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Still on day two of the house clear out and it's actually embarrassing the amount of clothes/stuff/toys that we've actually bought ourselves and the kids that we're now passing on, chucking away or giving to the charity shop. It's really made my wallets sphincter twitch looking at how much stuff we've bought that we never actually needed.
I know the feeling.
We are hoping to sell up in the next few months and escape the South East exile for the North Northumberland dream.
I am determined to be ruthless with what we actually take with us.
Even the bike stuff is going.
Anyone want to buy a Dave Yeats Diablo frame with a seized seat post?
You never know when these things might come in handy though.
I mean, imagine how gutted you'd feel if, on arrival in aforementioned North Northshire, a hostage situation were to develop at the local pub; & the hostage takers demand was a Dave Yeats Disblo with a seized seat post...
These things can happen.
Yates....
Anyone want to buy a Dave Yeats Diablo frame with a seized seat post?
What size?
I would have to check.
They were built stock, not custom but I think "large". I'm just short of 6ft, it fits me in an old school, "arse up, head down" stylee.
A couple of years ago we decided to have a clear out. Shifted loads of stuff but only scratched the surface. Every so often we have another push. Each time we dispose of a crap mountain. An ongoing project that will probably take the rest of our days I'm coming to realise
We are hoping to sell up in the next few months and escape the South East exile for the North Northumberland dream.
It's overrated.
I'm endlessly taking stuff to the local Charity shop, but all the cupboards are still rammed full of stuff!
Went to the tip today. This time alot was garden waste
But in general tip trips are heart breaking. Its not the money spent but the cost in natural resources to create things we never really used or wanted
Been clearing out my parents' house over the last couple of months, the amount of stuff they accumulated over 50 years in the same house was astounding, including the food that we had to sort - mostly out of date, tins dating back to 1994. And similarly dated stuff in the huge chest freezer out in the garage.
Moving house Thursday and started packing last weekend. I've made 3 trips to the local tip so far with a cmax boot rammed with crap.then there's been 4 runs to the charity shop too. Getting there slowly.
Less is more.
I never had a huge amount of stuff, but [i]we[/i] accumulated lots in the first decade we were married, through gifts and having kids, etc. When we moved house about 7 years ago, we got rid of loads, while also moving to a larger house. Since then we've been pretty ruthless about not acquiring more, and getting rid of things we don't us. I hate clutter, so this suits me down to the ground.
I moved office at work a couple of years ago, after about 12 years in the same one. I moved with two copier paper boxes to carry everything.
It might be genetic - my brother had a fairly nomadic life for a few years, moving between Cornwall and the French Alps with the snowboarding/surfing seasons, and always moved with just a rucksack of stuff.
We've got the Mil's house to clear - it's bad enough when it's your own detritus 🙁
It's scary how much stuff we hoard as we get older, we've taken masses to the local charity shops and I swear we should be taking the same volume again. Really doesn't help that better half starts new (often arty) hobbies and then ditches them like hot potatoes! 😆
It's horrible. You know you will never use it and when you are dead it will go straight in a skip but we can never free ourselves.
Sets fire to house....
Currently on a clearup myself, loads of computer stuff like IDE optical drives, modems, routers and stuff that could probably be useful somewhere in the world but no idea how to get them to where they need to be.
Three pairs of unworn jeans from God knows which fashion period went straight to the charity shop. I wanted to punch myself in the face, one for buying them in the first place then not wearing them, and two for what they looked like!
Started clearing and sifting and storing stuff a while back. Got the attic boarded out and bought a lot plastic storage boxes.
So much shite up there now the ceilings are cracking.
We had a huge clear-out before we moved which got rid of the worst of the stuff we'd never miss.
The one that pains me is CD's. I'm never likely to buy any more, spotify is only ever going to get better, or something else will. I don't want a huge CD rack in the lounge anymore and I CBA ripping them into lossless.
One thing that I've noticed by being jobless for 4 months (plus the months of impending joblessness) is how much crap I still buy that I don't need. There's stuff I wanted to buy in July that I'd not buy now, not cheap stuff either.
On the other hand, once the mortgage is paid, there isn't much to spend money on other than stuff. What on earth did people buy with their wages before mortgages and bills cost 2/3 of takehome?
Loft is triple insulated and not boarded. Nothing in there, I knew when we moved in 7 yrs ago that if I made space I'd fill it. We go through waves of stuff coming in and going out. 2016 had broken the cycle. We've stopped acquiring things. I now dread the thought of buying a 'thing' that we will keep permanently. It's a total change of mindset. There still loads of stuff here but I'm now confident it's a 1 way thing and it will get less and less over the next few years.
It might be genetic
Having said that...
We recently had a tap that was leaking. My dad said it would be the cartridge inside that had cracked and disappeared into the garage, returning with theirs that had broken a few years earlier. He had two.
That's the thing though, knowing the difference between useful and useless junk. I've fortunately had the former when I've needed it, my daughters cot had a metal dowel holding it together that was made from the arm of a broken trouser press.
I was thinking about this the other day.
I've moved house about 10 times in the last 10 years which sort of helps clear out junk. However the first time I could move with a suitcase and it's been on a gradual slope up and now I need Luton van. I'm definitely not any happier!
We are hoping to sell up in the next few months and escape the South East exile for the North Northumberland dream.It's overrated.
Aye right. It's terrible don't go there.
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Drac - Moderator
We are hoping to sell up in the next few months and escape the South East exile for the North Northumberland dream.
It's overrated.
+1 left as soon as I could
On moving and crap try emigrating at your own expense!!
A good mate came round to help, priceless while I packed and did the important stuff he tacked the crap - basically if he knew it was crap it was so it was binned without me even having to look.
I love stuff.
I love going into my loft, or my mum's, and play with old toys, or reading old comics I enjoyed as a 10 year old. In my mums loft is the old reel to reel tape deck, and my old 'portable' cassette player, plus several armies of Airfix soldiers, even an Action Man tank (but that is my brothers).
Why shouldn't we keep things that give us pleasure?
Aye right. It's terrible don't go there.
You're learning. 😀
We recently threw 32 full black bags of old "stuff" out from the loft, all of it at some point condidered important enough to spend money on. Just a load of crap old crap really.
I still cant stop my wife buying stuff though, its like some kind sad addiction.
I love going into my loft, or my mum's, and play with old toys, or reading old comics I enjoyed as a 10 year old. In my mums loft
Why don't you move it into your house?
Similar issues here, cleared an apartment out a few weeks ago, surprising how much crap you are able to hoard in such a small place.
Then at home I cleared out the loft, there was 2 windsurf boards (one used 4 times, so effectively new) and 3 sails unused since 2010. Couldn't bring myself to get rid of them back then, but now all donated to my clubs windsurfing club.
And..
7 wetsuits, about 30 rash vests..
I'm terrible for it. Loads of kiting gear including a buggy which hasn't seen a beach in ten years, loads of old computer bits, AV kit that I replaced years ago (laserdisc player, anyone?), games consoles going back to an Atari 2600. It kills me because "it has a value" or "it might come in useful" but I don't really want or need any of it. There's a small fortune here that I don't know what to do with.
Atari 2600
You can't throw that!
I have a BBC B, loads of ROMs, Voltmace joysticks and Cumana disk drive. I picked it up on Ebay cheap, never really used it but can't bring myself to get rid.
It did feel good going to the charity shop with some of the better stuff. At least it will hopefully go towards helping someone else out who can't afford to waste money. Also did the gift aid thing which I didn't realise you needed to do when donating stuff like that.
We've actually managed to reduce 'stuff' over the last few years. Still got plenty, but slightly more goes out than comes in.
I've been selling all my old camping kit on Ebay over the last few months (and clearing the attic at the same time). Made about £600 so far on 90s tents, sleeping bags etc.
My parents are [i]really[/i] bad for this, a big house full of crap! Managed to get it pretty much sorted about 5 years ago after my dad retired, empty cupboards and a usable double garage.
Took them a year to fill it again! Mum has enough knitting and craft stuff to open a sodding shop and dad has tried to fill his time with so many hobbies (that he's given up on) that he's run out of stuff to try!!
Will have to organise with my sister a massive clearout session again as they'll never do it and it'll only be us that does it when they peg it anyway 😐
Me and my sister on the other hand, no junk whatsoever. Her husband on the other hand...
We had a huge clear out last year before the extension was built, garden and garage to make space and internally so we can have a nice room without clutter - well too much. Still have the loft to go through before a further extension is done, thankfully all the stuff up there sits on an 6'x8' deck where the water tank was. The kid's rooms however, it's like Mary Poppins' carpet bag...
No problems with crap if I haven't used it in a year it's history no matter what it is
mrs rocket keeps everything
We're pretty bad with this.. but not as bad as my Dad, who spent the last 20 years of his working life as a self-employed furniture maker with various workshops/sheds rammed full of stuff.
My folks moved to a 1-Bed retirement flat last year.. clearing his stuff was unbelievable, and he just couldn't understand why I didn't want most of it.
I think part of it was due to him coming from a time when everything had value, and you didn't throw anything out.
My in-laws are worse - they have a 2-bed bungalow at the end of their garden full of crap she's bought on eBay (vintage prams/old furniture/etc)
Our loft/shed/garage are packed with crap, which I'm slowly coming around to the idea of getting rid of.
This has been prompted by the fact I've got a few £k on 05 credit cards (left over from financing a house extension) but probably have a few £k worth of tools/etc which realistically I don't need.
I used to be big into cars etc and have enough mechanics tools to open a garage. However, I've now got a company car and no immediate desire to get a 'project'
I'm overloaded with stuff, but its good stuff.
Just gave away my Raleigh Sprint racer from 68 I think.
Jonny G Spinner, two women just carried it away and hopefully to be used.
Things I still got.... box of vintage lego, legion of burago cars, ww2 british helmet, action tank and action men, millions of books, vintage brass, brother knitting machine and much more.
Things I want are Britains Deetail soldiers.... anyone for swaps ?
A swap shop thread would be cool on here or just a plain giveaway.
ps Bristol area, if you find any britains deetail 🙂