Expensive Junk

Hugh Jarse

Hugh Jarse

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Steve
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I had decided, after 2+ years of dodgy health, my youngest son's chaotic relationships, moving between my home in Somerset and both my sons' homes to make the move to my house in Ireland, along with my motorhome and my long term photo projects covering the coastline of the Emerald Isle.

Loads to do which started in earest 10 days ago in my storage lock up and garage.

Today I have, for the first time in 20 years, managed to gather every single piece of photpgraphic kit, still in my possession, together in one place.

Tomorrow I will start to separate and group whatever I can before I sort into keep, sell, give away or dump.

I have found what must be a waerehouse of cables alone! USB printer cables laid out could set the boundary of a cricket pitch!

I have paced myself today but I may have to be both pragmatic and ruthless if I am to hit a mid May departure.

I write to test a theory - that of my surely not being the only TP member that has been, or is going, through this process?

My other thought is that, like myself, there are some here who have just been 'Ostrich-like' like and just hidden away from clearing the man cave(s) (or woman cave).

So 'fess up'.... did you carefully sort or ruthlessly dump?

Steve
 
I'm doing similar to you. After 30 years of living where I am and filling the loft and my office with all sorts of computer related detritus I'm being pushed by new new better half to sort it all out.

My loft has been a junk store for years so some of it has never seen the light of day. I'm being totally ruthless with most of it. If it hasn't been needed in the last few years it's going one way or another. It's no good pussy footing around its just got to go.
 
ChrisH said:
I'm doing similar to you. After 30 years of living where I am and filling the loft and my office with all sorts of computer related detritus I'm being pushed by new new better half to sort it all out.

My loft has been a junk store for years so some of it has never seen the light of day. I'm being totally ruthless with most of it. If it hasn't been needed in the last few years it's going one way or another. It's no good pussy footing around its just got to go.
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I still have my IT to clear

I have arranged for a friend'son to strip out and destroy a pile of HDDs going back to Win 3.1.

Tons of Iomega Clik Zip and Jazz disks.... arrrrggghhhhh
 
me and the wife started a similar journer about a year ago with the long term aim of simplify and dump the junk.
we plan to retire to a house in Crete in about 8 years time and by then to have streamlined down.
it is also amazing how many rather expensive things have popped out of boxes and now been sold to buld up spare funds.
 
Ostrich here, especially film kit and way too much darkroom kit that "might" just get used sometime in the future. o_O I've started to test cameras with Poundland Agfa film to see if they might still work and be worth something, so I guess that's a start?
 
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When we last moved house I had to clear out the loft....

I found eight motherboards !
 
Peter B said:
Ostrich here, especially film kit and way too much darkroom kit that "might" just get used sometime in the future. o_O I've started to test cameras with Poundland Agfa film to see if they might still work and be worth something, so I guess that's a start?
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I had a wander into my garage... found some 35mm gear I picked up at car boot sales about 7 years ago.....

i estimate about 300 paperback books now destined for our local hospice charity shop.

I have also bagged up 7 business suits and overcoats from a time I 'carried' 3-4 stone more weight..... BHF charity shop time?

Work aplenty if I want to complete my move to Ireland by mid May!
 
mrgubby said:
When we last moved house I had to clear out the loft....

I found eight motherboards !
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I have 4 big platic boxes of upgraded parts. Apart from HDDs it's all going to the dump for the WEEE cage
 
We are thinking of moving shortly & will have to have a serious de-clutter. :(
Within the double garage (that I can barely walk around, never mind get a car in :banghead: ) there are about 10 large boxes of `stuff` that we transferred un opened from our previous home 9 years ago & before that were at our earlier address for 13 years .............. still don't know what's in them! :rolleyes:

I have racking with tubs of wire/cable/plugs/sockets/spare bulbs, tubs of plumbing bits & bobs, another tub of screws/wall plugs, another of nails, boxes of tools & spanners ...............
Then there's the attic :grumpy:

I'm going to have to be ruthless, but I know whatever I get rid of, even though it hasn't been touched for 30 yrs (`it'll come in` syndrome) i'll regret at when I need something.
 
OldCarlos said:
We are thinking of moving shortly & will have to have a serious de-clutter. :(
Within the double garage (that I can barely walk around, never mind get a car in :banghead: ) there are about 10 large boxes of `stuff` that we transferred un opened from our previous home 9 years ago & before that were at our earlier address for 13 years .............. still don't know what's in them! :rolleyes:

I have racking with tubs of wire/cable/plugs/sockets/spare bulbs, tubs of plumbing bits & bobs, another tub of screws/wall plugs, another of nails, boxes of tools & spanners ...............
Then there's the attic :grumpy:

I'm going to have to be ruthless, but I know whatever I get rid of, even though it hasn't been touched for 30 yrs (`it'll come in` syndrome) i'll regret at when I need something.
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I had regrets on day 1.... now, having worked out the cost per m2 of storage, and my need to not repeat the clutter at my cottage in Ireland, I have removed the cost, heartache, need etc, I am literally chucking anything and everything that has no place in a house a third the size of the one I am leaving.

A builder friend has taken loads of electricals, plumbing etc.

My eldest son has bagged my beer fridge from my den.... painful departure
 
Hugh Jarse said:
My eldest son has bagged my beer fridge from my den.... painful departure
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Empty I hope!!!!! ;)

It's supposed to be quite a therapeutic exercise, but I'm just not looking forward to it.
 
OldCarlos said:
Empty I hope!!!!! ;)

It's supposed to be quite a therapeutic exercise, but I'm just not looking forward to it.
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Once you get into it then it develps a new clarity in how you approach it.

Also, locally here we can pretty much take any amount to the local authority dump.... that will change. I hired a 10 year old Transit (£50 per day all in, full tank, return full) to shift all and today I got 3 loads done. Local homeless/migrant charity will be clearing furniture tomorrow.

It is hard, I will not downplay it but...... it is an aspect of freedom.

Steve
 
Steve

You can hang on to things until you eventually croak but at the end of the day what purpose do they serve.

I have a brand new Jessops portaflash studio lighting kit, purchased years ago it's still in all its wrapping in the bag it came in. I have an 8x7 lastolite, same thing never used.

Sometime seeing empty space can be more satisfying than clutter, and do get me started on 30 years worth of computer cables now worth diddly lol.
 
Frankly, you are all amateurs!:p
We had an old barn, 1100 sq ft. Over about 10 years we filled it, and I mean filled, with stuff that was too important/useful/expensive to throw away. Then we decided to develop the barn and threw it all, what we threw away was really shameful.
I have never had all my photographic gear in one place, if you can achieve that I salute you.
 
BBR said:
Frankly, you are all amateurs!:p
We had an old barn, 1100 sq ft. Over about 10 years we filled it, and I mean filled, with stuff that was too important/useful/expensive to throw away. Then we decided to develop the barn and threw it all, what we threw away was really shameful.
I have never had all my photographic gear in one place, if you can achieve that I salute you.
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I thought I had all my photo grar in one place but it keeps turning up!

I hired a barn when I closed my business down but clesred that into 4 Big Yellow cages npw down to 1 small unit.

The stuff at the house was more personal but I am getting there.

The toughie is my OO gauge railway but, again, pragmatism reigns supreme.

Friends who know keep asking but I am keeping my Wrenn origonals.
 
I, too, had an attic declutter quite recently, where I went from being filled right up to the rafters and from end to end with junk down to just the three boxes and the whole thing took about a year due to me not having a car to take everything to the tip.

It involved getting rid of 4 TV cabinets, 7 PC towers, 3 CRT monitors, 3 Christmas trees (minus their stands), 2 boxes of old school/college work, 2 broken synthesizers, books, more books and yet more books, several bags of clothes, a tube TV set, Hi Fi system, a school desk (I cannot for the likes of me remember how I came into possession of that), even a broken garden recliner, etc, etc. All gone. Doesn't help that I don't have a shed or an outhouse so everything ended up in the attic.

It only got my attention when I noticed a crack slowly forming in the ceiling in my hobby room a couple of years ago, so I went into the attic to investigate and after clambering through stuff and almost putting my foot through the ceiling, I noticed how a furniture slid off a container and was pressing down on the ceiling below (even through the insulation).
 
Ian D J said:
I, too, had an attic declutter quite recently, where I went from being filled right up to the rafters and from end to end with junk down to just the three boxes and the whole thing took about a year due to me not having a car to take everything to the tip.

It involved getting rid of 4 TV cabinets, 7 PC towers, 3 CRT monitors, 3 Christmas trees (minus their stands), 2 boxes of old school/college work, 2 broken synthesizers, books, more books and yet more books, several bags of clothes, a tube TV set, Hi Fi system, a school desk (I cannot for the likes of me remember how I came into possession of that), even a broken garden recliner, etc, etc. All gone. Doesn't help that I don't have a shed or an outhouse so everything ended up in the attic.

It only got my attention when I noticed a crack slowly forming in the ceiling in my hobby room a couple of years ago, so I went into the attic to investigate and after clambering through stuff and almost putting my foot through the ceiling, I noticed how a furniture slid off a container and was pressing down on the ceiling below (even through the insulation).
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I am amazed at things I stored 'just in case'......
 
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What a great topic - no plans to move but a good reminder to get on top of the clutter! A project for this year :)
 
Another day... another transit hire....

First run done and next is some furniture going to a local charity. A neighbour's son is helping my son with lifting/moving. I am shredding and drinking tea [emoji39]
 
Another day done and, though I was mainly clearing paperwork, I am knackered.

Got a couple of days of appointments so no more clearance till the weekend.
 
mrgubby said:
When we last moved house I had to clear out the loft....

I found eight motherboards !
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could be worse, could have been 8 mother-in-laws
 
i like the clear out theory of "if you haven't used it in the last year, you don't need it" so it go's
its hard if like me your a- "i will keep it just in case" type of person but its oddly therapeutic as well
 
Hugh Jarse said:
The toughie is my OO gauge railway but, again, pragmatism reigns supreme.
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If I had the clear-out, I could have the layout (0e, rather than 00).. maybe that's the incentive I need?
 
Alastair said:
If I had the clear-out, I could have the layout (0e, rather than 00).. maybe that's the incentive I need?
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I am tempted to sell off the OO Gauge and just keep the N..... but
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I am tempted to sell off the OO Gauge and just keep the N..... but
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Well.. there may be bits of N, H0, 00, Gn15 (Hi Steve!), and a live steam Regner Lumberjack in various boxes around the place.. plus three r/c boats that haven't touched water in a couple of years.. plus an unfinished r/c plane I was given 25 years ago (tbh it's had that many transit dings having moved house four times it's probably unsalvageable other than the engine).. you know how it is, no kids = too many hobbies.
 
Alastair said:
Well.. there may be bits of N, H0, 00, Gn15 (Hi Steve!), and a live steam Regner Lumberjack in various boxes around the place.. plus three r/c boats that haven't touched water in a couple of years.. plus an unfinished r/c plane I was given 25 years ago (tbh it's had that many transit dings having moved house four times it's probably unsalvageable other than the engine).. you know how it is, no kids = too many hobbies.
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I know the feeling.... my stuff goes back to my 1962 Christmas Triang set! I never got into Scalextric though!
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I know the feeling.... my stuff goes back to my 1962 Christmas Triang set! I never got into Scalextric though!
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Oh, I forgot the two boxes of Scalextric! :)
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I am tempted to sell off the OO Gauge and just keep the N..... but
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I've seen a "Z" gauge layout (OK, "layout" is stretchin it a bit!) in a CD jewel case. Also seen a tiny "N" gauge shunting yard about A3 size. A bit limiting to use though.
 
Hugh Jarse said:
No Scalextric mini?
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No.. but I do know my dad's hoard (worse than mine) includes a very small amount of an old 00 scale car system..
(and there are some very nice Exley coaches in 00)

Nod said:
I've seen a "Z" gauge layout (OK, "layout" is stretchin it a bit!) in a CD jewel case. Also seen a tiny "N" gauge shunting yard about A3 size. A bit limiting to use though.
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The late Carl Arendt's website dedicated to micro layouts is being maintained by a group of small layout enthusiasts.. www.carendt.com
 
Nod said:
I've seen a "Z" gauge layout (OK, "layout" is stretchin it a bit!) in a CD jewel case. Also seen a tiny "N" gauge shunting yard about A3 size. A bit limiting to use though.
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I saw a Marklin layout in a shop in Innsbruck around 1971/72 during an aftrenoon city visit while on a school ski trip. It seemed incredibly expensive but not my sort of thing. Years late4 I went to one of the then regular model railway shows and the biggest crush of people was around the Z layout.

I have a fleeting memory of seeing a Z layout at Pecorama at Beer in Devon some 20 odd years ago before I moved to Somerset from London. I was on holiday with my boys in Exmouth and found a flyer. I knew the Peco brand as I had got some of their track lengths from the now defunct Beatties model shops.

https://www.pecorama.co.uk

There's a bit of an echo in my house so I an heading off back to my youngest son's house now.
 
It's great to know that I'm not alone! I still have loads of really useful stuff from my boat including disassembled and broken self steering gear,bilge pump, oars for tender etc etc. Sold the boat about 9 years ago.

Possibly the worst area is the workshop. Never throw away a bit of brass. stainless steel, gear wheel, cable, electric motor or other potentially useful item.

Mind you my father in law was at a different level. When we cleared his house we found a large proportion of my wife's first car, post war Morris E, stored under the floorboards.
 
Cap'n Bill said:
It's great to know that I'm not alone! I still have loads of really useful stuff from my boat including disassembled and broken self steering gear,bilge pump, oars for tender etc etc. Sold the boat about 9 years ago.

Possibly the worst area is the workshop. Never throw away a bit of brass. stainless steel, gear wheel, cable, electric motor or other potentially useful item.

Mind you my father in law was at a different level. When we cleared his house we found a large proportion of my wife's first car, post war Morris E, stored under the floorboards.
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Ah well, you just never know when things might be needed.

About 30 years ago I was working on a commission at a well known engineering company where the company accounts manager seemed to be a bit 'offish' with people. He had worked there, according to some, since the dawn of time. Punctual to the minute, well turned out and always seen at lunchtime doing the Times crossword and eating his sandwiches. I had very little to do with him but he seemed fine. Three years on I went back and he had passed on. The story was that when he failed to turn up for work for a week, the Police were called who entered his home and, sadly, found he had died in his own bed. His house was full of piles of his neatly stacked AND IRONED copies of The Times newspapers, in date order, going back 40+ years. I thought it spooky and sad at the same time.

My clearout has yielded a few obsessive type things, like file boxes of articles sliced out of photography magazines, none of which had anything truly of value that couldn't be found on the internet. Now emptied and the file boxes gone to the dump (not reusable as tatty/warped.

I am still being both ruthless and pragmatic. The thought of actually deciding that I need ALL my stuff to come with me, when I move, makes me shudder. Less is more!

The house has started to feel empty and the garage very much so. My son has just found yet another Pentax 35mm auto SLR with lens in a bag.... I am puzzled as I have no recollection of it!

Onwards.....
 
1 week on and job done.

Last vanload gone to the dump

All the local charity shops are full of 100s of paperbacks and DVDs, crockery and s bits of furniture.

The garage now has the Miniserver and NAS back up AND a car! with room to spare.

The 'home' element has gone and in it's place, a showhouse ready for market.

So Ireland here I come and I have put an offer on a flat near Bath as a runaway place.

Things still to go...

- Model Railway Collection
- GB Stamp collection
- Mass of photography stuff incl 35mm and Digital...

Was it worth it?

Well I am 62 this year and still have many things on my 'to do' bucket list and not having a pile of 'stuff' to worry about is great.

I hope the charity shops can convert my unwanted possessions into something beneficial. Most went to the local hospice which is an incredible place, again no regrets.

In summation, it has been a journey either we or our family will one day have to undertake. Sooner might be better but, if you do go for it, be ruthless and for me, I am committed not to put it all back in my next place.

I did have a big positive... I found some really important family memories... more valuable than mere gold [emoji5]

Steve
 
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Well done you!

.... and with such a positive attitude.

Good luck with all the future holds for you. :)
 
I only truly found out just how much random crap I owned when I relocated to the US for a few years - I possibly overreacted with the decluttering and ended up moving across with the contents of three suitcases! :D

Of course, now I'm back over here, I've amassed a collection of stuff again. Oh well!
 
Fuzzdog said:
I only truly found out just how much random crap I owned when I relocated to the US for a few years - I possibly overreacted with the decluttering and ended up moving across with the contents of three suitcases! :D

Of course, now I'm back over here, I've amassed a collection of stuff again. Oh well!
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I am determined not to repeat purchase.

I got rid of 20 business suits, kept the only one that fits for court, weddings, funerals etc.

I have a feeling that I may revisit my remaining possessions.. ie 1000s of CDs and 12"/7" vinyls... just stick with 1 James Last cassette [emoji56]

Get thee behind me Amazon!
 
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