I think the last snowstorm did it. After getting a 5-foot snowfall that caused power, phone, and even water outages, followed by another 2 feet three days later, Don and I have finally made our decision for what to do when I retire. We even decided when I'm retiring - 2014, unless the district offers a buy-out in 2013. (I'm hoping for 2012 - we'll see.)
We're going to:
a) sell the house
b) sell or give away almost everything in it
and then
c) hit the road as full-time RV'ers.
Right now we know we can do it in the trailer we have; we'll see down the road if we can afford a 5th wheel more geared to full-time living. I know that we'll take advantage of all the work options we can - from volunteering at state parks in exchange for RV sites to working at a grocery store/gift store at a national park and everything in between.
We bought a few books about full-timing, and I follow the full-timing forum on RV.net. I also visit as many blogs as I can find about it, so I think we're going into this with our eyes wide open.
So we're starting now with divesting ourselves of STUFF.
I will use ebay, craigslist, freecycle, and eventually a big yard sale. I can't believe that even in our 975-square-foot cabin we have so much STUFF. Today's task is to take pictures of the cross stitch patterns, birkenstocks, and some high-end skirts that I know will sell on ebay.
So, strap yourself in and follow our story of getting ready to go, and then hitting the road.