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Why oh why do we hang onto stuff?

James

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So you can keep adding outbuildings to store it in, then some guys calling themselves "pickers" come buy and rummage through it offering you money but you "need to hold on to it" or "just can't let it go". So, it stays till the next in line put it in a dumpster.
 
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Tricia

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I can't relate to this at all.
I operate at the very edge of minimalism... :D
I can't think of even one thing that could go :eek:
:roflmao:
So you can keep adding outbuildings to store it in, then some guys calling themselves "pickers" come buy and rummage through it offering you money but you "need to hold on to it" or "just can't let it go". So, it stays till the next in line put it in a dumpster.
Pretty much.
 

EricG

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We purged a few years back when we downsized.. Then my parents decided to sell there primary house 2 years ago and they thought my basement was a storage facility. We gave them till the end of September to consolidate the stuff to a smaller portion of the basement or Im having it removed & donated.

Hopefully we will start finishing the basement once my folks stuff is under control. I now know what parents feel like when their kids move back home with all their crap.
 

VickiK

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I did a half-hearted MarieKondo clean-out of my stuff. The trick is not to go out and replace it with shiny new stuff. I can get over-zealous and toss too much. Bad budgeting is probably the real issue. But if one has the space, why not keep it even if it's not used.

I got rid of clothes given to me by a friend who hurt me. Stupid in one sense, but like breaking wind, it was better out than in.

Anyway, there was a sweatshirt from an early out-of-state trip worn by me, then my mom, then the dog. Crazed cats on skis. I wish I still had it. I think a piece of it is in a dog blanket that my mom made from a patchwork of old sweatshirts. That blanket is not a lovely heirloom quilt but I keep it. My grandmother was an expert seamstress, I still have the quilted jacket lined with a soft gray plaid fake fur she made for me when I was little.

Old base layers - Keep your favorites and toss the rest.
 

David Chaus

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Shamora did a partial Marie Kondo, then gardening season started. She still has a lot to get to....eventually.

I’ve been more frugal over the years, nonetheless has an assortment of dress shirt, ties and even Hawaiian shirts that I haven’t used in years. Not mentioning a collection of knick-knacks and doo-hickeys in my storage system/utility table, most of which never gets used.

Nonetheless, we’re in a large 2 story house on 10 acres, and have more space than we need, so it hasn’t been critical to de-clutter, except in a few places (kitchen party, utility room, closets). I’m happy to get rid of stuff, Shamora gets overwhelmed and can’t make decisions, and would rather be out in the garden.

There’s emotional attachment, and there’s simple inertia. Also, we all have other things to do, distractions, screen time, work, and oh yeah, skiing. All this becomes more of a priority, as long as we can keep things out of sight enough to not be in our way.
 

pete

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I was getting a set of base layers out to go ski this morning and started to move some of my heavier base layers to winter storage tubs and get out some summer stuff. The next thing I knew, I had all my summer/winter stuff switched around and a couple garbage bags full of stuff that I'm going to take to Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

The thing is, I moved a bunch of this stuff out here from Michigan, haven't worn most of it, and probably haven't fit into much of it since long before I moved to Tahoe, but had hopes of getting back into it some day. Lets face it, I'm never going to be a size 4 again no matter how I cross my fingers:crossfingers:
Some had sentimental value, like a blouse that my great uncle brought home from Greece for me and the pair of jeans that represented my old life, ....and so on.

This is a snapshot of a sweatshirt that has been worn out for a long time, but I held onto it for no other reason that it was my favorite sweatshirt 20 years ago and I still like it but never wear it because the sleeves are tattered and there are holes in it. That goes in the actual garbage bag.
Nerdy, huh?
View attachment 75288
The question is, why can't I just move along and let this stuff go easily? :doh:

This whole thread cracks me up with sympathy. I'd claim I don't hoard and fault my parents who came here with nothing, saved everything to re-purpose .. which in the world of green thinking, very smart!

However I have too many reasons from loosing that 10 (40) lbs to knowing I can use or re-purpose most things.

I'm headed down to the basement (one nice luxury of the midwest) and find my Journey concert shirt from the 80's ... yeah, I wasn't even graduated from HS but I'm gonna lose that weight and it'll fit!

Maybe my kid will wear it for show choir ... "Midnight Train" still gets a few thousand kids singing!
 

crgildart

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However I have too many reasons from loosing that 10 (40) lbs to knowing I can use or re-purpose most things.

I believe there's a book titled,"Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Big?"

I circle around from hobby or interest to hobby or interest. I haven't bought any ski gear or music gear in over a year but really LOVE the collection/assortment I have. I've got about 8 guitars and two basses but I totally SUCK at guitar. Only got one massive drum set and do pretty well there. Guess I was trying to buy a chord for awhile. Son is a decent guitar player and plays in his high school guitar ensemble. Thinking someday me may want to have my guitars. The best one I have belonged to my father, which he bought in Madrid in 1956. It's worth quite a bit of money now.

I did buy more skateboards and skate shoes this month. Told my wife at least my mid life crisis hasn't put a Corvette in the driveway hahaha. I've lost count of how many Vans shoes I have, started collecting them around 2001, long before the cool kids started wearing them again. They remind me of my high school days.. but damn!
I've bought several more pairs since this photo was taken..
13043372_1275470679135134_7625309959475198835_n.jpg


I guess I can take some satisfaction in the fact that I actually wear them pretty much every day.
 

T-Square

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20 years in the Navy moving every 2 to 3 years taught me to pare things down. When packing, look at item, did I use it during past 2 years, yes = keep, no then does it have meaning yes = keep, no then in all probability ditch it. I kept things pretty well cleaned out.

Now, however, I’ve been here over 20 years. Dad cleaned out his house and gave me all the tools and furniture. I gotta just go through stuff and toss a bunch of crap. A few years ago I did that. Many trips to good will with usable things and clothes, then over 120 boxes of papers and useless stuff out to the land fill.

Now don’t start about my gaming stuff. That’s essential. :rolleyes: I’ve got two 5’x9’ ping pong tables set up and never played ping pong on them. They occupy the 15’x30’ War Room in the basement along with the other ‘toys’ required for gaming. The guys come over regularly and we play all sorts of tabletop, miniature, and board games. It’s my indoor vice. Skiing and biking are the outdoor ones.
 
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mdf

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It seems to me that there are two major groups of "stuff".

One is the bulky stuff that you can keep or toss in bulk. It takes a potentially difficult policy decision, but only one per group. For example, we have our everyday dishes, and our good china. But we also have my Mother's good plates in a box in the attic, and the six place settings my wife's parents owned in a cabinet. And her late aunt's full set. And her grandparents' oversized china set. We do use our own china fairly often, and the large platters from all the sets. But that is it.

The other category is the highly miscellaneous stuff that needs to be gone through. It takes time and mental energy. I refuse to throw stuff out willy-nilly, but don't want to put in the time to sort it out. For example, we accumulate the vases that come with flowers. Periodically (every couple years) we keep one of each size and throw out the rest.

Old files are even more work to go through. 97% (;) of them should go, but that other 3% I really need or want to keep.

I guess there is one more category -- stuff you really don't want but feel oddly guilty of throwing away -- like the box of letters my mother saved throughout her life.

I find the mental energy and toughness required to purge stuff means you can only do it in relatively short bursts. When you start keeping everything you look at, time to end that session!
 

mdf

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Purging for purgings sake can cause a lot of problems at work. Several years ago our leadership was into "5S". I forget what it stands for, but it is basically Marie Kondo for business. The cleaning team threw away a lot of expensive speciallized equipment because they didn't know what it was, or because it wasn't being used on a current contract.

So guess what? Here we are, ten years later and we need some of that stuff but we can't afford to replace it.
 

mdf

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How many old cables and cords do you have that match to NOTHING any more. :huh:

Again, its that sorting problem. I have a laptop I couldn't turn on becasue it didn't have its charger. Finally found it in a box with old chargers that, yes, probably don't go to anything.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Purging for purgings sake can cause a lot of problems at work. Several years ago our leadership was into "5S". I forget what it stands for, but it is basically Marie Kondo for business. The cleaning team threw away a lot of expensive speciallized equipment because they didn't know what it was, or because it wasn't being used on a current contract.

So guess what? Here we are, ten years later and we need some of that stuff but we can't afford to replace it.
This happened at BlueZone this past year. There was a new "controller" hired to streamline stuff, but he jumped in and started cleaning house without understanding the purpose of this stuff. When the Truckee store was looking for the fixtures to change over to winter from bike, many of the fixtures were long gone because he had no idea they had a seasonal purpose. Oy
 

crgildart

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How many old cables and cords do you have that match to NOTHING any more. :huh:
They go well with the tupperware lids that have no bowls..

As for getting rid of the stuff, it usually boils down to the mental challenge of either a lot of hard work and time or taking a loss on the ... rolling eyes.. "investment". Say some poor soul posting a for sale add for his collection of mostly REISSUE skateboard decks.. Selling 40 and asking $3,500.00 all or nothing, no splitting it up or individual deck sales. Get real man.. Most of the fun of collecting is searching and finding the stuff piece by piece. Nobody want's to buy an entire, already complete collection that size, especially beyond full retail for that they originally cost. He could bet over $100 for some in the current market, but not full retail for all 40 together. And, though some believe those were investments, I don't expect reissue copies to increase in value the way OG 70s and 80s gear has. If you really want to pair down in big fashion, you're probably going to only get what a reseller/dealer would pay for inventory to be resold at another 100% mark up on their end.
 

François Pugh

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The thing about gear, is the manufacturers want us to be on the newest so we do purge that kind of thing pretty well. As for the eating...I started the seasons with 10 lbs to lose and I only have 15 to go.
Extra weight is good; it helps you ski faster! ogsmile

Three years ago I moved the contents of my 1 bedroom apartment to North Bay from Sudbury. Last year I moved it back to Sudbury, by myself, in one day with a u-haul truck and a fridge cart (didn't need to pack/unpack the dresser drawer contents thanks to the fridge cart). Now if someone wants to give me stuff, like say a reclining chair for the living room, I just say no. I just hope the contents of my house in Guelph burns up in a fire before I have to move it again; it took two trips with a giant u-haul last time - as compared to one trip the time before that.
 

Bad Bob

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It seems to me that there are two major groups of "stuff".

.Old files are even more work to go through. 97% (;) of them should go, but that other 3% I really need or want to keep.

I g

And what exactly is wrong with old files?

20190608_134731_resized (1).jpg
 

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