Estate Sale Insights

The estate sale is over, and I have mixed feelings about it. In hindsight, it's hard to say if we would have disposed of our belongings the same way. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, right? :)

I won't say our estate sale experience was a good one, but it wasn't a terrible one either. Since we have no previous experience to compare it to, I can't really say if it went well.

I still don't have a dollar amount, and that will definitely make a difference on how I feel about it. The owner told me she has turned the paperwork over to her bookkeeper, and I will have a check within two weeks.

The owner did tell me that I had less stuff than they usually work with, and it was borderline that she would do the sale. I had four different organizations come to give me quotes, and two of them turned it down due to not enough inventory. I went with the company I used because they have a consignment shop for some of the better items that don't sell on the day of the sale. We had several pieces of furniture that did not sell, and they have taken them to the shop along with some Hummels and wall prints.

The pros of having the estate sale are:

They went through all our stuff and priced and displayed everything. They told me I should just leave everything in the closets and cabinets and they would take care of it all.

They held the sale and dealt with the public. They took care of the advertising. I did offer to put an ad on Craigslist for them.

They boxed and bagged all the leftover stuff and put it in the garage for us to donate to a charity. They didn't move any of the furniture they didn't take to the shop. Actually, they would have done that for an extra fee, but our son helped us instead.

They cleaned the entire house after everything was out, and they did a good job.

The cons of having the estate sale:

The fee is 33% of the total sales if the total was $6,500 or more; 50% if it was less than that. I'm assuming I'll have to pay the 50%.

It seemed to me items were overpriced and much more could have been sold at lower prices. Also, they had the sale on Mother's Day. I think a different day would probably have been better.

Although they did box and bag everything and put it in the garage, I felt they could have done a better job of it. Everything was just thrown together in a huge pile.

I didn't feel they communicated well. I had to keep calling.

If you decide to go the estate sale route, make sure you are comfortable with the company you hire. Do a lot of checking and contact references. I've heard many horror stories of people getting majorly ripped off.

If you have the time, I would recommend selling as much as you can on Craigslist and having a rummage sale for all the household items. We were in a Catch 22. The realtors tell you to stage the house for sales purposes. Then once you have an offer, things go fast. There wasn't time to sell the big stuff on Craigslist. Also, we live in a rural area and rummage sales don't do well. If I had to do it again, I think I would have sold more of the furniture ahead of time even if it meant some of the rooms were empty. In this market, it took a year to sell our house. I really don't think staging had anything to do with it. I think the main thing was the house was move-in ready. We had repainted almost every room, and replaced much of the carpeting. It looked good.

Either way, we may have ended up with the same amount of money. Rummage sale prices are much lower than the estate sale prices were, so it might have come out about the same. And, I didn't have to do any of the work setting up or cleaning up afterwards. That's a big bonus especially since we were already living in the RV which is an hour's drive from the house.

It's emotionally hard to see all your stuff thrown into bags and boxes. Our donate stuff has almost filled our 2 car garage. It's hard to get my head around donating all of it. I really don't want any of it, it just seems like such a waste to give so much away. Of course, we will have quite a tax right-off this year :) I had to make the arrangements for the donation. I think most estate sale companies take care of that, but since our sale was borderline, I agreed to do that part of it. It was harder to get someone to come out and take all the stuff than I thought it would be. The Veteran's Association is coming Monday for the household stuff and Wednesday for the furniture. They don't do both pickups the same day.

So, the lesson learned is don't buy so much stuff. And if you do, check Craigslist for used stuff first. There is so much quality used stuff out there for a lot less money. From now on, I'm not giving gifts just for the sake of giving something. If they want something specific, fine. Otherwise, I'll be more creative and either give gift cards or something consumable. Who needs all that "stuff" anyway :)

Laundry

Today we did laundry for the first time as fulltimers. Actually, I did some loads at the house last week since we still hadn't closed. The house is an hour away, so it didn't pay to drive back today just to do laundry. I don't recall ever being in a laundromat before. It was great. The machines are really big so we fit everything into two loads. Total cost was $5.75.

Our RV is set up for a washer and dryer, but at this point we don't think we're going to get them. We may change our minds, but for now, we'd rather have the storage space.

The weather was cold and rainy over the weekend, so we hung out inside and took it easy; played some Wii, watched movies, played games, did some reading and just relaxed. We played a game called Blokus 3D. I'm not that great at strategy games so Kevin beat me. I'll keep trying :)

Other than being lazy over the weekend, we've been very busy. I don't know how I ever found time to go to work :)

We've been taking walks almost every day. Sometimes, twice a day. One of our goals as fulltimers is to lose a little weight and become more physically fit. It's a little over 2 miles if we walk the roads of the park. We also walked a circular route along the roads outside the park. It's very beautiful around here. The park is on a river with lots of pretty scenery. I'll take some pictures next time we walk. It's supposed to rain the next three days so it may be a while :)

While we were in town we checked out the local library. I just love libraries! The town we are closest to is Columbus with a population of about 4,500. I've noticed how friendly the people are. It seems to be true that people in small town America are nicer than the big city folks. The librarian was so helpful. It turns out there is some kind of library consortium in southeast Wisconsin so she was able to piggy back onto the card I already had. We checked out some movies for today. When I have a little more time, I'm going to enjoy browsing through the books.

Last Friday we went to the hardware store to see if we could buy some glass film for our storage cabinet doors. The man at the hardware store was also very friendly and helpful. The parks employees have also been really nice. Everyone is pretty laid back. I think we're going to enjoy our summer here!

What this world needs is a new kind of army - the army of the kind. ~Cleveland Amory

New Desk

I think I mentioned a while ago that we were building a desk for the RV. It's done and here are a few pictures.

I had seen a desk that fits over part of the kitchen table on an RV forum and thought it was a great idea. It was made by an Amish company in Indiana. The cost was $800 plus shipping. Kevin and I started brainstorming whether we could make our own.

The Amish one had a wood file cabinet on one side and a cabinet with shelves on the other. We searched office furniture stores in person and online. All the file cabinets we found weren't tall enough. So we went to Menards and started walking the aisles for inspiration. We found the cabinets you see below. They are actually upper kitchen cabinets. They were almost the right height and they were unfinished oak. Our wood is maple, but we thought the oak would work. Then we bought an oak board to make the top. Kevin cut it on my dad's table saw and then I stained and finished all the pieces. I found a stain color that matches really well. We had to put an extra piece of board between the top and each cabinet for a little extra height. Otherwise, it was sitting directly on the table, and we were concerned it would scratch the table too much.

We also put a piece of wood on the floor between the two cabinets. I was planning on putting the printer and scanner down there. As you can see, our printer is quite big. It's the one from our desktop we had in the house. We'll keep it for now as it works fine. Someday, we may get a smaller one. Both the scanner and this printer wouldn't fit below so the scanner is in a different cabinet. We still need to do something with all the cords :)

There are 3 shelves in each cabinet for keeping our office supply items and for some added storage. We're using the 4th chair next to our island as a type of bar stool.

If we need dinner seating for more than 2, we can pull out our table extension and still put all 4 chairs at the table. We haven't traveled with this set-up yet. We think we'll be able to put the 2 extra chairs upside down on top of the other 2. If not, we'll find a place to put them while we travel.

I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. And, the best part is it only cost us about $200.

Do you like my flowers? They are from my last day at work and still look good. I especially like the green plastic cup as a vase. I didn't want to keep the glass one figuring it would break. It's at the house as part of the estate sale stuff for tomorrow :)

It sure has been cold lately. Highs in the 40s and tonight we have a freeze warning with temps expected to be in the low 30s. We are staying toasty in our new RV home. We're using 2 electric heaters and haven't had to use the furnace.

Busy Week and Garbage Rip-off

Well, my first week of retirement is almost over. I'm still loving it! :)

It's been a busy week. I was able to organize the closet, the bathroom cabinets and the cabinets in the entertainment center. I still have some upper cabinets to organize. I have also found that the storage areas can get messy very quickly. It's important to put everything back the way it was right away.

The cabinets above our couch and recliners have frosted glass in the doors. You can see the stuff behind them and it doesn't look very nice. We're going to see if we can buy some type of film to put on the back of the glass to make it less see-through. Kind of like the stuff they put on bathroom windows so you can't see through them. We'll see how that works. Here's what they look like now.

We're still trying to figure out the best way to get satellite TV. Everyone we talk to has a different answer. I think we're just going to have to pick something and see how it works.

We had some beautiful weather this week. Both of us have gotten a start on a tan. Hopefully, my legs will never be this white again! :) Today it is raining and the high is predicted to be only 50 degrees. There is a frost warning for tomorrow night. We have a small electric heater and our fireplace running. It is nice and cozy in here.

Yesterday I spent the entire day running some errands and finishing up at the house. The estate sale people were there preparing for the sale on Sunday. I hope that all works out. I was surprised to see some of the things they threw away. It seemed random and some of the things were still in very good condition. For example, they had some Tupperware containers and some perfectly good blankets in the trash.

Speaking of trash, I have some venting to do. I contacted Waste Management to let them know we would have extra trash today. When we contracted with them many years ago, I was told we could have extra trash once in a while, but we had to let them know so they could make sure the truck had enough room. I seem to remember being told there would not be an extra charge unless it was something really big like furniture or appliances. I have 15 extra bags this week. That's it. Nothing big. When I called, I was told it would be $7 per bag for the extra bags. After complaining, they lowered it to $4 per bag. When I explained that this was the only time in all the years we have contracted with them that we have had anything extra, they didn't care. When I pointed out that there are many weeks when our bin is half empty, they didn't care. When I pointed out that we have had a number of weeks when we were on vacation and we didn't put out any garbage, they didn't care. Not once have we ever received a credit for not having garbage, but the one time we have extra, they are going to charge us. That just stinks! I told them I would not be contracting with them at my new home. They don't have to know I won't have a new home and will not have to pay for garbage anymore. :)

"0-60 in 5 miles" (Bumper sticker seen on the back of a motor home-too funny!)

Septic Inspection Passed!

We believe we have overcome the last hurdle in the final sale of the house. Yesterday was the dreaded septic inspection. The system is 35 years old, so you never know what the inspector will say. We have never had a problem with it, and we always maintained it properly. But, I was worried it might fail.

No fears! It passed. We did have to have a baffle replaced, put an extender piece under the cover because codes have changed, and have some kind of meter put on the well. It may sound strange, but I was happy to pay the $900 to have this work done. Much better than the roughly $15,000 a new septic system would cost. I think it paid to take good care of it. The inspector said he recently passed a system that was over 80 years old. So anyone out there with a septic system, make sure you maintain it. It pays off :) Also, I highly recommend JR's Excavating in Hartford, WI for septic inspection, repair or installation. He was a very honest guy who wasn't trying to rip us off. After our home inspector nightmare, it was refreshing to do business with Jim from JR's.

I have now spent 2 days of retirement at the RV as a fulltimer. I still love it :)

Today was 80 degrees. The average for this time of year is in the low 60's. We took a walk and just totally enjoyed the day. I also spent about an hour today organizing my clothes. I think I may have kept too many :) I got everything to fit, but it's pretty tight. I kept some office clothes in case I decide to do some temping. It's hard to know how much cold weather clothing to keep. Even if we go south in the winter, it still gets cold. I'm sure we'll end up getting rid of some clothes as we go. For now, they are at least organized. Tomorrow I will tackle the bathroom items and toiletries. How did we accumulate so much stuff???

We also made a trip to Camping World. We're trying to get DirecTV for the RV. I know it's possible because many other fulltimers have it. We're having trouble finding anyone who knows what they are talking about. The guy I talked to at DirecTV had no clue. I finally just had him put our account on suspension until we can get it figured out. I didn't think it would be a big deal to change from our permanent position to being mobile.

The guy at Camping World didn't know much more. All we want is a portable dish we can mount on a tripod and take with us. We don't want to mount anything on the 5er. We know it can be done, just can't find anyone to help us get it done. We now have a phone number to Winegard. They make a dish we think will work for us, but we have to find out how to get the service from DirecTV. Kevin will call and try to get it done. I am frustrated already!

We are now at Astico County Park. We have met the park attendant and the other host. Everyone has been very nice. Our job will be mainly to rent the canoes and kayaks. They're not out yet so not much going on. Just enjoying the view of the Crawfish River right outside our front door. We found out we may not be staying all summer. There is a possibility they may now move us to another park. I'll let you know when I have some concrete information. We'll just keep going with the flow :)

Retirement is wonderful. It's doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it. Gene Perret

It's Official

First off, I'd like to welcome new readers Clark and Sandy. For some reason, it is very exciting when I get new readers. It feels good that others are finding our information helpful.

Merikay asked if the witch I worked with came to my going away party. NO! Which was great because very few people like her. She will live her small bitter life, but not with me around :)

So, now to the title of this blog. We are considering today our official first day as fulltime RVers. It feels good :)

Kevin actually lived in the camper all last week as he was not working and had started our position as camphosts. I still had to work last week :( It was worth it to get another week of paid vacation :) That makes today the first time we are both retired and living in the RV. Did I say it feels good!!!

We are going back to our house tomorrow to do some last minute chores before the estate sale people come on Monday. I will actually sleep there one more night because the septic inspector is coming Monday morning at 8:30 am, and I don't want to get up super early to drive back. Kevin will come back to the camper tomorrow night and camphost.

Monday afternoon we are moving to a different county park to continue our camphosting position. Originally, we were hired to be the camphost at Derge County Park, the park we are at right now. Then, the Derge camphosts from two years ago contacted the parks department and asked if they could come back. The powers that be decided to keep both couples so we will now be co-hosts at Astico County Park in Columbus, WI. It's a busier park so that will be a good thing for all.

Below is a picture of the campground, there are 25 sites. This weekend there is a truck camper and two tents. The next picture is our site. It has been very windy all week so no awning. The last picture is the crabapple tree in our yard. This has been my favorite tree as long as we've been there. It's so beautiful in spring. I took this at 6:30 am on Friday morning as I was leaving for work for the very last time :)

Freedom

It was a great feeling this morning knowing that I would not be hearing that alarm clock again. I'm sure there will be times we will still need to set the alarm; but for now, it has been silenced :)

Yesterday after school, the staff had a going away party for me. Many of the teachers and support staff attended. It was a very nice party. They decorated the tables in the library with candles and seashells in anticipation of our traveling to warm climates in the winter. They presented me with a wallet full of gift cards for gas, Starbucks, McDonalds, Arbys, Kohls and Wal-Mart. So many people here are really nice. It's a shame I had to work with the nastiest person in the building. If not for her, this would be a nice place to work. But, in 6 more hours she is history!!!!

I spent last night going through all our stuff in the house one more time to make sure I wasn't leaving anything behind by mistake. We have closed off one bedroom and put the things we are going to store at our son's house in that room. The estate sale people will be coming on Monday to prepare. The sale will be at the end of the week. We'll see how that goes. I'm not expecting much money. We're just happy to be getting rid of what is left. And, my mom is bringing several boxes of her things to sell. She has a ton of stuff and every little bit we can sell now will help later :)

Tonight, Kevin and I will be spending our first night in the camper as full-timers. Champagne is a must :)