Clearing out the clutter...

[sudsmaster]

I have one week of vacation a year now, and I am taking it this week. I'm spending it tending to long-put off clearing out of an incredible amount of clutter in the house and shop. I bought some machine tools over the winter (drill/mill and lathe) and have had to store them in the carport because I couldn't get them into the shop.

So it's been a lot of moving of washers, rangers, a couple of dryers, out in the courtyard, then going through 10 or more years of boxes of this that and the other thing to see what I want to keep, what I want to throw away, and what I want to donate to Goodwill. Tonite I finally achieved one goal - everything was cleared out enough to bring the mill and the lathe in out of the cold. There's a LOT still to be done, but I do feel a sense of some accomplishment.

Now... what to do with my late uncle's ashes...

 

[toggleswitch]

'Yo time is up. Come back home ot me. -G-d

Good for you!

Hoarding and gathering and collecting can become an illness and a compulsion, just like any other.

I learned yesterday of a young lady (30-ish) that I worked with that had an epileptic seizure, and hit her head on the bathtub on the way to the floor. She is with us no more.

Therfore, I have decided to go through my own stuff and pare-down to the essentials. You never know what fate has in store.

Less to think about, less to maintanin, less to clean and if I feel the need to have an emotional attachemntet to "stuff" I can simply photograph it before it goes to the thrift stores. In my opinion stuff doesn't fill any void except usable (for better things) storage space.

Trust me, everyone feels better after a good purge.
(And with Mars conjunct Neptune in Scorpio, I prefer dispersion to gathering. Can you tell? *LOL*)

Much luck in your quest and may your energies be strong and focused. Perhaps some before and after photos?

 

[buffster]

everyone feels better after a good purge

Toggleswitch I agree with you wholeheartedly. I always feel better after a good purge. I feel lighter, as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I also feel less cluttered mentally--more focused.

And, I also agree that hoarding, gathering and collecting can become an illness. I'm often guilty of this myself. I had gotten it pretty well under control until I discovered this site and the Vacuumland site, which I've basically used as an excuse to indulge in my compulsion. For some, it's a very serious illness that makes it difficult to function in mainstream society. There was a show on TLC recently about this devastating mental illness--Help! I'm a Hoarder. Here's a brief synopsis: More than a million Americans suffer from disposophobia (Compulsive Hoarding) - the fear of throwing anything away. Meet three individuals who face the devastating effects of compulsive hoarding. You'll never look at your clutter in the same way again.

There's also a show called Clean Sweep on TLC. It always makes me sad to see how hard it is for people to let go of things and thankful that I don't feel the same kind of attachments. After all, it's just stuff.

 

[rp2813]

Back about 15 years ago I worked for a small company whose owners were very touchy-feely and there was a video tape floating around titled "Where Were You When?" where this guy was explaining what's inside of people's heads that makes them behave a certain way.

One focus was on people who went through the Great Depression. He said these people were shell-shocked from that experience and generally could not throw anything away. My parents fit that description perfectly and currently there is 47 years of accumulation to be sorted through and either sold or dumped over in the attic, basement and garage rafters at my mom's house. I think this behavior rubs off on kids. I am more inclined to fix something old rather than replace it with something new. I'm more inclined to save an old broken thing for parts rather than throw it away. My partner is just the opposite. He keeps after me regarding purging and I'm getting better about things, but I do feel that the influence of my parents has a lot to do with my aversion to tossing things out.

 

[toggleswitch]

Rant over. See, I do feel better after a good purge.

~I had gotten it pretty well under control until I discovered this site and the Vacuumland site, which I've basically used as an excuse to indulge in my compulsion.

You said it, but I was thinking it.

Here is another bit of wisdom. If any task becomes too onerous to handle, break it down into smaller components.

My great-aunt (by marriage, not genetics *LOL*) was a huge hoarder. Path from door to bed to toilet to stove/sink. Bathroom door could not be closed there was so much stuff hanging form it. Couch was a yard/meter away from the wall packed to the gills with worthless papers behind it.

Indecisive. No concept of what had value. Needed desperately to be in people's good graces. Accomplished, I'd say, by compulsive gift-giving.

What are you doing? "I'm cleaning?" Sorry no. TV on, computer on, talking on phone PRECLUDES you from "cleaning" Cleaning to her meant shifting piles from one place to another.

In the end when she died, her entire apt went to the dumpster and we did even get offered a small worthless trinket by which to remember her. And beleive me there were tons of those. I'm not complaining. I have enough memories to fill a continent.

But any excuse used to hoard is just that; an excuse to justify bad /pointless/ useless /counter-productive behavior.

What is one sign of mental illness? Clinging to out-moded and pointless bahaviors. Changing the bedsheets in your child's room every week is ok. It ceases to be ok when they have lived outside your home for 10 years.

Stop yourself now. You may not be able to later. OR
Stop yourself now, or others may have to.

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, don't have any "before" photos, but perhaps Frontaloadotomy can describe the chaos, lol. He had a tour when he picked up the '71 Lady Kenmore in early spring. I might take a photo of some of the washers and ranges lanquishing in the courtyard while their covered area is being cleared out. Fortunately the weather is quite dry and mild so they won't suffer much for another day or two.

It was bad enough that I kept a lot of the stuff that was here when I bought the house in a probate sale. Then there was all of my hoardings. Got even worse when I started collecting gas ranges and washers. You know the tune. Taking a double load while learning a new trade (machining) didn't help, nor did storing all my Mom's posessions after we had to move her out of her apartment to a home. Part of the problem is that I just didn't want to deal with deciding what to toss and what to keep. But the week off gave me some space to make those decisions, and I'll be taking a truckload of stuff to Goodwill today or tomorrow, as well as creating a rather large trash pile to be aliquotted into the waste bins in the following weeks. In a month the garbage company will deliver my first annual small dumpster, and I'm thinking that will fill up pretty quick as well (it was the earliest they could deliver one).

The worst so far was going through my late uncle's financial statements... really burned me up to review (again) how a predatory couple coerced him into giving him his life's savings, $500 checks made out to "Cash" at a time, about 10 years ago. We found out about it too late to do anything other than to reclaim his remains (he lived in Texas). Oh, well, he left a pile of unpaid medical bills too. Oddly, nobody else in the family cares what I do with his ashes... so they've sat in their little plastic bin on a shelf since then.

 

[washertalk]

Hoarders often go unnoticed until their hoarding affects things like health and safety or if say their collecting is of say pets.
On animal planet there was a couple of episodes of Animal Cops Detroit, I think it was called. They went to this small "suburban-like" 1950s tract house which from the outside look Ok. But inside they found a house that was AWEFUL. They humane society of Detroit ended up removing 252 ferell cats that this poor guy had aloud to get out of control. He was spending over $1200 a month just to feed them. It was thoroughly gross. The house was probably in need of being demolished after that. It was sad. I cry when I see it.

Some good advice in dealing with things, found here.
I think people collect aimlessly when they lack organization skills. Something that is sadly encouraged in the U.S. do to its corporate encourage "material society"

What you can also do once you have taken the stuff you want out is place an ad on Freecycle.org or Craigslist's free section. It's free to advertise.

On Freecycle it is all about getting and giving stuff away you don't want.

An ad describing what your situation is and some examples of stuff you have get plenty of people to contact you, set a time, come and take what they want.
This way you wouldn't have to lift a finger or take anything anywhere. People will take it for you. Even remind them to bring their own bags & boxes. And if your lucky things will get reused. I have had really great luck with this.

People are so nice. They are thankful to get stuff for free and people will take just about ANYTHING (no need to worry about hiding that crucifix shaped dildo collection no longer needed.)

For me knowing that stuff is reused and helping other people who may not be able to afford things AND not sending stuff to the landfill only helps to brighten the angel-like halo I wear to cover my sharp pointy horns. (grunt)

One of the SanFran groups. there are 499 in California.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreecycleEastSFBayArea/

 

[washertalk]

aloud NO, it's allowed. lol. I've done that before.

 

[rp2813]

One Man's Trash . . .

. . . can be another man's teasure. Am I wrong to think this when I donate stuff to Goodwill? My partner gives me a bad time for throwing items that don't work or are otherwise broken into the Goodwill pile. My position is that some people (including me) are looking for a particular item out there that they can use for parts to repair a similar item they already own or for other uses. I know Goodwill no longer has legions of handicapped people fixing donated merchandise and I don't want to contribute to their dumping expenses, so what is the feeling among AW members about this? Should I consider as junk anything I can't/don't want to repair and not donate it, and is it wrong to try and recycle it via Goodwill? I know that locally there is a Goodwill receiving/processing station that has items in bins that people can pick through, presumably merchandise they do not intend to distribute to any of their retail stores. This would be the target consumer group for some of the junk I donate. Am I doing a disservice to Goodwill while attempting to provide items for parts hunters out there? Should I not be using Goodwill as an avenue to avoid more stuff going to the landfill or am I just passing that job off to them?

 

[toggleswitch]

oooh the mental games we humans must play......... *LOL*

If it comforts you to give half-working items to Goodwill, et al. ("just in case someone can use it") then please continue to do so.

Some place these things in the garage or the attic (soffit) or the basement, but the point is the same-- you know you SHOULD get rid of it but that insecure part of you says.. er NO.

Instead of using your time to collect, work an extra hour, earn an extra Dollar/Euro/ DM, pound sterling, and then if you truly NEED something you can take your cash and with the help of Flea-pay can find EXACLTY what you need, when you need it. This is the joy of the most liquid asset there is (Cash) convertible to anything, fast.

Why is it called a "store" BTW?. For THEM to store excess inventory, not for YOU to STORE it. YOU need it; THEY store it. Now isn't that KEWL?

....bottom line is do whatever it takes to mentally mast....er massage yourself, as long as the bottom-line is getting rid of the (excess) crap.

Rule of thumb- one will gather to the extent their storage permits. Impose discipline upon yourself and say, "no my guest closet and guest room will reamain empty of MY stuff, it's for guests.

I used to have to say "you have two-weeks to declutter the visible piles, and your closets better not be the recipients of them. If not, I will do it FOR YOU and I will have NO mercy." Works like a charm. Better yet when the spousal-unit has to go away for a week or so say before-hand: When you get back it will be all taken care of, It you don't get to it first." Need I say more? *LOL*.

The joy of dealing with people that are fear-driven (fear of loss /greed) is that YOU TOO (as someone who loves them) can work their fears. Not just the outsiders and outside forces will "win".

Too much said.

 

[alexb1186]

If you have something that's not running, don't g-wi

It'll just end up in their trash pile. They look for things that are running and don't pose a safety hazard like a frayed cord. Because when they "process" it, they just plug it in and see if it turns on, then it gets priced and goes out to the floor.

They can be truly wasteful because a few months ago at the St. Charles goodwill I saw in the donation pile room a Convertible Estate vacuum with the literature and Cleaning tool bag w/no tools and asked if it had been processed and they said they had to test it. They did and they said they couldn't sell it to me cause it had a frayed cord and it had to be pitched. Oh I was steamed. I begged them to sell it to me as-is cause I can replace the cord myself and they said they couldn't do it cause they would think I'd sue if I got electrocuted. And the worst thing was they had one of those enclosed compacting dumpsters so I couldn't go in and retrieve it.

My gram would be considered a pack-rat but at least she was an ORGANIZED one, where almost everything had a box with a description of contents and a date on it when it was put there.

And I remember an episode of Oprah 2 years ago there was a woman named Carol Gibbons who had a hoarding problem and the most dirty house that sent Kim and Aggie of "How Clean is Your House" over the edge. Dog turds all over the shower and bathroom floor, a moldy toilet, maggots in the saucepan, fruit flies, dirty dishes, magazines and junk mail cluttered everywhere.

But Carol made a good point of why it's hard to pitch stuff like a sock w/o its mate because it represents money spent.

 

[toggleswitch]

Emotions are lovely.
Within limits.
The repercussions of being and acting thusly are not always cleary seen.
Civilized people are in control of their emotions. Not the other way around.
When one's emotions rule them, there are BIG problems.

Why is it so difficult to see ahead one or two years, and that if everything is retained the repercussion to such actions are very dangerous. It is not a good thing.

The sock represents a practical living implement that no longer has a purpose un-mated. Get rid of it.

 

[sudsmaster]

Oh, I don't donate stuff to Goodwill unless it's working. If it's not working... well, I suppose I could give it to them that way if I told them it wasn't working. But I'd rather not go there. Stuff that's not working, and has no hope of ever working, and is not particularly collectible, that goes into the recycle bin.

I've given away several appliances on Craig's List (where I got them in the first place for free). Also sold off a couple of lawnmowers via their classified ads. Have a smaller Wedgewood range that looks ok from the outside, but was left in the rain with the cover down (kids, those covers don't keep rainwater out!) and the chrome top, drip trays, and the areas underneath are badly rusted. Chome is rusted through in place and dangerous to use (one could get nasty chrome slivers trying to clean it). That thing will go either to Urban Ore in Berkeley if they will take it (I plan on stripping all the knobs etc first), or to the crusher next month when the local trash company will take up to three appliances, no charge.

Dont' worry, I still have three more Wedgewoods... lol...

 

[kenmore58]

I still say the fun is in the hunt. Every Saturday, I'm out there at 7:30 a.m. faithfully running around from yard sale to yard sale; and then on Sunday morning, I'm up at 5 o'clock and at the local flea market at 5:30. Sometimes I'm looking for things for resale, but mostly it's something for one of my many collections.

What can I say? It's fun and I enjoy it. Years ago, I was wasting my money on cigarettes and booze. Now, it's antique typewriters, pink pyrex and the occasional toy washer I come across or even better than that, the occasional never used, in the original box kitchen appliance from the '50's, '60's or '70's.

If you've got the room, who gets harmed?

Ron

 

[washertalk]

If you have no other choices than Goodwill than do it.
But Alex is right about them not being concerned about somethings value. I used to TAKE stuff there to get rid of.
Frequently you get an attitude from these people.
These people are getting merchandise FREE, all they have to do is put it, um, slap it on a shelf and sell to make a profit. the only overhead they have is the light bill. But you go in and deal with one of their disinterested $2 an hour workers and they will have a list of stuff they don't take. No paint, no mattresses, no pornography, no medications, no human remains, no food, etc. The nerve. What's wrong with these people.
Hello, Their gettting this stuff for free.

Thats what I like about Freecycle and Craigs. No attitude. No traveling. No making money for someone else. And people who are literally happy to see you and have your stuff. It really is a pleasure.

Your also not letting an agency sort through your things and decide what the public should have available to them. I can only imagine how much Goodwill throws away. And like Alex said they have covered garbage containers? why? why not simply have a customer sign a release or cut off the cord of an appliance deemed unusable and sell as-is.

Does anyone remember, before the internet with EBAY, craigs, freecycle, etc., going to goodwill and St.Vincent DePaul in the 80s and getting vacuums or large appliances?
There is memories for you.

I don't think Goodwill even takes large appliances anymore. Surprise. If they did, they would probably want them to be working and have a host of other requests before dropping off.

 

[kirk280980]

First time I moved into my own place, I was lucky enough to have an attic and a large cellar. With all that free storage space, it was all to easy to plunk stuff there and think "I'll deal with that later", but we all know how this works out in reality. Later never comes, because there's always something more important to do first, and before you know it your possessions have grown to fill the available space.

Eventually I had to deal with it, when I moved to a much smaller property with virtually no storage space. Took me weeks to sort through it all, and I was constantly finding things that I'd completely forgotten about! None of it was crap per se, but it WAS mostly non-essential items that I could easily do without. Friends, relatives and co-workers were invited round to take anything they wanted, and anything that remained behind either went to charity or was thrown into the garbage.

These days I keep on top of things a little better, and have a big clean-up session once a month during which I sort through any potential clutter. If I haven't used a particular item in months, and don't see myself needing it again in the near future, there's no point hanging onto it - so out it goes. Anything that is too nice to throw out doesn't get a reprieve, it gets donated. And if there's a particular object of desire that I must have, I ask myself first where I plan on putting it before buying, and whether something else has to go in order to make room for it. Surprising how much you can save by questioning your own purchases like that ).

 

[sudsmaster]

Why do I hang onto things?

Well, every item has its reason, but the main reason I can think of are:

1) I might need it again someday. I remember other instances where I've chucked something and regretted it.

2) It might be worth money someday. LOL.

3) It represents a kinder, gentler time in my life. Or so I imagine.

4) It helps me to recapture something I think I've lost. Not sure what that is, but ...

5) Just don't want to deal with the stress of sorting through it all.

6) As soon as I start sorting, I find something that needs fixing, or cleaning, or is part of a forgotten project. I get sidetracked into doing something else more "fun".

Some people say, if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it. I tend to modify that to, if I haven't used it in five years, get rid of it ;-). Unless of course it's something I'm collecting... that is a bit different. But even then, there has to be a limit, right?

OK, enough playing around on the computer. I've shredded the shrubbery, picked the squash, now I can't really put off the sorting/cleaning/tossing any longer today!

 

[washertalk]

1 and 2 aren't valid.
You can go buy what you need when and if you need it. Why should you store it for a day that may never come.

3.& 4 are valid. With limits as you said.

When I accumulated like 70 major appliances in late 2002 and early 2003, it was too much. I realized something much more compact was sufficient for me.

5. is lazy. like Steve said, divide the work. do a bit each day.

6. keep your mind on track of SORTING. if it needs to be fixed but your getting rid of it. it doesn't matter. commit to 1/2 hour or 15 minutes each day for sorting until done. You will be amazed at how fast it gets done.

You garden looks great

 

[rp2813]

Rich, if I were to make a list such as yours above, one of the reasons would be to do what so many members here urge others to do every day: save something from the crusher with the hopes of using it myself at some point or to just be its custodian until a new home can be found. If I didn't take that approach to some interesting things that came my way over the years, I wouldn't have saved a mid 30's trash & gas Wedgewood that is likely happily cooking somewhere still today after being out on the curb back in the early 80's, or have a '50 Laundromat washer to offer up to a fellow AW member like I do currently.

I've also got my family's original TV, a 1951 Capehart that I want to make sure goes to a collector and doesn't get made into an aquarium. I have no room for this type of thing at my own house, and once my mom's place goes up for sale I'm going to have to clear out stuff like this, so it will be purged at some point. Certain things I don't care where they end up, but key items I want to go where they will be appreciated and hopefully put back into somewhat regular use or otherwise provide enjoyment for someone. And who on this site doesn't like to see wet sudsy clothes going 'round and 'round through the front window of a classic Laundromat washer and listen to all the interesting sounds of such a machine in operation?