Made up your mind which option is best for you? Then let’s turn the page and start getting ready for the great escape.

Okay, you have searched your soul, evaluated your options, and decided to get the hell out of Dodge for a while. Now it is time to prepare for the big escape. And if you’re really going to take off, you’ve got to lighten your load.

WHAT TO DO
WITH YOUR STUFF

Unless you are an extreme minimalist, it is unlikely that you will be able to take all of your crap with you. In most cases you would not want to anyway. The less you have to fuss with material possessions, the more you will be able to think about your situation.

So travel light. Take basic clothes, personal care/hygiene items, a few essential books, and maybe some music CDs or cassettes and a handheld player, and try to leave behind as much as possible.

There are three things you can do with the stuff you don’t take with you and don’t want to throw away.

Store It

The storage option usually entails renting a storage building by the month and stashing your gear there for the time you will be gone. There are operations all over the country that lease sheds for this purpose. You will usually pay the first month’s rent plus a small deposit and sign an agreement that says the owner can confiscate your goods if you fall behind on the payments. Most of the time you will have to be behind three months or more before he can exercise this option. Don’t tell the manager about your plans to take a powder, however. This will probably spook him or her. Simply pack the stuff in, secure the big metal door with your own padlock, and that is it.

Since you supply the padlock, the owner or manager does not have a key and thus cannot poke around your belongings. Theft is unlikely, since these facilities are surrounded by high fences with gates that are locked at night.

You have to visit your unit during operating hours, or, at an additional cost, you can often get a private access code that will disarm the security system and allow you to enter at any time. My brother used to visit his in the middle of the night. He met hookers sometimes hanging around outside the facility. He reports that they were more trouble than they were worth.

This is an excellent option most of the time (storing, not meeting hookers), but there are a few things to consider. First, these storage facilities vary widely in cost, service, and quality. In the South it is easy to rent a unit for $50 or less a month that should hold an entire house full of belongings—for example, a 10’ x 10’ space with a very high ceiling to allow stuff to be stacked up. The same space in some Yankee states could easily set you back $200 a month or more! (I don’t know why this is; probably some ridiculous Big-Brother-type laws. The northeastern states are run like socialist dictatorships.) Check the rates to make sure you can swing the payments for the duration of your absence.

Storage facilities vary in quality. This one offers security and good rates.

A fence surrounding the units adds to security.

You want to make sure the shed is reasonably weatherproof. I rented a unit in South Carolina with a leaky roof, and my junk got soaked with the first rain. Generally, the more permanent the outfit looks the better it is. A quality operation will have sheds that are lined with brick and have shingle roofs. There will be a substantial metal fence surrounding the location, and plenty of night lighting. These facilities may cost a few dollars more per month than the ones that look like an abandoned chicken farm, but they are worth it.

You will want to get some tarps to cover your stuff with, and, while you are at it, put some rat and mouse bait on the floor to keep vermin from nesting in your books and clothing. Seal everything snugly in heavy cardboard boxes, or, even better, plastic or metal bins or barrels. Remember that there is no climate control normally; your stuff will fry in summer and freeze in winter. This matters little unless you are storing perishable goods. If you have items that are heat- or cold-sensitive, there are storage facilities that offer temperature control for their units. They are not cheap.

Remember Working Man Jack? He had a very difficult decision to make about his truck, and finally he concluded that putting it in a storage building was the best option for him. Repo men (and I say this as someone who used to do skip tracing as well as assign and work closely with repossession agents) are relentless and ruthless. Since Jack would be staying with a relative in his state, he could never be sure they had not found him. Even if his brother had fenced-in property and a big dog, the truck would still be vulnerable at Jack’s work site, as well as anywhere he drove it.

Repo men have shadowed people for miles, snatching their targeted cars when the owners went into the grocery or convenience store. They have pretended to be law enforcement agents with arrest warrants, paid off neighbors to snitch on people whose vehicles they were after, and done plenty of other nasty things. They do not have souls.

Unless you are relocating to a place far, far away (preferably in another state), and unless you have been extremely careful not to establish a paper trail or even tell anyone where you are going, then they will find you. By the way, Jack rented the storage building using fake ID, a subject we will cover later. He obtained the unit in a town he had never been in before, a good distance from his old haunts as well as where his brother lives. He sends his payments through a mail drop, and he is very careful to make sure they are received on time. In addition, he moved the truck into the storage building late at night when no one was around. It is extremely unlikely that any repossession agent will find it.

There are special concerns to be aware of if you plan to store firearms, ammunition, medicine, or foodstuffs. If this is your situation, I suggest you consult one of the many excellent publications available from Paladin Press or Loompanics on caching sensitive items. The longer you are away, the more important proper storage techniques become. How to Bury Your Goods: The Complete Manual of Long Term Underground Storage from Loompanics is an excellent resource on this topic.

Don’t want to store your stuff? Then the next option is to …

Sell It

I recommend this avenue highly, for several different reasons. First off, most people have way too much useless junk— things they will never need and rarely if ever use. To prove this to yourself, do a little exercise. Walk around your house and see how much stuff you have that you have not used in several months or years. Don’t forget the basement, attic, or garage, or that “spare” bedroom that is too cluttered to sleep in.

Holding onto all this junk is bad for many reasons. First off, it clutters the mind. There is a reason that hermits, sages, and wise men have practiced asceticism throughout the ages. Excessive possessions prohibit clarity of thought, and the one thing you need right now is a clear head. Secondly, those items can be turned into cash, which is always useful. As an example, a couple of years back I went through the small trailer I was living in and boxed up all the stuff I had bought and never used. I carried it down to the local flea market, where it covered two big tables and a little more, and sold it for whatever price folks would offer to pay. By the end of the weekend I made more than $500. You can do the same. Thirdly, limiting one’s possessions is a good discipline. Americans spend too much, charge too much, and save far too little. Learning to live with less is a good way to clear up money to invest, a habit that is essential to a secure future.

Think about it for a moment: are the problems that you are trying to get away from at least partially tied to financial concerns? In most cases, I’ll bet they are. Your disappearance may be a good time to assess your life and figure out what is really important. The point is this: you should try to learn how to use money, instead of allowing money to use you. For further research on this topic, I highly recommend the book The Richest Man in Babylon, available at virtually any bookstore. It is a short but highly illuminating read.

A yard or garage sale is a good way to dispose of unwanted items. Like any worthwhile endeavor, it requires a little planning. Visit some sales in your area if you have never held one of your own, so you can see how it is done. You want to be careful to price things appropriately. Since you are raising funds to finance your disappearance, you probably want to set them fairly low in order to boost sales.

Place an ad in the local paper, put signs up around the neighborhood a few days in advance announcing the event, and be prepared to get up early on the day of the sale. Many people who frequent these are early birds hoping to get the proverbial worm. Saturday mornings are by far the best time to sell. If you can, it is a good idea to set the stuff outside on tables the night before and cover the merchandise with tarps that you clamp or weigh down.

Use tags to display the prices clearly. Some people pass on buying things because they are too shy to ask how much they are. Use tables to display the merchandise if possible; if not, lay a tarp, blankets, or a sheet on the driveway or on the ground, and place the items on top. Be sure to have plenty of coins and small bills to make change with. Taking checks is always a risk; I advise against it unless you know and trust the person well.

Sally had a very successful yard sale right before she left for the shelter. She made well over $1,000, disposing not only of her own unwanted items but also her abusive boyfriend’s bass boat, which he had left parked on a trailer in her backyard. Silly man.

An alternative to a yard or garage sale is the local flea market. Look in the Yellow Pages for the nearest one, or just ask around if you don’t already know where the closest one is. Be sure to check the weather forecast for the day you plan to sell. Nothing kills a good flea market day like rain. Most markets have tables that are outside, as well as some that are under shelters or indoors.

The market owner makes his money by charging the dealers rent for the tables. This is usually a very reasonable fee, as low as $3 for an outside spot. You can prepay your rent at the market office before sale day, or just show up early in the morning, set up your wares, and wait for the manager to come by and collect it personally. Try to display your stuff clearly and neatly, and set as much on each table as you can to save on rental expenses. As with the yard sale, showing up early is important. Some markets are already crowded by 6 A.M. on a weekend day!

Your setup need not look like a display counter at Saxs Fifth Avenue, but it should be clean, neat, and attractive. Clean and dust any wares that need it. Glass cleaner works great on paperback book covers. Books by well-known authors are usually good sellers, by the way. Make sure you are clean and neat as well. Jeans and a T-shirt are just fine. You should wear some sort of hat to protect your head from the sun. Sunscreen and/or a beach umbrella can come in handy on hot spring or summer days. You will need a chair to sit in behind your tables. Bring plenty of coins and small bills for change, just as with the yard sale. Pack a lunch and plenty to drink.

Pricing can be tricky. The best guide is what other dealers are charging for similar items. Try to undercut them if you can. Don’t worry about their feelings; this is business. Sometimes another dealer will come by and offer to buy most or all of your stuff for a lump sum. This is usually not a good idea unless it is near the end of the sale day. Hagglers will sometimes try to get you to come down on the price you have set. If it is an item that others have looked at or asked about, then it is best to stand firm.

A pickup truck or van is usually the best vehicle to haul your stuff in, but any vehicle will do. For years I carried my merchandise to market in a Ford Escort crammed with boxes full of items. A 4’ x 8’ or similarly sized utility trailer can be useful to load your wares on. These can be pulled by the smallest of cars easily.

If it sounds like I have experience selling at flea markets and yard sales, it is because I do. They are great ways of earning extra cash. The most important “secret” to the business is what kind of merchandise to sell. Way too many novice dealers make the mistake of buying so-called “quick sell” items from wholesalers, such as T-shirts, sunglasses, watches, porcelain figurines and off-brand tools. When they get to market, they see row after row of competing dealers selling virtually the same items. Nobody makes any money this way.

Auctions are far better sources for good, salable products. My favorites are the ones held periodically by storage building sites. When a tenant does not pay the rent on a unit for several months, which happens all the time, then the owner can exercise his right to confiscate the stored items and sell them off to recoup his losses. The auction is announced in the local paper, or you can call the office to find out when the next one will be. Often you can buy a shed full of furniture, books, clothes, tools, entertainment electronics, and other goodies for a couple hundred dollars or less. The profit margin can be considerable when you resell, even if you charge low prices. For those interested in pursuing this subject, I recommend the book How To Make Cash Money Selling at Swap Meets, Flea Markets, Etc. by Jordan L. Cooper, published by Loompanics.

Ooops, almost forgot—you may want to consider selling your stuff by using the classifieds section of your local paper, if you don’t mind advertising your intentions to get rid of the stuff. Check with the editor or look online for information on rates and so on.

If you don’t want or need to sell or store your stuff, the final option is the simplest …

Flea markets are great places to buy or sell goods.

Storage building auctions can be great sources of salable merchandise.

Give It Away

This option is simple, charitable, and often tax-deductible. Despite wearisome rantings about “cold-hearted, selfish Americans” by loser liberal types, ours is a generous and compassionate land. Virtually every community has a church or social agency that accepts donations of goods. These are either given or sold at very low cost to the poor.

The Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries operate thrift stores nationwide that are eager to receive your unwanted stuff. You can get a receipt for your donations that will reduce your tax bill in April; consult your attorney or accountant for specific information. Even automobiles are taken for charitable purposes, and the tax write-off for giving one away can be significant.

One word of caution: I would avoid telling any of the charity workers you come in contact with about your plans for escaping for a while, unless you know they can refer you to a shelter or safe house that will help you. Anyone you share your plans with is a potential snitch. Keep your own counsel as much as possible. And bless you for giving to the disadvantaged.

Oh, yeah! If all else fails, you can always abandon your stuff and let someone else worry about it. Neither neat nor pretty, this option is one of last resort. Unlucky in Love Larry did it. Now his wayward wife has to figure out how to make the payments. Maybe she had better start charging for her services… .

Now that you’ve unloaded all of the stuff you don’t need, let’s look at something you will need: money.