Update!

The eclipse on 8-21-2017 in South Carolina, USA.
Photo copyright Jared Pechan.

Hi to all who are following along. We are updating quick updates on Facebook and Instagram, due to wifi issues. You can find our Facebook account here and our Instagram here.

The quick details: Presently, we are in Georgia on the Florida border. We are waiting for a couple of documents to be overnighted to us before we drive to Miami, where we will board the plane to our new home.
We fly out to move aboard on Tuesday and can't wait! Until then, we are still enjoying the road trip and seeing all we can see. We had a huge scare with Sunshine's paperwork, which needs a blog post dedicated to just that. Hopefully, we can spare someone else the stress by reading what we went through.

So, apologies for lack of details, but I wanted to update everyone. All is well and we are moving forward! =)
~Stef

Hurry up and Wait

Not much to report as of yet. We've had a few open houses, lots of showings and interest, but we are still waiting on that golden offer! We've zeroed in on a couple of ideal boats but can't make a move towards purchasing until the house is at least under contract.

So, it's hurry up and wait over here. Meanwhile, we continue to hold yard sales and pack up what we are going to take along with us. We have all had our final checkups and are getting prescriptions to fill the boat's medical kit. Sunny is all ready to go as far as the vet is concerned and now we just have to change the paperwork to the BVI.

Also while we wait, I've been researching short-term housing in the BVI because once we get there, it will be a few weeks before we can move aboard. This will be the location to ship our pallet of gear and supplies as well. It helps keep our minds off the waiting part, as well. =)

The clock ticks on...

Piles, Paint, Patience, and a party!

        My awesome friend, Krista, hosted the sale at her home, as she has a great location in town!

Piles...
Well, we are down to our last two yard sales. This Saturday we are having a gigantic one! Our front room has piles and piles of stuff! If it doesn't sell, the Goodwill truck will come pick it all up at the end of the day. Whew!

We will have our last yard sale in May, when we sell off the beds, table, and all the other stuff we are presently using until we leave.

Paint...
I cant' say we can put down the paint brushes just yet, but we are almost done with painting everything inside and out!

Patience...
It requires a lot at this stage in our lives. We just want to hurry up and go, already! We are waiting on some more stone and sod to be delivered before we can list the house. We are tearing out the old concrete driveway and installing nice pavers and a walkway. Also, a shout-out to our blog followers. We hear you loud and clear; you want updates! We have just been so crazy-busy with prepping the house, working, and just life, that the blog is pushed to the back burner. =)

Jared and I walked along the beach during lunchtime last week. Can't wait to anchor out in water like this soon!

Party...
Oh, and we are going to have one epic party to celebrate all this hard work as soon as everything is completed. Sort of like a "sailing away" party and "buy our house and/or furniture" party rolled into one. Can't wait! If we can sell it without using a realtor, we save on the commission fees and add more to the cruising kitty.

Perpetual Yard Sale

We have been in the process of slowly selling off our stuff. It's like a perpetual yard sale around here. We have stuff listed on ebay, Craigslist, and a couple of community Facebook groups. We started with random small items and have progressed to selling off some of the larger furniture. We will hold off on the beds and other needed items until right before we move, but for now, it feels good to have some of this already gone.

We donated a couple more loads to the Goodwill last week. Included in the most recent load was 20 pairs of shoes. How the heck did we amass that many extra pairs? It's mostly my fault, as I had dress shoes from back when I wore heels (read: pre-kids), weddings, and other formal events. Don't think those silver heels will work on the boat, so in the bag they go. I mostly wear flats these days, as teaching means I am on my feet constantly. I could have listed all those shoes on ebay or some other site, but honestly, it was just easier to donate the whole lot. I was really tired after a long day of sorting and just didn't have the patience to take photos, write the descriptions, and then manage the postings.

Among the furniture we sold was the large dresser Jared built for me when we were first married. That thing could hold A LOT of clothes! This is both good and bad, in the sense that I had clothes at the bottom of the drawers I hadn't really worn in years. I am in the process of pairing down that pile and will be donating a few more loads to  Goodwill this morning. I've given the kids the task of filling up a bag to donate, as well. The more we get rid of now will make things so much easier in a few months.

A friend and I decided we would have one massive yard sale together later this spring (she is moving to Maine), and that pile is growing by the week. Sometimes I feel like just donating it all, so I don't have to deal with it. Jared just wants it out of the garage. So, maybe I will hold a sale this month, just to see if that pile can diminish a bit (and then donate the rest).

I think this is one of the difficult parts of changing your lifestyle; getting rid of all the excess. It really made us think about what we buy (will it fit on the boat) and how easy it is to just fill your house with stuff. It is a lifestyle change that will stick with us for sure.

My classroom is another example. We teachers store a massive amount of stuff in our cabinets! Supplies for art and various projects, file cabinets of lesson plans and activities, boxes of science lab equipment and experiment necessities, books--my classroom library alone consists of a few overstuffed bookshelves, bulletin board decor, posters for various subjects, math manipulatives, small group materials, and so much more.  I haven't bought much for my classroom this year because I already had overstock from previous years. Knowing that I will be out of my classroom for awhile is forcing me to go through all the stuff I have so that I don't have to pack it all up in May.  My desk drawer is full of all sorts of stickers, stamps, and what-not. I am sure you teachers out there can relate! I am sure that when I return to the classroom, I will approach things differently.

Another goal of mine is to scan all of my lesson folders so that all I have is just a digital copy of everything, including photos of the project samples. This will take me down from three stuffed filing cabinets to none! That alone is a huge task, but I figure if I do one row of files a week, I can get it all done before April! #fingerscrossed

So, for all the other families out there in the same "boat" as we are, how is it going with downsizing? If you have a blog, share it below in the comments!

Boat Shopping!

Making Progress

We made progress on the de-cluttering this week. Since storage was emptied, we had a few tubs of stuff on our back deck. Okay, make that around 10 tubs and various boxes and containers. Since we need to tear out the back deck in order to start on the addition, it meant I needed to get in gear and sort through it all.
I started this early yesterday morning and after a few hours later, I had loaded the trailer for the donation center and landfill. The rest of it is either going to our storage unit (keepsakes and things we will use when we return from our adventure) or friends who wanted certain items. I have a friend who is starting her teaching career in primary grade levels, so the rest of my kindergarten classroom stuff went to her.

The building was open today, so we dropped off the load there instead of driving all the way out to the landfill area (like last time).

The kids were not keen on making another landfill trip. Zach actually donned one of our painting masks. Geez... these kids. Anyway, it was a successful and quick trip. After a quick trip to the donation center on our way home, we were back home in time to BBQ dinner and have a family movie night.

Now, we are through that mess, we can move on to the addition project and get this house ready for sale next year (I would love to try and rent it out, but that all depends on how finances are when we leave). Either way, we need to get a move on with this! Our only hold up is the city--waiting on their "historical home" review (which by the way, our home is not considered historical) so that we can finally get our building permit.


I can't believe it is already the month of July. Where is the summer going? I stopped by my classroom earlier this week, just to put the furniture back from where the custodial crew moved it for cleaning. Matt helped me, so it went quickly. While I am trying not to think about classroom projects too much at this point and enjoy the summer, I know that I need to at least make my "to-do" list and get copies made for the month of August (before everyone else returns and is in the copy room).  The first day of school will be here before long (in about 5 more weeks).

Hope everyone is doing well and wishing you all a wonderful Independence Day celebration!
~Stef

Boat Filter

Crossed another item off the list! What a relief! While Jared was home recovering and the kids at the movies, I tackled the task of clearing out the rest of the storage unit and closing out our account. It wasn't that large of a space, however, it was pretty full.

The past few days found me sorting through a lot of stuff. I asked myself again, how did we acquire so much? Anyway, all of the things we are keeping are stored in our shipping container at my parent's property, while the remainder has been donated or sold. 

It is a nice feeling to have that task completed, yet I know we have one final clear out of the house before we set sail. One thing at a time...

We have a different view when it comes to shopping now. Those cute home decor and crafting aisles don't call my name any longer. We use what I call the "boat filter" when shopping. Can we use this when we move aboard? Will it fit? Will it be useful while cruising? It really helps. 

I am looking at our pantry with a new view as well. If we do end up going next summer, we can take food aboard if we find a boat in the U.S. Most likely though, it will be in Europe, so we need to begin using up all the canned items to ensure we don't have boxes of food we can't use. Of course, anything left over we cannot take, would go to our local food pantry. 

We are slowly working through the to-do's and I know we'll get there...eventually! #goals

House Preparation

Today finds us working around the house, as usual. We are finishing up the baseboards and door casings, along with touch-up painting. Plans for the addition are almost done and we will submit them after energy calcs are completed. If all goes well, it should be a quick turn-around so we can begin construction in a few weeks.

The kids are off playing outside with the neighborhood kids and if I can just keep Sunshine, our golden retriever, away from the wet paint, all will be well. Although, fur does add a little texture to the walls (just kidding). =)
Here she is earlier this morning helping me out at Home Depot.



We are going to have a gigantic yard sale in a couple of weeks and clear everything out of storage. What we want to keep will go to our storage container on my parent's property. Anything not sold will be donated. We have been filling the garbage can each week with items that can't be sold. I still can't believe how much stuff we have, after moving last year. I thought we had really pared down our belongings then!

There is still a lot of sorting to do before now and then.

~Stef

Painting                             Adding trim pieces              Jared hard at work


**I have aligned these photos several times and each time I "update" they revert back to the old position. Added to the to-do list: learn more about blogging and format.**