how much you should get rid of.* Maybe you'll want something new when you return anyway.

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I'm really leaning towards getting rid of everything.* * I've heard enough stories of people getting into their storage unit after ten years and getting rid of everything they've been paying $$$ a month to store!

But interested in what others have done!

Jennifer:* Lena and I moved on the water in 1997.* We sent some boxes to a relative in San Diego to store for us.* They mostly contained pictures, nick-knacks and things that are near and dear to us.* Not very much.* We did box a few things like some dress clothes and*shoes .* Furniture and appliances where given a way or sold.

We opened up the boxes in 2005 and had a few good laughs.* The suit and shoes for some reason didn't fit.

Even the tools that I wish I had kept, were cheaper to replace when we came back than*to pay for storage.* If you have a good*friend with a barn or a relative in the area, they*may be of some help.

If you're keeping the condo and renting it, you could keep an "owners" closet.

We sold everything and got a storage unit in anticipation a long cruise. Turns out it lasted 12 years. When we moved off the boat two years ago we owned exactly one lamp. The cost of replacing everything we had sold from a 3 bedroom house to refurnishing a new to us 3 bedroom house was in the 50-60 k range. This did not include any appliances. Just TV's, chairs, couchs, desks, beds, dressers, dining room set, etc.

I don't have any idea what the bill for storage of our old furniture would have been for 12 years, plus it would have*had to be shipped from Galveston Co. to SW Florida.

As we travelled we went through a series of storage rooms depending upon how long we would be staying somewhere. Everything would fit in the back of an F-150 with a fiberglass cap.

-- Edited by Doc on Thursday 13th of January 2011 02:33:09 PM

-- Edited by Doc on Thursday 13th of January 2011 02:33:39 PM

get rid of everything. you will feel so simple/better

albin43 wrote:

get rid of everything. you will feel so simple/better

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I must agree. If you won't use it for a year, get rid of it. Keep it simple.

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plus it would have had to be shipped from Galveston Co. to SW Florida.


Usually a waste of cash as the "northern" furniture just looks horrible in the different Florida light.

Just curious,* Where would you start the Loop? and how would you get the boat there?* Over land or by Sea?

I think if we were to down size from the dirt house to a condo, we would be good to go. But I have to check with the Admiral.

you could start right from where you are,and go right up the hudson riv and into the locks.go right out barnaget inlet

JohnP wrote:

Just curious,* Where would you start the Loop? and how would you get the boat there?* Over land or by Sea?

I think if we were to down size from the dirt house to a condo, we would be good to go. But I have to check with the Admiral.

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We'd ship the boat out.* I am thinking of starting in Alabama but definitely the gulf coast.**We've some friends from here*who did it and decided not to come*back. *I am leaving here with the intention of not coming back!*

Pineapple Girl wrote:

*
JohnP wrote:

Just curious,* Where would you start the Loop? and how would you get the boat there?* Over land or by Sea?

I think if we were to down size from the dirt house to a condo, we would be good to go. But I have to check with the Admiral.

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We'd ship the boat out.* I am thinking of starting in Alabama but definitely the gulf coast.**We've some friends from here*who did it and decided not to come*back. *I am leaving here with the intention of not coming back!

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*Thats what I like! An open ended adventure.*

In that case everything goes, besides your boat will truely be your home.** Sounds like you guys will have a great time- Enjoy!


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-- Edited by JohnP on Friday 14th of January 2011 11:23:26 AM

-- Edited by JohnP on Friday 14th of January 2011 11:24:13 AM

-- Edited by JohnP on Friday 14th of January 2011 11:25:05 AM

JohnP wrote:


*Thats what I like! An open ended adventure.*

In that case everything goes, besides your boat will truely be your home.** Sounds like you guys will have a great time- Enjoy!

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There isn't much that I won't take on the boat that I would have a hard time parting with.* LOL.* Maybe photos.* If there is just a super small amount of stuff*we can't let go of maybe I can get my parents to stow it in their spare room in their house in NC.*

Pineapple Girl wrote:


JohnP wrote:

*
*Thats what I like! An open ended adventure.*

In that case everything goes, besides your boat will truely be your home.** Sounds like you guys will have a great time- Enjoy!

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There isn't much that I won't take on the boat that I would have a hard time parting with.* LOL.* Maybe photos.* If there is just a super small amount of stuff*we can't let go of maybe I can get my parents to stow it in their spare room in their house in NC.*

********** Pineapple,* Just wondering, are you originally from the East Coast?* JEP

*

JohnP wrote:

********** Pineapple,* Just wondering, are you originally from the East Coast?* JEP

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I'm a second generation native Californian.**My family moved from San Jose, CA to NC when*I was 13.* As an adult I*moved*from NC->TN->VA->NC->OH->CA.**I would move back to NC in a heartbeat.* My parents are still there, obviously.*

Pineapple Girl wrote:


JohnP wrote:

********** Pineapple,* Just wondering, are you originally from the East Coast?* JEP

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I'm a second generation native Californian.**My family moved from San Jose, CA to NC when*I was 13.* As an adult I*moved*from NC->TN->VA->NC->OH->CA.**I would move back to NC in a heartbeat.* My parents are still there, obviously.*

********** Wow,** It is nice to be near your folks.*Where ever you land up, sounds like you will pick a good spot.** JEP

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A California boat stopped in Houma, Louisiana a couple of months ago on the way to start the Loop. It had been trucked from South California to South Texas, they got to see more of the Northern Gulf Coast that way.
Steve W.

We moved from a house (and acreage) into a bus and now onto the boat.* Initially we sold or gave away everything that wouldn't fit into an 18 foot cube van but after a year of that Canadian residency requirements and US Homeless Insecurity hassles persuaded us to buy a small piece of property again.* That's now our residence and storage location.* I think the more important advice for someone contemplating this nomadic existence is to remain completely flexible.* Right now I actually know what I will be doing on Tuesday but typically a week is long range planning for us.* You and your partner both need to be onside with that or it clearly won't work.* We're extremely lucky that both of us are OK with that situation and we have deliberately arranged our working lives to take advantage of our fluid scheduling and mobility.* Not everybody would be suited to that though.

I like your style, PG!!!!

My suggestion would be to ship to the Galveston/Houston area. There is a huge boating community here with all of the resources you will need to get your boat (re)prepared for your journey. *You will likely meet lifelong friends here regardless of how short your stay is....

My other suggestion, which I don't think applies to you but it might, is to keep a residence SOMEWHERE that you can call home. I know many people have a hard time just cutting the strings and going with no place to call home. It sounds like you won't have this problem since you are the gung ho one on here. But I am not looking past your spouse. Just the idea that you have a landside "plan B" makes some people feel better. Anyway, just my .02.

-- Edited by Baker on Sunday 16th of January 2011 12:03:45 PM

When we first left for Alaska on our boat, we rented out our house.* I put everything I wanted to save in a 40ft shipping container(that I owned) on the side of the house. Upon our return, a year later to inspect the house I discovered the renters had destroyed it.* Renters were evicted, house renovated and sold.* The new owners agreed to allow storage of the container for one year as a condition of the sale.* About 15 months later, they wanted it OUT.* Originally I had planned to simply ship the container to where ever I landed, but since I was living on my boat in Alaska that wasn't going to work.* It turned out to be a big problem, and if I had to do it again, I would simply get rid of as much as possible. The cost to store and ship can quickly exceed the worth of most things. Even with free storage, things can change and disrupt your cruise...........Arctic Traveller

I have a storage unit and two houses. The houses are both rented out and managed by a real estate company, so I don't have to deal with renters. Well worth the fee to just get a check deposited in the bank once a month.

How much you keep depends on your time frame, and if you plan to move back to dirt. For what you will pay to store some things, you can get rid of them and guy new ones later. Of course there are heirloom items, pictures, etc. that can't be replaced.

Keeping in mind that you will probably have to rent SOME type of storage for those items, you look at the incremental additional cost for a larger one for more "stuff". There is also the issue of how accessible the "stuff" is. If you cram everything you own into a 5x5 space, you'll never get to any of it.

Keith wrote:

I have a storage unit and two houses. The houses are both rented out and managed by a real estate company, so I don't have to deal with renters. Well worth the fee to just get a check deposited in the bank once a month.

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Keith, I too had a professional real estate company manage my rental.* Huge mistake.* On a regular basis they assured me they were inspecting my property, inside and out.* When I finally went by to inspect myself I discovered a tree had fallen on the garage, the new fence was broken, and the inside was TRASHED.* Neighbors told me the tree had been on the garage for over four months, and the fence broken in the first month. The only thing the managers had done was to collect their fees.* Hopefully yours is better, but make sure to check yourself as often as possible.* ................Arctic Traveller

10 years ago when we moved aboard, we rented a storage locker but after going a year without even looking in it we got rid of all of our junk and have not looked back

Arctic Traveller wrote:


Keith wrote:

I have a storage unit and two houses. The houses are both rented out and managed by a real estate company, so I don't have to deal with renters. Well worth the fee to just get a check deposited in the bank once a month.

Click to expand...

Keith, I too had a professional real estate company manage my rental.* Huge mistake.* On a regular basis they assured me they were inspecting my property, inside and out.* When I finally went by to inspect myself I discovered a tree had fallen on the garage, the new fence was broken, and the inside was TRASHED.* Neighbors told me the tree had been on the garage for over four months, and the fence broken in the first month. The only thing the managers had done was to collect their fees.* Hopefully yours is better, but make sure to check yourself as often as possible.* ................Arctic TravellerSorry to hear that. Mine has been handling my properties since around 2003 and do a good job. I still drive by occasionally to check for myself.

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Our plan is to move aboard this year and spend the next 4 years getting to know everything about the boat, then punch out and begin cruising full time in 2015. Head out the Golden Gate and go south. Getting rid of everything other then the pictures and a few small family items. I agree most items you can put in a box and store for a year, you don't need or can replace cheaper then you can store them. As for most of the pictures, we plan to scan them for the computer and using the newer display frames, have a slide show run, most of the time with all the pictures from around the house and photos albums. Brings a touch of home to the boat.

new member -- Husband and I plan to retire in three years and purchase sailboat. Starting weeks with Blue Water Sailing next year so we will know what we are doing -- sort of.

Caribbean and Trinidad/tobago area for as many years as we can do it. Subdivision where I am currently has a large garage sale every year so this year we are starting to get rid of everything we do not use. 4800 sq. ft. house down to a 40 ft. boat -- No storage, getting rid of literally everything -- no reason to be bothered once gone. Daughter can keep a box of pictures and minor momentos. I figure once we get off the boat, back on land we will be 75 or 80 -- probably won't want a large house or large yard to maintain, so nothing we have now would fit anyway.

Never thought of an estate sale -- glad someone mentoned that -- good thing to look into -- might save a lot of time.

Plan to keep it simple. Want the freedom of not having to worry about anything back home.

There is a huge boating community here with all of the resources you will need to get your boat (re)prepared for your journey.

Prepared for the journey?

95% is in a river or dug canal!!

Should the engine be operable , you are ready! Bring two big fenders and a line,

Pineapple Girl wrote:Matt and I plan to do the Great Loop and cruise for several years.**It will be a few years until we GET to that point, but we've started looking at our stuff with an eye towards figuring out what we are or aren't going to take with us.* We aren't pack rats by any means but we aren't going to need*all this stuff from an 1100 sq ft condo*on a 35 foot trawler.* We aren't planning on coming back to where we currently live.*

So the question, what do we do with our "stuff" we aren't taking?***

Do people generally get rid of everything,*have a storage unit somewhere, or perhaps still have a residence with some stuff stored in it? *I have heard the suggestion to buy a condo/ house*in a good vacation rental market and leave the "can't part with it" stuff locked up in a storage closet there.*

Thoughts?* thanks!

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*Prepare Well - - > THEN........

Jennifer, Matt; aka, Pineapple Girl - - > DO IT... *And, dont look back!!!* Ive been wild and crazy all my life; termed eccentric by some LOL.* Ive had wonderful experiences and plan a bunch more!* GET IT ON!!* Thats my # 1 philosophy!*

We were to be retired by 2010, rent out the houses, and travel Mexico to Alaska, on a boat; specifically - a 48 Tollycraft... But woops... in 2008 the economy tumbled and EZ Build Masonry System proprietary product biz I was to sell took a nose dive right along with most of the building industry, which is still descending. **So... I immediately pulled another invention-rabbit out of my biz-hat, and began another proprietary product biz, this time a much larger one, in the SolarAirPower clean-tech energy field.* I figure it will take a few years before I sell... probably stay on as consultant (telecommuting while on board boat yea, thats the way I like it!).* Then well do years of boat-only-liven while traveling the Pacific and flying family out to visit or flying back to visit them.* In the mean time, while things progress toward our eventual years of freedom onto the Great Pacific coast, we bought a 34 Tolly tri cabin and 31 Uniflite SS sedan*for play time in SF Bay and the Delta.* Sold the Uni, kept the Tolly!* Unis OK, but, I do really love them Tollys.* Will eventually sell the 34er to get our coastal cruising 48er!*

Re what to do with all your stuff: I recommend - sell/trade/gift anything you dont REALLY want to keep for long term.* You dont need a monthly storage bill and the*potential of everything going to waste in the long run anyway.* Store the personally important remaining items in minor sized boxes at a family or close friends residence. *Personally, I like to travel light... makes for low overhead and agile movement capabilities!*

Happy Boating / Happy Life! - Art

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thanks Art, we hope to see you up on the Delta in July.*

We are definitely working towards our cruising goal.* I have taken a job that will allow me to work from "anywhere" and we are selling our condo, though not moving to the boat just yet.*

Pineapple Girl wrote:thanks Art, we hope to see you up on the Delta in July.*
We are definitely working towards our cruising goal.* I have taken a job that will allow me to work from "anywhere" and we are selling our condo, though not moving to the boat just yet.*

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*Jennifer - Sounds great!* Good luck selling condo!!* We'll be on our Tolly (named, The Office - so apropos for me -*LOL)*in Stockton area delta for 4 days this weekend. - Cheers, Art

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