Vagabondage or NOT? Need advice.

[OldAgePensioner]

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[Sheryl]

I keep waiting for my kids to get out of school with the hopes they will settle down somewhere and want some of the excess stuff but I have a feeling they will not want it and I will be stuck with getting rid of it.  I know I should just let it go but the memories are too difficult to just give to some stranger.  Maybe someday I will feel differently.

Anybody need a couple of sets of dishes.............I think I am down to 7 sets now.  :

Steve, I sure understand those feelings.  I have not even begun to deal with my mother's possessions.    She collected things and her "stuff" was so important to her, that I am going to have a hard time getting rid of it.   

I wanted to comment on the kids wanting stuff -  my grandmother died while I was in college - Back then I couldn't stand the idea of owning more stuff than I could pack in my Vega.  I had no interest in antiques at all.  Mom couldn't keep it all so lots of beautiful furniture, etc. was sold at an estate sale.  7-8 years later, as I settled down and was setting up housekeeping, and my tastes started to change, I would have LOVED to have some of that stuff.  I still sort of regret it.

So, my point is if you are willing to wait long enough, the kids may come around. 

 

[free4now]

Great thread. It reminds me that the phrase "you can't take it with you" doesn't just apply to death... it applies to many places we want to go in life.

I am finding myself developing a bit more of a hoarding mentality now that I'm trying to live the FIRE life on less income than I had when working. I decided to keep some old cell phone car chargers in case I ever buy that brand of cell phone again, whereas in the past I would have just donated them and bought them again if I needed them.

One good way of motivating myself to get rid of stuff is just realizing how expensive it is to keep posessions. The costs include:

1. Real estate costs to store it. I live in the California, one of the most expensive places to live in the world, and my posessions live here too. It's enlightening to calculate the footprint costs of my items... rent is about $20/square foot per year, so an extra piece of furniture that takes up 6 square feet of space and lasts 10 years costs me $1200 just for the space it takes up.

2. Storage furnishings. The shelves I built in my closet, the bookshelves on the wall, chests of drawers... all these things are needed to store my stuff, and cost money. The less stuff I have the less I have to spend time and money on containers.

3. The clutter factor. Things that I don't use much end up making it harder to find the things I do want to use. Digging through piles of things takes time that could be used for something else.

Anyway, OAP, I say good luck in getting rid of your stuff. I like your approach of digitizing the photos and other memorabilia. That is one thing I've been planning on doing in my free time.

 

[Nords]

Mom couldn't keep it all so lots of beautiful furniture, etc. was sold at an estate sale.  7-8 years later, as I settled down and was setting up housekeeping, and my tastes started to change, I would have LOVED to have some of that stuff.

My father held an estate sale when he downsized in the early '90s.  Admittedly he was selling a lot of furniture & tchotchkes that he considered more my deceased mother's than his own, but he also disposed of a pile of his tools & woodworking supplies.  Before eBay that was the best way to get rid of a house full of "stuff". He didn't have anything that we wanted-- heck, we still had too much of my grandparent's stuff.

One of the few-- perhaps the only-- good thing about our military moves is that they forced us to pare down our possessions every six months 2-3 years.  A dozen moves over two decades either pares down the junk or ensures that it's broken during the process.  

Now we have little incentive to get rid of the excess.  Because after all, we have the storage space, we're not going anywhere, and that Snoopy & Woodstock push-button telephone might be worth something someday!

 

[Sheryl]

Great thread.  It reminds me that the phrase "you can't take it with you" doesn't just apply to death... it applies to many places we want to go in life.
<snip>

1. Real estate costs to store it. 
2. Storage furnishings. 
3. The clutter factor. 

I think there is a #4 - the psychological cost. There is something opressive about having a bunch of stuff hanging over your head - knowing that you or someone is going to have to deal with it. It clutters your mental outlook as well as your physical space.

I'm keying in on this thread today because I am in the process of disposing of ten years worth of Architectural Record and other magazines that I've saved forever. My rationale was that I would look at them, study them, take inspiration from them when designing new buildings... that there is so much valuable information there....

That just never happened. They keep coming every month. I barely read the new ones much less the ten year old ones. It is a very freeing feeling to haul them to the door. I'm going to put out an e-mail on an Architects list and put them on Freecycle. If they're not claimed in a week, they will go to the "free" pile at the library.

Now on to the rest of the clutter!!

 

[OldAgePensioner]

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[Nords]

I'm keying in on this thread today because I am in the process of disposing of ten years worth of Architectural Record and other magazines that I've saved forever. 
I'm going to put out an e-mail on an Architects list and put them on Freecycle.

A friend of mine in San Diego (an aviation-industry town from way back) prowls garage sales for old aviation magazines & resells them to eBay collectors. You might try looking up your issues there or at abebooks.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

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[Sheryl]

A friend of mine in San Diego (an aviation-industry town from way back) prowls garage sales for old aviation magazines & resells them to eBay collectors.  You might try looking up your issues there or at abebooks.

Amazingly there are people paying real money for these things! Guess I will learn to become an e-bay seller.

 

[Sheryl]

Well, I made it  with a little help from a PM from a fellow poster and some good suggestions on this thread.   Free at last, free at last.  Now I can keep my eyes on my fries.

Congrats, OAP. Looking forward to hearing about your trip. When will you actually depart for the wild west?

 

[justin]

BlueCrossBlueShield rep said I'm covered but she thought I needed some mental help as soon as arriving in SF.

That's ok. She's probably in debt up to her eyeballs living in a 4000 sf McMansion filled to the gills with "stuff".

 

[OldAgePensioner]

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[justin]

Sheryl, depart sometime in early May, depends on med appts on May2 and 6. Looking into booking on a freight ship that goes thru the Panama Canal. Rooms are pretty spartan but you get to eat with the Captain and officers in their mess. 8)

Chicago-SF via the panama canal? Sounds amazing!

 

[REWahoo]

BlueCrossBlueShield rep said I'm covered but she thought I needed some mental help as soon as arriving in SF.

If it's any consolation, DW thinks the same about me. I know this because she frequently asks me, "What the Hell were you thinking?!!"...

 

[Outtahere]

OAP, I'm happy to hear you've solved your "stuff" dilema for the time being. I hope everything works out on the 2nd and 6th and you can start your journey. Keep us updated along the way.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

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[OldAgePensioner]

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[Martha]

How did you find and arrange the freighter? It sounds like an interesting way to travel.

I have taken the Amtrak from Chicago to Emeryville. Nice trip, but don't do coach, pay the extra for the sleeper.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

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[Outtahere]

Dh and I are exploring train travel, he hates to fly and I'm tired of driving. I don't know about freighter travel, is it female friendly?

 

[OldAgePensioner]

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[Jarhead*]

If it's any consolation, DW thinks the same about me.  I know this because she frequently asks me, "What the Hell were you thinking?!!"...

ReWahoo's wife to Wahoo. "I can't get these stains off the sheets." I just knew that strawberrys and whipped cream would be a problem."

What were you thinking. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

 

[haha]

Jarhead, I think you just made up the distance you lost on USC and pulled ahead.

Ha

 

[OldAgePensioner]

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[Sheryl]

Next thing ya know Wahoo will be trying to explain to the plumber how 16 gallons of Lime Jello managed to get into the tub drain.

WHAT WAS HE THINKING?     Enquiring minds want to know.

I don't think Jello would clog the tub drain that badly. Now Pudding, that's another matter entirely.