Something just clicked…..

[Strouty]

I started to empty out another section so I have room for the automotive items. You can also see all the bins that I have emptied so far. Almost everything was trashed or consolidated. The goal now is to sort as much as possible and leave as little mess as possible so it doesn't get overwhelming the next time I am here.

 

[bczygan]

NICE!

I'm kicking up dust and clearing out a bookcase. Wiping down the books and sorting them.

Got some more stuff in the curbside trash just before it was picked up.

Strouty, You give me incentive.

Bill

 

[Strouty]

I am also going to move my bins that I have been using for hose clamps, I think it should be near the automotive section with the hose stored above it. I may make some racks to hold larger hose clamps, but for now this works, I just have to label it with sizes.

 

[Strouty]

So now I have some things that I was planning on selling on eBay. They are old barcode scanner and wireless printers. They do sell, but I am afraid of the new 180 day policy for returns that has been implemented, I don't want to sell them and make a couple hundred only to have them take the money back because one breaks. I am probably exaggerating how much I would actually make, not sure if I should just toss them all or what. Part of me thinks the printers could be used for something, but I am not really sure it is worth holding on to them.

 

[nine4gmc]

When in doubt toss it out. Wireless printers technology changes so much that they will be obsolete in 180 days anyway. I promise you will not regret it later.

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[Thumper68]

Yup toss them after cutting all the cords off to go to the scrap yard.

 

[Strouty]

I did some research and you guys are right. They are for sale on eBay, but none are selling. Last one sold in June for $17.99 and I have 30 of them. Two more shelves cleaned off!

 

[Thumper68]

I did some research and you guys are right. They are for sale on eBay, but none are selling. Last one sold in June for $17.99 and I have 30 of them. Two more shelves cleaned off!

Congrats, I know how hard it is to let go of something that seems to have value, but there are times when that value is not worth the space and time it takes up.

It is very easy for those of us out here to say scrap it or toss it but we have no financial or emotional ties to that items in question.

So kudos to you my friend for making the decision.

 

[Strouty]

I did find a few things that are worth selling, so I have two good sized totes for eBay items.

I took all the batteries out of them and found a drop off location near my house. The local scrap yard will not buy them unless they are lawn tractor size or bigger and for some reason they don't want any lithium batteries. I found another shelf with the power cords to the printers, so I am cleaning that off as well.

 

[Kev442]

That's my take on scrolling through random pages. Is that rusty *** TPI 350 ever going to be used? Why an entire shelf of empty 3-ring binders? That ginormous stack of grey electrical boxes? Just seems like large quantities of items that don't get used a whole lot, if at all. Be honest with yourself and toss more stuff. If you need to purchase some of them back later, oh well, at least you didn't have 50 of them sitting around that entire time.

So right after you say totes are great, you ask these questions? I meant pros and homeowners don't need totes. Do you do a black pipe project every year? Conduit electrical? PVC plumbing?

I got rid of my conduit electrical, black pipe and PVC plumbing stuff. My projects using those are done and none are in the foreseeable future. It seemed like none of the stuff was what I needed when I was doing those projects and I had to go to the store anyway.
All I have left is copper plumbing for emergencies, which are in my grandfathers little portable tool chest, along with all my plumbing tools. That is exactly what my dad did 60 years ago and I finally saw the light.

I spent 30 years of my life thinking I had to be ready for anything at any moment of the day or night. I had all kinds of things ready to roll. I have now decided that Menards is open from 6 to 10, they can be my supplies shelving from now on.

 

[RivennHewn]

I find that the pain of tossing an item is short, and I love the feeling of having free space.

I went thru a purge event awhile back, and I don't miss any of it.

 

[Kev442]

I did some research and you guys are right. They are for sale on eBay, but none are selling. Last one sold in June for $17.99 and I have 30 of them. Two more shelves cleaned off!

Exactly what I did last winter. I mentioned it somewhere, probably my Now the hard part begins thread. Turns out an antique typewriter I had was worth decent money, but eBay made it so easy to toss " valuable collectors items" that were not even selling for $10.
If my grandfathers fishing pole from the 70's hadn't been brand new in the package, I wouldn't have bothered to list it. I got a whopping $13 for it. Never again.

 

[Kev442]

I try to separate things by groups of things needed to do a task.

So Electrical has everything needed for that, including measuring tape, hammer, level, pencil, testing equipment, wire, outlets, fixtures, switches, wire nuts etc. etc.

Carpentry also has measuring tape, pencil, hammer etc.

So I double up or more on some tools. HF stuff is great for that.

I have an Automotive shed, a Carpentry/Woodworking shed, an Electrical area in another shed, an Office Supplies and Equipment area also in that shed.

It wouldn't work to put all the tape measures in one spot and all the hammers in another.

Bill

And that is exactly how a hoarder ends up owning 6 air compressors folks.
Bill, with all due sympathies to your problem, 9 sheds with 9 hammers is not how a normal person operates.

 

[Strouty]

I got a bunch more cleaned out, the printers are in the dumpster, I have a five gallon bucket of scrap, the closest trash barrel is full, and I am trying to get all the recycling loaded up so I can dump it on the way home. I am about out of steam so I will be heading home, things are not as tidy as I wanted, but I knew this was going to take longer than I wanted, so I am optimistic.

 

[Strouty]

And silly me, those are the pictures I took a while ago, I will update later when I get home. Thanks for the support guys.

 

[Kev442]

Now, there is a victory. Several half empty shelves. The goal is not to fill them all up either.

Edit: whoops.

 

[Thumper68]

And that is exactly how a hoarder ends up owning 6 air compressors folks.
Bill, with all due sympathies to your problem, 9 sheds with 9 hammers is not how a normal person operates.

Kev I have to call you on this one.. Not the sheds per say but the 9 hammers.

I have way more than 9 hammers, I don't know exactly how many but I would guess that I have 10 to 15 framing hammers, 5+ curved claw, 20+ ball peens, dead blows, sledges of different sizes etc...

Like Bill, I have them spread out in different places in the shop, some in the work truck, at least one framing or curved claw in each house, I keep a 16oz claw and ball peen in the boat house, there are a few more in the yard shed.

The same goes with tape measures and 6 in 1 screwdrivers I have at least 20 of each spread out in different places.

Then again my shop is not attached to my house and I hate having to search or fetch a simple tool for a quick job.

 

[rmalkow2]

Sounds like great progress for the day. And the real reward is in the doing of the job which helps you perfect the process that works for you to keep it this way. A building full of stuff that is organized perfectly and only once to never be touched again is called a museum. You have a working shop so it will get messy at times but hopefully this exercise will help you figure out the best way for you to clean it up after each project.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Good evening Guys, Love the progress Strouty, I keep all my black tape in with my electrical. If I need it for a different job, I know where it is.
No different then my Teflon tape, is with my plumbing. If I am working with air, I know where it is.

 

[Kev442]

Thumper, I would hazard that you have a tool chest that has a selection of your specialty hammers in one drawer. Having a claw, a couple ball peins, soft blow, 3lb, etc in one place is normal. You also do work, so having hammers in the work truck is normal, etc.
20+ ball peins is not normal

Having hammers in each shed only 20 feet from each other is not normal.

This is however, the GJ.
Birds of a feather flock together, especially in this thread.
When you own 50 vises lined up in neat rows, or 150 3/8 ratchets, we will simply restrict you to the tool discussion. This website is full of pack rats and tool hoarders. It is what is is, if it wasn't, it would be the Ladies Home Journal.

 

[Strouty]

Here is what it looked like when I left. I dropped off the recycling, but I missed the battery drop off. I can do that in the morning before I go to the doctors appointment. I hope I can still do something in the afternoon, it would be nice to get a bit more done.

Just so you guys know I have not organized anything yet, this is just a sort. I hope to start labeling things and really organizing over the next week.

 

[Coolabah]

damn, typed out a long response and hit the wrong key deleting it all.

I have done this more times than I care to remember. So what I usually do if it is more than a sentence or two I just "select all then copy" before posting (or at regular intervals if it is really long), you then have the ability to just paste into a fresh response if it glitches for whatever reason

 

[Coolabah]

Here is what it looked like when I left. I dropped off the recycling, but I missed the battery drop off. I can do that in the morning before I go to the doctors appointment. I hope I can still do something in the afternoon, it would be nice to get a bit more done.

Just so you guys know I have not organized anything yet, this is just a sort. I hope to start labeling things and really organizing over the next week.

Wow this is looking GREAT . You have been inspiring me since I first stumbled over this thread for quite some months now. I think I have less stuff to sort through but you are making faster progress than I am . You must be looking back sometimes and feeling fantastic at your progress !!

 

[rmalkow2]

Look at all that empty shelf space and empty plastic bins. You must be making great progress!

 

[Strouty]

Cool, I am so glad I started this thread, otherwise I would not see how much I have accomplished. I have been neglecting the inside since probably November, so I am excited to get started again.

RM, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

 

[bczygan]

And that is exactly how a hoarder ends up owning 6 air compressors folks.
Bill, with all due sympathies to your problem, 9 sheds with 9 hammers is not how a normal person operates.

Don't exaggerate. A hammer in the metal shop, one in the carpentry shop and one in the auto shed. Maybe a couple different ones located by the machines that need them. I'm not going to trot across a lot, from one building to another for a tape measure or hammer.

Air compressors. One in the metal shop. One in the woodworking. One in the auto (Portable). One for the bikes (Portable). I have 5. Again, these are separate locations.

It's how it will operate.

Bill

 

[bulletpruf]

Looking good, Strouty.

I'm thinking it's a good thing for a borderline hoarder like me that I'm active duty military -- it's a forced purge when you have to move every 2-3 years and the military will charge you if your goods are overweight (I think I'm limited to 17,500 lbs). I have a few 10'x30' storage units back in the states with musclecars and overflow that will need cleaned out.

 

[Coolabah]

Don't exaggerate. A hammer in the metal shop, one in the carpentry shop and one in the auto shed. Maybe a couple different ones located by the machines that need them. I'm not going to trot across a lot, from one building to another for a tape measure or hammer.

Air compressors. One in the metal shop. One in the woodworking. One in the auto (Portable). One for the bikes (Portable). I have 5. Again, these are separate locations.

It's how it will operate.

Bill

IMHO , there is a balance. (I agree with you)
- I have numerous "work stations" ( garage, shed, other property) . For me , it is a trade-off between convenience vs cost vs frequency of use. For example, I have a fairly full tool selection in my garage. This I use for pretty much any most general stuff on a day-to-day basis. Having said that , I have an "electronics workstation" where I have anything and everything I need in my shed, including stuff not in my main tools location. Same with woodworking. Same with knifemaking. I have a hammer wherever I need one- I really do not want to spend every other minute walking to another location , grab a tool , get back and realise I should have also grabbed a torque wrench. You know what I mean .I also could not be bothered loading tools in my van ( which I might or might not use ) each time I go to my holiday home. Instead , I have what I need there. I did not do this in my younger days because I could not afford the extra cost for this convenience. Works for me anyway !

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking fantastic Strouty

 

[Jdsmith]

I think that is a good idea, I all ready started an Ebay box, so Auction box makes sense. Eventually I will have an entire stockroom that is all Lista, then I can keep everything together by mixing drawers and shelves. For right now I will keep the bulk of the electrical supplies on the shelves and the hardware will be in the other section in my pull out drawers. It seems like it will be much easier to get at them and I like that idea. I have a couple drawers full of lugs and some other odd electrical stuff too, I may just designate an entire cabinet to electrical.

You have a good taste for lugs


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[Strouty]

You have a good taste for lugs


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I need to start selling them. I rarely use them for my business and they are too expensive to just toss.

Thanks 1/2 cup.

 

[Strouty]

Bulletpruf, I never had a major issue until I got my shop. I used to be limited to one storage box and my utility truck. As humans I think we will fill the available space, I am now trying to learn the power of less. I think moving every few years would keep me in check as well, but I would have real problems as I like heavy things!


Bill, I know what you are talking about, but I also know that there is some justification going on in your head. I do it as well, I think you are doing great, keep up the good work, but do what Julie wants and go to the doctor. If you are sick and can't do anything then what will happen? Or even worse if you are gone, what will Julie do? Personal health comes before all else, otherwise you can't take care of the ones you love.

 

[Strouty]

I went to the doctor's appointment and he does not want to do the cortisone injection. He thinks it will only allow me to make things worse. He does however want me to have a more invasive procedure down called Tenex. The only problem is it has a 6 week rest period. I can't do that right now, not until after the snow is gone. At least I didn't cancel my physical therapy appointment.

I am back to sorting for a while, but I do not plan on staying nearly as long as last night.

I also dropped off the batteries at Lowes, they make you wrap each one in a plastic bag before depositing them. It took about 15 minutes to get rid of all of them.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Good day guys, I went to my first sale of the year. We didn't get any snow last night, We were suppose to get 3 inches. The sale was very busy, must be a lot of people with cabin fever.

 

[Jdsmith]

I need to start selling them. I rarely use them for my business and they are too expensive to just toss.

Long time reader on this thread though I haven't posted much here in the past.

I'm an engineer and I specify those lugs for use in industrial plants. I wouldn't have a use for them myself but they will generate some cash on eBay. Fill up a small USPS flat rate box with a bunch of them, then dump it out on the table, snap a picture, and post on eBay.

I agree with many of the others that eBay is a waste of time any more to sell a lot of things but these lugs may be marketable on there.



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[Strouty]

A buddy of mine called and says he needs the transmission out of the volvo V8, so he is coming over today and we are going to dig the car out and bring it in. He said he will help me strip the car so I can get all the parts I need off it as well. It will be nice to have a bit of help doing it, I thought I was going to have to do it by myself. The best part is the car will be gone after we are done.

 

[Strouty]

JD, I now only use eBay when the items are worth twice what I think my time and effort are worth. I figure 20% for eBay/paypal/and packing supplies. I try to use flat rate as much as possible and that helps for sure. Some of those lugs are about $5 each, so I look at them as worth selling. I know I will not get retail price, but I should be able to get much more than scrap value.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Getting rid of another piece, One step at a time and it will come to.

 

[Strouty]

Got to use the forklift to pull the car out, it was good to test it out in a cold start condition. It started without any issues, just needed the choke and a light throttle. The hydraulics need a bit to warm up or things whine. I figured while I had it out I would grab the dumpster so it is ready to be dumped next week. I am also going to put a bunch of junk in the car and when they come to pick it up all will be gone.

My buddy is working on removing the engine and transmission, I am working on the stock room and helping him whenever he needs it. I got the hose and hose clamp area setup. I am still trying to figure out my overall layout, but things are starting to make sense.

 

[nine4gmc]

Rock on Strouty, you are doing great!