Originally Posted by
valygrl
As for the stuff, when I went homeless for my first big tour, I donated/sold everything I could bear to part with and got a storage locker for the rest. Years later, when I finally moved into a real place of my own, it turned out that 90% of the stuff I had been storing wasn't worth moving half way across the country, so I got rid of it after storing it for years (d'oh!). That would have been different if I was staying in the same town, though.
Prior to my 12 month trip, I got rid of as much as I could and condensed the rest to fit in one bedroom of my two-bedroom condo. I then rented out the condo for an inexpensive price to a friend of mine. After a year on the road, I took a look at all those things I thought were important enough to save - and did a second cleaning...this time getting rid of a bunch of the rest. Nothing like a year with nothing but your bike an panniers to get some perspective on possessions we accumulate.