Article: What to Keep?

Last updated 2008 Aug. 2

Marnie and I went fulltime in September 2006. We started out in a three bedroom house and moved into a 5th Wheel and then changed to a Motorhome after a year or two. If you think moving from a house full of years of stuff into an RV is easy then you haven't done it yet!

Nevertheless it was good for us. I had an antique tractor collection and all the shop tools that go along with that (I even had a mill and lathe!), plus the truck and trailer to take them to shows, I had antique engines, a complete all-grain brewery, etc. You get the idea, way too many hobbies! One day I had an epiphany, we could never move!

At about the time of this revelation, Marnie was reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kyiosaki and said, "Why don't we move into an RV and rent this place out for passive income?" Well, like most other hermit would-be's I had contemplated just such a strategy if I ever found myself single again. I couldn't believe my ears, "Sure." said I.



#1 The RV



We were not under anything but a self imposed time constraint since we weren't trying to sell our house so we had plenty of time to look at RVs. We decided that June of 2006, instead of our trip to New Zealand to celebrate Marnie successfully passing her Dosimetry boards, we would go on an RV trip in our travel trailer. On this trip we would shop for a 5th wheel (since we already had the truck to pull it with.)

We stopped in Denver for the board exam and while we were there we visited some of the local RV dealers. There are a bunch in the area but to make a long story short, we traded our 1977 Majestic travel trailer in on a 2006 Northshore 5th wheel. We proceded to Yellowstone for our shake-down cruise and then parked it in our back yard with the new plan to move into the 5th wheel.





#2 The Cat



If you have pets you can't skip this step. We have a cat. I don't know but I suspect a dog is happy no matter what you do to it. A cat, however, is unhappy no matter what you do unless it is rubbing his belly.

Once again, we are under nothing but a self-imposed schedule so that is a major relief from pressure. We started spending time in the RV, occasionally spending the night and slowly taking the cat with us for a few hours at a time. He had new cabinets to explore, closets, things to jump on, and then he wanted back in the house. When we would spend the night he would cry to come out with us but then after a few hours he would cry to go back in the house.

By September both the cat and us were in the RV full time and we could park at the local RV park and give it a try...





#3 Stuff



So. What to keep? Well pictures of course, tax info. I actually bought a book on the legal requirements of keeping documents. Some things you have to keep for three years. Some five, some seven and some you have to keep forever.

That brings up security. Do you have a fireproof safe? Probably should. Firearms, you bet. You are a fool if you think the police can respond to a 911 call in time to save you from being raped and/or murdered. (Most people [or "sheeple"] are, indeed, fools.) Guitar, not giving that up. Marnie, another surprize, wouldn't let me give up the telescope because it fit so well with the RV lifestyle. Kayaks, keep. Flyfishing, duh.

Tools. Ouch. Thousands of dollars of tools that I would have, at one time, called an investment, that we would have to liquidate at pennies on the dollar. And I LOVE tools! But really, if you think about it, after owning an RV of one form or another for the past 20 or 30 years you kind of know what tools are useful and what aren't. At first I wanted to keep the wirefeed welder for emergency repairs but when it came down to it, are you really going to re-weld the frame on the RV. I mean, really?

Clothing is interesting. You pretty much have to store your winter clothes in the summer and vice versa. Big heavy Winter coats take up a lot of space. Of course if you plan to be a snowbird you don't need big heavy clothes. But I have seen it snow in Phoenix and in Biloxi. Not very often, but it can get cold.

We still like to camp. I know, "Every day is camping." We kept all of our camping and backpacking gear. We downsized our grill for the RV but I desperately tried to find a way to fit my full sized stainless patio grill.

I picked up a new hobby after moving into the RV, HAM radio. This way we can stay in touch with friends better. The radios come in real handy when parking too. Marnie and I both got our licenses.

We are scanning most of our pictures and documents. We will be able to store a copy of them as a backup at someones house or in a safe deposit box. For the first year we kept a 10X10 storage unit. At $100/month it didn't take us long to do the math. We could replace everything we were storing for the cost of storing it for one year!

I guess if you take anything away from this article, it should be that what you decide to keep is a very personal choice and you can always get by on less than you think.





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