[MikeOReilly]

My partner and I are within two month of saying goodbye to jobs, and three months of being land-homeless. The reality of dealing with all our stuff is now very real, and rather urgent.

Since we won't have a land home, we are shedding most things. We have a storage trailer that we'll park on a friend's rural lot, so we're trying to keep some minimal basics in case we come back with our tails between our legs. We're also keeping some sentimental items that can't be parted with (paintings, some family furniture), plus some camping gear for our winter travels.

I'm curious to hear, especially from those who have cut all land-lines; what did you keep? Why? And what did you regret keeping/not-keeping later on?

 

[aeventyr60]

I got it all down to two large tupper ware storage containers. Mostly pictures, letters, university papers, assorted diplomas and certificates of achievement, my boy scout stuff, letter mans jackets and a few other keepsakes. I had been downsizing for quite sometime before cruising with overseas work assignments, so it was just the last shedding of non essentials. We had a "burning" before we left, a fire in a barrel and sent the lot up in smoke.

 

[ccriders]

Mike,
I recently read an interesting little book titled "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up". In it the author describes a method of determining that which you will keep. Her fundamental criteria was "Does this item (sweater, shirt, etc) give me joy?" If not either sell it or give it away. She also tells you to address every thing in categories starting with clothes, then papers and then mementos, which are the hardest to let go. While "joy" may not be your choice word for your fundamental criteria, having such a guiding concept is essential, or you will bog down and not finish your tidying. She also recommends that you do this process all at once and not spread it out over months or a year.
I personally found this little book very useful in de cluttering my personal space and hope to apply it to our household soon, even though I'm not moving aboard.
Finally, be very careful in fully protecting that which you wish to store and make sure neither weather nor vermine can ruin that which you decide has future "joy" for your life.
Pretty exciting time, good luck with your process.
John
Ps. A very important step. When you decide to let go of an item, take time to say goodbye and thank it for the joy it has given you. I know, kind of Zen like, but you know our possessions tend to posses us and it helps to include an emotional break with that which needs to go.

 

[Minnewaska]

Best of luck, Mike. We'll look forward to hearing updates on your new lifestyle.

I would not characterize a return to living on land as having your tail between your legs. I am certain that the vast majority of cruisers eventually return to land. Based on anecdotal evidence, I'm going to throw out an 80% return rate. Of course, you could be in the 20%, as some posters here are. However, I would play the odds when it came to the decision over what to retain. That doesn't mean retain everything, but have a plan B.

Cheers.

 

[jerryrlitton]

I have a 50lb fishermans anchor that came with the boat..you pay shipping. Ref the letter mans sweater, I did not know one could letter in home mech.

 

[vega1860]

Based on our experience, the best course is to start by having on the boat only the things that are required to operate the boat plus safety gear and spare parts like belts, filters, fuses, impellers, etc. Then add cooking utensils, tools and expendables like fuel and groceries. Each crew member should be able to fit all their gear and personal belongings in one medium duffle bag. The Navigators paraphernalia should fit in a briefcase. For bulky items like guitars or keyboards you may have to add anchor points so you can strap them to a bulkhead in their cases.

The main thing is that every item on the boat must have a home - a secure place where it can be stowed so it will not be in the way or come adrift in rough conditions. A place for everything and everything in it's place is just good seamanship.

You will bring too much stuff. That is a given. You will figure out pretty quickly what you really need and what you need to toss overboard. In a few years you may wonder why you kept that stuff in storage.

 

[Markwesti]

A friend of mine who lives on her Islander Freeport 41 explained her furniture situation this way , just give it to people you know that way you can visit it (the furniture) once in a while .

 

[flandria]

Hi, Mike;

Still heading to Newfoundland this summer? Did you haul out in Belleville, Ontario?

Good luck with your travels. I have no advice to give on what to keep, what to ditch. Just looking around my own place, there is just sooooo much we have that we do not use, so little we actually need....

 

[MikeOReilly]

Thanks for all the thoughts and advice folks. Keep 'em coming. It's funny how easy in theory it is to shed everything, but how difficult it starts to become as we get closer to deadline.

I guess I should be honest. If it were solely up to me, I'd get rid of everything. I used to become sentimentally attached to some things (like camping equipment, or hats), but I seem to have lost this gene somewhere along the way. I now toss stuff with great glee.

... My lovely spouse has a certain look she uses to tell me "hands off!" If there's one thing I've learned, it's always listen when your spouse growls

 

[MikeOReilly]

Hi, Mike;

Still heading to Newfoundland this summer? Did you haul out in Belleville, Ontario?

Good luck with your travels. I have no advice to give on what to keep, what to ditch. Just looking around my own place, there is just sooooo much we have that we do not use, so little we actually need....

I hear ya. We already live in a smallish house (~850 sq. ft.), but still we have way too much. I hate moving, but I love moving. It's always a cathartic experience, shedding what you don't need. And this move will be the most cleansing given that we're going down to ~120 sq. ft of space.

We did make it to Belleville. That's where the boat is as I type. I'm heading down to it sometime over the next few days. I'm driving my motorcycle, so I've been waiting for it to get a bit above zero.

NFLD has been put off till next year flandria. What with our need to get out our land home (it's a long, complicated story, and we're not leaving completely willingly), we likely won't be ready to leave the dock before mid-July. Instead of rushing down the St. Lawrence at that point we've decided to spend the season exploring Lake Ontario. We'll pull the boat in Belleville again next winter, and probably explore souther USA/Mexico by motorcycles over the cold season. Without a land home, who knows were we'll go?? No me .

 

[flandria]

Why go fast indeed? There is plenty to enjoy on Lake Ontario! Newfoundland, I have on good authority, is going to stick around a little longer, yet.

 

[gamayun]

Sounds exciting! If you two are doing this all of a sudden with just a few months to plan, that sounds a little daunting. I've been going through downsizing mode for about 6 years now and live on my boat only part-time, while I live in a rental of about 100 square feet of space. I still have a 12-year-old, 100-lb dog who cannot sail away with me, but when he is no longer around, the rest will go, but it was hard at first to separate needs from wants. Sentimental school papers/drawings and non-digital pictures have been the hardest to let go, but they have been stored at no cost in my son's storage unit in his condo. There was also a lot of work and tax papers that are being digitized so you might want to consider a good back-up or cloud system for getting rid of or even when storing hard copy files. Clothes and recreational gear have been hard to let go, too. I suggest putting everything in the whole house in separate piles that are marked "keep," "donate" and "storage." Then just let it all sit there for a while as you contemplate the groupings and move things around. This way, you might find it easier to shed stuff when you can look at it objectively in a pile and not while it's in its pretty place on a shelf or in the closet. As to "storage," as long as you can do this without paying a monthly fee, then that should make it easier to keep things that are just sentimental. It does not make economical sense if you are paying to store this stuff for years. It is really great to try to achieve the goal of "one duffle bag per person," but it sounds like your partner might need to process what this means on her own, perhaps longer, time frame and terms.

 

[PitApe]

I have to hand it to anyone who can manage to lead a minimalist enough lifestyle for everything to fit on their boat.

I've always wondered what we would do with all our "stuff" if we ever actually moved onto a boat. I doubt that my wife and I will ever actually make a move like that, but the thought of going through everything and whittling the "keep" pile down to "boat stuff" and "storage unit stuff" just seems way too daunting. I would probably wind up keeping for too much and then be forced into getting a huge storage unit and perpetually paying to keep stuff I don't really need.

 

[MikeOReilly]

Best of luck, Mike. We'll look forward to hearing updates on your new lifestyle.

I would not characterize a return to living on land as having your tail between your legs. I am certain that the vast majority of cruisers eventually return to land. Based on anecdotal evidence, I'm going to throw out an 80% return rate. Of course, you could be in the 20%, as some posters here are. However, I would play the odds when it came to the decision over what to retain. That doesn't mean retain everything, but have a plan B.

Cheers.

Thanks Minn. I guess I should have been more clear. It's complicated, but we're leaving our house b/c we have no choice (leased land, etc.). The "tail between our legs" comments is simply achnowledging that we may not be able to sustain our life afloat indefinitely. We have a plan, skills, and some experience, but we are many years before pensions kick in, so we might have to come back if we run out of money.

Nothing in life is certain, or risk-free. We're going to see if we can make it work. If not, we'll come back and work at Walmart .

 

[TQA]

Take photographs of everything and then EBAY / Craigslist / Boot sale / Charity shop.

It took 6 months working at the weekends to dispose of two households worth of stuff.

The only thing non boaty that I hung on to was my Salomon ski boots with the custom fit liners.

Be ruthless. It is just stuff.

We left with 4 suitcases.

 

[Omatako]

The "tail between our legs" comments is simply achnowledging that we may not be able to sustain our life afloat indefinitely. We have a plan, skills, and some experience, but we are many years before pensions kick in, so we might have to come back if we run out of money.

Our view has been a little different. We're also winding down to the cruising life, a little further than you from it (now about 11 months) but our retirement starts end December.

Sustaining life afloat indefinitely is exceptionally rare even if you only mean that anecdotally. Reality is that cruising mostly last a few years and then we either get too old or lose interest. Now I know there are those who will say "I'll never lose interest" but the truth is, most of us do. As a cruiser's wife said to me 15 years ago when asked about the South Pacific: "Another island, another f#*^&ng palm tree".

So unless you and your whole crew are planning to die at sea, you're going to come back to stay. If you want to come back to nothing then that's what you should leave behind. But coming back to nothing is not easy and the stuff that you sell for a pittance now or give away or simply ditch, will not come as easily as it went. And when you come back, like us, you'll probably have at least another 20 years on this planet. You'll need to be able to live somewhere other than on a boat. 3 suitcases full of stuff (most of which will be long gone before you return) isn't going to cut it.

So whilst I'm not suggesting you should keep everything you own, you should think about how you're going to live when (not if) you get back and what you're going to need and then find most inexpensive way to hang onto that stuff. Or you need a sound strategy to replace it.

We're keeping a house in which we'll store our "after sails" stuff whilst at the same time preserving enough usable space in the house to let it out in our absence to cover costs. Yes we understand the risks but it's better than returning from cruising essentially destitute.

Most refugees carry more than "one duffle bag per person". That's a weekend racing philosophy, not a lifestyle choice.

 

[Minnewaska]

I'm years from bailing out and cruising full time, but I already know I'm coming back. I may not even stay out all year. At first, I will go for as long as I like, but know that will end. Long term I'm only planning on six months down south over the winter and then back to sailing New England in the summer. I will want a low maintenance condo somewhere (probably New England, maybe down south), where I keep my land stuff. That's a luxury, but until I can pull that off, I ain't going. My choice, others can choose their own path. No right/wrong here.

The condo would be where we go, when the boat needs some extended maintenance, or god forbid, when we become too ill to convalesce aboard. I've never been aboard with the flu, let alone a broken limb, or life threatening illness. I imagine it's not the 24/7 relaxing party fort I know it be now. Must have Plan B.

 

[MikeOReilly]

So unless you and your whole crew are planning to die at sea, you're going to come back to stay. If you want to come back to nothing then that's what you should leave behind. But coming back to nothing is not easy and the stuff that you sell for a pittance now or give away or simply ditch, will not come as easily as it went.

Thanks Omatako, I appreciate what you and Minnewaska are saying. It's just not me (or thankfully, my spouse). I can live with the uncertainty of what might lie beyond. I don't know how long we'll cruise. Could be a year, could be 10 years, or it could be forever. I have no idea. Hopefully we'll stop when it's no longer fun, or something better comes along. We might stop when we have to ($$$, health, family, we sink...). I don't know ... and I'm good with that.

We've already been seasonally cruising for up to six months at a time, so we're pretty sure we know what we're getting into, but life changes, desires change, people change. I've learned that trying to predict my life out past a year or so is like weather forecasts past the first few days ... they're both pretty inaccurate .

 

[Argyle38]

Hi Mike,

A little confused, in your first post it sounds like you're leaving for three months. (Not coming back to the same house, that much is clear.) In your last post you talk about maybe being out a long time. (And I completely get not knowing what life will be like a year out, I've come to the same conclusion my self ).

The stuff you keep for a three month cruise and the stuff you keep multi-year cruise are quite a bit different, to my way of thinking anyway. The main reason is storage costs money, in most cases, and the more you store the more it will cost you.

So if it were me, and I've given this a lot of thought, just a few years behind you, I would look at most of the items that you have from a cost of ownership perspective, with a sentiment parameter. If you've ever worked in manufacturing in the past 20 years, then you've probably heard of 5S or lean manufacturing or something similar. The idea is that every bit of space taken up by something costs money in some way. So you reduce inventory, excess tools, equipment (and people, in most cases... it is what it is). So just apply those principles to your stuff (except the people part, keep them around.) For instance, if a couch cost you $1000 new, 15 years ago, it might be worth $250 now, if it's still in great shape. If it will cost you ~$10/month in increased storage costs, because you needed to rent a larger storage cube, then that couch is break even at around 2 years. If there's a chance you'll be gone longer than two years, you'll loose money hanging on to that couch. So, unless it has sentimental value, I say get rid of it.

So in general, large items that you can replace when you get back, I would get rid of all of them. Appliances, kitchen sets, dining room sets, living room sets, bedroom sets (you'll want a new mattress when you get back anyway!) Get rid of all of it unless it absolutely can't be replaced. Great Aunt Hilga's vanity from the colonial days, maybe that's a keeper, or better yet, find a relative who would want it. But everything else, you can replace when you get back and it wont be costing you monthly.

Clothes, I would keep a set or two of formal/business wear if you aren't taking any think like that on the boat. It doesn't take up too much room and it's nice to have that kind of thing when you need it. Use a vacuum bag for storage of any clothes. Other than that, I would use the same rules as or the large items. If it's replaceable, get rid of it.

Decorations can be tough since they are often sentimental. But, if you have already off loaded the big stuff, you have more room for pictures of Great Aunt Hilga, etc.

Anyway, that's my general feeling about what to keep/toss. If you can get everything down to what will fit in a ~5x10 storage trailer you will go a long way to reducing you ongoing fixed costs, which will increase the amount of time you can cruise.

If you pass through Long Island Sound on your way south, send me a PM!

-Argyle

 

[Omatako]

I'm curious to hear, especially from those who have cut all land-lines; what did you keep? Why? And what did you regret keeping/not-keeping later on?

Hey Mike, I just went back to read your original post and realised I never responded to your question, just postulated my inane thoughts. Sorry for that.

What would we keep?

Well we'll be lucky enough to have our home mortgage-free so we're going to keep that. Hopefully it will be self-sustaining and maybe even make a monthly cash contribution.

I have a fully equipped workshop that I need for my final retirement else I will quietly go insane. An integral part of the workshop is a wife who understands that need. It is also true that if I sell the contents I will never be able to re-establish such a workshop on a pension.

We'll keep our car because it will be brand new when I leave my employment in December - I work for an auto manufacturer and get to buy a new car for a fire-sale price when I leave. This car will last us until we are no longer allowed to drive.

We'll keep the fundamental furnishings of our new home because they too will be new. It's less expensive for us to replace in our new home than it is to move our present possessions from our current home when we retire. This will include those sentimental bits everybody has.

We have a swing mooring in the bay in front of our retirement property which we'll keep for when we come home. We also have a swing mooring near our present home which we'll keep to use when we visit friends and family in Auckland. These also generate revenue while we're sailing.

So as you can see, I am not a supporter of ending my life from a possession perspective in order to go sailing. Whilst it fits for some, it is not a universally correct strategy. I don't believe we'll regret keeping any of these possessions. Time I guess will tell.

Ah, it's probably also necessary to say that we're going to cruise the tropics in NZ winters and spend NZ summers at home. This also makes a difference to the possession strategy.