Sorting through 40 years of stuff

[MG1912]

You can choose to leave this world the way you came into it, your just getting ready!

This is an elegant statement!  I was reading a thread about this very topic on another RV forum, and the advice there was to be "ruthless" in culling.  I will soon have all my worldly possessions on the living room floor of my cousin's house, and the plan is to leave only two medium-sized boxes in his attic.  I plan to sell my few possessions of monetary value, give what I can away, and toss the rest.  Wish me luck.

[heartseed]

Me too!  All I know is, it's easy to feel overwhelmed when we look at everything we need to do.  But it becomes manageable when we focus on one small part of it.

About a week and a half ago, I sorted through a box of... old floppy disks - can you believe it?
They were mine and my ex-husband's (he moved out 9 years ago).  Being who I am, I had to check them for any files with confidential info, documents or images I may want to keep, etc.  It took me a day and a half - and afterwards I threw them all out. I estimate there were about 300.

Now, when I sit back and look at my apartment, that barely made a dent.  But it's very satisfying to know I got it done.  That box of floppies taunted me for years and years, but now it's gone and I'm one step closer.  

Just pick a small project and start.  I'm the world's greatest procrastinator, but I know I can do this when I set my mind to it.  And you can, too.

Good for you! Tip for others with floppy disks with confidential information, etc. Run over them. Very satisfying.

[heartseed]

You CAN do it. Absolutely. It's in you to get this done. I am in a similar boat. 49 years though. Last year, I finally phased out the last of my parents belongings. Now it is time for my stuff to be released. This may sound strange, but I am starting to think of the things I keep that I do not use regularly as if they are hostages of a sort. I would rather feel they are free and serving a purpose for someone or let go of at the "transfer station", like I want to be.

I know you can do this. You will feel lighter and likely experience the present moment as a fuller, more meaningful place to be.

Stay in touch. Let us know how it is going. You've got lots of people doing this alongside you.

[travelaround]

I'm still in it. Downsizing. Right now I'm organizing my books. I want to count them before and after the downsizing. I want to know for certain what I'm taking with me as the books may be buried in a crate somewhere in the back of the van and I won't want to take it out unless I know for certain that what I need is in that place.

I also have clothing on my list for downsizing today and tomorrow. Fortunately most of the clothing I already love and use is already down in the van. The rest of what is left in this apartment will be things I don't normally use.

I won't be keeping a storage space anywhere. Everything must either fit into my van when I leave a month from now, or be tossed, or given away. I have considered getting a cargo trailer but am hoping I won't go that route. I won't make that decision until later, in September. I have to be out of here on September 20.

[Qxxx]

"I have considered getting a cargo trailer".

One thing I have thought about is a small 4x6 foot trailer, to haul extra stuff and to put solar on top, as I have a fairly new van, am a part timer, and haven't wanted to drill any holes in the van. And as I don't like cooking in the van, I could setup propane, a refrigerator, and a small outdoor kitchen in the trailer.

[Zephyr]

A long wheelbase vehicle pulling a short wheelbase trailer can be tricky backing up. I've struggled with that combination, especially under stress.

[Rojo Zoso]

I've been downsizing over the last 10 years, and now its prep for the van. I sectioned off a small area in the apartment, put the stuff I need there. Everything else goes. I've donated most of it to the VA outreach, SafeNest, and Habitats for Humanity.

I have one box that I will store at my nephews house (sport collectibles). It feels great to not have so much stuff. Won't be long until I have a bunch of camping "stuff" I probably won't need lol.

[Majorcache]

Welcome and relax, you are going to learn how to live again

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G530AZ using Tapatalk

[KetoKyz]

I started having yard sales last summer, sold what I could, kept the rest in the garage until this summer/my retirement. I had one final garage sale after my retirement (and right after my house went under contract). What didn't sell by 2pm got hauled out into the driveway and given away free. There was SO MUCH stuff that 3 different people filled their cars/trucks up. Now, as I've been going through everything else, I've still hauled a LOT to the donation boxes located nearby. My goal is to only keep what I can place in my RV (when I buy it) except for one tote that has my mom's china (that I'm going to store in my Dad's shop). If I still have too much, I'll give it away/throw it away from there. I miss nothing, no remorse. Instead, it felt like a HUGE burden was lifted from my shoulders. Each time I leave stuff at the donation boxes, another burden lifted. One step closer to a new, exciting life.

Photos were scanned and pitched. Luckily I've been taking digital photos for years. Sadly, some of these older photos were damaged, but I scanned them anyway if they were special to me. Books were sold/given away long ago. I donated several boxes of books before my last move to a local library that was really excited to get them.

Good luck, you can do this.

[maki2]

I am still doing downsizing getting ready for heading to the Southwest for the winter months. One of the tasks that has been on my list for quite some time was to sort through my jewelry box and get rid of stuff. Part of the stuff I had in there was some gold "scrap" consisting of broken chains, my old wedding rings, a couple of damaged pieces of jewelry, a small ring I had found on the street years ago that was missing the birthstones plus misc bits of silver jewelery. About a year or so ago I had weighed it and figure out it would bring about $300.00 if I took it to the metal recycling center where they do have a buyer for precious metals. Yesterday my friend called and said he was heading to the recycle center to sell some stainless and did I want to go along as he knew I had some scrap aluminum. So I said sure and thanks for the offer of a ride and grabbed my little tiny bags of scrap silver and gold jewelry. Well those little bags of scrap got sold but I walked out with twice as much money as I thought I would get. I got $600.00 because gold prices have soared this last week due to the news about a possible recession. My friend could not believe that that little tiny bit of stuff brought that much money and neither could I.

Since I am still in the process of my build it was a nice boost of funding to help finish the build. First use of that funding adventure will be turning gold into lesser value metals...hiring a welder to reinforce the tongue on my trailer frame and add some better quality safety chain attachment loops to it. Safety first!

So if you have some bits and pieces of precious metal jewelry you don't need now is a good time to turn them into cash for your van dwelling fix up needs.

(This post was last modified: 08-24-2019, 04:51 PM by maki2.)