Harder than we thought - RV-Dreams Community Forum

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Harder than we thought

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Richard, one step at a time, it will all get done, it will all work out, keep breathing, good luck, G

Waggin Tails · RV-Dreams Family Member

Good luck on the process Richard. DW and I are in the process as we speak. She has just recently made a major dent on clearing a lifetime of crafts fabric and other related items. I begin in my shop in June. Fortunate for us our daughter will be renting our house for a couple of years, so our task will be a little easier.
Focus on the road ahead. Hope to meet you down the road some day.

Gypsy Turtle 2 · RV-Dreams Family Member

In a way, you have it much easier than many of us that had to have garage sales, furniture consignment sales, ebay sales, Craigslist etc. You'll be able to just walk away after removing your personal belongings.

BUT, that might be why it's so hard for you. We all took baby steps to get there and adjusted with each step. You, on the other hand, are just jumping in! Many would be jealous :)

I think it really is a mental thing; adjusting to life without all our stuff and that security of a fixed home. Take a deep breath, remind yourselves that this is what you want and hang in there.

There is probably no easy way to aleviate the stress right now, but June 10th is right around the corner and that will probably do it :)

Good luck!

Mike and Gloria · RV-Dreams Family Member

Getting rid of 'stuff' can be hard. We made the decision in December to retire and become full timers by April 1st. We were renting so selling our home wasn't an issue. In actual fact we had to have everything gone before the end of February as we'd already made arrangements to be in Florida for the month of March. Talk about a rush of emotions for the 2 months we were getting rid of stuff! Sold most of it via Craigslist & a Cafe list. The first big thing to leave was hard - as was the last. But once we had our 5th wheel and were on the road in April, I felt like this HUGE weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Simple and frugal is go so much better.

We were living in the Joplin, MO area (it's still our home base). Friends there were saddened that we were getting rid of 'stuff' but we kept telling them that 'stuff' isn't what matters. People are what matters. How that lesson has been brought home to us today!

All of our friends in Joplin are safe but one young couple who hasn't even been married a year are especially in shock. She is from Texas, he from Montana. His work was in Joplin and they belonged to our ecclesia. They initially rented a duplex in a lovely, upscale neighborhood. They were robbed twice. So in February they moved to a 3rd floor apartment, thinking it would be safer.

The apartment was right behind the Home Depot and Walmart in Joplin that no longer exist. Their apartment is gone. They have lost everything but were not hurt. We are so thankful for that!

As I said to her last night..That which doesn't kill us, serves to make us stronger. They must be getting really strong.

Events like that really make us all put things in perspective. It was hard getting rid of stuff over the course of 2 months. In some respects it would have been easier loosing it in a few seconds the way those kids did. Kind of like just ripping off the bandaid and getting it over with. Then again by doing it the way we did, we know the big stuff went to people who really wanted it and will take care of it. That's kind of comforting, too.

Hope you understand what I'm trying to say. Hang in there. It will all be worth it in the end.

jb · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are closing on June 10 as well - we know how you feel. It is exciting but it is overwhelming. Hang in there.

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you all, once more.Home inspection Wednesday,(we had our own,so I know that's ok), just the uncertainty,as some of you know.Yes,its sold,yes he's buying the stuff,but 'till it happens physically, it's all up in the air. In the mean time,we still have a lot to deal with,but I gratefully admit,not as much as some others have had.

I think the shortness of time and resulting inability to take this in "steps", is having a major effect on all of this.We'll go over to where the Rig is parked and stay in it over the long week-end,putting things away. I think that nesting experience will help. Believe me, I'm not complaining, just wanted to share that while I thought I was mentally prepared,I wasn't. Sort of "be careful what you wish for...."

I wanted to offer encouragement to those still waiting for a buyer,and to share that even when it ie easier that it might be,it still isn't easy.

My heart goes out to those good people in Joplin. Your life can change in an instant,as we see there today.I also know this first hand. My wife and I owned and operated funeral homes for more than 30 years. We served each family personally. One of the most fulfilling but also heart-rending experiences imaginable.When we sold the last of them 12 yrs ago, we were going to full-time then, but illness intervened, so we put it off. Next thing you know its 12 years later. Now's the time

All of your thoughts are apprecieated, believe me.

Richard

Wildrose Acres · RV-Dreams Family Member

Gloria, glad to hear that your friends are safe. We live about two hours east of Joplin. I have a friend who lives near Joplin who is still looking for missing friends. Our heart goes out to them. We are four years out from full-timing. The tornado Sunday night brought home again the fact that it isn't things that are important, it is people. I am trying to spend 1-2 hours each day de-cluttering. I am now deciding what to send to Joplin.

Over55 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Since our house sold so quickly and we've moved up our plans by an entire year...we totally understand what you are going thru. We close on June 27th and will be out the next day. Thankfully there is a house for sale on our street that will allow us to rent by the week until we get our RV delivered around August 1st.

We are working through 40 years of accumulation and getting rid of many things. Today we sold our SUV, my big V-Twin cycle and tomorrow we are going down to a half-price bookstore in Indianapolis with boxes of books, CDs and movies. We're also packing all our china and crystal to head toward one of our kids storage. Half of our garage is where we are queuing up all furniture that we are giving to the kids. Sometime in June we will rent a cargo van for a few days and travel around Indiana to deliver free furniture to 3 of our kids (the 4th lives in Oregon).

Even if something happened where we couldn't go out fulltime we would still consider this a very good thing....I think we've needed to purge most of the "stuff" that we own and this is helping us to get our priorities right.

Hang in there and try to document the journey with pictures so you can remember this after you've been out full-time for about 10 years!!!!

Froggi · RV-Dreams Family Member

As the others have said...one step at a time, one day at a time. Remember the old adage, "How to do eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time...."

You're gonna be fine!!!

heyduke · RV-Dreams Family Member

gene and other have siad all that needs to be said "one step at a time"... it will all happen...

nessiekatt · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congratulations on your early sale. That was the really HARD part.

I too think that it is harder than I thought it would be. It is funny in a way, with the yard sale that I had last Saturday, I made quite a bit of $$ on the little stuff, but the furniture didn't sell. Still trying to sell on craigslist, but what doesn't sell, will go to the church for their yard sale on this coming Saturday. They can benefit from what ever they can get for it.

I will be moving into a Big Horn by Heartland within a couple of weeks that will be in an RV park until next year when I plan on retiring. When I start moving my belongings I will find out what fits and what doesn't. The rest will be donated somewhere. I really won't NEED much, althogh there is a lot that I would like to keep.

phyllen · RV-Dreams Family Member

I am somewhat surprised at how many people move into their RV and continue to work, etc before they actually hit the road.

We did the same thing. Lived in it for a year while still employed. We hit the road 2/10.

My daughter moved into the house and rented hoping she would sell her condo. Condo is rented but still not sold. So for a little over two years we still owned the house while she paid the mortgage and upkeep.

She finally decided to jump in and buy the house now, even though she has not sold her condo. We settled less than two weeks ago. Still can get over the great feeling on paying off fiver and two month old truck and being debt free.

Gosh, you are so fortunate to be getting everything out of the way so fast. Even though it causes stress now, look at the big picture! Congrats.

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

All of your encouragement is just what is needed. Thanks.Spent most of weekend moving things into the rig,which is set up where we'll be living. A long promised trip to visit kids in Tampa & Wash. D.C, will commence around 6/20. Had we known that we'd be doing this now, we'd never have promised to make the trip. We'll be glad once we're on the road, and assuming all goes to plan.Since you never know for sure 'till the escrow closes, the feeling of "limbo" and the uncertainty that goes with it is as stressful as the downsizing. If all goes well, we will have been very,very fortunate, we know.

For us, the decision to live in the RV and work was a result of being a year away from Medicare,(we pay about 14K yr for health insurance and deductibles), and the fact that the guy who was supposed to be buying our business, isn't going to do so.Since we were going to be gone all summer anyway, we figured "why not". Truthfully, I never expected a house sale to happen so fast. Not sure I really believe it will happen. I also think that living/working from the RV for that year or so, allows folks to adjust to the change. I think it helps with the concept of "home",fixed, or not. As we get through each day, we do have to remind ourselves of the "big picture". We're soon to be rid of one major weight, the house, and next June, the final one, the business (buyer or not, we're going then), so we are getting there.

Richard

nessiekatt · RV-Dreams Family Member

A glitch in getting rid of Stuff. I had someone commit to buying the remnants for my home based business, but he called yesterday and backed out of the agreement. Now I am trying to find another buyer. This is one of the major things that I have to do. I may have get a storage unit now, which I don't want to do, but will. It is just a big hassell. The equipment weighs alot and I will have to have someone move it for me. Oh well I just have to do whatever I have to do. It's not like I will be leaving the area right now. I don't plan on retireing until the 2012. I just don't want to spend the $$$.

Ivey · RV-Dreams Family Member

I know exactly how you feel. We just closed our house last week, and the new owners took anything and everything we were willing to leave. It is stressful trying to move out, the being in limbo thing and the thoughts of what if it all goes sideways in the last minute. We had all of those thoughts and feelings. We have been on the road now for a week and are finally feeling the stress level dropping.

Just hang on tight, take a deep breath and take it one step at a time. It will get done and you will move out. It will be so worth it. Just wait and see. Congratulations on the sale and the change in lifestyle. See you down the road somewhere.

bonnie and clyde · RV-Dreams Family Member

The rainbow comes after the storm ( I keep telling myself ) Best to you through the process-keep a mental picture where you are heading--Congrats on the quick sale.

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Again, thanks to you all. We're trying to take all this in daily pieces. We will try to get the remainder of what we have downsized to in the rig by Sun. A big help for us is that we still have our business location to store our business records and personal pix,etc, that we just don't have the time to deal with now. The trip to the east coast will begin 6/20, and we'll just see how it goes. Got space bags for clothes we won't need 'till winter, etc.So far on tract\k to close 6/10. Hearing from you all helps a lot. This is what we want and hope that we too will feel a great lift of pressure once we hit the road. I should be working on planning the trip, but just can't get into it yet. We will have 10 days after we are out of the house, to accomplish that. We are also considering just hanging out at a favorite spot about 60 miles from here, for a few days, just to crash. We'll see how that goes.

Richard

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Richard and Ginny,

I highly recommend the option of hanging out for a few days at your "favorite spot" if you can. It will help you feel more settled after your whirlwind house sale. It will be good to catch your breath and sort of figure out the basics of living in your new home before you start moving it around. Besides, it's always good to know which drawer your underwear ended up in before you start moving around the country!

Enjoy the journey!

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Going tomorrow to sign closing docs., and pick up check for all the furniture,etc. Looks like a go, for sure. Hard to believe. We've got everything we need moved into the rig. We're here in campground to 19th. Hope to have W/D combo installed on 17th, then hit the road first to Washington D.C. to visit one daughter, then to Tampa area to visit another. A needed repair (ignored by our selling dealer) may delay things a few days, but as fortunate as we've been, I'll not complain. Back here in Aug, stay till June, to finish last yr. of running our business. We've already reserved our site, where we are staying now. Will go someplace to chill out before heading East. Right about knowing where your underwear is, important!! Not sure where a lot of the other stuff is, though. As much as I'm looking fwd to visiting our daughters, I wish I was turning the other direction, and going to the CA, or OR coast, but we've promised these visits, so there it is.

Richard

Mike and Gloria · RV-Dreams Family Member

rclvnv wrote:
Right about knowing where your underwear is, important!! Not sure where a lot of the other stuff is, though.

Richard, this made me laugh! Mike and I sold most of our big stuff in January/February of this year and put what was left in storage. We had to be in Florida by the end of Feb as his parents had flown down there for 2 months (they used to live down there) and couldn't live alone due to dementia. (Mike's sister made a big mistake sending them down there for a visit but that's another story.) We bought our 5th wheel while we were down there.

Left there April 1 with our rig and went back to Joplin, MO to get stuff out of storage to load it up. Getting there took a few days, then had errands to run in the area (like getting the 5th wheel registered, etc.) before we started going through the things in storage and had to be out here in New England by the 14th of April at the latest because of family matters. So we did the sorting/packing in rush mode - & in heat which I don't do well in. There were things we brought that we didn't need; things we forgot that we wished we had; and things we were SURE we packed in here that we can't find anywhere!

It's been an adventure, but you know what? We're getting along just fine with what's here. Hoping to be back in Joplin in October to get rid of a lot more stuff that's in storage and re-pack this rig. We've learned there's so many things we don't need that we were sure we needed to survive when we were in a S/B. Simple is so much easier!

I think what has amazed us more than anything though is how we still have leftover storage space in the rig. It's amazing how much you can pack into these units! This is an older unit and the basement bay leaves a bit to be desired. But we've still got room for things both down there and here inside.

Enjoy visiting your daughters!

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

House escrow closed!! We're now fulltime, for sure. Thanks to all of you for your support. We were very fortunate indeed, just a bit unprepared for the speed at which it all took place. Will now make plans for trip x-country. We promised these visits long before we knew the house would sell so quickly, and we're exhausted. I'd really just like to go up the Pacific coast and stare at the ocean for a bit, rather than go to DC & Fla, but we miss our children and grandchild, and we promised,so there it is. Thanks again.

Richard

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congratulations! Take a nice leisurely trip to visit the kids and grandkid and enjoy getting settled as you move... (Seems like a bit of an oxymoron doesn't it?)

phyllen · RV-Dreams Family Member

Glad to hear everything is working in your favor.

rclvnv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Indeed,all seems to be working in our favor. We needed to have our W/D Combo installed,which will happen tomorrow, and Sat TV, on Fri, and we hit the road on Sun, 1st to Metro DC, then to Tampa area, back accross to San Diego area for a while, before heading back here to Las Vegas,beginning of August, to work 'till June. Hopefully,we'll find another buyer for our business, but one way or the other,we're done in June '12. Made the DC trip same time last yr. Return leg will be a new trip for us.Will be going someplace cool next summer,for sure. Currently 102 right here!

We are still very much in adjustment mode, so we hope the trip. which we plan at a moderate pace, will allow us to unwind a bit. It still seems a bit odd to be out of the house. I'm sure it will pass, but right now, just a bit strange feeling.

Richard