Getting rid of unused junk. Whats your criteria?

[DARISC]

I ask myself: Have I had this for a year?
If yes: Do I foresee a use for it in the coming year?
If no: toss it.
If yes: ask the same questions next year.

Works for me...kinda...sometimes...well, I TRY dammit!

Edit: Oops! Just saw Legion's post.

[Joeaksa]

If you have not used it in 5 years, and its not a family heirloom or really expensive and you cannot live without it, its time for it to find a new home.

[look 171]

I too have a weakness for tools. Construction and woodworking tools. Gotta to have a set around the house, the shop and the job. Then there's the ones I use on the job and then there's everyone else's. They just go from job to job and pack up more crap. Don't get me started with the cordless drills. finally I decided to not keep pipe, wires, and lumber by the end of the job. Everything goes into the trash because we know we have whatever it is that we are looking for, but can never find it. We spend more time looking fot it then actually doing work. Now I just keep the box of gun nail or a spool or two of wires. Clean out all the unuse crap in the house and garage too. Couldn't be happier. Now if I can just get rid of my wife's Christmas crap I will be a hapy man.

[Tim Hancock]

I probably have more accumulated stuff than most guys here (somehow I am guessing Johnco has more). I still have my beat-up '83 Nighthawk 650 from college in the 80's.... my '77 worthless 924 (still runs perfect but just sits).... my old BMX bike from highschool, tractors/parts, cars/parts, motorcycles/parts, computers, airplanes/parts, Jetskis, snowmobiles, scooters/parts, minibikes, 2 milling machines, several welders, tools, metal, wood, at least 8 paint guns, 3 table saws, airplane/motocross/car magazines-parts catalogs, 5 sets of heavy duty sawhorses. I could go on and on. I am addicted to restoring/fixing stuff. I jump back and forth between hobbies quite often and nothing ever seems too broken to fix someday. I must say, I get great pleasure when I find a use for that old piece of steel tubing I saved for "later use". My shop/hangar is 50 x 100 and is pretty full. I am contemplating adding a couple 25 x 50 lean-to structures onto it.

I do get stressed over it occassionaly and just this week I detailed my old 924 and my 951 thinking I should sell them, but now am second guessing that decision as they almost seem like members of the family after all the time I have invested over the years maintaining them. I am coming to the conclusion that my all things mechanical are my enjoyment in life and I just need to accept it and start searching craigslist for my next project/hobby.

[johnco]

Tim, I see lots of open areas you can actually work in. not enough stuff just yet.

[cgarr]

Tim: The thread is about "Getting rid of unused junk. Whats your criteria?"

That stuff taint junk!!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by legion

I ask myself two questions:

"Have I used this in the last year?"

"Am I likely to use this in the next year?"

If the answer is "no", it's gone.

If I come across an item I thought I would use in the next year during the last review (a year ago), and I didn't use it, it's gone.

Bingo. The one exception is tools. I just hide them in boxes so they don't bug me, I'm way too OCD for clutter.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by cgarr

Tim: The thread is about "Getting rid of unused junk. Whats your criteria?"

That stuff taint junk!!

I just don't have any pics showing the extent of the clutter along the walls, up in the attic and under the workbenchs. I can assure you that I have tons of stuff many here would consider junk.

Vinny, just buy a shed or two and keep on adding to your collection... You know it is what will keep you happy... Why fight it?

[herr_oberst]

Hancock

I want to see more of those Pitts - whats with the little feller?

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Hancock

I want to see more of those Pitts - whats with the little feller?

Full Pitts story here Sold a family heirloom last weekend

I built the little pedal Pitts from plans when my girls were little.

[johnco]

now this is junk! building is 30'+ by 60'+ what doesn't show are the 2 rooms in back and areas I couldn't get in the photo. dive tank compressor, antique sugar mill scales, pumps, drafting table, shipyard, wood working and mechanic tools, etc etc. anything and everything. not going to show the even more stuff out back, my other shed, 3 16 ft trailer loads, etc etc. lot of good useful stuff buried in there somewhere under the useless junk. I'm the guy everyone comes to when they need something they can't find. chances are I have it... somewhere in all that junk. actually, every now and then I haul a 16ft trailer or two off, but it fills back up somehow. it's a genetic disorder passed down from my father's side of the family.

[herr_oberst]

John - is that a 37 chevy in the background?

[johnco]

yep. 64 tbird in front. 57 Buick, 61 Ranchero, 60 El Camino, 60 Belair, 88 944, 74 VW Thing and several dune buggies outside. plenty more cars at home

[herr_oberst]

You buy the cars I see in ads and think "I should go take a look at that" Every one of the ones listed is something I have pictured in my driveway.

[johnco]

Thanks, but the real truth of it is I get them sooo cheap, it's hard to turn them down

[VINMAN]

Tim and John got me beat by a long run!! Tim Im up to a 3 car garage now, and i have that full. I can always add another bay on the side.
John, thats what a garge should look like! I hate those "operating room" garages. Yours looks like you actually work in it.

[johnco]

I wish I had room to work inside! I've developed over the years this useless junk classification system.
1. just put it over there and I'll haul it off later
2. I could build/repair something with this one day
3. Someone I know might need/want this one day
4. I know if I throw this away, I'll need it tomorrow
5. it still works/I can fix this/no use for it but too good to throw away

and by useless I meant the classification system because everything gets put in the shed away.