How did I get all of this stuff?!

[Eric]

As I've mentioned in another thread or two, we will be putting our house up for sale within about a month. As part of preparing for that, we have been cleaning up the house and moving as much stuff as possible to the basement.

This past weekend, while stacking more boxes, I was shaking my head at how much crap we have in boxes, and then I glanced over at the pallet upon which all of my guitar-related things sit. It's without question the tallest stack of junk in the entire basement, and packed to the gills with guitar stuff, arranged very neatly so as to maximize the available space. 4 amps, 5 guitars, two boxes of miscellaneous crap, a pedalboard, amp stands, mic stands, a music stand, box of soldering supplies, etc.

How in the world did I end up with this much guitar crap? It honestly kind of boggles my mind, even though I don't feel like I have that much stuff, relatively speaking. I even got rid of some of it recently. In guitar-land, my collection is pretty modest, but compared to anything else, it's quite the heap of hobby gear. Even all of our camping gear put together probably doesn't add up to half of the space my guitar stuff occupies. I will need to factor these things into any future decision on where to live...

Anyway, just sayin'.

 

[Spudman]

I moved into my house by myself with very few possessions. Within 5 years it was quite full of stuff thanks to yard sales and thrifty buying. The place was quite comfortable. Then I got married and they brought their stuff. It doesn't take long to end up with a lot of stuff. I have to admit that because of guitar forums I probably have more music related stuff than if I'd never gotten on forums to begin with. Getting rid of stuff can also be very therapeutic and freeing. Just don't give everything away all at once or someone might think you are going to commit suicide. Once people start intervening it seems that you can never get rid of them.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Just don't give everything away all at once or someone might think you are going to commit suicide. Once people start intervening it seems that you can never get rid of them.

Dude, you doing ok? I didn't hear from you today. Did the crisis line call go OK?!

 

[Spudman]

Dude, you doing ok? I didn't hear from you today. Did the crisis line call go OK?!

I'm coming for you next...and all your stuff too.:ninja

Crisis line? Like a phone thing? Nobody told me about that. How's that work?

 

[FrankenFretter]

I dread the next time I move. The moment you settle somewhere, the accumulating begins. We do occasionally get rid of a bunch of stuff, a purging of sorts. I am probably the worst family member when it comes to getting rid of things...not like "Hoarders" bad, but not good. I tend to surround myself with stuff, much like a comfy nest made of newspapers and old rags.

 

[syo]

How in the world did I end up with this much guitar crap?

Perhaps you just might need an intervention here Eric...
I mean "guitar" followed by "crap"?
Don't you realize where you are, man?!
At least half the Fretters are probably wondering what's in those "two boxes of miscellaneous crap" (including me apparently) ...

I realize moving can be very stressful, but do try to maintain a proper perspective...

 

[Eric]

At least half the Fretters are probably wondering what's in those "two boxes of miscellaneous crap" (including me apparently) ...

What's in the box???

If memory serves, that would be oodles of 1/4" cables, a few XLR cables, 4-channel mixer, SM58, SM57, fretboard oil, string winder, Zoom recorder, some spare tuning machines, guitar strings, wire cutters, power supplies...you get the idea.

And yes, I am grateful for all of my guitar-related...treasures.

 

[hubberjub]

I'm in the same boat Eric. We're moving into our new house this weekend. For the time being, we're keeping the old house so there's really no rush. The bad thing is that every time I walk into my current studio I'm overcome with dread when I think about having to tear everything down and move it.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

If I ever have to move it's going to be hellish. It's been almost 20 years in this house, and now there's 2 teenagers accumulating stuff in addition to me and Mrs. K.

Most of my gear is at the office, which is also a disaster area.

:thwap

 

[deeaa]

Heh, yeah...the last time I moved was in '98 and I only needed a big truck/van, you know, dually wheels, would fit a small car inside - but not like a full 18 wheeler size.

These days...sheesh...I guess I would have to just sell the house with a lot of accessories and furniture, it would make no sense to move all the crap.

In recent years, though, I've been pretty effective at getting rid of stuff too. Every year I've hauled at least one small trailer-full of stuff to either Salvation Army or the dump. This year I got rid of a LOT of excess books for instance, something like 200 of 'em. Never read 'em anyway. Useless Tupperware plastics, old computers and parts, you name it...they tend to linger in the basement a few years when discarded, until I decide that and that really has to go NOW. I know I could have probably made a nice bundle selling the crap too, hell if i'd ask just 50c an item I woulda certainly made enough to buy an SG but that'd be such an annoying task pricing stuff etc. I didn't want to bother with it. I gave some stuff like old digiboxes and VCR and a television to some students of mine, they were happy about them. I'm still trying to dump a perfect-condition Crosstrainer machine but to no avail. I should put an ad in the paper and ask 50;- for it and I bet someone would collect it, but I'd rather give it away free to someone I know. But it's so hard to give away stuff - nobody wants it!

Next I'm gonna garbage the 700 DVD's I have and never watch, partially because it's just dvd-res stuff anyway, partially because it's easier off HD and so on...that'll clear one bookshelf at once. I don't want a single bookshelf in my livingroom in the future, just bare walls thank you!

It's certainly amazing just how much useless junk you can collect over the years...this summer I need to figure out how to best get rid of two electric kitchen stove/cookers (working), at least one microwave and three semi-functional old lawnmowers, a huge pile of excess assorted bits of wood and interior doors and whatnot, and of course the old parquet flooring and the entire kitchen I'm rebuilding...sigh...

I should implement the same system as my friend started doing with his daughter too - whenever she wants a new toy, she now has to give away two old ones to Salvation Army. He said in six months that's cleared her room enough so he can also actually fit in again

 

[Eric]

But it's so hard to give away stuff - nobody wants it!

Around here, people love free stuff. I picked some rocks out of the garden a year or two ago and put them in a big plastic storage bin. Posted an ad for free rocks, and I have like 5 replies in about 45 minutes. ROCKS!

I swear people will take anything. I don't know what they do with it; for all I know, they're just packrats, but at least it helps assuage my guilt.

I should implement the same system as my friend started doing with his daughter too - whenever she wants a new toy, she now has to give away two old ones to Salvation Army. He said in six months that's cleared her room enough so he can also actually fit in again

I've heard of something like that before from a high-school friend's dad. It was some "rule of 500" or something, where you get down to a maximum of 500 items (can't recall the exact number). If you get something new, you have to get rid of an item so that you stay under 500 items. I think each sheet of paper counted as an item as well.

Seemed a bit much for me to implement in my own life, but I liked (and still like) the idea. It would keep things simple.

 

[deeaa]

I did that number thing for years with CD's. I had this CD tower that housed 200 CD's and once it got full, I kept it at that, always getting rid of something when I got a new one. Worked for years.

 

[poodlesrule]

I am married to a book and fabric maniac.
We have books on every imaginable subject, and could easily run a neighborhood library.
There are plastic crates brimming with fabric everywhere, a fire hazard..! I think there is at least another forumite in the same situation IIRC!

We go to estate sales on Cape Cod, where a lot of retirees live their golden years and pass on, leaving entire households in the hands of specialized mom-and-pop operations to sell. You see diplomas, pictures of pets, etc. personal stuff left behind.
It is just amazing to see how much stuff people keep around, and how many will buy just about anything. I built up a good collection of "Made in USA", old-school tools that way, actually! Scored a Pearl Export drumset recently. Ba doom!

 

[Tig]

Mrs. Tig is a low level hoarder. She loves yard sales and resale shops. The garage is a model of her collections versus my attempt to clean (throw or give away) the useless cr@p. It's like putting a dehydrator and humidifier in one room to let them fight it out!

I keep the things that are important and try to limit excess. I like to keep life as simple as possible since the surrounding world tends to be complex and hectic. I don't succeed all that much!

The 2 1/2 foot stack of guitar magazines will be weeded out next. I'll be keeping the rest of the guitar stuff, however.

 

[Katastrophe]

Around here, people love free stuff. I picked some rocks out of the garden a year or two ago and put them in a big plastic storage bin. Posted an ad for free rocks, and I have like 5 replies in about 45 minutes. ROCKS!

I swear people will take anything.

Dude, I know what you mean! We did the "If we haven't used this in a year, get rid of it" thing before we moved, and threw away literally cubic yards of stuff that was either too out of date or worn out to sell or donate. As soon as our crap (and when I say crap, I mean CRAP) hit the curb, the neighborhood vultures attacked. HALF of our stuff was gone by the end of the day.

 

[Tig]

We had a leather couch that the male cat used as a pee depot and had to put it out on the curb the day before heavy trash day. I put a note on it so no one would think it was in good shape. This thing was really bad and the cushions were starting to rot around the edges. Stunk!
Sure enough, a couple pulls up and grabs it. I kindly warn them, but they didn't care.

 

[otaypanky]

When my wife and I moved to Pa in 2006 we took with us my now 91 year old mother who was living alone.
My mother is part squirrel. She's also very stubborn. She had been living in that house for 43 years. She still had rotary phones hard wired in to the walls. She never threw out anything and saved everything ~
So when it was time to go, needless to say there was a lot of worthless crap she could not 'do without' that ended up in moving boxes and made the trip too.
8,000 lbs. of it, according to the moving company's scale !!!
My 120 lb. 91 year old mom needed 8,000 lbs. of crap to go with her ~ So now the boxes sit in the basement and the rest are in the attic :thwap

 

[Eric]

My mother is part squirrel.

My 120 lb. 91 year old mom needed 8,000 lbs. of crap to go with her ~ So now the boxes sit in the basement and the rest are in the attic :thwap

Awesome quotes.