Thinking about going through "stuff bankruptcy"

[Strouty]

I have been working on my shop for a while, I even started a thread about the mess and my slow progress (you can click "the salvage garage" link in my signature to see it). I have been listening to audiobooks while organizing things and one idea that I think may be the best solution is going through a bankruptcy process for my stuff. The idea is that you just throw it all away and start fresh. I watched garage warrior's endeavor, it kind of scared me, but it also got me thinking. I am really concentrating on my stockroom and surplus supplies that are overflowing, I am not talking about getting rid of tools and equipment, not yet anyways.

My situation is different than most, I actually have a decent amount of storage space, but since I never really organized or labeled anything, I might as well be empty. Sometimes after finding what I am looking for, it still cost me more in time and effort than going to the store to buy a new item, especially when I find that it is damaged due to improper storage.

I have so much stuff that I don't even know what it is, sometimes I know a general application like electrical, but I could not tell you where it would really be used. This has come from buying pallets of random stuff from auctions. I usually do not pay much for the pallets, but as soon as I get the stuff, it becomes "gold". I then go through a process of trying to find it a new home and everything gets churned. Thankfully I have not bought anything like that for almost a year, I get the itch every once and a while, but I just made it through an auction and did not buy anything except the banding carts that I actually needed. It felt pretty liberating.

So I would like to do a modification of the idea. Since I have the room to store most of the "stuff", I would sort by basic application (electrical, painting, plumbing), then I would label the containers like that and store them until I actually have time to sort or need some type of item along those lines. I will still toss stuff, that has no value, but I can't bring myself to tossing everything. I know I could sell it all, but the local auctioneer will not come to me and the next auction is in the spring. I would like to start this soon, if not tomorrow.

I would appreciate any input, I am also posting this in my Salvage Garage thread.

 

[btbsandman]

I bought Harbor Freight when I started working on stuff. I upgraded to some better brands. I tossed the **** to the side. I then had numerous no name combo wrenches, cheap drills, etc. I donated those items to the local high school tool shop.

 

[Strouty]

Nice way to help out for sure. For me it isn't really tools that are the problem (I do have a lot of tools though), it is miscellaneous supplies that get me.

 

[600SL]

I have an E-bay store to sell car parts. In some ways I'm like you, I just cant throw stuff out. But I have found that if I put it on ebay and maybe only get 10 cents on the dollar its going to good use and I'm not really throwing it out. Everything sells in time and with an ebay store its worth while to just put up good used items.

 

[lilscorpion]

So this is exactly where I started. I had a $hit ton of stuff (some auction and other just compiled over many years). No material was pitched no matter how small the rem and I'd save even broken tools and equipment assuming the value of the parts were something I didn't dare lose. I'd spend hours looking for something I knew I had (or I remember having) only to find it months later in a random place under something that was under a pile of something else. It sounds messy and it was kinda but really only because there was so much stuff...neat piles poorly organized.

On day We decided to move and needing to make the shop presentable was the catalyst that carried through to the new house. Since then I've become somewhat of an organization freak but I still end up with hot spots of disorganization. The main difference is that now I can clean them up in about 15 minutes and I don't let them persist for long. I can find any tool in a very short amount of time too which has made my space easier and more enjoyable to use. I also did as you are thinking. Organized everything into like groupings and built a mess of drawers and shelves for the grouped stuff.

Another secret that I can share is I now pitch things. My new rule is if I've not needed it in a year or so and didn't have an immediate need, it goes in the trash. If I end up needing it at some point in the future it's almost always worth buying another over having to trip over it between now and then. Since my new rule I've not once looked for something only to find out that I've pitched it. Interesting fact IMO.

 

[Strouty]

Lilscorpion, I admire your thread and hope to be there someday. Unfortunately I have lots of things that can lay dormant for years, but they are still valuable and useful. I have remnants of a business that I still dabble in and when I dig into the parts, it means saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I am hoping to segregate the truly valuable and useful from the **** that just gets in the way. I may be able to get better as I go, I know once I start purging, it is like a runaway train (in a good way).

 

[Xauterus]

Have a big clean out of "stuff"keep all your tools etc but move the rest on. Auction or scrap it. Dont worry about the value of stuff. You will regret it early on but in time you will feel so relieved

 

[fastev]

I'm right with you. I've been agonizing for a few months about where and how to start the purge. The catalyst for me was my wife giving the green light for a new shed. I'm determined not to fill it with ****; all while finally getting my garage to a point where it is my "office"man cave rather than simply storage. (now if only I could get her car out of there...)

Moving forward, I'm using Rubbermaid bins for everything. I built shelves specifically to fit them and would like to keep those. From now on, each 'subject' will get a bin or two. If whatever new treasure doesn't fit, well, either something goes or I can't keep it.

 

[KariFS]

Strouty,
I feel your pain and regognize myself in a lot of what you are saying. I have much less stuff, but my space is also a fraction of yours. The "stack overflow percent" is probably similar And I did consider tossing EVERYTHING, quit playing a handyman and getting a condo.

I tried to get organized, tried to utilize everything, tried not to throw anything "valuable" away. I would hold on to stuff that had no value to me but for someone maybe sometime... As a result I got a "reputation" and people started to offer me hand-me-downs. This led to endless sorting operations and moving **** around. There were no empty space anywhere, so when I acquired something bigger than a box of screws, the whole operation fell apart, I had to spend hours re-organizing my **** and the result was I stuffed stuff deeper in the storage, more compact or piled it higher. Hardly ever tossed much away.

And, being a perfectionist, I spent time planning and figuring things out, sorting boxes of old screws and bolts by size, spending 20€ on bins to store 5€ worth of unnecessary ****. At some point there was a "click". I realized that instead of getting things done, I had spent a few years of my precious spare time and money trying to get my shop organized. I had some success but, for example, my motorcycle was waiting, un-rideable, for me to install a couple of new bushings for an entire summer.

So I started to get rid of stuff, and started to accept the fact that not all my screws and bolts were not perfectly organized. I am in the very beginning of this new path. We moved to another house and now my shop and storage space is different and much smaller, so that's another challenge. I am currently organizing my combined 11x18 shop and storage with the mind-set that it will not be perfect the first time around. Because no matter how hard you pre-think and ponder the organization, within a month after you think you're done, you are going to change something. So, rather than spending time wondering, I started to organize, accepting the fact that it may not be perfect. The first time around anyway

I list sellable stuff on a web marketplace as I come across it. I take a photo with my iPhone, later in the same evening I use the phone to list the stuff. Easy because the photo is there already and it is easy to attach. The photo album also works as a reminder of what I am supposed to list. I am a procrastinator by nature so I really have to fight the temtpation of leaving the listing to tomorrow or next month. I put a low price on everything, and have sold a lot. The web marketplace I use has the ad up for 2 or 3 weeks, after that I get a notice that it will be deleted unless I click a button. I don't click the button, I just either recycle, toss or donate that item and get done with it.

Sorry for the long and winding post.

I suggest that you too start accepting "less than perfect" result, stop buying and rearranging bins and cabinets and organizers and start to roughly sort your stuff instead. Anything not directly connected to your mast business or items you have not needed within a couple of years should go. Easier said than done, I know. Maybe you could arrange the extra stuff on pallets, and have them auctioned? You ended up with most of that stuff exactly the same way. It probably was someone else's miscellanea that they got tired of tripping over. Don't worry if you don't get a good price, because just now the value of the stuff is negative and anything you get for it is positive. If nobody buys it in the auction, scrap or donate it. The main thing is that you don't need to deal with it any more.

Keep the business stuff, but store large stuff somewhere else, not in the shop. If necessary, sacrifice some shop area for storage of large items, but keep the storage as a separate area. You have a lot of your cabinets etc on wheels, that's good, it's easy to set up the work area for each job. You already have a store room for small stuff, that's good too, keep it there, don't bring more bins or cabinets to the work area.

You'll get there, just keep going

 

[SteveCh]

What I've learned over the years is that when I acquire "random stuff" like that is what I'm really doing it taking the random stuff off the hands of the previous owner who usually had accumulated it over decades and never got around to using or sorting it. It is difficult to get rid of. I right now have a couple pallets of "stuff," all usable in some way, I cleared out of a neighbor's garage three years ago this month when he and his wife retired and moved out of state. In three years, I've used maybe two or three things and the rest is still unorganized and taking up a bay of the garage. It is ridiculous and I "fully intend" to "organize" the "stuff" this fall into scrap metal collections [alum., copper, steel, etc.] and haul it to the scrap metal buyer. I hope I actually do it.

 

[littleponderosa]

interesting timing on this thread. have just went thru the entire garage for the 1st time since i moved into this place - 22 years. finally bit the bullet and decided to actually get rid of some items that in various perspectives could be called junk.
didn't help when my Father passed and my 2 bro's and i closed up the family garage - lotsa stuff came home with me. that was 15 years ago.
approx 2.5 pick-up bed loads went to the dump - what was i keeping some of that for? no good answer.
i'm still not done, but things are organized, cleaned & usable again. gotta get some of the building type stuff out - 21 rolls of r19 insulation is still killing me, gotta plan for that however.
my big problem is i have too many hobbies that seem to pile up more & more gear. got lucky and found a buyer for 3+ dozen goose decoys that i no longer use - lost money but getting something and finally more space.

i feel your pain but it felt good to pitch the non-essentials.
Bill

 

[PFSard]

Tough task. Any chance that you know (or can find) someone who would want part of the assortment in exchange for helping you sort through the goods?

 

[58Yeoman]

My name is Phil...and I have the same problem. I've finally convinced myself that when I find something that I had been looking for, I take the time to put it with the rest of that same type item. I've picked up storage bins cheap at garage sales, and started sorting things in those. Now, I just have to clean off the shelves to make room for the bins. I'm retiring next month, so that will give me more time to sort through the stuff.

 

[Strouty]

KariFS,

Your post was awesome, I will be copying it (fully quoted to give you credit) to my Salvage Garage thread. You made some great points and you have also driven the point home even more. I have many projects that have suffered over the last few years and I want to be able to do projects, not spend my life organizing piles of stuff. My system is broken and this fall/winter will be my time to fix it.

I appreciate all the support, it is good to know that I am in good company.

 

[Strouty]

My name is Phil...and I have the same problem. I've finally convinced myself that when I find something that I had been looking for, I take the time to put it with the rest of that same type item. I've picked up storage bins cheap at garage sales, and started sorting things in those. Now, I just have to clean off the shelves to make room for the bins. I'm retiring next month, so that will give me more time to sort through the stuff.

It may end up being your full time job to sort your stuff.

 

[sberry]

My basement storage has crept up on me a bit but I have pretty much sorted everything I own, some still needs to go in the trash. We had a cleaning day yesterday, gained a ton of space and tossed a load.
I built shelves, stacked and sorted and tossed out a lot of cardboard we were providing a comfy spot for. I moved some stuff for my brother,, amazing how many boxes, one paint stick and a glove, 1 or 2 minor pieces in a big ole box tossed on a shelf. I cleared 300 ft of floor space in an hour.

 

[Strouty]

I am in the process of trying to change some grease zerks on an excavator, but I can't find my spares anywhere. Now I have to mark all the bad ones and go and get a bunch of new ones, because I can't find my perfectly good new ones in my mess. I could find lots of other things, but nothing I need right now.

I wish I was organized!

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

The way I handle clutter/junk accumulation is this:

Am I willing to have this item kick around the place for months/years on the off chance that I *might* need it or have a use for it, or am I willing to pay a 'storage fee' to have someone else store it in new condition, at their store, ready for me to pick up at any time?

For some things that you can't buy at a store readily, then that leans towards keeping it. If it is a seldom used tool, then perhaps letting the store keep it there until you need it is a better choice.

Estate sales and other salvage sales are different. Those I look at for raw material and things I know I will be able to make use of soon. If I have an item for over a year that I didn't need or use, then I am more likely to put that out in the yearly garage sale. Online auctions and estate sales tend to produce a tool box of tools of which I really just wanted a couple of items and now a stack of hand held tool boxes clutter up the area. Those go out for $2 at the garage sale, or I'll give them away to someone at the garage sale that I feel could use it. It's about reducing the clutter and regaining space, not about making money.

There was once a time when you could go to a swap meet and sell such stuff, but those are few and far between now.

 

[Strouty]

I hear you, I have bought many lots just to get one or two items, then I can't throw away the rest of it.

I know I could give it all to my Dad, but then I will need to handle it again when he is gone, so that is a bad idea all around.

I have talked with some local contractors, but no one will take the time to come out and look at the stuff. If I don't have enough room to store it for the Spring auction, then it will go into the dumpster. I do not want to advertise it for free on craigslist, that will bring out the real cream of the crop.

Some of it could go to the restore (habitat for humanity), they will either use it or sell it themselves. I have this fear that as soon as I toss it, then I will need it, it is really deep seated. My Dad is this way and my Grandfather was that way.

 

[bullnerd]

Same here. My purge is coming when I move from my old garage to my new shop.(if I ever finish it) Getting rid of lots of stuff!

 

[GarageWarrior]

I have talked with some local contractors, but no one will take the time to come out and look at the stuff. If I don't have enough room to store it for the Spring auction, then it will go into the dumpster. I do not want to advertise it for free on craigslist, that will bring out the real cream of the crop.

There are auctions still going all over New England through December. I thought you were the auction guru . Sort stuff in rough categories and get it SOLD!

There is an auction near me where people just bring out any random **** they have laying around after estate sales clean-outs - at the end of the day it's ALL SOLD, just take a look at the stuff people bring, this is from last week (not my stuff):

The junky stuff goes cheap, but there was a good-sized set of a bunch of wood chisels that sold for $1100 in 30 seconds of bidding ...clearly there are people that see value in things and have money to spend.

I've been auctioning for the last few months, and rarely a week where I make less than $600-$800 selling-off small stuff and supplies. Add equipment sales, and it get's to $3-5K weekly. You have more bigger and better stuff, so perhaps you can get to $5-10K a week if you play it right and get some help.

I'd recommend: clean everything, bundle in logical categories, get all the accessories/manuals to go with units. Cleaning/bundling/packaging is really the big things, people pay a lot more money for things that are clean, all-together and nicely presented.

Also there is Petrowski Auctioneers - in my area they'll take stuff on consignment and keep it at they facility till the next auction (next one is early December), I think they have a place closer to you as well

Very professional. I was worried that stuff would get stolen before the auction, but came back to check on my lots and they were still intact. Reasonable commission, have good showing and stuff goes for good money. They bring some hot-shot auctioneers from Texas that can get the crowed really riled-up and bidding

 

[nine4gmc]

good stuff Garage Warrior!

Hey Strouty, here is a quick list of 23 auctions in your area, maybe you can contact one of them to move forward?

http://www.yellowpages.com/portland-me/farm-equipment-auctions

 

[Strouty]

good stuff Garage Warrior!

Hey Strouty, here is a quick list of 23 auctions in your area, maybe you can contact one of them to move forward?

http://www.yellowpages.com/portland-me/farm-equipment-auctions

I appreciate the effort, only two of those are actually auctioneers that would accept anything I have, and one of them has been retired for 5 years. Gotta love the interwebs.

There are only a few places that have anything during the winter, most are strictly antiques or firearms.

I am branching out, there is another auction house in New Hampshire and then the one in Massachusetts that I am taking stuff to next week. In the spring the local auction will be a sure thing, so I am going to wait for that one.

 

[454cid]

What about a local Habitat for Humanity Restore........ donate it, or some of it. If you're not familiar with it, it's like the Goodwill version of Lowes.

 

[Strouty]

That was definitely on my radar. I shop there as well.

I am standing behind you while I type this.

 

[dlcwent]

When is too much just too much?? Strouty you do have too much stuff. I'll come down and help you with a load or two.

 

[Strouty]

When is too much just too much?? Strouty you do have too much stuff. I'll come down and help you with a load or two.

I would say I have toooooooooo much. I thought of you the other day. I was in a parking lot in Bath with the main starter wire terminal broken off of the solenoid. Luckily I found someone to start it while I held the wire to the post. Arced pretty good, but I was more concerned about my hand between the framerail and the manifold.

I am standing behind you while I type this.

 

[dlcwent]

I would say I have toooooooooo much. I thought of you the other day. I was in a parking lot in Bath with the main starter wire terminal broken off of the solenoid. Luckily I found someone to start it while I held the wire to the post. Arced pretty good, but I was more concerned about my hand between the framerail and the manifold.

I am standing behind you while I type this.

You need more hand/ arm problems. NOT

Glad you weren't stranded.

 

[bczygan]

Strouty,
You know by now that I share your hoarding tendency's. I just don't have the space that you have for storage.
As you are discovering, the problem isn't the stuff, it's how your head works. As soon as you acquire stuff, it becomes "Gold". It got so bad for me, that little random scraps of paper became valuable. I even saved envelopes from junk mail because I could use the back of the envelope for a writing surface.
You are on your way to discovering and dealing with your problems. You are aware. Not fully aware yet, but your eyes are opening.
So let me pull back the curtain a little more for you.

This desire we have, to get a good deal, is an addiction we have fallen into. Combined with a feeling that the stuff has a value beyond it's real value, makes it hard to dispose of it.
You know, most people just let the local hardware store keep a supply of hardware available for them. It is always there, secure and ready for purchase. Sure, it costs a lot more. And you got a lot more for a lot less. But what is it costing you now?
Having a lifetime supply of everything is a security blanket. But it's a blanket that can smother us. I don't want to spend the rest of my life as a warehouse manager either. I'm not very good at it anyway. The other day I had to buy a HF come-a-long, even though I knew I had one already. And a couple of weeks later I found the one I had. Now I have 2!

So what is the solution?

It is in retraining your brain. I am slowly learning how to think and feel differently about myself and how to live and be in the world. It's a slow process. That's why the clearing, cleaning and organizing is taking you so long. It isn't the work itself. It's the process of awakening to, and learning about the ways you relate to your belongings, and learning new ways to think and feel about them.

Now, let's talk about some practical methods to deal with the actual clutter.
Your title to this thread, and your plan to clear and restock areas is a useful and valid method for dealing with excess clutter. I am using that very method, with great success. Empty a space completely, clean it and then refurnish it. But be very careful to restock or furnish it to the bare minimum. Use a very critical eye. Do not over stock or over furnish the space. Just because you can fit another cart or chest or bin into the space, doesn't mean you should. Create storage clusters and workstations. Leave negative or empty spaces between items or groups of things. This creates vignettes that are pleasing to the eye. Instead of thinking of how much you can fit in a space, think of how little you can get away with, and it still functions.
As you do this, you will have an excess of things. If you have carefully chosen just the best items to furnish your places, then these will truly be excess, and you can safely part with them.
One thing I notice, is that you have a lot of storage. Storage can be a trap. The more storage you have, the more you can store. I have actually been throwing storage items out. Cardboard boxes are my bane. I just throw stuff in them and stack them up. And plastic grocery bags. I put stuff in them and hang them from the hinges of doors. Clutter!
Consider making 2 kinds of storage, working storage and dead storage. Working storage is placing supplies at the workstations where they will be used. Drill bits at the drill press, sanding belts at the sander. Dead storage is for things like fasteners and fluids and tools that aren't used often. Dead storage should be located far from the work areas. You should have to take a walk to get to them.
Working storage should be very minimal. Just one or at most 2 of an item.
Using this method, you should almost always have what you need day to day, readily at hand.

The hoarding mentality that many of us have is caused by a combination of factors. Insecurity about the world in general, and our own particular security drives a lot of it. The good endorphin rush you get from a good buy is a strong driver that contributes to acquiring too much. CL and online auctions and resale shops and garage sales contribute. They are like crack for an addict. And this GJ forum doesn't help. The reigning attitude here is BUY MORE STUFF!
The last advice I have for you today is to be careful of excuses for buying things. I have used them all, and my wife is a master as well. If we couldn't justify a purchase for ourselves, she would say it's for one of the kids or grand-kids. And a real big trap is that it's a good deal, and we can resell it and make money. Things are easy to buy, and much harder to sell. And we're too busy trying to tame the tiger of too much stuff, to have the time to buy and sell. Heck, it's time consuming enough to try to dispose of what we already have.
Well, that's enough advice for one day. Read this through twice and ponder it. I am where you are. I understand. I am learning new ways of thinking that are starting to free me. You can be free too.

Bill

 

[Strouty]

Thanks Bill, those are great words of advice. I will add this quote to the other thread as well.

I tend to "justify" things way too much. I am getting better, I do have slips, I am not perfect, I will keep moving forward.

 

[albaran]

This is a very important thread. As I enter my seventh decade of existance on this planet you can imagine all of the "stuff" I have accumulated in my lifetime. Years ago, after moving stuff I would never use from house to house and finding myself buying the same thing twice, I began "cleaning house" and simplifying my life.
I don't know how many of you watch my fellow Connecticut resident, Wayne Carini's show "Chasing Classic Cars", but one of the episodes had him coming to a garage after a brother had passed away. All of the cars this person had didn't run, were in pieces, and the place was full of pulled apart engines. In short, what this person thought was valuable was really junk.
I told my daughter that if something happens to me, I don't want to leave a mess for my family. All my cars run, are registered, and can be easily sold if neccessary. Same goes for the tool boxes and their contents as well as the automotive memorabilia.
The lesson is to avoid accumulating "future projects" because that future may never come.

 

[Strouty]

I am learning to balance "future" projects. The plan is not to add too many more to the list until I have finished the first round. I am going to completely do away with a few projects that I have come to realize are never going to be finished, at least not by me.

 

[Labradorian]

I have been working on my shop for a while, I even started a thread about the mess and my slow progress (you can click "the salvage garage" link in my signature to see it). I have been listening to audiobooks while organizing things and one idea that I think may be the best solution is going through a bankruptcy process for my stuff. The idea is that you just throw it all away and start fresh. I watched garage warrior's endeavor, it kind of scared me, but it also got me thinking.

My situation is different than most, I actually have a decent amount of storage space, but since I never really organized or labeled anything, I might as well be empty. Sometimes after finding what I am looking for, it still cost me more in time and effort than going to the store to buy a new item, especially when I find that it is damaged due to improper storage.

I have so much stuff that I don't even know what it is, sometimes I know a general application like electrical, but I could not tell you where it would really be used. This has come from buying pallets of random stuff from auctions. I usually do not pay much for the pallets, but as soon as I get the stuff, it becomes "gold". I then go through a process of trying to find it a new home and everything gets churned. Thankfully I have not bought anything like that for almost a year, I get the itch every once and a while, but I just made it through an auction and did not buy anything except the banding carts that I actually needed. It felt pretty liberating.

So I would like to do a modification of the idea. Since I have the room to store most of the "stuff", I would sort by basic application (electrical, painting, plumbing), then I would label the containers like that and store them until I actually have time to sort or need some type of item along those lines. I will still toss stuff, that has no value, but I can't bring myself to tossing everything. I know I could sell it all, but the local auctioneer will not come to me and the next auction is in the spring. I would like to start this soon, if not tomorrow.

I would appreciate any input, I am also posting this in my Salvage Garage thread.

I would like to thank you for posting this topic. I know there are other threads on this forum on this topic but there are some great points in here by you and others that I will use. I recently built a 28x30 garage about a year ago and in the organizing stage so any tips on how to make the best of my space and time are greatly appreciated.

 

[Labradorian]

I am learning to balance "future" projects. The plan is not to add too many more to the list until I have finished the first round. I am going to completely do away with a few projects that I have come to realize are never going to be finished, at least not by me.

I hear ya........Im trying to so the same

 

[Strouty]

I would like to thank you for posting this topic. I know there are other threads on this forum on this topic but there are some great points in here by you and others that I will use. I recently built a 28x30 garage about a year ago and in the organizing stage so any tips on how to make the best of my space and time are greatly appreciated.

I hear ya........Im trying to so the same

Thank you.

I always love having threads like this, they tend to help a lot of people. I think a lot of members are afraid (or embarrassed) to admit they have an issue like this. The more people that talk about it, the more ideas and insight we get.

 

[Notgrownup]

You need an intervention for sure....Damn that place is packed... Start somewhere... make give away piles then make sell piles and do something with it...

 

[Strouty]

You need an intervention for sure....Damn that place is packed... Start somewhere... make give away piles then make sell piles and do something with it...

It is not as bad as it was, of course that is also coming from me.

 

[Kevin54]

Strouty......I looked at your "Salvage Garage" thread again, and it's not THAT bad. I don't see a lot of junk around, but I do see some disorganization. I know that you have done quite a bit so far to clean it up, and I also understand what happens when one gets discouraged, and gets overwhelmed, which I really believe that is where you are at. I've done the same thing that you are thinking about. Just shitcan everything, then start fresh. But if you do that, you are looking at spending more money to replace SOME of the stuff you got rid of.

I DO believe that you need to maybe downsize. If you have 10 of something that you haven't used in 5 years, get rid of 8 of them. Just like in this picture.......

How much of that do you ACTUALLY NEED? Do you actually NEED all of the fuel cans? Do you NEED all of the plastic barrels, cans, buckets? If you do not NEED all of them, save one or two, and get rid of the rest. The same thing can apply with a lot of the other stuff that you have.

A lot of your problem may be too....you bought the stuff, you think everything has a value to it, so you are finding it hard to part with it. Now to remedy that, you are going to the other end of the road, shitcan everything, then start fresh. Believe me, if you do that, you will regret it for a long while.

I can bet that when you go to the shop to tackle this, you are by yourself, and that is when things start to feel overwhelming. Instead of jumping right in and starting to organize, you are thinking that it would be easier and less strenuous to just have a couple of roll-offs dropped off, and start pitching. Sure, it WOULD go faster, and you would have the nice clean slate to start from, but now, you don't have the part(s) you need to finish a job. You can look at that two ways. You mentioned that by having the items, you have saved hundreds or thousands on a job. On these jobs, are they for you or for a customer? If they are for a customer, are you charging them for those parts? And if you are charging them for the parts, are you charging them full price? If you are charging them full price for the parts, then charging them labor, can't you just go out and buy the parts new when you do a job for a customer, and make the same money? If the answer is yes, then you DO NOT NEED that specific part or dozens of parts taking up space. Do you see what I mean?

A lot of stuff, you may not be able to get rid of if it is something that is no longer carried on the market, is not readily available if needed for a quick job to get something back up and running, or is no longer made, but needed to keep something at the present working.

I think what you DO NEED to do, is get all of the cabinets brought inside, that you have outside. Sand them all down and paint them all the same color. Once you get rid of mismatched stuff and get it all looking the same, even though they might not be the same model of cabinet, the same size, or even the same manufacturer, it will look better than mismatched, and it will get you into a different frame of mind about organizing.

Next......do you have anyone that you run around with that can help you get started in organizing? A lot of times, all it takes is a friend helping out, to really make a huge dent in things. If you do have a friend to help out, start building a pile in the middle of the floor for items that you are going to get rid of, making sure that you keep one or two out of 20, so you can fix something if someone is in a bind. If it is an item that you can run down to the corner mom & pop hardware store, or run to one of the box stores and grab it off the shelf, then possibly get rid of every piece you have. After a while, you'll get into the groove of what to get rid of completely, what to keep a couple of, or what not to get rid of at all.

In the case of you having your own business and doing work for others.......at least I think that is the way it is IIRC.......they always say that if you haven't used it in a year, you don't need it. In your case, you may have to change the one year to something like three years. And if you have a friend that is willing to help you, lay down the rules as to what to keep and what to shitcan. If he is a real close friend and has been around you for years, then he may very well already know as to what you need to keep and what to get rid of.

But bottom line......I WOULD NOT throw away everything and then try to start over. It offers no challenge to do that, it won't help your organizational skills any, and you WILL regret it. But you do need to get rid of a considerable amount of stuff, and organize the rest of the stuff. Then stay away from the auctions or you'll be right back in the same position in another year or two. And once you DO get organized, you'll find that staying organized a lot easier. With the money you make from taking things to a scrap yard or by selling some items, use that money to buy matching containers. Whether it be small tubs, like the small yellow or red ones that you see hanging on a rack, or whether it be the Akro-Mills parts cabinets with the small clear drawers, make sure you get things to match as much as you can. They don't have to be, but it just puts a person into a different mindset and makes it easier to organize.

Best of luck, and if you were closer, I'd be right over to help you out for sure.

Just to show you that you aren't the only one in the same boat.......here's mine at the present.

 

[LeeG]

What I did was to empty out every container, use my phone to take a picture of the container, then photograph everything that goes into it. It is much faster looking through a bunch of photos than digging through bins and boxes. Makes it a lot easier to find uncommonly used, but useful or expensive stuff. A labeling machine can also be your friend.

 

[albaran]

Case in point: A friend of mine has a Saleen Mustang that he put up on his Backyard Buddy lift to do a break job. He blocked up the front end and took the wheels off. He never finished the job and then started using the space under the car to store "stuff".
That was two years ago. The Saleen is still up there.
As Clint Eastwood once said in one of his movies, "A man has to know his limitations."