Selling stuff

[Walt34]

When we retired we spent a year throwing out stuff, to the point that DW bought an additional large trash can so we wouldn't be moving stuff that we hadn't used for years. I kept all my radio control models and support gear and moved them, then after retirement lost interest in all of it, and sold most of it. I'll keep the specialty small tools as they are expensive, some hard to find, don't take up much space, and are occasionally useful for other things.

Now thinking about other stuff - bought a small boat & outboard, thinking of a motorcyle and mountain bike.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

I think I'm having some kid of mid-life crisis. I recently realized that pretty much everything I own is a project I don't feel like wasting time or money on, or something from my past that is not relevant to who I am, or who I want to become. Getting my debt paid off in conjunction with my worst year ever at work has forced me to think about a lot of things I ignored while I was in debt payoff mode. Now, when I tell people I'm selling most of my things, they look at me like I'm crazy. It just feels like this stuff is getting in the way of my life. Anyone else do the big sell-off, and if so, how did it go?

There is nothing wrong with that. I moved twice in two years, and I couldn't believe how much stuff I was able to sell and still be able to live my life without feeling crimped. Let's see, I had two cars for myself, and now I have one. No problem. Bedroom set, living room set, dining room table and chairs, entertainment center, BBQ grill, one weight scale, engineering books I'll never read again, a book case, two lamps, an AC unit, a TV, a humidifier, a tool chest, and a TKD heavy punching bag are all gone. The only things that I miss are the sofa (ah, comfy) and the TKD punching bag (well, it's better than punching someone for real).

The biggest pain was dealing with all the buyers. I didn't mind the emails and phone calls. I have several standard form answers ready to copy and paste, but it was dealing with the actual pick up that was a pain. The lady who bought the entertainment center had the movers show up but refused to show up herself. It was a very hot June day, and the drivers were sweating in their truck because it was so big that they couldn't just park it and sit in my house. When the buyer finally did show 4 hours later, she tried to use her delay as a tactic to get my speakers for free. The guy who bought the AC unit during the second move refused to come up to my apartment. He figured that if he had me carry the AC downstairs he could knock another $20 off the price (The original price was $50) because I wouldn't want to carry the AC back up. Wrong! I love exercise of all kinds especially the free ones you get from just living your life, so I started carrying the AC back, and he caved. What a tool.

These two sales also reminded me to be careful in accumulating things in the future because the pain of having to do time-consuming transactions to get rid of the stuff.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

I have been in the downsizing phase as well.
Where does a perpetual traveler (for a while at least) draw the line as to what to keep and what to toss.

And when downsized where is it kept?
In storage? home of friend or family?

My thinking is that when you find yourself constantly borrowing other people's underwear, you may have gone too far, but most of us don't even get anywhere near that even after 2-3 cycles of purging.

 

[In Purgatory]

Hi all. What a bunch of great posts. I haven't been able to post in awhile, but got to read all your posts tonight. It actually has been somewhat therapeutic just reading some of the stories, and I've also gotten a lot of good ideas from you guys. Sold a truck along with a couple pallets of parts over the weekend, and just sold a set of wheels tonight that I've been storing for twenty years. Every time something leaves my property, I feel like I just bought back part of my life. I really do appreciate all the good advice and stories, and by all means keep them coming if you have more.

 

[Texas2step]

We started downsizing this year. We sold our house 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath 6 car garage and a giant pool. The house was so expensive to maintain. We made money on the sale of the house and paid off some debt. We are building a much smaller more affordable house in an "active adult community" with a very small yard. We actually donated a lot of things to local charities, like most of our furniture and other "stuff". We both work so the tax break will help. I understand what you mean by things just get in your way or lost interest. I am or was a big time hunter but the hobby has gotten very expensive and my hunting buddy (my daughter) went off to college this year. So I gave away an old travel trailer that was not worth much I sold one of my 4 wheelers and I am going to downsize some more. Let me tell you I felt better when I started getting rid of stuff. The worrying about it and the up keep was wearing me down. I think it is a natural progressing of life.

Tex

 

[Canadian Grunt]

There is nothing wrong with that. I moved twice in two years, and I couldn't believe how much stuff I was able to sell and still be able to live my life without feeling crimped. Let's see, I had two cars for myself, and now I have one. No problem. Bedroom set, living room set, dining room table and chairs, entertainment center, BBQ grill, one weight scale, engineering books I'll never read again, a book case, two lamps, an AC unit, a TV, a humidifier, a tool chest, and a TKD heavy punching bag are all gone. The only things that I miss are the sofa (ah, comfy) and the TKD punching bag (well, it's better than punching someone for real).

The biggest pain was dealing with all the buyers. I didn't mind the emails and phone calls. I have several standard form answers ready to copy and paste, but it was dealing with the actual pick up that was a pain. The lady who bought the entertainment center had the movers show up but refused to show up herself. It was a very hot June day, and the drivers were sweating in their truck because it was so big that they couldn't just park it and sit in my house. When the buyer finally did show 4 hours later, she tried to use her delay as a tactic to get my speakers for free. The guy who bought the AC unit during the second move refused to come up to my apartment. He figured that if he had me carry the AC downstairs he could knock another $20 off the price (The original price was $50) because I wouldn't want to carry the AC back up. Wrong! I love exercise of all kinds especially the free ones you get from just living your life, so I started carrying the AC back, and he caved. What a tool.

These two sales also reminded me to be careful in accumulating things in the future because the pain of having to do time-consuming transactions to get rid of the stuff.

So do you still have an entertainment centre or was this a spare?

I got caught up in the trap of accumulating too much...when I was living in a condo I had what I needed but since owning several houses I managed to accumulate in order to fill space. Now I have a couch in my garage because it doesn't fit down stairs.

I am resisting putting it up for sale for the reasons you described. I dislike the sale interaction.

Grunt