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Show Us Yer Junk!
- Thread starter jetmechmarty
- Start date
Yeah, when I retired we moved from a bigger three bedroom house that had a bigger garage. We downsized considerably to a small two bedroom house. We also got rid of a lot of stuff. It was a bit of an adjustment to get used to initially , but the truth is it was liberating, our whole life just feels more streamlined and easier to manage.
Indeed - liberating is a good word.
We've been downsizing too (Cathie tells me that she has shredded more that a dozen boxes of old files etc.). We're preparing to sell the big house and move to something smaller, more manageable and with a little land so that I don't have to listen to my idiot neighbours and can build a shop in which to play.
We've been downsizing too (Cathie tells me that she has shredded more that a dozen boxes of old files etc.). We're preparing to sell the big house and move to something smaller, more manageable and with a little land so that I don't have to listen to my idiot neighbours and can build a shop in which to play.
I hear that a lot about downsizing/pruning the stash. Mrs. Downeaster has been making increasingly frequent noises about the house being too big and hard to manage. My non-verbal response to that is "Well, call me once in a while. Or write..."
I can't shake the feeling that I'd feel trapped in a smaller place, and I'm certain I'd be lost without my inventory of "stuff". I do go through the basement and garage roughly once a year and clean up/throw away some stuff that's been there for years without being needed, but to REALLY clean up would make me a nervous wreck. Far too many times that I've been able to fix something or make something because "I've got just the thing..." Most of the time, I even know where it is!
I can't shake the feeling that I'd feel trapped in a smaller place, and I'm certain I'd be lost without my inventory of "stuff". I do go through the basement and garage roughly once a year and clean up/throw away some stuff that's been there for years without being needed, but to REALLY clean up would make me a nervous wreck. Far too many times that I've been able to fix something or make something because "I've got just the thing..." Most of the time, I even know where it is!
I know what you mean. Sometimes I'll stand over the garbage can for 10 min or more.... piece of junk in hand... break into a cold sweat.... and eventually return said junk to it's original place...
"Hi, I'm Jim... and I'm a junkaholic."
I've been invited to join Packrats Unanimous, but I've got to get my dues to the Procrastinator's Club paid first...
It`s much clearer now.
I don`t have any "Junk". I have "Stuff" consisting of everything. Tools, hobbies, hand me downs, collections, treasures, artifacts, novelties, left over materials, unfinished projects etc but "No Junk". Well almost none with the exception of the kitchen junk drawer.
The treasures in there are of the greatest and priceless sentimental value and can not be measured in dollars and cents.
I don`t have any "Junk". I have "Stuff" consisting of everything. Tools, hobbies, hand me downs, collections, treasures, artifacts, novelties, left over materials, unfinished projects etc but "No Junk". Well almost none with the exception of the kitchen junk drawer. The treasures in there are of the greatest and priceless sentimental value and can not be measured in dollars and cents.
It`s much clearer now.
See, now THAT is clear, logical man-think! Why is it so hard for wimmen to grasp?
My wife wasn’t innocent. She has her own version of junk/stuff. We were both paralyzed by it. For us, hiring someone with the gift was the answer. I’m thinking about turning my motorcycle rally tee shirts into a quilt. I may have a tee shirt for every day of the year. And some other collections that were supposed to be worthwhile.
I just received my Schott jacket from Arrow Fabricare in Kansas City. They restored it. I bought the jacket shortly after I bought the XS650 in 1983. I shrunk back down to size, so it’s no longer useless junk in the closet. The road rash is gone too!
Looking pretty slim there buddy! Jacket looks good. 
I had my Schott bomber jacket refurbed in 2019 at the factory in NY. Bought it in '88 I think. Still one of my favorite jackets.
Looking good Marty I mean, Too Tall...
Looking good Marty I mean, Too Tall...
I think before the move from WA to OK the wife and I took a little over 3000lbs of stuff to the dump. Old couches we didn't want to move, general trash, stuff that was "useable" but bad enough to not donate, etc. And that doesn't count projects I sold/gave away or stuff I took to the scrap scales. And even with that after the move its amazing how much junk you still drag along.
When we moved, it happened fast, faced with a short timeline to lighten our load considerably. We had considered just hauling stuff to Goodwill. But I told my wife just give me a chance to try and sell some of this stuff. I installed the app from Offer Up on my phone and just started photographing and posting ads like crazy. Put everything up at fire sale prices and we managed to sell most everything. There are a lot o people that make a little home business by re selling stuff, we had some buyers that would show up and take all the furniture, or all the yard care tools, stuff like that. I ran simultaneous ads on Craigslist, but Offer Up was the one that really moved things out.
Yeah, I sold/gave away a bunch of stuff. A triumph spitfire in pieces, 2 SL90s, random wheels, shipping container, kiln, parts for vehicles I hadn't owned in years etc. Stuff that went to the dump was either trash, or no one came and got it even though it was listed for free. Craigslist and offerup were still big in WA, but they're both kind of dead down here in OK.
I’m guessing most of you guys are a bit more “experienced” than I am...
What do you guys consider “downsizing” in terms of living space and “junk”... are you guys leaving 3-4000+ sqf houses and barns packed full of things that haven’t seen the light of day in years???
What do you guys consider “downsizing” in terms of living space and “junk”... are you guys leaving 3-4000+ sqf houses and barns packed full of things that haven’t seen the light of day in years???
I had a 3,000+ sg ft house. We had four kids. We accumulated lots of stuff. Add to the sq ft, lots of unfinished basement space and attic space. Fast forward several years, it's just me plus wife. We moved into a 1,700 sq ft house we thought would be forever. Once again, plenty of basement and attic to hide junk. After 10 years, I find myself starting a new career with another move. We end up with 2,400 sq ft 4 BR 3 BA house, no attic, no basement. While waiting for construction to finish, we rented an 800 sq ft cabin on a farm. Perfect! We learned right then that we don't need more. So, we moved into the new house and all the crap is underfoot. We were both unhappy. So, now it's cleaned up. A mountain of junk is gone. I narrowed myself down to tools, my Yamaha pile, and I kept the vintage music plus a few keepsakes that my kids claim they'll want to inherit. We're now able to enjoy the house in a growing community and we're hoping for continued $$ appreciation. So, when I call it quits, we are seriously thinking about 600-800 sq ft. At that time, a lot more stuff will go away. We've also been entertaining getting rid of everything that doesn't fit in two suitcases and moving abroad. It could prove an exciting option for us.
With our current state of junk manageable, we are both much happier. I should say here that I am ADD and my wife suffers depression, so this was a much bigger deal for us than it may be for others. Also, I've been working at home for a year and sitting in a mess trying to work was not a good situation. Thankfully, we found someone who was very good helping us fix the mess.
We have a nice 2700 SF. 4-bdr 2-story house w. a fairly decent sized garage on about 0.25 acres in the city. My wife enjoys gardening and I am fine with cutting the grass etc. The big issue with the house is the two-stories and it is getting old having my personal space in the basement. It is comfortable enough - but the constant up & down stairs is a drag. As for the total space, we just don't use that much so we are likely going to go to about 15-1800 SF. on one level with a basement.
Some friends are saying, "Oh but what about when the kids come to visit?" Well, if it is just one of our three daughters and her mob, we will easily have room for them and if the whole fam-damily wants to come, we will do what my folks did when they down-sized: call the local Comfort Inn, Best Western etc. and rent three sets of rooms for a couple of days. That never cost my Mom more than $5-600 per time - and doing that once or twice/year, costs far less than maintaining and paying the taxes on a huge house that you only use a small part of. Besides, our kids and their cousins all loved bouncing around together in the hotel and there was always a pool for extra fun.
The bigger issue is that our neighbours on one side are total idiots. They are a grumpy and rude older couple who don't look after their home, but they have two 30-something lay-about sons who are worthless jerks - very loud and thoughtless - and I am fed-up.
I want to have an 1800 SF. bungalow on couple of acres so that I am far enough away from anyone that I don't care what they are doing/cooking/arguing about etc. I also want a shop - with heat and A/C so that I can play with my toys and not be tripping all over things every 10 minutes. I'd say about 30'x40' should do nicely.
I have a very complex and demanding job - and my whole career has been meetings, presentations and papers - conferences, lectures, books, files, etc. etc. and I am tired of that too so I want to down-size the files and swap over to working with my hands. I want to get up in the morning and do what I want to do - not what some committee mandates for me. I'd much rather get an old snowblower running than go buy a new one - sort of Mustie1 style. I'll be retiring in August, so I am off-loading stuff and tasks onto younger colleagues or just ditching them - and so the end is nigh....
Is that too much to ask?
Some friends are saying, "Oh but what about when the kids come to visit?" Well, if it is just one of our three daughters and her mob, we will easily have room for them and if the whole fam-damily wants to come, we will do what my folks did when they down-sized: call the local Comfort Inn, Best Western etc. and rent three sets of rooms for a couple of days. That never cost my Mom more than $5-600 per time - and doing that once or twice/year, costs far less than maintaining and paying the taxes on a huge house that you only use a small part of. Besides, our kids and their cousins all loved bouncing around together in the hotel and there was always a pool for extra fun.
The bigger issue is that our neighbours on one side are total idiots. They are a grumpy and rude older couple who don't look after their home, but they have two 30-something lay-about sons who are worthless jerks - very loud and thoughtless - and I am fed-up.
I want to have an 1800 SF. bungalow on couple of acres so that I am far enough away from anyone that I don't care what they are doing/cooking/arguing about etc. I also want a shop - with heat and A/C so that I can play with my toys and not be tripping all over things every 10 minutes. I'd say about 30'x40' should do nicely.
I have a very complex and demanding job - and my whole career has been meetings, presentations and papers - conferences, lectures, books, files, etc. etc. and I am tired of that too so I want to down-size the files and swap over to working with my hands. I want to get up in the morning and do what I want to do - not what some committee mandates for me. I'd much rather get an old snowblower running than go buy a new one - sort of Mustie1 style. I'll be retiring in August, so I am off-loading stuff and tasks onto younger colleagues or just ditching them - and so the end is nigh....
Is that too much to ask?
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Now, just keep after your health, so you can spend at least 30 years doing whatever it is you want to do! Let’s ride motorcycles!
Pete I'll start filling a 40' container to send so you don't run out of projects.