Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
I think I started already just cause I like the name...heheh
Anyway, yeah, I decided last week to do just even like 1 drawer a day if that's all I could to start just throwing away crap and sorting out stuff that I hope to donate or sell. But we have ALOT of years worth of ... I hate to call it this... but JUNK lol Stuff that nobody but us could possibly want. I've already started looking at how much it would cost to rent one of those big dumpster things like they show on Hoarders to haul crap away.. I sincerely HOPE it isn't that bad come time to get going, but I'm nervous about it now.
Did anyone else have just alot of crap to throw away??
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Hoping for "Full Time" status come mid 2017 *fingers, toes & eyes crossed*
A ridiculous amount. 25 years worth of stuff. For the garage sales we filled the garage and the entire driveway with tables and had things on the top and underneath. You know its ridiculous when you keep finding things you forgot you had because you haven't seen or touched it in over 10 years.
Hang in there. it's a ton of work but very freeing. Oh and piece of advice give away everything you can to worthy people. It feels great and is much easier than trying to sell every little thing.
We had an enormous amount of stuff even after we gave as much to our kids as possible and gave a bunch to the Salvation Army and other places.
I hauled several utility trailer loads of stuff to the dump and still I bet the trash pick up guys had a party when we left.
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Clay (WA5NMR), Lee (wife), Katie, Kelli (cats) Full timed for eleven years in a 2004 Sightseer 35N. Snowbirds for one winter and now settled down in CO.
It's part of the normal process. We had 2 online estate sales to get rid of some of the bigger stuff, 1 garage sale that ended up being way more work than it was worth, some furniture went to a consignment shop and sold that way, gave away stuff to neighbors and friends, put some things on the curb with a "free" sign and watched them disappear, numerous trips to Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. Had one charity come pick up the remaining furniture that never sold, trash bin was full every single week for about 4 months and before that we had rarely ever filled the bin. And oh yeah, after burning out the motor in more than 1 paper shredder, we started burning personal papers that we just couldn't put in the trash or recycle, we had some huge bonfires!!
It seems like an endless process and we were still throwing things into the trash bin and made one last trip to Salvation Army on the final day when we drove away from our home for the last time.
Once you are done with round 1, go back and do it all over again, room by room, drawer by drawer....... even after we did that and have been on the road almost two years there are still things we need to get rid of!
Ebay is a wonderful thing. We have over 600 things up there now and all the $$$ go into the "RV Fund". One thing we noticed is that you would be amazed at what people will buy! Some things that were going to end up in the trash have been turned into cash. Lee & Tracy are right though, don't try to sell absolutely every little thing - we have thrown/given away things that don't sell after several months. It is a daunting task at first, but after 9 months of all-out Ebaying, there is a very noticeable difference in the accumulation of "junk". I agree with Jim & Barb, after round 1, do it all over again. Can't wait to get to that stage!!!
Ahh, misery loves company! We are totally anti-hoarders, and yet it still seems overwhelming. Had to get tough with ourselves, and ask "do we really need this" and "am I ever gonna use this". For me personally, it was tough going through my shop/garage and making those decisions. Choose carefully what you decide to keep and store. If it's family heirlooms and memories, no doubt you keep them...but if it's just run of the mill furniture and tools, don't put more money into storage fees than the value of the storage rooms' contents. Sell them, put the money into investments, and go shopping later in life when you need them again!
Unfortunately, one of our kids is going into the Navy, and the other is in limbo while he finishes Nursing school, so the kids aren't really calling dibs on very much.
Good for you for getting started!
We had TONS of stuff - gave a lot away to the kids and other family and even my kids friends. Sold some on Craigslist and also on FaceBook yard sale page for my area. Sold a lot! Sold some to our new neighbors (they had just moved in after living in an apartment and needed all the yard stuff!) - also GoodWill and Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Some places will come get bigger stuff.
A few weeks ago I reread some of the posts on my blog from that time (it's only been a little over a year) and was remembering that crazy time - seemed like it would NEVER end - but then it did. Haven't looked back - except to reread the blog - not wishing I could actually go back!
Good luck!
This whole purge thing would be so much easier if the house just burned down! We don't have that much stuff but a tub full of video tapes has so little value these days. Or how about the tub of Masonic items that certainly won't fit in the fiver. My wife ask me how many guitars do I need... Just one more is always the answer. We have set our launch date for sometime between June and October of 16. That doesn't leave much time to do all that needs to be done. I need to quit my job so I'll have a little free time.
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MarkS & Jackie MSgt, USAF, Ret 2004 Volvo 780 530 HP Cummins 13 speed 2014 Trilogy 3650RE fulltime since Oct 8, 2016
We knew we had a lot of stuff when someone asked me if it was an Estate Sale. I realized that it was but we were still alive! Before you know it you'll be on the road and loving the life! Remember, it's just stuff.
Other than the actual process of getting it gone, fortunately the only thing I can see having issues with actually parting with are photographs (which I am working on scanning) and some personal items of my late daughter.
The hurdle of the Christmas decorations is being jumped now, DH is like the Griswolds when it comes to Christmas lol
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Hoping for "Full Time" status come mid 2017 *fingers, toes & eyes crossed*
Once you are done with round 1, go back and do it all over again, room by room, drawer by drawer....... even after we did that and have been on the road almost two years there are still things we need to get rid of!
We started cleaning out June of 2005. Went on the road June 2006. We are STILL taking a couple bags of stuff to GOODWILL every year - mainly clothes that we no longer want, some electronics, some things that we thought we would use but don't, etc. And the older we get, the more stuff we get rid of because we just don't want, need, or feel like putting the effort into using.
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Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Reading your post, I can feel the excitement we had at the beginning of our downsizing. At times we wanted it all over, but realized, it's an emotional process, letting go of our stuff.
No regrets, very glad we did it, and look forward each day, to less stress, more time and living life with excitement. We are in Canada, and yes we have the white stuff. We have skirted, wrapped and prepared for old man winter, and enjoying it all. Our RV park is almost full here, the one down the road is full and the one across the lake almost full.
Hardy bunch! Good luck with your journey, and thanks for sharing it with us here.
Put items at the curb as you go to bed at night with a 'free' sign on them. We found they would be gone by morning. I was on almost a first name basis with the guys at Goodwill & Salvation Army. We had moved frequently, so a lot of stuff was cleaned out over the years. But a lot went to charities because I didn't have time to do a garage sale - nor did I want to. Gave furniture to daughter and she decided what to keep and what to sell - helped them out.
If you have boxes of old records, call around and see if there is a commercial shredding service - - would have cost less than the three shredders I ended up going through to get it all shredded.
Also if you have lots of work clothing, call some homeless shelters and see if they take donations. I gave several business suits (both men's and women's) to a local church that ran programs to help people get into the work force.
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Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
To Barb's point on shredding, many communities are now sponsoring "shred-a-thons" for lack of a better way to describe it in which on a specified day (usually in the sring) you can bring in your old documents and they will shred them for free. We did this last year and cleaned out a lot of old bills, receipts and other now useless papers. Some files such as old tax returns we will continue to shred ourselves.
We make use of firepits and burn the old documents if we can. It's pretty rural in many of the locations and if it's real paper and not plasticized, it works out. If it's plastic at all, it gets shredded.
We make use of firepits and burn the old documents if we can. It's pretty rural in many of the locations and if it's real paper and not plasticized, it works out. If it's plastic at all, it gets shredded.
Problem comes when you run into burn bans - which was what we were facing when we were getting ready to retire. In fact, there have been very few years/places when there weren't burn bans.
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Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Many charitable organization will pick-up items, as long as you have a quantity of "stuff" they would be interested to have (i.e., furniture, dozen boxes/bags or more of "stuff"). We had periodic donation pick-ups at our home, over the two years prior to going full-time, by Salvation Army, Good Will and various other organizations. Many of the donation pick-ups, I did not need to be home for; solely leaving the items by our garage doors. One of the final pick-ups involved them picking up numerous pieces of furniture, which I confirmed they would come into the house and carry out -- the two men that picked up the items were not only very nice but they were also very careful when they removed the time (i.e., not damaging walls, etc.). What you think is junk might be valued by others (i.e., call some of the organizations or look at the list of things they are looking for/accept online).
On edit: For large items the charitable organizations were not interested in (and I thought someone would want), "free" was placed on them and they were put at the curb (and they were gone within hours). For item that I did not think anyone would want, those went into our trash container. I also purchased some "stickers" from our garbage company, the stickers could be placed on bags of trash, that were placed next to the trash can and the garbage company would remove them. Easier than a dumpster, plus I am sure it cost us less money.
-- Edited by Lynn and Ed on Saturday 9th of January 2016 11:08:59 PM
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2014 New Horizons Majestic 40' 2014 Ram 5500 HD with Utility Bodywerks hauler body
We had an enormous amount of stuff even after we gave as much to our kids as possible and gave a bunch to the Salvation Army and other places. I hauled several utility trailer loads of stuff to the dump and still I bet the trash pick up guys had a party when we left.
Us too! I should have left gifts for the garbage men! We donated, threw away, gave away, forced on family and stored. Then we did it all over again in the 5th wheel once we moved in with everything we "thought" we had to have. We told the kids they should thank us, we did all of this and now they won't have to when we die.
I'm just glad to see there are other people out there going through this, and appreciate the many ideas/approaches. Wrote a long whiny post about my particular problems, but there is nothing to do but get more organized, work harder and keep trying. Sometimes it seems this phase will never end, but it has to!
I to feel the pain, we are doing the same thing as well as trying to spritz up the house to sell. My problem is it's winter here in western NY and we have snow. That means no house on the market yet, can't really sell the cows and sheep yet, can't do any garage sales. The only thing I do have in my favor is being able to burn all the old IRS and other paperwork in the wood stove! I just can't wait for better weather to get this all on the go, then I know it will all hit at once.
Keep on it and it will all get done.
Thanks Carol, good luck with the weather and the stock. I should be grateful I've got 68 degree weather (for now!) and no animals to worry about! I have stacks of things to scan and purge/shred. My neighbor is a big believer in the 'burn your leaves and trash' method, unfortunately she chooses lovely 68 degree days to do her burns, whose smoke goes right in my yard and house. I washed some things I need to sell on Ebay, went out to set them on the veranda to dry, and realized they would be hickory-smoked unless I brought them back inside. I don't care what little plans I come up with, they get blown out of the water! Oh well, nothing to do but carry on.
We are going through every little/big thing we have! Our Estate Sale is in mid-May and my fear is that we will have lots leftover after the sale. I guess we will be donating most of the leftovers. Pretty amazing how little you need. Especially if you just bought a 29 foot Class C. It's going to be a true downsize in a big way! But....I'm done with collecting things and happy to have lightened my load....and look forward to hitting the road after the house sells! Onward and upward!
We just sold the house! We have given everything away. I had planned to keep a few favorite pieces. But as the day went on I gave everything away. People kept asking us why we didn't have a garage sale. I just didn't want to go through the hassle. So today friends came over and we cleaned out all the furniture. Some people took things and the rest went to the local thrift store. All I heard today is that they felt guilty taking things and I kept thanking them for taking it all. Kind of felt like Oprah today and it felt good!
So tonight we are in the RV sleeping for the first time. Yeah for friends and a big truck!
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Jeff, Gwen and Bella
2017 DRV Mobile Suites 40 KSSB4
2012 DRV Mobile Suites 36 RSSB3 (sold)
2011 Ford F450 (BO)
2013 Ford F150 (Red)
Cargo Trailer for Gold Wing, Golf Clubs, Bicycles and Cast Iron Soup Pot!
We had our Estate Sale last weekend and almost everything sold. We held back our bed, a loveseat, card table and 2 folding chairs and a couple of lamps so we can "camp out" in our house until it sells. Our house will be listed around the 1st of June. After it sells we will get rid of the few things we kept. The things that didn't sell were mostly all small things which were left in our basement or garage. We are making piles to go to Goodwill, Habitat For Humanity Re-Store, and some will get scraped for cash.
It was hard to part with most of our stuff but I'm keeping my eye on the prize! The Class C motor home is sitting in the driveway and I can't wait to get out of here and on the road. Hopefully in the next few months!
We just purchased a 2016 Grand Design Solitude with forward living which B.Young RV will deliver on May 31st. It is a behemoth at 41'. We will park it next to the home we are renting and move over the things we will keep (very little) and start posting things on Craigslist or EBay or within our local area. We have about 4-5 months to be rid of everything. We will be moving it to an RV park about 4 miles from our work in September or October. We plan on living in it until we retire on 12/31/19....then we hit the road. We are putting the cart before the horse and will be purchasing our Dodge Ram 3500 in either 2018 or 2019. We are excited and cannot wait. So yes, let the purging begin!
We have begun "the process" ... I think we're going to need a storage unit as separation anxiety has already set in. I'm not sure why we have the newspaper from the first San Antonio Spurs World Championship, or why we need it ... but for now, we need to keep it. I worked for Peter Holt (Spurs Owner) for 25 years, so we felt a special relationship to them (the Spurs). Of course this is all mental, but as I started this post ... it's a "process".
-- Edited by RonC on Sunday 3rd of July 2016 06:46:44 PM
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Ron and Janice
2016 Ford F350, King Ranch, DRW, 4x4, CC, 6.7 PS Diesel, remote control air lift system
2017 Durango Gold 381REF, Lambright furniture, MCD shades, morRYDE IS, 8K Disc brakes, GY G114 LR H Tires, 27,320 lbs CGVW
We're down to the last couple of weeks before our house closes and we leave in the Navion. I think our adrenalin has run out. As we get down to the dregs, we're dragging. ;-(
Trying to keep our sense of humour, we're betting on what the VERY LAST thing will be that we toss as we drive down the laneway! LOL
Here's to lightening the load! Enough with STUFF!!!
Keep shovelling! The end will come! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel FINALLY!!! A big truckload went to 2 of our kids, and this Thursday we'll take a trailer load to another. Then it'll be all gone except what we sold to the new owners.
A massive garage sale, giving to our kids, 2 car loads to charity, 1 to the library, and selling on Kijiji (our version of Craigslist) has cleaned us out. Whew! What a relief! Our energy is back and we feel so light and free. Less is more!
Suddenly we're talking more about the RV and travelling than we are about the house and our stuff.
Keep on keeping on! We'll all be on the road in no time.
Finally finished! The house DID empty out, surprisingly. LOL The house sale closed yesterday and we moved to our first RV park. Whew! Trading in our SUV Hybrid today for a Prius toad. Then our new lifestyle will be ready to GO!!!
To everyone who is still purging: there IS an end to it! Keep going, one day and one thing at a time. See you on the road......with less 'stuff'!
I needed this encouragement today. The first 6 boxes of "I can't part with it" stuff went into our newly rented storage unit yesterday. The house looks like a tornado hit it and the realtor wants to schedule a photo shoot to "showcase" the house. I told my wife, we can't get this all done at once ... just keep pounding the rock ... but a bigger hammer would sure help.
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Ron and Janice
2016 Ford F350, King Ranch, DRW, 4x4, CC, 6.7 PS Diesel, remote control air lift system
2017 Durango Gold 381REF, Lambright furniture, MCD shades, morRYDE IS, 8K Disc brakes, GY G114 LR H Tires, 27,320 lbs CGVW
Oh, Ron, that feeling is all too fresh in my mind! The amount of adrenalin it takes to make this change is staggering! Hopefully we all learn a lesson from this: never, NEVER, NEVER! accumulate so much STUFF ever again!!!!!!
Doing it all in 8 weeks.......from decision to reality........was the best way for us. We didn't have the option to slow down or lose momentum. LOL Yep, we just kept pounding the rock.
This whole purge thing would be so much easier if the house just burned down! We don't have that much stuff but a tub full of video tapes has so little value these days. Or how about the tub of Masonic items that certainly won't fit in the fiver. My wife ask me how many guitars do I need... Just one more is always the answer. We have set our launch date for sometime between June and October of 16. That doesn't leave much time to do all that needs to be done. I need to quit my job so I'll have a little free time.
The local lodge may take some of the items for their library.
Timely topic for my Wife and I, as we are getting down to the wire. House sold last July, and we have been "squatting" in an apartment since then. Boy, living in apartments is worse than I remembered, from 25 years ago :)
We have gone from 1900 sq ft of house, with a 3 car garage STUFFED full of things, to a small apt, and 10x20' storage unit. We kind of hit a dead spot over this long, miserable winter. Sitting, waiting for the 5th wheel we ordered to be built. Call it seasonal depression, or normal second guessing of the whole idea, it was rough. Things would have been better if we didn't have to wait so long for a production run of our unit. I do well in the race, but I hate sitting in the staging area too long! Northwood says we are on track to be rolling down the assembly line this week, so the fire is rekindled! This last bit of stuff is going to be the challenge. Like most of the posts I read here, of people who have gotten rid of nearly everything, we did it in stages. The big $ stuff got sold, the easy stuff got donated, or thrown out, and then we started over on what was left. The pile got smaller, but the emotional intensity got higher, as we got rid of stuff we couldn't the first time.
Quite a process, but we are on track to be out of the apartment, and living in our Arctic Fox 29-5k within 60 days. No pressure...LOL
