Getting Rid of Everything...Almost
 

I'm not talking about old crap laying around the garage. I'm talking about every single thing you own aside from clothes, a few tools, and a shaving kit. One Jetta load, that's it.

All my furniture, books, a lot of tools...they all have to go. The alternative is storage and that's just not practical, I don't expect to return.

I've done this before; when I divorced I just walked away from everything except my cars and some clothes. But I started over and built a new life full of 'stuff'. Dumping it all a second time seems a lot harder.

Anyone had to sell/give away everything?

(For context I'm moving a long way away and living in a furnished house).

I know some folks that have had a house fire, and they lost everything except the pajamas they were wearing. It was really hard for them. They talked about so often needed an item, and think right where it was, and then realizing that place is gone forever. And they add that item to a list of stuff they need to go buy.

I have some stuff I had as a kid, but not much since we were a military family and moved a lot. I would have a hard time getting rid of my stuff. I for sure need to empty out my attic, and clean out some closet space, but that is not what you are talking about.

We had a house that we had built when we lived in Spain. since my father decided to return to the USA, "for a few months" that turned into him and my mother both travelling back and forth for a number of years while my sister and I finished school. When we finished school we both came to the US "for a few months" which turned into years with each of us going back to visit almost every year. We would stay in the house for a few days and then head out to the beach where we also have a cottage. It got to the point that we weren't using the house at all so we decided to sell. We all had stuff still there as if we lived there. We basically told our relatives and friends to take what they wanted and dump the rest. But, i guess that's not what you're talking about either.

There's very few negatives about purposefully having less stuff, I've heard.

I know that in my 'garage' life, having more stuff has definitely NOT helped me enjoy my hobby. It's just created more problems and mediocre stuff begging for attention.

May I ask, are you going to try and get some good value out of your possessions, or will you be having a fire sale? In other words, how do you plan to go about it, logistically? CL ad? Call your friends?

And, if it's not too personal, how old are you?

Amazing. Getting rid of firearms would be my hurdle.

Good luck bud.

About 2 years after marriage, we moved 1000 miles and had everything put in storage but the clothes we needed. We moved into an executive apartment while the house was being built. We lived for about 6 months in that small 1 BR apartment and I don't recall once "missing" anything in storage.

I'd have to have at least one big chest full of tools, even in a furnished house. I've done much with less but that was when I didn't know any better.

However, big chests don't travel well, so it would have to be something modular. AFA kitchen and cooking stuff you can do a lot with 3 pans and one set of flatware. Paper plates if you have to.

We all have way too much in the bathroom when a razor, towels and soap will do. Think of the hotel room. Bedroom needs only sheets, blanket and comforter/bedspread (hotel room).

Outside maybe a couple folding chairs and a Weber. You can get that locally when you move.

But the tools become the biggy for me.

When I moved to our house in Costa Rica I got rid of almost everything, I drove down so I took whatever I could in my F150, but I sold some very early motorcycles and turn of the century bikes. Some books and papers I stored with my brother. I didn't plan on coming back but after a couple years my wife changed my mind.
Before that in a divorce my wife got just about everything out of the house, even the German Shepard, eventually half the house when I sold it. Had to pick up stuff for an apartment even. Like the story goes, I did love that dog.

Are you going to a retirement home?

Maybe the stuff represents your independence.
Getting rid of stuff for the last time is a 1-way ticket
and maybe that's what's bugging you.

A drifter on the run...what you want to get away from you cant give away...

What. U don't brush your teeth?

Same here, as long as I am able to play in the garage with my tools, I will keep them ALL.

I have a workbench-cabinet that is made from 2x12s. It was built into the garage at my first house by a great carpenter back in the 1960. I have been using it for 37 years. I don't even have to think about where the drawer of electrical stuff, or the drawer of drill bit is. I can't imagine not have it and what is in it.

As I sit here, reading this thread while looking at the stereo 'stuff' I've had for longer than I've been married (will be 39 yrs in Nov), I would have a hard time parting with 'all' of my stuff. As George Carlin said, you have a house and it fills up with 'stuff', until you buy a bigger house just so you can get more 'stuff'. Or something like that.
It's funny, we got a phone call yesterday and the caller (unknown to us) left a message saying he was looking for a house to buy in our neighborhood. My wife told me about the message in a way that got me thinking maybe she wants to move.
Best of luck to you, I'll be watching this thread to see how things work out.

Always a tooth brush in the hotel room.

Did it once.

Finished my first sea tour in San Diego and owned a house in Coronado. I had orders to NAS Patuxent River, Maryland and decided to sell the house.

Buyer wanted the furnishings, mower, lawn tools, etc. and was willing to pay.

I boxed my clothes and the minimal personal stuff and shipped it.

I had a '68 912 5 speed at the time and took three weeks wending my way across the USA.

Now? I shudder at the thought of a total cleansing and I am really good at keeping my footprint in check.

Best of luck.

We all have way too much in the bathroom when a razor, towels and soap will do. Think of the hotel room.

You are CYA...."WE" do not all live in hotel rooms, but have permanent domiciles..which was what you were alluding to...Presumably you do not live in a hotel...and you made the analogy after the fact about a hotel room, to illustrate how minimalist one can be.

Just admit it you do not brush your teeth..maybe you drop them in a glass full of Polident at bedtime???:confused::eek::)

How old were you? 20's???

Not going to a home, I'm not even 60 yet. Close though.

Used furniture is worthless. I paid $30k for my dining room set. I will be lucky to get $500. A lot of stuff will be given away to friends and family, the rest CL or donated.

My brother will likely take my tools.

There are few pieces I'm attached to. This is hard for me to do.... :(

Here's an idea, it's just something I've thought of from time to time:

(You're not the only one on this bbs who has thought of doing this! :) )
I have two collections that I like, one of them has some relatively valuable pieces.
The other is just a shelf or two of similar items that I collected a little at a time.

I've thought about making a quick photo booth and taking a picture of each item, just using a digital camera, storing the images to a file on my laptop. That way, I could dispose of the collections on my terms, giving most away, but trying to sell the valuables for a decent amount, just to have some traveling money, and having a record just for my memory.

It would take time to do, and effort. Maybe you aren't at that place....

My wife and I did it recently. But we didn't have to. We simply decided to jump off the American Dream hamster wheel. The huge house, business, car collection, vintage watches and cameras, a 3000-sq ft shop full of equipment/tools, 90% of clothes, guns (except personal defense), all home furnishings, etc. and - most importantly - my snow shovel, snow blower, -50F Baffin Bay boots and all winter outerwear :cool: It was extremely time-consuming (even giving stuff away is time-consuming!) and took the better part of 4-years to pull it off. There were many times, the frustration level was so high I wanted to just hire an estate sale company to sell it all and send me check, no matter how small. We look back with disbelief and say 'how did we accumulate all that crap? And why!'

Sounds like an estate sale company might be the way to go for you. I've been to several sales where people have been transferred across country or overseas and just walked away from their homes with food still in the refrigerator. One was a surgeon who built a new house across town. He just decided he'd buy all new stuff and left it all!

Curt,
Can you share the resources you used to sell the stuff and also to donate? What lessons did you learn, i.e. advice to others?

Dan

A lighter and an insurance policy. Done.


Kidding.

This may sound like an exaggeration but it is the absolute truth.

In my divorce I was left with the change in my pocket, the clothes on my back and a huge mortgage on a dream that went nightmare. Went hungry until the next paycheck.

I discovered there is nothing in this world I can’t live without (except my kids, of course). Since then, I’ve virtually given away many, many thousands of dollars in cars, property, whatever (I gave away a 911 to a Pelican, in fact, and have never, ever heard a word of thanks from him, either).

Funny thing is how much more I’ve gotten than I could ever have give away. It’s like a violation of a law of physics that you canna change, Cap’n!

Easier life by far.

Wow....I promise to thank anyone who gives me a 911 ;). I know you're not gonna divulge (classy), but is that bird still around :(?

Yep.

Whoa! What a gift. And I’m glad you landed on your feet bud.

Full disclosure:

It wasn’t free as in ‘no charge’. I showed him the real Fuchs with hand painted center caps and appropriate rubber with zero as in ‘0’ miles to match, he finally said, ‘I’ll take it’. Car needed engine (cam bolt went loose) but there was more in just wheels and rubber than he paid for the entire car.

Point is, I discovered long ago stuff is just stuff. I hardly buy anything now and sell even less.

Reducing your clutter is easiest done when there's no deadline, of course.

I need to do some of this and am not going to put any pressure on myself.

I give myself a 4 year window to do it at a comfortable pace.

Almost all of my stuff carries value - just have to find the right way to process so it's not wasted.

There's a way to do it - the key is not being pressured by a timetable.

Went from farm/barn/8 acres to 2.5 single story no basement. 2 large dumpsters and we still have too much stuff.

You guys would hate me. I'm organized to the point of OCD, and a minimalist. I can close my eyes and inventory every single item in my garage, ManCave, closets, and office....down to each tool in each drawer and the nut, bolt, and fastener compartments.

A friend challenged me on this about two years ago and lost. I cant tell you exactly how many 2" drywall screws are in the slot, but I can tell you if is half full or 1/4 full.

I keep NOTHING I don't think I'll use at least once every couple years.

Sick I know. My wife thinks I should be on Prozac. Shes the opposite and I have have two drawers shes not allowed to open...and I keep my ManCave locked!

Of course, the house, the business, and the cars are a different animal and were sold via the usual means. Selling the rest involved many garage/moving sales and CL adverts - nothing magic, just lots of work/time. Luckily, we had my large shop to store everything and stage these sales. At one Fri-Sat only sale, we did quite well and the leftovers were going to be donated to thrift stores (but that in itself can be a lot of work). So we advertised for Sunday noon-to-2 everything is FREE. People would walk into the shop and ask where the free stuff was. "Ummm, everything in here is free. Take what you want" Saved us from boxing up and transporting lots of stuff. And many thrift stores today are very, very picky about what they will take.

A lot of smaller,more valuable stuff was sold on ebay. Some was given away to relatives (that turned out to be surprising difficult. i.e., hey I've got a nearly new Weber stainless steel gas grill you can have for free. I'll even deliver it! Reply from 5 different relatives: I don't really need one.") It can be very difficult to give good stuff away for free!

To be clear, we weren't hoarders by any stretch of the imagination. The 'stuff' was typical of almost any large household of 30 years or so.

If I were to do it again, I'd hire an estate sale company and just get rid of everything at once. Wouldn't get nearly the money, but less headaches by far. Although the can of gas and a lighter method was considered more than once ...

Carlin had it right a long time ago:

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I want to do this so bad!! I will soon. I fantasize about it.


I have one more kid to finish HS and college then I am downsizing my entire life.

Working on cars is no longer something I enjoy, I loved it years ago, now it is a chore. I have a classic mini pickup in my garage sitting on jack stands for 2 years and counting as a testimony to that.

I am ready to sell all the cars, tools and stuff, downsize to a small place downtown, (or tiny home on acreage) buy a motorhome and wander around the country with no agenda.


After the 3 hurricanes hit me in 2004 / 2005 I have been thinking, once the kids are out I want to be setup so I do not care if a storm is coming towards me.

And you could have at least washed it, geez. But thanks anywho. :cool:

I have a tough time getting rid of tools.
Even if I haven't used them in years, I might need them again....

1990C4S: I have a lot of respect to anyone that can voluntarily do what you are proposing. I don't think I could.

I guess it is a reminder that one day we ALL will leave EVERYTHING behind when we leave this life.

I don't hate you for this, Craig.....I applaud and give you much respect.

I hope I'm not one of those people who are so jealous of something they don't have that they develop feelings of hatred. :rolleyes:

Check out my post above and you'll see I have everything in proper context. :p

Interesting thread. I see this kind of cleansing in my future. I can imagine it would be pretty tough. Good luck.

I am looking forward to read each and every post here, but first I would like to say it's a philosophy to purposefully get rid of stuff. A noble, difficult task probably.. I never did it personally but know a few who have. I also known people who have LOST everything in a fire but that is totally different, more like torture, damn near drove them crazy.
Personally I would love to shed about 50% of my stuff... I think its going to take awhile, though. I think I could get it down to:
1/2 the books & clothes I now own.
I could live with two or three bicycles that would be down from 7.
Two cars (instead of 4.. easiest thing)
I would really need to keep ALL the tools (which is a lot)

... oh yeah and my sailboat... damn.. and the dingy.. double damn!