Downsizing the home and MMM

[albireo13]

I discovered MMM just a year ago and have realized many problems in our finances/lifestyles.  MMM is great!  We are DITK  (double-income, tons of kids) with 5 kids.
It's been a balancing act trying to save for retirement while also trying to provide some level of college savings for the kids.  Being double income, middle class, there is ZERO chance of getting any financial aid anywhere, unless it is merit-based.  Anyway ... enough complaining about that.

We have made big changes since discovering MMM ... maxing out 401Ks for the first time, cutting needless spending, etc.  Now, the next big thing on our list is to down-size.
Our youngest is heading off to college (hope) after the summer and it's time to sell off our big-a$$, clown house.   It was helpful when we had 5 children living at home.  Now, it's just a time and money sink.  I would like to retire in 2017 ... 2018 more likely.  Our plan is to downsize, really trim back our expenses and sock some $$ away for retirement.
We only have a few more years to do that.  I wouldn't mind renting or moving to a condo for awhile.  We plan to stay local due to friends and work situation.
In fact we have signed on with a realtor and are scheduled to list the house next week (3/29).


So, short term goals:

1. major de-clutter:   Before moving, to simplify life ... ease the move, and also we expect to be living in a smaller situation.
I am tempted to sell off most of my hobby gear (telescopes, cameras, kayaks, etc) and tools and equipment.   My thought is to re-assess after the move re-acquire only those things that I really need or seriously want.  Is this foolish?    My wife thinks I am over-reacting and being foolish.

2. Cut the cable:      I have been putting this off, knowing that we will move soon. My thought is to just do a clean break with clown-services, and clown-utilities, when we move and get re-established later.  This includes Clowncast cable and our land line phone, as well as cell service.

3. Simplify in our new life:      Do we reaalllyy need a tractor mower?   How about that power washer?  Chain saw too?  (that would be hard ... I love sawdust and 2-stroke fumes on a Saturday afternoon).  Have one TV only, no HT system or expensive services.

4. My wife wants us to get a travel trailer for travelling and future vacations (no air fares).  I think this might be a good idea but, think we can rent one for a trip or two first to see how we like it.

  I am looking for any other ideas or suggestions from the MMM crowd.  I look at this as a golden opportunity for starting off "fresh" and escaping the clown-life.
Good ideas or things I have overlooked?

Thx,
Rob

[FrugalFan]

Wow, it's really impressive that with five kids and college, you should still be able to retire in just a couple of years. You must have done lots of things right!

In answer to your questions.

1. Definitely yes. You will likely never use most of these things. At least get rid of the things you have not used for at least a year. Though you may have more time when you retire. But you can always re-acquire some things if you made the wrong decision. Plus the less clutter your house has, the easier it will be to sell, and the easier it will be to move.

2. Yes, but you will need at least a cell phone, right? Unless you mean you want to change to a cheaper plan for that.

3. Definitely yes to all of those.

4. Unless you use one of those for months at a time, I think financially it makes the most sense to just rent one whenever you need one. And then you don't have to worry about storing it when you are not using it. And definitely try it out first.

[pbkmaine]

Rent or borrow a travel trailer and take a long trip in it. If you eventually decide to buy, get a used one. They sell new for inflated prices and depreciate quickly.

[Cassie]

WE bought our used with few miles on it and it was 1/4 the cost of new.  I would rent one first because we bought ours with the intent of traveling for a year in it and what I discovered is that a month in a 27 ft Rv with 4 dogs and hubby is all I can take:))

[GreenSheep]

Also check out these sites for free or very cheap RV rentals (generally when a company needs to move its fleet from one place to another, and obviously only worthwhile if the location works for you).

http://www.imoova.com/
https://www.transfercarus.com/search
http://hittheroad.ca/htr/introduction.html

Living in an RV/travel trailer for a while will also help you realize what you truly need and what you can get rid of in the decluttering process! I always feel like I own too much stuff when I come home from a backpacking trip. :-)