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Davidhoy · 11-06-2018, 08:41

We're in the same boat, no pun intended. We have the boat (a Morgan 462), and are doing some important (to us) upgrades, with a solid plan to move aboard next summer - already found the dock that will take the boat, us, and our two big dogs ;-). Starting to downsize, but it's a challenge. Trying to avoid the storage unit thing too.

One thing I've been considering is buy a good sized cargo trailer, and section off the front end for storage, and make a small workshop in the back end. We can then keep it onsite at the marina while we finish the refit (while living aboard), then put everything we want to keep into the trailer and stash that somewhere safe while we're off sailing. Anyone done something like this? Obviously we need a good water and bug-proof trailer, with some ventilation to prevent mold, etc.

Regards,
David

Sailshabby · 11-06-2018, 08:42

Took the graded approach. When I decided it was in my future I moved from a 3 bedroom house into a two bedroom apartment. That took care of a LOT of so-called treasures. A year later I was living aboard, albeit with a storage locker for true treasures and boat work gear. Painful at times, but overall liberating

Jannie Radiance · 11-06-2018, 08:49

You start off slowly, because this is a very difficult mindset. Then it speeds up until eventually everything becomes junk. We are such hoarders!!

sailjumanji · 11-06-2018, 08:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Hired someone to run my Mom's estate sale, commission only. She knew the local market and did great job. Big garage sale, local word of mouth and classified adds. Almost everything went fast. Rest went to GoodWill.

We've done this twice - estate sale. Once when we downsized to weekend home, and another time when we moved in-laws into independent living apartment. Estate sale company objective is to sell as much as they can for as much as they can, as they take one-third commission. We went to sales by several companies and then chose best run company. The stuff left over was picked up by a charity.

akprb · 11-06-2018, 09:19

Read “what about the stuff” on blog :-)

SailSonoma · 11-06-2018, 09:29

I did this last year starting in July and ending December when we cut the docking lines. Last thing sold was the car just an hour before shoving off! Here are the methods that we used in Wilmington NC:

Consignment: large items of value were sold pretty easily through a reputable consignment store. Watch out for scammers here though. If you have nice stuff, look for a high end shop in a well off neighborhood.

Web:. eBay is good for small things of high value, eg, my Hot Wheels cars from my childhood. However, eBay is high overhead, you must list, photograph, answer questions, ship, etc...
Craigslist is great for standard stuff, kayaks, lawnmower, etc. But key here is to do what a previous post mentioned, price right. If it isn't selling in 24 hrs, you are probably priced too high.
Letgo is a great app, easy to list, just point your smart phone, click and list at a good price. This one gave me one of my best memories, are 10:00 pm, I got a message that someone wanted my flat screen TV, if I could bring it to the Burger King in 30 minutes, sounded sketchy, so I went with backup - sold for cash out of the back of my car in the parking lot.

Charititable donations:. Different places have different things they are looking for. Habitat for humanity was great, but they have a narrow list. Salvation army was easiest. Keep your loads to them under $500 so that the tax reporting is easier. Take a picture of the stuff when you drop it off to file with your receipt for tax purposes. You'll be amazed at how much you get off your tax return, assuming that you itemize.

Word of mouth: don't forget to tell people what you are doing and that everything must go. Our best sales were to friends that supported our journey. They came to our house, and we made bundled deal for the stuff that they liked .

Giving it away: perhaps my greatest memories are the people and moments that I gave specific things to people because I thought that they would enjoy them. These are the moments that you will cherish, and the memories that last. You can't imagine how good it feels to match the right object to the right person

Bottom line is that will take longer than you expect, and that it will be greater effort. But in the end it is amazingly liberating and a feeling that you only get to experience once in your life.

Have fun with it, don't stress out!

sailingis.fun · 11-06-2018, 10:49

So for future advice, what do you wish you would have saved?

1Sunseeker · 11-06-2018, 12:25

But what about your books? No one seems to want them, maybe my kids but they live on the other coast. Donated some to Senior Center and a bunch to the local Penitentiary but still have boxes and boxes.

john61ct · 11-06-2018, 13:51

Donate or toss

hellosailor · 11-06-2018, 13:56

Books:
Try not to get upset, but bibliocide is worth thinking about. A lot of stuff the libraries don't want, but hospitals are often eager to take anything "popular reading" to put on their book carts for the patients. (Senior centers, etc. will also gladly take them.) I didn't want to throw away a final yard of hardcovers, so I took them to a local commercial printer (invitations, letterheads, etc.) and asked him to please put the books in his guillotine cutter, and neatly slice off the bindings. Yes, I beheaded the books.
Then I put the pages into a Fujitsu ScanSnap, a marvelous two-sided scanner that just eats pages and turns them into ebooks. I still have the books, even if their bodies have gone to the landfill.
That also gives you a way to preserve all of your important papers, which you may want to keep or retain access to.
How you go about culling, selling, etc. the bulk of your stuff depends mainly on how fast you want to get rid of it.

Pajamas_19 · 11-06-2018, 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Sunseeker

But what about your books? No one seems to want them, maybe my kids but they live on the other coast. Donated some to Senior Center and a bunch to the local Penitentiary but still have boxes and boxes.

I have taken several boxes of books to my local independent used book seller. It made me feel better to be helping someone else with her dream, while preparing for my own.

I donated my etching press to the art department at my daughter's high school. They were ecstatic to have it! Made me feel wonderful knowing it would be used to nuture imaginative young minds.

Donated my telescope to the astronomy club at a local nature center.

Have taken carloads after carloads to Goodwill, taking a tax credit for those items.

Homeschoolers will also appreciate some items. Try contacting local groups in your area.

As others have said, it is all in your mindset. "If you don't love it or use it, get rid of it." It truly is liberating!

Group9 · 11-06-2018, 14:17

Don’t be so quick to get rid if everything. You will come back one day. We wish we had put more in storage.

SailSonoma · 11-06-2018, 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingis.fun

So for future advice, what do you wish you would have saved?

Nothing really. Probably didn't cut deep enough. I'm in the USVI now, and am still giving away stuff off the boat. I do wish I had some of my old tools down here, but hard to carry a table saw on a 40 foot boat

I need to fashion a new set of steps for my aft boarding ladder, part of the fun is kicking around the island to find someone with a shop that will let me do it. Leads to nice local encounters, just need to chill, and it will happen...