Getting rid of unused junk. Whats your criteria?

[VINMAN]

Ok, my problem is I cant part with anything. I always feel that one day, somehow I will find a use for it again. Last night sitting in my garage looking around at all the stuff I have on shelves, laying around taking up space. I said I really need to toss everything. Well, only thing I had the guts to toss out was about 15 yrs worth of Hot VW and VW Trends magazines. Wheeled the recycling bin in and dumped them.

How long do you keep stuff for, and is there anything that you know you will never use but just cant seem to part with it?

[onlycafe]

"Well, only thing I had the guts to toss out was about 15 yrs worth of Hot VW and VW Trends magazines."



hey! i could have used them.

what you have is called disposophobia, ask me why i know that?

[cgarr]

Still have things boxed up when we moved into this house 15 years ago, if I open the box to see what it is then I will keep it. If I just toss the box in the trash I will never know, BTW I had to look! so now you know the answer.

[charleskieffner]

yeah PACKRAT-ITIS INFESTS MY LIFE BIG TIME! play hell getting rid of stuff. but i pretty much pull the plug on stuff when it has sat for 15-20 years. ive been in the same house 28 yrs.

actually it gets pretty easy with the invention of BEER!

inhale a 12 pak on a nice 115plus day, enter 120 degree plus building, crank stereo on, and start saying SCREW-IT to anything i havent used or touched. i do try and give it away most times before it hits the dumpster. but that usually doesnt work and i go into a major depwessive episode and then i have to drink more beer and preety soon a SPACE EMERGES WHERE I ONCE HAD A TON OF CRAP!


"oh WOW..........THERES A WALL THERE!"

[GothingNC]

I try to sell it for a few bucks on CL, if that doesn't work it's listed for free, then the dumpster.

I still have boxes of Hot VW's and VW Trends from 89 to 2002 sitting in boxes out of sight above the garage....

[craigster59]

I have heard that you should box it up and write the date on it. If you haven't had a need to open the box in a year, toss it (WITHOUT OPENING IT!)

[tabs]

Shyte I haven't opened the boxes I moved here with 6 years ago...they are full of spoons and other assorted items like art(David Roberts RA and Sir John Lavery) , art glass (Venini and Barovier Toso) , Art Pottery (Moorcroft) ,Ansley and Wedgewood China, Sterling Silver (Porter Blanchard) , Waterford glass ware, Books (1st edition of Thomas Jefferson's Works published in 1826). By your criteria I guess I'll just heave them out this coming trash day...

[VincentVega]

I've been thinking about finishing my basement. Last night while playing with design ideas on paper I realized if I go ahead there will be no room for my stuff. Needless to say, I'm struggling with packratitis myself.

[herr_oberst]

Not the damn magazines!!!

I had a boatload of mags that I had collected, Hot Rod, Sports Car Illustrated, On Track, on and on - probably 6 or 8 copy paper boxes full. Decided to get rid of them, carefully sorted through and got the ones I wanted to keep (ended up with about 1/2 a box), put the rest of Craigs (Free!) and they were gone within the hour. Gearheads are everywhere and we love free stuff.
Not Excellence, though, I keep that.
I throw Pano in the trash the day it arrives.

Problem is, I like stuff, too, I spend lots of time massaging the space where my stuff is, so my stuff looks like it's worth having.

[Dottore]

Best way to get rid of stuff is to move house once in a while.

Also there's a great book called "Simplify Your Life"....

[Zeke]

You think you have it bad? Somehow I think I have to have multiple pairs of sawhorses. How 'bout 5 air compressors or 8 spray guns? Throw in a box of electrical wire, all colors and gauges. Not done? Another box of auto elec wire. Then, there's the box of rubber and plastic hoses, metric included. Getting bizarre? Well, there's the box simply labeled "brackets." In there you will find anything made of metal that has a shape. Never know when you might need a bookshelf speaker wall mount bracket.

This post could be 10 paragraphs long.

BWTM, the wife has more than I do including twenty 12 or so cu ft crates of Xmas decorations. The house has 4 cloths closets. I have one.

[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.

[fingpilot]

Yep, same. Two years.

If I have moved something more than once in the last month to get to something I really need (and know where it is) the moved item is gone too.

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by milt

You think you have it bad? Somehow I think I have to have multiple pairs of sawhorses. How 'bout 5 air compressors or 8 spray guns? Throw in a box of electrical wire, all colors and gauges. Not done? Another box of auto elec wire. Then, there's the box of rubber and plastic hoses, metric included. Getting bizarre? Well, there's the box simply labeled "brackets." In there you will find anything made of metal that has a shape. Never know when you might need a bookshelf speaker wall mount bracket. .

Same problem here. I have multiples of alot of stuff. Especially power tools. I have 7 corded drills. 3 routers etc, etc... I have this spool of Dorman 3/8 copper tubing on the shelf, that I have never touched in 20yrs since I got it. But ya never know I might need it one day! I have crates of car magazines Hot Rod, Car Craft from the 70's to present.

[DanielDudley]

When in doubt, throw it out.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by milt

Well, there's the box simply labeled "brackets." In there you will find anything made of metal that has a shape. Never know when you might need a bookshelf speaker wall mount bracket.

Thanks for the great solution to the shaped metal that I have laying about unorganized. I say this with genuine sincerety.

And somewhere in one of those piles of unorganized shaped metal, I have two sets of speaker brackets, for a total of six brackets. I also have multiple sets of unused speakers. Polk/Altec/Cambridge/others

Don't get me started about the various cables and connectors for computers, and the very similarly sized pile of audio/video. A/V components up the ying. (My original Yamaha CA800 Amp and matching tuner; the Kenwood tuner I used before I got the Yamaha_ can't bring myself to practically give this stuff away) The Pioneer Elite receiver that is not as good as the new Pioneer Elite Receiver.
Then we have the bike parts. The porsche "spares" (i.e.takeoffs).
Bicycles.
Books.
The 50 or so EMPTY boxes for my 1/18 German Car (all silver) collection.

Tools for the cars
For building and construction
For Landscaping
Washing and detailing stuff
Drafting tools that are far too nice to just get rid of.
Moving Pads
Scrap Wood

The Harbor Freight tools (I should get a tool box just for these)

Yes, I am a packrat, and I need help

[Ned, NYNA11]

If you have it, you won't be without it.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by milt

Well, there's the box simply labeled "brackets." In there you will find anything made of metal that has a shape.

I've got one of those too, but it's just not big enough.

I was stupid an tossed the old Bosche fuel pump and starter(dumb,dumb,dumb). Never again.

[johnco]

amatuers! it would take a skidloader and dumptruck days just to clean out one shed. I have everything from airplane parts to vw parts and welding machines. probably something in the xyz categories also. then we could start on the back to finish out the week. next week we could clean out the house and yard. I got stuff!

[john70t]

Correction needed- you got "vintage investments".