reuben
Trail Wise!
Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
Posts: 11,160
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Post by reuben on Nov 29, 2023 12:45:03 GMT -8
Well, Wednesday seems to have fallen out of favor. I'm bringin' it back. Today I managed to unload and organize about 4 boxes of stuff, putting it all where it should go. I had to make two trips to the wonderful local hardware store, but I got it done. Fixed a couple of cabinets. I started to install a new doorknob that was curiously only partially installed, figuring that it would be a quick and easy job. Well, I found out why the previous owner gave up and declared victory - he boogered the door, so I'll be buying a new one before I install the doorknob. I tore my hands to shreds yesterday fixing some faulty duct work. Step by step, one thing at a time... Anywho, the new place is slowly but surely getting there.
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desert dweller
Trail Wise!
Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
Posts: 6,291
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Post by desert dweller on Nov 29, 2023 16:36:05 GMT -8
That's pretty nice. The only thing better than a good beer after a day of projects is a good beer with a good view.
I'm doing something a little similar but different. It started back in September, on a Labor Day road trip, when I decided to end a thirty year relationship. Like any road trip or long hike you get a chance to ponder. The days of driving, camping and pondering resulted in a decision and a call to action.
On the last night of camping I called a friend who is a real estate agent and told him I'm ready to sell my house which I have had for 30 years.. He said now is the time. It's a seller's market in a housing shortage. I asked him to get the ball rolling. The long ride back to town the next day was spent pondering on what happened and what was next. Am I destroying a 30 year long lifestyle? Yes.
It took two months for the place to sell. Two bedroom, two baths on a quarter acre in town. It also took two months to rid my life of thirty years of accumulation. It was brutal.
So now I'm renting in an old Tucson style house just west of campus. It is literally an eight minute WALK to work. I'll work for the next couple of years then retire.
Which is kind of what this barstool story is all about. I'm going to do the nomad thing for five years. In order to do that, possessions needed to be trimmed. I had 30 years of stuff like wheel barrels and magazines from decades ago.It was up to me to go through stuff. A friend said to me, "If you don't do it someone will have to do it for you." The first phase of transitioning from working to retired is complete. It's the best decision I've made in a long time.
Another beer, please.
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Nov 29, 2023 17:13:12 GMT -8
It was up to me to go through stuff. A friend said to me, "If you don't do it someone will have to do it for you." I spent the entire months of August & September doing this for my mother. I still haven't recovered. No kidding, I found grocery store receipts from 1996. Utility bills, prescription sheets, bank statements...oh my god the bank statements. She has no idea how much I love her, for enduring that. When Dad's time comes, I'm just throwing everything into his backyard & setting it on fire. Congrats on the downsizing. All of my worldly possessions now fit in one closet. The reason that happened was quite painful...but the result is actually very liberating. I feel free and unencumbered. Being free from the wanting is also quite nice. When my journey as a caregiver is over, I too have nomadic dreams. (club soda & a lime for me...I can't drink right now)
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Nov 29, 2023 17:17:02 GMT -8
Anywho, the new place is slowly but surely getting there. Looks really nice.
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Post by hikerchick395 on Nov 30, 2023 10:15:15 GMT -8
Sleeping Bag Man! I have to say that I desparately have to get rid of STUFF like your mom's. Yes, I have papers...saved everything for tax returns and haven't got rid of them. My husband and I have almost 45 years together of accumulated possessions. When we moved a few miles 25 years ago, we literally moved our whole house (mobile home.) I have to kick my own A$$ soon. Anyway, yesterday we disposed a different kind of accumulation...loaded and took 400 pounds of fallen leaves to the dump. This was the 6th load of between 400 and 500 pounds so far. Had a Guts and Glorry 6666 beer in the neighbor's spa after that...
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Nov 30, 2023 12:20:45 GMT -8
When we moved a few miles 25 years ago, we literally moved our whole house (mobile home.) Ha! One way to avoid de-cluttering. This is my 18th move in 28 years. Honestly, the option of putting one's entire home on wheels is enticing. Anyway, yesterday we disposed a different kind of accumulation...loaded and took 400 pounds of fallen leaves to the dump. This was the 6th load of between 400 and 500 pounds so far. Holy moley! Here in Maryland they have something I've never seen before - giant leaf vacuum trucks. My inner 5-year-old has been giggling with delight, watching mammoth piles of leaves get slurped up in seconds. If I read correctly, you can shove all your leaves to the curb, call up one of these services, and they just roll by and suck it up. Even living in the Willamette Valley - a very leafy place - I don't recall ever seeing these.
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Travis
Trail Wise!
WYOMING NATIVE
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Post by Travis on Nov 30, 2023 18:34:01 GMT -8
If I read correctly, you can shove all your leaves to the curb, call up one of these services, and they just roll by and suck it up. Even living in the Willamette Valley - a very leafy place - I don't recall ever seeing these. They have been around for a while. Friends and I visited Telegraph Avenue near the Berkeley campass in the early 1970s. I slept a night in my car along Telegraph Avenue and was awoken early the next morning by a vacuum truck sucking up leaves in front of residential yards. Just tea for me. Thanks.
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