Old Habits Die Hard

[+ bigjoey]

Just sold my home where I have lived for 32 years. Among my "stuffed" house contents were boxes that I had brought from my old house and never opened. Here in Kansas City we have basements and attics and mine were filled with furniture from my parents, grandparents and even from my grandmother's mother. I had clothing that I had moved from my old house that dated back to college (I am 71). I had my grandmother's foot treadle Singer sewing machine she got as a wedding gift in 1918 and was using the day she died in 1976! I had my mother's high school and college year books.

 

Sold almost everything in an "estate sale" and took very little with me. When one of my nephews pointed out one of my great grandmother's items in the sale and asked me how I could part with a family heirloom, I told him he was welcome to take it; he told me he did not have room for it or want it so with his blessing, it was sold.

 

I had to sadly leave behind an entire library of hundreds of books due to lack of space (kept a few favorites). Did make a large donation of books by gay writers and/or themes to the local university for their gay collection (some of which they did not have) and they donated what they did not want to a gay youth center so hopefully good use will be made of those. Also, they wanted old gay magazines like the local bar rags and national ones, too (for "historical" purposes and research by future historians).

 

Now, in my new home, I am promising myself not to accumulate such stuff again.

[jjkrkwood]

Just sold my home where I have lived for 32 years. Among my "stuffed" house contents were boxes that I had brought from my old house and never opened. Here in Kansas City we have basements and attics and mine were filled with furniture from my parents, grandparents and even from my grandmother's mother. I had clothing that I had moved from my old house that dated back to college (I am 71). I had my grandmother's foot treadle Singer sewing machine she got as a wedding gift in 1918 and was using the day she died in 1976! I had my mother's high school and college year books.

 

Sold almost everything in an "estate sale" and took very little with me. When one of my nephews pointed out one of my great grandmother's items in the sale and asked me how I could part with a family heirloom, I told him he was welcome to take it; he told me he did not have room for it or want it so with his blessing, it was sold.

 

I had to sadly leave behind an entire library of hundreds of books due to lack of space (kept a few favorites). Did make a large donation of books by gay writers and/or themes to the local university for their gay collection (some of which they did not have) and they donated what they did not want to a gay youth center so hopefully good use will be made of those. Also, they wanted old gay magazines like the local bar rags and national ones, too (for "historical" purposes and research by future historians).

 

Now, in my new home, I am promising myself not to accumulate such stuff again.

 

Congratulations.... It hurts for a split second to say goodbye to shit you probably didnt even remember you had, but then its Very liberating. And honestly, I dont miss, or find that I need anything I discarded.

[+ oldNbusted]

When one of my nephews pointed out one of my great grandmother's items in the sale and asked me how I could part with a family heirloom, I told him he was welcome to take it; he told me he did not have room for it or want it so with his blessing, it was sold.

 

This is the scenario that chaps my ass. Although not the same, I had spent some time in an apt and spent about $3K on Ikea wall units that fit perfectly in a wall niche in the bedroom and totally satisfied all my clothing storage. When I moved into a house, I couldn't take it with because they literally would not have fit, they were too tall, plus there was not that much unbroken wall space. I tried hard to give them away to anyone on the same floor of the building, where the ceilings were high enough to accommodate, but no takers. Since the frames were assembled, they could not be taken off that floor without breaking them down, and I refused to hassle with the CL crazies trying to sell the internal fixtures, so I realized I was just going to throw the whole thing away.

 

OMG you would have thought it was the end of the world if you listened to a friend who went on and on about it. I kept reminding her she could have them, for free. If she should could come up with anyone who could use the internal fixtures, I would deliver them, all they would have to do is buy new frames. No one she knew wanted them. She kept going on that it was worth $3K. I finally put an end to it by pointing out they weren't even worth zero dollars since I couldn't even give them away.

[jjkrkwood]

This is the scenario that chaps my ass. Although not the same, I had spent some time in an apt and spent about $3K on Ikea wall units that fit perfectly in a wall niche in the bedroom and totally satisfied all my clothing storage. When I moved into a house, I couldn't take it with because they literally would not have fit, they were too tall, plus there was not that much unbroken wall space. I tried hard to give them away to anyone on the same floor of the building, where the ceilings were high enough to accommodate, but no takers. Since the frames were assembled, they could not be taken off that floor without breaking them down, and I refused to hassle with the CL crazies trying to sell the internal fixtures, so I realized I was just going to throw the whole thing away.

 

OMG you would have thought it was the end of the world if you listened to a friend who went on and on about it. I kept reminding her she could have them, for free. If she should could come up with anyone who could use the internal fixtures, I would deliver them, all they would have to do is buy new frames. No one she knew wanted them. She kept going on that it was worth $3K. I finally put an end to it by pointing out they weren't even worth zero dollars since I couldn't even give them away.

 

 

Its always the case that when it time to get rid of things, they seem to have no worth. You just have to bite the bullet... As they say "out with the Old..."

[+ deej]

Congratulations.... It hurts for a split second to say goodbye to shit you probably didnt even remember you had, but then its Very liberating. And honestly, I dont miss, or find that I need anything I discarded.

 

Indeed. When my mother liquidated her house in IL and moved to CO she kept a few of her treasured pieces and got rid of everything else. She made it clear I could have anything I wanted but I didn't want to haul that crap around!

 

I'm going through a little of that liquidation myself right now. I'm downsizing but the move snuck up on me so I couldn't do it in advance. I PAID movers to haul stuff I'm now getting rid of. Never again.

 

A friend swears that everyone should move house every 5 years just because it forces you to re-evaluate the value things actually have to you. That's not a bad idea, frankly.

[jjkrkwood]

 

I'm going through a little of that liquidation myself right now. I'm downsizing but the move snuck up on me so I couldn't do it in advance. I PAID movers to haul stuff I'm now getting rid of. Never again.

 

A friend swears that everyone should move house every 5 years just because it forces you to re-evaluate the value things actually have to you. That's not a bad idea, frankly.

 

I'm not sure I would want to move JUST to declutter... I'd rather force myself to have some discipline and not Hoard stuff I think I want or need, but is basically USELESS. People used to say that acquiring stuff gives you Security. I realize that statement is ONLY true because with all the crap you acquire you CANT move around freely. It's like being trapped and in that sense you are secure. They also say you hold on to stuff because you want to keep the "memories". But if I cant remember where the fuck I put it or Who it belonged to, what good are those memories anyway ? Now-a-days, I want my Freedom, and having LESS gives me that.

[+ Funguy]

@Eric Hassan I wish I was as disciplined as you are! Especially with things from my mother's estate that I'm reluctant to even consider passing on. But also my own stuff.

 

Take photos of the of the items, store in the cloud, label clearly. Then send the items on to a new home.

Clothing I haven't worn in 1 year, unless very special, also goes.

[+ azdr0710]

CURB ALERT!

 

in many neighborhoods, put your junk out on the curb and it'll be gone in minutes!

 

or put a (free!) ad in the "free" section of craigslist/for sale......here's somebody generously giving away an old styrofoam cooler....be sure to click on the second picture and read the helpful text!!

 

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/zip/d/styrofoam-chest/6311297058.html

[Good Grief]

CURB ALERT!

 

in many neighborhoods, put your junk out on the curb and it'll be gone in minutes!

 

or put a (free!) ad in the "free" section of craigslist/for sale......here's somebody generously giving away an old styrofoam cooler....be sure to click on the second picture and read the helpful text!!

 

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/zip/d/free-furniture/6311380718.html

 

Yep. I put a dead (in my opinion) lawn mower at the street, with the manual taped to the handle. Gone in a flash.

[bigvalboy]

CURB ALERT!

 

in many neighborhoods, put your junk out on the curb and it'll be gone in minutes!

 

or put a (free!) ad in the "free" section of craigslist/for sale......here's somebody generously giving away an old styrofoam cooler....be sure to click on the second picture and read the helpful text!!

 

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/zip/d/styrofoam-chest/6311297058.html

 

FWIW...

 

https://nextdoor.com/

A great source to dispose of and acquire free stuff...Most of it is either free or very inexpensive.

 

They are big in Florida and a friend just connected to her neighborhood in Hartford via Nextdoor. Plus a tremendous source of info on everything that is going on in the neighborhood.

[+ jeezopete]

CURB ALERT!

 

in many neighborhoods, put your junk out on the curb and it'll be gone in minutes!

 

I recall a story from a while back about someone who put an unwanted item on the curb with a sign that said, "Free" and it sat there for days. He got an idea, changed the sign to "For Sale", looked outside the next morning & the item was gone!

[+ Charlie]

We recently moved into the 8th home we have had together in the past 50 years. Along the way we have accumulated not only our own things, but also things we have inherited from our deceased parents and grandparents. Every time we move, I swear we will declutter first, and then the arguments begin over whether the things I think should go are things that he thinks should go. So inevitably there are boxes of things that just get moved from home to home, sometimes unopened for years, that fill the garage and every inch of closet space. The hardest things to get rid of are books and papers, because one looks through them and starts reading, and always decides that one wants to keep them a little longer.

[jjkrkwood]

We recently moved into the 8th home we have had together in the past 50 years. Along the way we have accumulated not only our own things, but also things we have inherited from our deceased parents and grandparents. Every time we move, I swear we will declutter first, and then the arguments begin over whether the things I think should go are things that he thinks should go. So inevitably there are boxes of things that just get moved from home to home, sometimes unopened for years, that fill the garage and every inch of closet space. The hardest things to get rid of are books and papers, because one looks through them and starts reading, and always decides that one wants to keep them a little longer.

 

Unless its a birth certificate, there is even an expiration date on "paperwork". Now the only papers I keep are the required tax returns in case I ever get audited. All receipts and others shit like manuals etc. GO....

[+ deej]

CURB ALERT!

 

The free ads on craigslist work really well. It always amazes me the crap people will haul off.

 

I've also seen CURB ALERT posts on a Facebook group for my neighborhood. Always bump into neighbors when I swing by to look over what's out there.