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Stuff - why on earth do we have so much stuff?

Joe Hutch said:
Our two will want all the books, and our elder daughter has already got first dibs on the reference books.

I've finally managed to persuade Mrs H to biff some age-old computer stuff that related to Macs we no longer own, and now the charity shops are open again we can resume the task of offloading clothes that no longer fit, DVDs we no longer watch, and so forth.

At some point we will venture into the loft and examine what we put in there 30-odd years ago 'in case we ever needed it'. The Christmas decs are nearest the loft door (and stayed there last year). Other than that, it's a mixture of old toys, children's books, and a load of gubbins we inherited from Mrs H's mother when she moved house. By way of contrast, all we have from my parents' house is one drinking glass with a picture of a pixie on it, and a small bell in the shape of a Welsh lady.
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We recently went in the loft and turfed out all our wedding cards from 1974, all the kids first outfits from over 30 years ago, old football boots, team shirts, etc.
I chucked a box full of VHS tapes and another box of antiquated desk top software CDs.
We put all the kids school reports, GCSE and A level exam certificates, sports awards, A level folders, degree dissertations, etc in boxes and handed them over to them to do with as they please. When I finally started to get my state pension I happily threw away every pay slip and P60 I had kept from 1972.

The loft is still rammed.
 
we were once planning to go out to work in an asian desert and sold everything .... everything ... boy it felt good
 
My Mrs watches every single hoarder programme , drowned by rubbish , hoarders from hell .... you name it . still cant move in her study without tripping over and dont get me started on the loft !!! took me 3 years for her to clear enough space for my big horns and her stuff still sits on the floor between them , ah love , the price of love !! :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
Bob McC said:
We recently went in the loft and turfed out all our wedding cards from 1974, all the kids first outfits from over 30 years ago, old football boots, team shirts, etc.
I chucked a box full of VHS tapes and another box of antiquated desk top software CDs.
We put all the kids school reports, GCSE and A level exam certificates, sports awards, A level folders, degree dissertations, etc in boxes and handed them over to them to do with as they please. When I finally started to get my state pension I happily threw away every pay slip and P60 I had kept from 1972.

The loft is still rammed.
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Sounds just like our loft.
 
hifinutt said:
we were once planning to go out to work in an asian desert and sold everything .... everything ... boy it felt good
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I've moved to another country for work a couple of times taking just a laptop and a suitcase of clothes. It's certainly liberating and amazing what you don't miss.

Of course the stuff soon piles up again once you're back somewhere permanently...
 
The stuff I mostly keep is clothing, the more tatty and washed out it gets the more I get attached to it, my holiday snaps show me wearing certain items for a decade or more!
 
Bart said:
The stuff I mostly keep is clothing, the more tatty and washed out it gets the more I get attached to it, my holiday snaps show me wearing certain items for a decade or more!
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Kid's stuff. I'm sitting here in a sweatshirt that I bought in 1990.
 
hifinutt said:
took me 3 years for her to clear enough space for my big horns and her stuff still sits on the floor between them :rolleyes:
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That's akin to the old northern comic line:
My wife's a mucky bugger though, I got home last night, went t'ev a pee in t' sink, and I couldn't, it were full o' mucky pots!
 
awkwardbydesign said:
2 cordless (one with a slipping clutch that is still useful for light work).
1 pillar drill.
2 x 240V (1 of them for really rough/dirty work, or lending out).
I heavy percussion drill (our bricks have granite chips in them!).
1 x 12V mini drill (for PCB work).
1 hand drill.
1 brace (and bits).
But I do have 4 routers.
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That's nothing to be ashamed of I have many more drills and routers than that.

Pete
 
stevec67 said:
Kid's stuff. I'm sitting here in a sweatshirt that I bought in 1990.
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University era (mid 70s) overcoat (left) photographed in January following a horizontal examination of a muddy farmyard.

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Boxes. I keep boxes. For everything I buy. Drives my wife nuts.

In the loft are boxes for 5 x Naim Fraims ,2 x SBL boxes , a 32 inch monitor, a 65 inch TV , a 55 inch TV , a Gibson Les Paul (lovely artwork - far too good to chuck) Apple boxes iPod / iPads / Mac mini , Linn LP12 / Lingo etc etc.

Never mind the Lego - which is stuffed into every available space.

You can't have too many boxes (plus it helps on resale if you ever decide to get rid)
 
Bart said:
The stuff I mostly keep is clothing, the more tatty and washed out it gets the more I get attached to it, my holiday snaps show me wearing certain items for a decade or more!
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I have several 30 year old T-shirts, worn regularly. Luckily my weight never changes, so I can wear things forever, including trousers.
 
stevec67 said:
But it's not about need. I spend weeks on end living in hotels for work. That teaches you what you need. When I'm not working I spend a lot of time in the mountains or cycling. Again, one bag. However there are other things that I like doing. 25 years ago I bought a Lister D stationary engine. 1944, a little bit of history. Came from a farm in Spalding. Got it running and one day I'll build a trolley for that. I didn't have a workshop, it sat in my dad's garage for 20 years. It then sat in mine for 5. I've finally built a trolley and I'm trying again to get it to run. Now in any rational world I should have sold it or given it away, it has no use in the modern world but it's an interesting thing.

The world would be a dull place if we only kept things that we need.
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I have a 1.5hp Stuart Turner marine engine taking up space in my garage - been there through two house moves, and gets cranked every so often to stop it seizing. I might find a boat to put it in someday, or, more probably, my executors will scratch their heads over it, before putting it in the skip
 
Nero said:
I have a 1.5hp Stuart Turner marine engine taking up space in my garage - been there through two house moves, and gets cranked every so often to stop it seizing. I might find a boat to put it in someday, or, more probably, my executors will scratch their heads over it, before putting it in the skip
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Good plan. A friend has a little Seagull outboard that has been doing similar for 20 years. He bought it for loose change "yeah, it runs mate" years ago, neither of us have seen it running or turned it over since, which probably means the crank seals will have given up. I don't think this is a problem in its current life.
 
I'm afraid to say I also have a Seagull outboard in the same condition. I can't bring myself to let it go, but there's probably a Seagull PFM equivalent forum somewhere who would snap it up. After all, we argue about cables
 
Nero said:
I'm afraid to say I also have a Seagull outboard in the same condition. I can't bring myself to let it go, but there's probably a Seagull PFM equivalent forum somewhere who would snap it up. After all, we argue about cables
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They probably argue about plug leads.
They fetch a bit more money than you might think, there is a knackered one with a cracked block for £60 "spares or repair". I think my mate handed over £10 or 15, and I'm fairly sure it's not cracked or otherwise terminal. I think a carb cleanout and a new plug and it would probably run.
 
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