What can't you throw away?

[Mrwurm]

What can\'t you throw away?

The Dewalt Battery thread got me thinking. I have a craftsman cordless drill (13.2 V) that I really like. The batteries died and new ones cost more than a new drill. So, I got a new drill. The trouble is I can't bring myself to throw away the otherwise good drill that has no batteries.

So, what are you hording that you just can't seem to let go of?

 

[MossRoad]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

<font color="blue"> what are you hording that you just can't seem to let go of? </font>

EVERYTHING!!! Heck, I still have most of my childhood toys. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

After helping my mom move and moving ourselves recently, I've concluded that hanging on to junk isn't worth it. There is a cost to hoarding (space, loss of potential resale money, safety (tripping over the stuff)). I'll typically set an item into a "think about it" spot and if I haven't used it over some period of time I'll either pitch it or sell it. I get a good reinforcement of this everytime I visit the in-laws where everything is kept, nothing is retrievable nor useful because it has all fallen into a state of rot.

Having said all that though, I do have my sentimental stash. Stuff that has significant memories for whatever reason. Even that got pared down when we moved though. Just a handful of boxes up in the attic now /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Oh, to your drill... place it carefully in the closest trash container. After a couple of days with the new one you'll quickly forget all about it /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Golfgar4]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

I tend to have the opposite reaction. I usually end up throwing things away that I still want! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

My wife is the pack rat in our family. She'll keep just about anything if I let her.

Of course, being the "thrower" in the family the way I do does come in handy occassionally. The wife likes to unload her van of all of her business related things in the garage and just leave them there. I end up having to move both of our vehicles out of the garage just to get the mower, edger, trash cans, or whatever, out of the garage to use them. It drives me nuts!! So when it comes time for garage cleaning, I just calmly announce that I'm going out to clean the garage, and anything that I don't have a use for is going to the dump. She gets out there really fast to help clean so that I don't throw something away that she wanted/needed to keep. You might say she's learned from experience that I mean what I say! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

As far as you drill - I'd keep it until you have a rummage sale and then sell it there. Although my ideas about pricing items for a rummage sale are a whole nother story, so you'll have to figure that one out for yourself! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Mrwurm]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

Interesting point about items being 'non-retrievable'. I have lots of stuff that I would use if only I could find it. I have no less than 12 utility knives. I have so much junk in my basement workshop, my garage workshop, and my barn workshop that it is often easier just to run to the store and get another 'whatever' as opposed to searching for the one I know I have.

Also, I too have found things that I saved became useless over time. This being due to rot, aging, rust, etc. I had saved my snow ski's for about 15 years till the day I finally decided to use them again. When I put the boots on, they shattered into multiple pieces. Turns out the plastic had degraded and turned very brittle. I moved those silly things around for 15 years /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Mrwurm]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( As far as you drill - I'd keep it until you have a rummage sale and then sell it there. )</font>

Ahh, I see. Sell it for pennies as opposed to trashing it. What I actually would be selling is the guilt that I would experience from throwing away a usefull item (somewhat)

 

[Golfgar4]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What I actually would be selling is the guilt that I would experience from throwing away a usefull item (somewhat) )</font>

Oh, I don't know about that. I don't think I'd call the drill useful (even somewhat) if it didn't work, even if it was because the battery was dead.

I'd look at the idea of selling it, albeit for pennies, as getting something for an item that I have no use for. In my way of thinking, I've just made a GREAT deal! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I didn't say my way of thinking was necessarily normal! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[WVBill]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

20 years in the military moving from place to place every 4 years or so is kind of limiting to the "hoarding urge". Particularly because they give you a weight limit for what the military will move.

We had a "rule" that when it came time to move, if something was still in a moving box from last time (open or not) it didn't get moved again - either garage sale, donated, or trash.

Well, having been retired from the military for 13 years now I'm alot like Jerry - I keep adding to the pile of "stuff" 'cause its easier to go buy a new roll of duct tape than find the old one... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

We're trying to whittle down the pile by having annual yard sales now and the "rule" is that whatever is left over from the yard sale does NOT come back in the house/garage/barn - it goes in the truck to Goodwill or, if they won't take it, to the dump.

By the way. Anyone notice that Goodwill is getting very picky on what they'll take as donations? I tried to give them a perfectly good exercise bike last year and they refused it - it was the old no-frills, no electricity kind and wasn't "good enough" for them. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif The downtown mission was glad to take it, thank you very much. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

Rob,
I keep everything in 20 gallon rubbermaid containers and maintain an Access database for the contents of each container. If I'm looking for something, I just do a search on the database and it tells me which container it is in. They store neatly stacked in our basement on the shelf of the Michigan basement, a space that I would not use for anything anyway. We have toys, seasonal clothing, holiday items(our biggest storage items), books, electronic parts, etc... just 7 alone are for Christmas decorations. It really works out well. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Mrwurm]

Re: What can\'t you throw away?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If I'm looking for something, I just do a search on the database and it tells me which container it is in. )</font>

You are kidding, right? Nobody is that organized, right? /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif