I have collected too much junk

[popeye31]

I have colected to much junk. any one was a horder and desided to clean up. how did you go about it? did you just through everything out or did you sort through everything. im cleaning out three sheds worth of stuff and am finding it hard to throw the stuff away, if I don't i'll never be able to play with the toys I have.

 

[ForceFed70]

Re: I have collected to much junk

We've been working on getting my grandfather's place cleaned out. It's been a challange.

It really depends on the value and amount of what you need to get rid of. And true used/old stuff value, not some inflated "right person, right time" value that you'll likely never get.

Garage sales, estate sales, craigs list are all good options for the stuff you think you can actually sell.

For my grandfather, his biggest hangup was "But I might need one of those one day". What seemed to work for him was to remind him that: "Yes, of everything we get rid of there may be 2 or 3 things that at some time in the future you would have been able to use. But is it worth keeping all of this stuff for only 2 or 3 things that you may need". He realized that getting rid of the stuff was worth it even if he had to go out and buy a couple of items in the future.

 

[Flathead Johnny]

there is a guy on here that started a thread about his hoarding and what he is doing to overcome it and clean things out....its very interesting to see the challenges and then him overcoming of them

 

[Gregger Rod & Custom]

Start listing things for sale on craigs list and on websites like this one. It's easy to do and you get rid of clutter and earn some money in the process. It will also help you to admit which of your stuff is really just trash... if you can't sell it, even for a few bucks... throw it away.

 

[Marshall2u]

I am a semi-hoarder. I used to be much worse. I could write a book on this, but, just as a for instance, I recently completed a series of woodworking projects. I had tons of "good" leftover wood. I KNEW that these were all good drop offs that I would use "sometime," but I overcame my hoarder instincts and burned every last piece. I think the issues involved with keeping these scraps is more burdensome than getting rid of, then replacing, in the remote case that that becomes necessary. Sometimes you sell, sometimes you burn, sometimes you simply throw away. This is an issue I will probably always struggle with.

 

[gatewaysysop]

There's a book you should read, it's short but pretty good. It's by Rick Aster (yes, author of the SAS programming books too) called, "Fear of Nothing". I picked it up on a whim since I like his programming books, and it was actually really good stuff.

I wouldn't call myself a hoarder by any means, but like anyone else I have stuff lying around that I really should have gotten rid of years ago. Rick's book gives an interesting perspective on this stuff and believe it or not actually gave me the incentive to start dumping and donating a lot of the stuff I'm talking about. So far I'm feeling pretty good about it and no regrets. Wish I'd done it sooner.

 

[shannonw]

due to a lack of space, no basement, not really a usable attic i've always been a ...if i haven't used it in 6 months ITS OUTTA HERE type. However now with 2 kids, hell it might take me 6 months just to do some kinda simple project, i've been keeping/making room for more stuff. And usually I end up throwing out the 1 thing i'll need a month later..

I prioritize, like left over pvc, electrical grey pipe,etc I ditch it..it's cheap and depot is down the street. I keep fittings, couple of small pieces for patching, etc as easy to store in a bin...I only keep what i need to patch something or is easily stored in a box/bin, not what i need to run a line i probably won't get to until 2015..doesn't make any sense to store 10 bucks of pvc for years ...

When i went though my wall of nails, screws, drawers,etc I put a handfull of each in a bin. Rest of the box i threw out...random screw bin, i ditched that...faster to hit a store than dig through a can of fasteners. They're cheap and this let's me at least have a bit of each on hand for those times.

Yeah i'm the same with scrap wood, i keep big pieces, and *some* small pieces for the times i need a small piece of scrap for something. I don't keep *every* piece.

I drop paint, cans, chems,etc off pretty regularly when they have the 1/ month chem recycle collection.

A few months ago I gathered random **** up I thought i could sell and that i figured i didn't need, i listed it on ebay if it was worth it, if it didn't sell the first run it went to the dump!

 

[Dickey]

I have a 1680sf shop, 1200 downstairs and 480 upstairs. I was unable to move around upstairs and just barely able to accomplish anything downstairs. I had not thought there was an issue until I read through Bill's "Grunge Garage" thread in the garage gallery.

I've read the entire thing twice now. I recognized some of the arguments as the very things I'd said because I have a small collection of big engines (among a metric buttload of other things) that can make for cumbersome navigation at times. I was afraid of bringing a situation as severe as Bill's on myself. I leveraged that fear to override any concern over tossing stuff that I might need down the road. The way I see it now, there is a legitimate dollar cost to every square inch of my shop space. If it costs less to simply buy something later on after figuring the cost for a reasonable guess at how long I'll have to store the item before use, I throw it away. If I've already got similar items that aren't consumables (cleaners, oil, etc), I also throw it out. I did give away a 472 caddy motor but I've found that not wasting time trying to find a new home for what is essentially junk has made my time in the garage a lot more enjoyable. Room to do something is a thousand times more valuable than room to store something.

 

[68-camaro]

I to was a hoarder at one time. After awhile a person gets tired of tripping over it and not finding the stuff you know you have. Because you can't find it you go and buy another one, visous circle. The time, money and energy you wast, you could of spent organizing or actually working on something. So that's what I started doing. Invest in you sanity and time. The first few steps you have aready taken,reconizing it and being on this site. I have an area that I call a stagging area, it's hard for me to throw things away, so I have dedicated area to store them things in. Yearly I go through them and toss what I havn't used.

 

[djjsr]

I have a friend that's not real well off financially. Any tools and materials that I want to get rid of, but are too good to throw away, go to him. I feel better about not throwing it in the trash and he's happy to get it.

 

[bczygan]

I have colected to much junk. any one was a horder and desided to clean up. how did you go about it? did you just through everything out or did you sort through everything. im cleaning out three sheds worth of stuff and am finding it hard to throw the stuff away, if I don't i'll never be able to play with the toys I have.

popeye31,
I am the guy with the thread about hoarding (Grunge Garage - see link below).
Your approach depends on what is in your head. It isn't about the stuff, but rather how you think about the stuff. As you already know, it is hard to think of throwing things out, that have any value. That is the crux of the matter. We hoarders put too much value on objects. We think that we will never be able to replace them. We think they will have a future use. If you are Martha Stewart with a big perfectly organized house and the money and staff to keep it that way, you can keep a lot of stuff. If it is just you and your wife, then the stuff will soon take over control of you.
The solution is to learn to think differently about your things. Too many things are a burden. Just the right amount of things makes for a pleasant and workable life.
The difficult thing is learning to judge what is appropriate. It's like a person with a skewed body image who suffers from anorexia. We have a skewed property image and for one reason or another feel safe only with lots of things.
There are lots of sites on the net that discuss the problem and solutions. For me, the solution has been to begin learning, by doing.
Start by throwing away what is obviously trash and ruined things. Next, start making bags and boxes of things that are broken that you haven't fixed and probably won't fix. Donate or give these away if it is easy to do. I find that tossing them is best because it is easily and quickly done.
The next step is harder. This is where you decide what to do with things that are useful and fully functional. Here is where you use the physical space as the deciding factor on what you keep and what you don't. Every object must have it's place where it is kept and used, not just stored. Objects that don't have a place in your home must go live somewhere else. It is easiest to give these away to friends and family or donate them. Then you have no regrets that they are wasted. We all are only using things while we are here anyway. When we are gone, someone else gets them.
Don't let the mental traps that you will need it someday or could fix it and sell it or save it for some future use stop you.
The payoff is freedom for care and worry. Freedom from the responsibility of storing and protecting things. And also the space they occupied is returned to you for real use, rather than storage.
It's scary when you start, but as you get better at it, it is a real rush to have control back, over your life and environment.
Start small but keep at it. And let us know how it goes. Post photos and we will support you every step of the way.

Bill

 

[Gary S]

My ex-wife is a hoarder. That is why she is my EX.

Divorce solved my hoarding problem.

 

[Jackfre]

Having moved cross country this past year to less than half the space with no garage (yet), barn or basement I had to go thru all my gear and sort it into, "Is it gear or is it stuff?" This was compounded by the fact that both my wifes and my parents passed in the last 6 yrs, so in the year prior to the move we were still bringing family treasures into the house.

If you have the time or inclination you can do CL or Ebay, but it takes a LOT of time, so there are only some items worth auctioning. Garage sales are fun, if the day is nice and you have taken the time to organize and advertise it. you can make some money. Both my wife and I were working hard prior to the move and saying goodbye to folks, so time was the issue.

What I found was that all the treasures that I "had to have", in the pinch, were just "stuff". Honestly, it had all become a burden and it was difficult to get rid of. I cannot believe how much I had to take to the dump, and much of it was good. Try getting rid of fours sets of nice China. We gave a lot of things to the Goodwill and Salvation Army. The funny part is I am still getting rid of some of the stuff I paid to ship across the US. We are much, much leaner possession wise now and there have been only a few times where I have realized that the item I am looking for was disposed of months ago. I do miss my hardware, because I had a lot and it bothers me to have to go to todays "slim pickens" hardware stores for a nut and bolt, but by and large we are much better off, and know what we own.

All in all, it was refreshing. I have less to trip over and worry about. I wish you well in this task. It is worth doing and if you go into ti with a smile, it can be a lot of fun given the people you will meet and the good that some of the gear can do for others. Happy New Year! It is a great way to start it.

 

[gmein]

At my group meeting I stand up and say "I am not a hoarder, I am a collection specialist". I learned from the best on how to coordinate: Fred G. Sanford 9114 South Central Ave.

 

[geologist]

My ex-wife is a hoarder. That is why she is my EX.

Divorce solved my hoarding problem.

*golf clap*

 

[matt151617]

Take each item you have and follow this, sort of like a flow chart.

First, are you going to have a use for it in the next 3 months? Not a "maybe I'll use this for something", a real, legit, specific plan to use it. If you do have a use, keep it. If not, move on.

Is it worth any real money? Sell it. (eBay, Craigslist, etc)

Is it worth money but not enough to bother with selling it? Donate it to charity.

Is it not worth any money? Either put it in the front lawn with a "free" sign on it (you'd be surprised what people will take) or throw it in the trash.


This really limits the amount of junk you hold on to. You may miss what you throw away immediately, but you'll quickly forget about it.

 

[dude67]

My rule of thumb now is. If I haven't used it in a year or don't intend on using it in a year out it goes. Selling it or giving it to someone who can use it. You can get rid of mounds of clutter using this rule.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Do you know someone who would pay more than $1 for the item? If not, throw it away.

Is it broken? If so and unless it is repariable for less than the repaired value, throw it away. Do you have the time and desire to repair the item? If not, throw it away or sell it.

Have you used the item in the past 2 years? If not, put it up for sale or donate it to a qualified charity and take the tax deduction.

For items worth at least $10, try to get 20-40 items advertised on CL at a time and keep that many ads running.

For items $1 to $10, hold a rummage sale and then consider donating or disposing the items that do not sell.

 

[Train]

My problem can be summed up like this.

Your stuff is JUNK--My junk is STUFF !!

If you like to create, then every little piece of junk is stuff you can use. It really muddies the waters as to what is logical to hang on too. In the last year of so I really just got tired of looking, reaching and walking around all my "stuff" and have started to slowly get rid of some of it. Another thing is my in laws recently passed away suddenly and we're left with 100 year old farm to clean up. They kept everything. I don't want my kids to have that kind of burden when my wife and I are gone.

 

[RVDan]

I'm dealing with 35 years of my Dads hoarding right now.

My parents dealt with it by moving and leaving it behind.

The way to deal with it all depends on your budget.

The easy way is to call in a crew with trucks to haul it all away. Theres companies here that will haul it all away and separate it later at their yard, donating useable stuff to charities, separating recycleables, etc etc.

Thats very expensive though.

The next easiest method is to have a bin dropped in the driveway and fill it.

Still expensive, mixed waste is far more expensive at the dump than if you separate it

So the method I'm stuck with is most economical but most time consuming.

Separating everything. Donating useable stuff to charity. Selling anything metal as scrap metal. Taking all the recycleable materials to the Recycle Depot. Taking anything that doesn't fit in those categories to the local dump as residential garbage.

It may be easier for me though, I don't have any emotional attachment to all the ****, I didn't pay for it.

Yes there is a lot of useable stuff, but if I don't have an immediate use for it and it only has a moderate monetary value I can easily justify getting rid of it, I can afford to buy a new one if the time comes that I actually need it.

 

[rburke65]

I am a product of my father. He went through the Great Depression and was a saver of all things that wasn't down right trash. But I'm 63 yo now and I'm going have to start tossing stuff. At one time I had a couple of duplex apartments and being a 'Jack of all Trades' I usually did all my own repairs and I did keep every thing. It's good to read all of the above on how to start tossing some of my 'treasures'.

 

[Milton Shaw]

My dad was a depression era teenager, so he never threw anything away. One time he got about 100 drawer type file boxes metal about 36" long. He bolted them together head high down one part of his basement. Had typewritten labels on the bins. About half way down one isle at eye level was a label "Basketballs that won't hold air". the bad thing is that there were 4 of them in there. He finally saw the humor of that and did throw them away. He passed three years ago and it was 5 20yard dumpsters full of stuff that was thrown away with no value. That's not counting all the stuff family took home that was of value.

 

[popeye31]

bczygan I just started reading the thread you started and am going to start cleaning with a theam from a qote from your thread ( if I can't see an item in the finished garage layout, out it goes.)

and to all that have replied . I realy thought my thread would have been ignored and got a tear in my eye with all the replies. never thought people would be so understanding and so willing to help with advice. I will get some pics up asap. along with what I would like mine to look like so yall can keep me in check.
I started last night to clean out and loaded 4 garbage cans full of trash, a 55gallon drum of steal, 55galon drum of aluminum and also found a few thing I forgot I had. Gave a gastank and a corvette LS wire harness to a fellow hot rodder. but still have a long way to go.

 

[matt151617]

Another thing I thought I'd throw in: every time I've saved something to use at some point later, when that point actually occured, I couldn't find the item.

 

[WQ59B]

Guy I know has a large 2-story home, with a walk-up attic & basement. It's unlivable- the furnace went out & he had the water shut off & moved out. There is 1 top step open going down into the basement then the stuff starts; you can't get down there. The stairway to the 2nd floor is blocked. The house is packed. The 2-car garage is packed.
Mom's identical house is next door to that. She's been in the senior center 5 years now, and he has a key. I know that house is packed too.
In addition, he has a 5000 sq ft warehouse. I've been thru that, it's packed.
Amazing.

 

[Finnish otter]

If you put something away, you will need it nextday. Thats true.

 

[stripped]

I too have gained way too many "things",my wife refers to them by another term. My uncle passed away a few years ago and then my dad. I now have two garages worth of stuff in a one car garage. We have a place here in Cleveland called RESTORE. Its part of Habitat for Humanity. Periodically I will take a box load of things and donate them. It is a tax write off and someone else might have a use for them, everyone makes out.

 

[nit2wn]

Both of my parents were hoarders. Both grew up poor and in the depression era as kids. They made me the exact opposite. I have very little sentimental attachment to anything other than vehicles. Mom had our little house[trailer] stacked and would never throw anything away even if she didn't wear the clothes anymore. Dad did hvac, washer/dryer, and pretty much anything electrical repair. He'd end up with old washers, dryers, fridges, your name it. Most were in the category of it cost 1/2 what it was worth to fix it. He'd repurpose some stuff but not enough to offset the junk that came home. I hauled 5k lbs to the scrap iron place and didn't make a dent. When they went to the nursing home, I hired a guy to literally take it off. I told him to only leave the tools and worked it in sections that I'd cleared of worthy tools or keep sakes. Mom had the house full and a 10x16 building floor to roof, after I was dumb enough to organize it so it could ''hold more''. I literally started bon fires that would burn for days, even through rain storms. Dad had a shed that was supposedly good stuff in, the roof had leaked for years turning most of it to rust or rot. I tossed in some gas and a match. I lost months of my life just doing damage control and clean up. I expected to find their garbage can removed or burst, I would take a huge leaf bag and ''line it''. I then would fill it to the brim every week with can stuff[3 yrs out of date], glass, and anything that would completely fill it. I half expected the wheels to break off rolling it back every time. I had neighbor actually debating on calling the fire dept due to 20+ full cans of worthless spray paint exploding that I forgot about being to close to that shed. It was the one comical moment I had looking back. I'm happily rid of the mess now, and still own the property, but it looks way better now than then. It actually did favor a rural version of Sanford and Sons. If you don't clean it up for you, do it for your kinfolks who will be left to worry with it, unless you really hate them.

 

[flymach86]

It's easy. If I don't use it in the previous year, it gets sold, thrown out, given away. Then a week later, I need the damn thing and have to buy a new one.

Cheers, Elliot

 

[browntown]

You don't own stuff, stuff owns you. I'm repeating this mantra as I recently have decided to fill my trash can every week. Normal house garbage gets it 3/4 full, but the OCD in me likes the challenge of making sure it's full on trash day. It also forces me to make decisions about **** that really needs to go, but I have this fantasy that I'll need it or be able to sell it in some fairy land.


The shows my wife watches have a simple drill that I haven't done, but think is valid. Lay out three tarps on the lawn. One for keep, one for garbage, one for donation. I guess I'd add a fourth for "to sell", but that pile would get dangerously large as I most would be more appropriately in the donate pile. The payoff is from the freedom of clutter instead of the cashola.

This is all in my head though, I know for a fact that I have just as much stuff coming in as going out.

 

[Responder]

From Train - "Your stuff is JUNK--My junk is STUFF !!"

That is so true. There are many of us that have read the Grunge Garage thread, which is incredible, and many posts about clutter and keeping the shop clean. Great time to start this thread and motivate all of us as this is a New Year so time to rid our garages of the clutter!

Going to watch this thread and see the progress of everyone, including myself. Going to start with mine........tomorrow! LOL!

Good luck and here is to cleaner shops!

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

[rodm1]

Grate ideas I'm working on this to.

 

[econoaddict]

I read the other thread and it pushed me to do something with all my "stuff".
I have 2 garages, one is an oversized single and the other is the size of a 2 car but with only one door. It got so bad I couldn't even get a push mower in to work on it.
I started with all the just plain old garbage type stuff, 5 loads to the dump later I started in on anything that the scrap metal place would pay for, 6 loads later I was seeing room in the garage and had an extra $2k in my pocket.
I am keeping only the stuff that can/will be used on my current vehicles/projects, everything else goes.
I am curently building shelves and creating another dump pile and scrap pile.
I can at this point actually go out in the garage and actually enjoy working INSIDE.

 

[Strouty]

I am one of the many people with a really large keep pile. I have a master plan/fantasy and almost all my things are involved in the plan. It is hard to get rid of them, but I am starting to realize that the future dream can never happen if I can't walk from one side of my shop to the other without climbing over something that is broken. I also have trouble bringing home some sort of gem that has been outside for x years, but now that it is mine, it has to be inside. I am selling, scraping, cleaning, recycling and filling my dumpster, I can now walk around in the shop and my master plan is coming back into reality.

 

[Shadowdog500]

When I start tripping over stuff or having to move piles of stuff to get to something, out come the trash bags and I get rid of clutter even if it is brand new stuff that is still in the box. It seems a shame to just throw good stuff away so I offer good stuff to friends, coworkers, and neighbors just to make room. After that good stuff goes in a pile for the scrap metal guy who usually takes it all.

There is always one or two little things that I have to re-buy later. That used to bother me until I realized that it was not worth tripping over junk my entire life just because you may need one or two five dollar items in an entire dumpster load of junk. It is worth the extra $20 to have a clean shop.

My new shop started to develop clutter the day it was done. The builders were throwing all sorts of good stuff in the dumpster and I was fishing it out as fast as they were throwing it in. After about six month of moving that stuff around my new shop just to pull cars in I hauled it all to the dump myself. It has been a struggle to keep clutter at bay ever since.


Chris

 

[Blue]

Sounds like you're off to a good start.

I did something similar after my Dad passed away. Still working at it here and there.

Couple things, a lot of which has already been mentioned:

- I called up the local scrap guy, and had him bring over a dumpster. I filled it up, and had him haul it away.

- Signed up for garbage service. Trash service in my area is really good, $30 a month, and you can put out six cans at a time. And, I didn't realize this at first, but if I had something extra big (mattresses, more than six bags, etc), all I had to do was call up the trash company, and they would make an extra pickup and just tack a couple extra bucks onto my bill.

- Bonfires. Did a bunch of 'em to get rid of scrap wood.

- As far as "supplies" go (screws, nuts, bolts, lumber, pip, etc), I used to keep a lot of that around. I finally decided that it was easier to just throw it all out, and run to the hardware store if I needed something. Let the local Menards/Lowes/Home Depot be your storehouse.

 

[NJHandyGuy]

My name is Jay and i have created an EMPIRE off too much junk.

i"m not going to lie i have the same problem 2-3 fold i still see the value in the junk that i haul so it sits till i NEED cash then go on a scrappin spree (amazing what a $2800 a month insurance bill will make you do) tailights doors louvers rims and tires stereo systems airbags i trip over them constantly then there is my 11 storage units ($3k amonth).

i dunno if i have hoarder tendency's or not as i actually do move quite a bit of it (150k lbs last month) but my problem is where the line goes from JUNK to INVENTORY

i plan on fixxing everything i only get to 20% of it though (this isn't a probelm till you realze 20% is still 2 10X60 storage units andf sell maybe 5%

i am so bad i have to hide post it notes on things REMINDING ME how much i have into them

 

[homeputter]

My wife is the hoarder. I keep some stuff, but OCCASIONALLY I get fed up and throw some stuff away and clean up.

My wife can't throw anything away. I have rented 2 storage units for 12 years and still have 1. That has cost me over $12,000 in rental fees. There is NOTHING in there worth $200! My wife has filled 2 spare bedrooms (kids moved out 5 years ago) so full you can not walk in the doorway. Our master bedroom is so full there are only pathways through it. I also have 4 storage sheds at our house. If I carry stuff out to the trash cans, she will run out there and go through the garbage to make sure none of her "treasures" are in there. A lot of the stuff is "sentimental". She has clothes, toys, school papers, dolls, etc from when the kids were little.
Why do I put up with it?
Because my wife is a wonderful, cheerful, caring, non-nagging, hardworking woman with hoarding as her ONLY fault. She is a dedicated teacher who works at least 10 hours/day and I hate to pressure her to sort her stuff when she gets a day off. She will retire this year (I retired 1 year ago) and then THINGS WILL CHANGE. Drowning in all this stuff is driving me crazy. I feel like a lot of my life has been impacted by her progressively worse hoarding for 30 years. My kids seldom could have company when they were growing up because the house was always a mess.

We have a cabin in the mountains and she tried to start adding her junk there. I have put my foot down and don't allow her to even start hoarding there. It is so nice to have a clean cabin and 2 clean bedrooms for guests. The cabin was the only place my kids could have sleep-overs with their friends since it was always clean.

My MIL was a hoarder also, When she died, we had an estate sale and while we got $4500, I am sure we sold a lot of jewelery and "antiques" too cheap because we didn't know what it was worth. I am sorry we kept some of it, because it is just taking up space.

My sister lives out of state and I helped her clear out some of her husbands stuff when he died. He was a "survivalist" and stored food, guns, blankets, water, ammo, etc. I sold the tractors, attachments, guns and ammo very easily. The junk in the large pole barn and house basement has filled 4 large dumpsters and there is lot left that she can't lift. Most of it was worthless recycled junk.
whew!
Sorry for the rant.

Don't leave your stuff for someone else to clean up.
HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone.

 

[mikester]

Over the past two years a guy that I know has fallen on pretty hard times. Most of the things that have happened to him have been his fault. He's lost his house, had two major heart attacks, bypass surgery, and way too many other things to list. Even though most of the things were his fault (not paying his bills, not eating right, smoking) I feel bad for him because deep down I think he has a mental problem. The house he had was filled with "stuff" and filth. He had a huge shop behind the house. The guy is a super talented machinist and fabricator but there was no plan if you know what I mean. It was like he couldnt finish anything he ever started. Something else would come along that he had more interest in and what he was working on at the time would go on the back burner. This was his whole life. You cant make money that way.
Since he was losing his house he had to get all of his tools, parts and equipment out of there. He found a building in an industrial park and had most of his stuff moved into it. This is a 1600 sq foot building. He had so much "stuff", the building is full to the door and the tools and some of the equipment are still not there. I cant believe the amount of junk that the guy had to keep. Truckloads of parts and scrap went to the scrapmetal yard. I think he got close to $3500 for it so far. But the stuff the guy insisted he had to have in the new building filled it pretty qiuckly. I would have tossed it all. His idea is to clean it up and sell it. This stuffs been in his basement for 25+ years. In this economy its never going to bring any real money. In the mean time he cant get anything else into the new shop. I would take it all to the scrapmetal yard, get some more cash, free up the floor space and bring in the tools, lathe, welders, and start making real money. Its a very sad situation.

 

[browntown]

Something else to look out for. Every time I committed to unloading something my dear friend would volunteer to take it. Without really knowing it, I was feeding his hoarding habit. I went to his house recently, and while stepping over junk to get through the house, I realized that a lot of the junk was my old junk. He gives lots of reasons why they're all projects in process but I'm lobbying for a massive clean up day. "The plan" is to rent a uhaul, fill it up, and take **** to the dump. I figure that'll be cheaper than a dumpster. I worry the plan will never happen, or we'll have to argue about what goes in the uhaul.

So my wife and I have made a pact not to offer this friend anything, and just drive it straight to goodwill or throw it away. We were enablers.