Downsizing Our Stuff

Part 1: Clothes & Shoes

--Blogpost written by Bob

Living aboard our 38-foot sailboat means that our living space will be reduced from our home's 1500 square feet or so down to 220 square feet.  Downsizing our stuff is a necessary transition since our stuff has to come aboard with us, be sold or otherwise disposed, or be stored until we return from cruising.

During our years of cruising we plan to keep our house and rent it out using a property manager.  Our downsizing must be complete by the end of 2015, when we plan to rent our house.

Our "stuff" to be downsized falls into 5 categories:
(1) clothes and shoes
(2) sports equipment
(3) tools
(4) home furnishings & housewares
(5) vehicles

First Wave of Downsizing: Clothes and Shoes

I really like Wrangler classic fit jeans.  I recently bought 3 pair in different colors and I wear them all the time, now that winter has arrived--I will probably take these 3 pair of jeans cruising with us along with lots of warm weather clothes.  I don't need all the other jeans I own and, in fact, I don't need most of the clothes I own.  So, I thought clothes (and shoes) was a good place to start my downsizing.

This was my first load of clothes and shoes going to Goodwill.

Today, I donated the following 97 items to Goodwill: (29) t-shirts, (15) jeans, (11) dress ties, (19) casual shirts, (6) casual shorts, (4) casual slacks, (4) shoes and sandals, (4) sweatshirts, (2) fleece jackets, (1) sweatpants, (1) winter jacket, (1) sweater, (1) sport jacket, and (1) two-piece suit.

This was Maggie's first load of clothes going to Goodwill.

Maggie's initial downsizing included 81 items: (16) jewelry items, (15) tops, (11) blouses, (10) sweaters, (6) skirts, (4) tank tops, (4) t-shirts, (3) jeans, (3) dress pants, (3) sweatpants, (2) shaws, (2) bags, (1) jacket, and (1) pair of shoes.

We've adopted a new rule: if we buy a new piece of clothing from now on, we must get rid of an equivalent old piece of clothing.  It feels kind of cleansing to get rid of so much stuff.  I'm sure there will be another wave of downsizing for clothes and shoes before the end of 2015, but this is a big start.  We will be tackling the other areas to be downsized as the year progresses.

Perhaps donating these clothes will help make a better holiday season for a few less fortunate people--I hope so.

Thanks for following our blog and Merry Christmas!!!

Addendum - December 29

Today, we made another trip to Goodwill with another trunk full of clothes and shoes.  Today's downsizing included 19 pairs of men's socks, 13 sweat bands, 3 bolts of fabric, 26 pairs of women's socks, 15 earrings, 12 women's undies, 11 necklaces,  4 jeans and tights, 4 pairs of women's shoes and boots, 3 leather purses,  3 slips, 3 sweaters, 2 pairs of women's sunglasses, 2 designer perfumes, 2 women's jackets, 1 sweat suit, 1 women's shirt, and an insulated lunch bag--another 125 items!

This is our third trunk full of clothes and shoes (125 items) going to Goodwill.

The third load makes 303 total clothing items donated to Goodwill at the end of 2014.  I expect that there will be more downsizing of clothes and shoes during 2015.


Again, thanks for following our blog!!!