This blog post is overdue. When we were moving to a boat we would have loved to have had a checklist. Something that provided us with some direction from getting from house to boat.

This blog post doesn’t provide boating or financial advice. But, it summarizes a years’ worth of downsizing experience, and provides some details that I haven’t mentioned before in previous posts.

Medical preparation

• visit a dentist well in advance of your departure date in case you require interventions such as a crown or filling
• visit an eye doctor and get your eyes tested
• visit family doctor and arrange for a years’ worth of medication
• visit specialists (such as allergists, for example. Discuss risks and possible emergency procedures.)
• visit a travel doctor to acquire medications for your ship’s medical chest
• take a medical training course
• carry copies of your prescriptions in case they are needed for border/customs
• research border protocols for carrying medications – certain substances may be prohibited
• plan to buy or build your own first aid kit
• arrange medical insurance
• arrange to extend your provincial health coverage before you leave the country (for Canadians)

Offload responsibilities where possible

• hire a babysitter or childcare provider
• hire a housecleaner
• hire window cleaners

Decide whether to rent or sell your home

• engage with a real estate agent
• stage/clean interior for showings
• cut grass, landscape, etc.
• determine where you might live if you find yourself in limbo – between house and boat
• If you decide to rent, hire a property manager to look after things while you are away

Sell your vehicle

• develop a plan to for your vehicle
• will you sell it yourself? Or, a dealer?
• can a friend sell it for you?
• where will you sell it?  What country?
• research cross-border duties and taxes (if need be)
• arrange an online ad with AutoTrader or equivalent
• consider how you will manage after your vehicle is sold (taxis, friends, buses, bike, wagon, etc.)

Envision your final weeks before moving aboard

• Will you fly or drive to your boat?
• will you be staying in a hotel just prior to moving? Or, a campground?

Determine a storage plan

• Determine your storage plan (cost out, can things be stored with a friend or perhaps your own basement?)
• arrange for piano storage

Downsize

• Begin to sell your things immediately
• ship a pallet of things to your boat (for us, this was largely tools, and some homeschooling and kitchen supplies)
• Create four piles: those you plan to keep, to donate, to sell and to throw away
• keep creating the four piles to pare down. As the days progress you will become more ruthless
• take pictures of the books you treasure, and then get rid of them – few books these days are irreplaceable
• buy an industrial scanner – scan all paperwork, and store data online. Get rid of paper clutter, while keeping valuable documents like birth certificates
• then, sell your scanner

Friends and family

• decide how and when to tell your kids
• decide how and when to tell your friends and family

Homeschooling

• Arrange homeschooling supplies
• Write note to school board re: intentions for homeschooling

Miscellaneous

• renew your passport (ensure you have at least six months validity remaining)
• arrange to forward your mail
• arrange electronic billing wherever possible
• update contact information with utility companies (if appropriate)
• give power of attorney to your lawyer (or someone you trust) to help streamline your affairs in your absence
• arrange a new bank account – for us that meant we opened a US bank account tom improve our exchange rates when we bought small items during our refit
• prepare yourself to cross a border as a cruiser (have on hand, boat registration documentation, as well as bank account or income information)

Pin it

If you enjoyed this story, you can save it to your own Pinterest board using the image below. Thanks for reading and following our journey.