More Downsizing, Packing, & Moving

--Blogpost written by Bob

I'm glad we started downsizing our stuff last December!  We have done some final downsizing this past week and made many more trips to Goodwill.  We did the final packing and moving the remaining things, mostly winter clothes, kitchen utensils, and portable tools.   Some of the items have been moved into our storage unit until we can sell them.  This whole effort of drastically downsizing is far more difficult than simply moving to a different house.

I gathered up 15 bottles of various hot sauces from our pantry to 
take to the boat--there were nearly as many that I threw away.

Last weekend was spent emptying all our wardrobes.  The rugs were rolled
up and put into storage temporarily and mattresses and 
box springs were given away.

Nearly everything has been removed from our house now.  There's a few cleaning
materials and empty cardboard boxes in various places--by the end of
the week it will all be gone.  The house now has that
hollow echo of an empty building.

Leap of Faith

This past week I read the book, Leap of Faith, by Ed Robinson with the subtitle "Quit You Job and Live on a Boat."  Since I don't have to quit my job (just retire from it), it makes my transition seem easier.  I can't wait for the freedom we will have as we shed our remaining mortgage debt and our professional responsibilities once and for all.  The relatively warm weather year round won't be bad either!

Restored a Tiny Onboard Luxury

Our hot water heating element was burned out for almost a year.  We haven't really missed having hot water on board but we decided to replace the heating element to add a little luxury to our boat life.  We really HAVE simplified our life!

The new heating element for our (Raritan-brand 6-gallon) onboard hot water heater 
adds a tiny bit of luxury to our upcoming winter on board.

Bermuda Bound

Our next blogpost will cover our vacation in Bermuda--I hope to make it mostly photographs.  We're flying there--not sailing there!  December's focus will be on measurements for our new sails and our new primary anchor.

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