FAQ #5: Where are you storing your stuff? OR Was it freeing to get rid of so much stuff?

By the time we leave the dock we will only have the stuff that fits on our boat, plus 3 small legal sized filing boxes of mementos and 2 doors from this boat at my parents and maybe, for the first year of cruising in WA/BC, my car stashed until we sell it.

Basically, we are not storing stuff because we don't know when or if we would want that stuff again. Remember, the plan is "as long as it is fun". If we need stuff again because we move back on land, we'll buy it.

Was it freeing? Amazingly so. I love getting rid of stuff still and am excited when we have another pile to take off the boat or when another stage of our transition life is over and I can get rid of more stuff related to it.

For example, there are formal events that we still need to dress for so I kept a few dresses. Each event means a dress worn and another dress I can get rid of (yes, I'm keeping a few, but that clothes folder is getting smaller and smaller). I also realize how much you can buy when you need it. I bought a pair of $4 Ann Taylor strappy heels at a thrift store for the last formal because I hadn't kept a black pair. I'll get rid of those again before June.

Do I miss my stuff? No. I miss people in Colorado. I miss having a sand pit in my back yard for BBQs. I miss having a big entertaining space. But as long as my current life has a high fun-to-suck ratio, and I foresee more of that same ratio in the future, then I don't spend much time second guessing what I've left.

- Livia