The decision to sell the house and move permanently into an RV was an emotional one. We loved our house. We had outside cats that could not make the move with us. But we knew we had to work through these issues.
Paradise
We called our backyard “Paradise” for very obvious reasons. We had spent the past 11 years taking the back yard from plain to extraordinary. We built the deck ourselves, from designing to staining, working weekends and paying for it as we went. At one point we saw a show on HGTV that featured an outdoor kitchen; we actually redesigned and tore up part of the foundation in order to incorporate a kitchen into our design. Each year we would add another element to our backyard design. After visiting Germany in 2006 we added a biergarten. We changed our patio furniture to match some we had seen at a vineyard in Italy in 2011. The terrace behind the pool matched a design we originally saw in Germany. The hammocks hanging on the deck were like those we enjoyed in Belize. And in Texas, we needed the commercial misting system on the deck to keep us cool on those 100+ degree days!
Biergarten
We had many parties in “Paradise” over the years; some were planned, some were impromptu. We’d send out a message to meet us in Paradise, and our friends would head over. Once, we were in Ecuador and saw pictures on Facebook of a pool party…on closer inspection we realized it was a party in Paradise that had been planned by our friends without us!
Major changes were made inside the house as well. We had taken out all the carpeting and put down hardwood floors. We had redesigned the master bath to reflect our needs, including a huge walk-in shower with multiple shower heads. We had added storage in the master bath, and increased the storage in our utility room and hall closets drastically. New windows, additional insulation in the attic, the list goes on and on. This was a home that we loved and that we loved to improve.
We put the house on the market in June 2013. It was listed on Thursday, we had our first offer (which we accepted) on Saturday and our back-up offer on Sunday. I guess we weren’t the only ones who loved Paradise! We had 33 days to pack up and get out…and move into an RV. As we were out of town at the time we accepted the offer, we couldn’t get started right away. And, we went out of town again the following week.
The first order of business was to decide what was going into the RV, what was going into storage to be taken to Ecuador when we retire, what heirloom items needed to be given to family, and what we simply needed to get rid of. No, actually the first order of business was to have our last Paradise party! People thought we were crazy to be having a party when we should have been packing, but it actually worked out well. At the end of the evening, friends and family walked through the yard and through the house deciding which of our possessions they wanted. You would not believe the stuff that walked away that night! Pictures, furniture, plants…someone even took an “outside” cat, who is now a very spoiled “inside” cat living the life of luxury.
Having cleared out a lot of items left inside the house, we were able to set up our estate sale inside the house. Did I mention the Texas heat? It was July, which means 100 degree weather with a little humidity thrown in. Having the estate sale inside meant people were able to spend more time browsing than they would have been able to do outside. The estate sale was held the weekend after the last party, and was a success. Luckily, we had cleaned out the attic and had a garage sale in April; if we hadn’t taken that first step already I know we would not have been able to get everything done.
The following weekend, we went out of town again, this time to a niece’s wedding. Within the 33 days we had to pack and get out, we spent 7 out of town. On top of that, we had to keep the yard and pool maintained in case the contract fell through. As you can imagine, we were extremely busy and went to bed each night achy and exhausted.
The last week we were frantic. We didn’t have enough time! We rented a storage unit close to where the RV would be parked for the first month, and took load after load to storage. Four loads went to goodwill. There wasn’t a climate controlled unit available, so a lot of things were taken to Curtis’ office and stored there. Box after box was carried out to the RV, to be put away later. I’m sure the trash guys weren’t too pleased with the amount I put by the curb. We needed to be out of the house by 4pm that last day…I left with about an hour to spare.
When we drove the RV away, it was packed full of boxes. With the slides pulled in, you couldn’t walk from the front to the back. Once we had the RV parked and the slides out, we took a little time to make a path to the refrigerator, toilet, and bed. The next couple of days were spent doing nothing but unpacking and figuring out where everything was going to go. Somehow, everything fits and there is actually room to spare. We’ve had to get creative, and I’ve made a trip to the storage unit on an almost daily basis to drop off what’s not needed and to pick up things that are. And I’ve spent untold hours scanning important documents and shredding the originals.
Unfortunately, now we have a storage unit stuffed full of our belongings and it’s really hard to find anything. In my mind, storage was going to be neat, tidy, and organized with a hallway down the middle so we’d be able to access everything. Right now, it’s anything but! Our stuff is stacked precariously, mostly not in boxes. I’ve got tons of empty Rubbermaid storage boxes because in our moving frenzy most things didn’t make it into a box. I need to repack everything, but it’s so hot in there that I can’t work more than 5 minutes at a time. So the next step is to rent a climate controlled unit and move everything. Hopefully I’ll be able to get it organized correctly this time!
For those of you contemplating downsizing, don’t make the mistake we did. You don’t realize how much stuff you accumulate. Start going through everything early! You might just get lucky like we did and sell your house in two days!