Stuff

One of the benefits to living in the military is that you get to find out just how much stuff you have. Every few years, when it's time to move, you get the pleasure of choosing from several options to move all of that stuff: the lazy method - let someone else do all the work, the convenient method - someone else moves all the stuff that you don't want to move, and the crazy method - you move everything. My thoughts on each method are at the end.



No matter which method you choose, you get to look at the paperwork (or pick up everything) and find out the weight of all your stuff. It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate over time. Since my first move in the Navy, I have increased my stuff by about 360%. That's amazing. Now, buying a boat (even a small one) will add quite a bit to your stuff, it will not triple your stuff.



So, what does having all that stuff have to do with our new adventure? Pretty easy, what do you do with all that stuff. My solution is to thin out all the junk we don't use, put some stuff that we will need (clothes, pans, COFFEE MAKER, etc.) in the trailer that we don't have yet, and store the rest. Since we've started our thinning and packing process, I again have that feeling of moving: 'Why do we have all this stuff?' One thing I've learned by being in the Navy is that you don't need much stuff to survive. However, having very little stuff on the submarine resulted in 'stuff buying' binges before and after patrols. We filtered through some of our junk on our last move, but seem to have accumulated more.



The good news is that we have plenty of time to filter through everything and put it in the correct place. We're not throwing away stuff, we're throwing away junk. We're not giving away stuff, well, we are, but it's stuff that we do not use. There are a couple exceptions, things that would be better used by, well, getting used rather than not getting used in storage where they will become outdated or break from not being used. But, 99% of the stuff that we are giving away is stuff we don't use and would probably be happier in a home where it would get used. The rest of our stuff we're hanging on to.



There are some drawbacks to storing stuff though. I will miss having the hobbies that I love at my fingertips. I will not be able to walk out in the garage and build something. I will have to stick with store-bought beer and will miss the fun of sanitizing everything and making big messes in the kitchen during racking evolutions. The good news, with my current job, I do not have the time to enjoy most of my hobbies anyway. However, trailer life will let me enjoy even more of my FAVORITE hobbies: my wife, my kids, and my dogs.



So, we will continue to go through our stuff and inevitably, we will have deemed something as junk that was indeed necessary; while we have something taking up precious space that never gets used. But, that's fine. Remember, we are not doing this because we have to. Amazingly enough, we're doing it because we want to. And, if we get tired of not having stuff, we'll just find a place to live where we can have all the stuff we want.

- Steve

My thoughts on the moving methods:
The lazy method = no work. There are three major flaws with this method. First, everything goes smoothly until you get to your final destination. Once there, by the time you get all your stuff delivered, you just tell the people to leave and you unpack everything because you don't know where you want to put it yet. Second, as long as you can drive to your destination, you ALWAYS move something with you, which means you don't get paid to move that stuff. Third, you're putting all of your belongings into the hands of people who get paid to load your stuff no matter how fast they load it. The result, broken stuff.

The convenient method. This is the best method for the average person. You move what you want or what you can fit in your car, trailer, or whatever you have with wheels that can carry stuff and the rest is moved by someone else. There are several pros and cons. You get paid to move some of your stuff. You can move your boat and get paid. You're already going to have some clothes, lap top and other things that you will move anyway, so you might as well fill out the paperwork and get paid. You can move the things that are valuable to you so they stay un-broken. The cons: you're not making as much money as you could, you still have broken stuff, and you still unpack everything without getting paid because someone else just wouldn't do it right.

My method of choice, the crazy method:
This one is not for the lazy. It's a lot of work and it takes a lot of time (if not planned well). You can still have broken stuff if you're not careful, but if done right, you make out well in the end. This method can be accomplished many ways, from renting a truck, paying for space in a semi and loading yourself, or having a big truck and an even bigger trailer and just moving it all. The results of a properly planned move: all your stuff is safe, you get paid for unpacking everything, you get paid for moving everything, and your pants fit a little better from all that leg work. Heck, even the government saves money because they will only pay 95% of what they would pay a private company. I have gotten this method down to an art and can complete a move quite quickly (especially with all that help prepping from someone else ;)) If you ever want to know all the details on how to do it, just ask.