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[side_show]

One of my dearest friends is getting rid of all but 100 things, then moving out of province.  He is a week away from his goal.
 

[bluemoon72]

Wow, this really resonates with me.  I live somewhere on the continuum between 'packrat' and 'hoarder.'  With separating from my husband, yesterday and today have been a chaotic flurry of fast-decision packing and purging.  I have, with the help of three other people, cleared two rooms in the past two days.  I bought 20 "book" boxes (12" x 12" x 12"), and 20 "medium" boxes (18" x 20"x 24"), and halfway through today's purge I had to buy 10 more of each.  The good news is nearly half of those boxes are now set aside for my sister's and my bi-annual garage sale fundraiser for the Leukemia Society.  I'm still moving far more than I should (ugh, 14 boxes are packed full of books that I'm moving) but I've now seen the horror of thousands of dollars of CRAP, much still unopened or used only once, and 20 years of not bearing to part with old papers, photos, etc., condensed down to 60 boxes, 16 kitchen garbage bags full of trash, and 18 cubic feet of recycled cardboard.  Good lord.  (Also, I am extremely tired and sore.)

[jay-ell]

When we moved from a 1500 square foot house (with a 10x10 storage shed) as a family of three into an 1100 square-foot apartment and became a family of four, we chucked a bunch of junk. What makes it easier for me is remembering that if I'm storing/hoarding/pack-ratting it away, it's not doing anybody any good. If I give it away, somebody somewhere may find benefit from it. Especially since the main reason I save a thing I don't need is because "it's still good."

Stuff I'll never use again: 19" TV/DVD combo? Still good. VCR? Still good. Toys both my kids have outgrown? Still good. Clothes that are too big now that I've lost 15 lbs? Still good. So by keeping it in my attic, I'm being selgiraffe and wasteful -- two qualities I despise in myself even more than I hate throwing "good" things away.

These are the mind games I play with myself.

[wombat]

We have been living in the same house for enough years that we have a lot of junk, but I find that in the rare case when I do throw something out, I end up needing it later. It's like the universe is punishing me, it wants me to keep stuff.

Anyway it's not like we are actually tripping over piles of junk so I can't really find a downside to saving stuff just in case. Even, once some firemen came around doing some kind of community fire safety program and I asked them if it was dangerous to have the attic full of cardboard boxes that the Technical Staff had saved in case we ever move, like would they make it worse if there was a fire, and they seemed to think this was a weird question.

I do have a strict rule that when a magazine or newspaper arrives, we have to throw out the last issue whether we're done with it or not. I worry about that slippery slope to hoarding piles of newspapers so you can't even walk around the house I guess.

[jay-ell]

I do have a strict rule that when a magazine or newspaper arrives, we have to throw out the last issue whether we're done with it or not. I worry about that slippery slope to hoarding piles of newspapers so you can't even walk around the house I guess.

I have a three-month rule with back issues of most magazines, but I make exceptions for ones that make sense to keep and reference again, like Bon Appetit and Interweave Knits, which or course have recipes and knitting patterns that I may use years after the rag's initial appearance in my home. I've considered chucking the Bon Appetits -- I have 5 years' worth -- since most of those recipes are available online, but honestly I prefer the magazines because I like to look at the pictures. 

[bluemoon72]

I have a three-month rule with back issues of most magazines, but I make exceptions for ones that make sense to keep and reference again, like Bon Appetit and Interweave Knits, which or course have recipes and knitting patterns that I may use years after the rag's initial appearance in my home. I've considered chucking the Bon Appetits -- I have 5 years' worth -- since most of those recipes are available online, but honestly I prefer the magazines because I like to look at the pictures. 

Me too.  Mental Floss, Discover, Guitar World, Car and Driver, Entrepreneur, and Popular Science out after reading; Bead Style stays 'cause I might eventually make some earrings.  You almost have to keep Bon Appetit; now that it's defunct, isn't it an instant collectible?

[wombat]

Sounds more useful than my collection of a decade of Pug Talk, for sure.

[Choop]

we only get esquire and cook's illustrated. the former get tossed after six months, the latter have a bookshelf. and will have another.

[bluemoon72]

we only get esquire and cook's illustrated. the former get tossed after six months, the latter have a bookshelf. and will have another.

Ohhh, I miss Esquire.  I may have to re-subscribe.  I'm not much into the sartorial spreads, but love the articles, sex advice, recipes and gadget discussions.

[Choop]

also back on topic, i've moved states four times in the last ten years, and each time we've given away everything we didn't love. and sometimes, things we did.

so why do i have all this clutter

[Arachno-capitalist]

Esquire, GQ, and Wired get tossed after reading. The Economist tends to stay around longer as I have friends who always read whatever issues are on the table.

[KeithHernandez]

I have never even considered subscribing to a magazine (internet ftw) , though I often get the free local papers and onion.  I usually get a new one after I have read the old one all the way through during bathroom stays.  This can take a while.

[linnea]

I have always hated too much stuff and clutter. Everything I own (except my bed, dresser, desk, and couch) fits into my vehicle. Travel light, move fast.

[AugustWest]

I'm a pretty bad packrat, but I'm working on it.   I cleaned out my closet one week ago and got a huge pile of clothes for the Goodwill.  I love being able to actually walk into my closet now.

For some reason, I keep New Yorkers.  I don't keep any other magazines.  That's pretty stupid, isn't it?

[miles]

For some reason, I keep New Yorkers.  I don't keep any other magazines.  That's pretty stupid, isn't it?

Oh no, it just means that you're classy.

I like the idea of being able to just leave, like go anywhere and start over, on a whim. In fact I love that idea. But it ain't me. Too many books, CDs and records. DVDs now too. It seems I've mentioned this in another thread. I'm better about it now, but I still have a lot of shit. Sometimes though I get so fuck*ng sick of my job and trying to figure out what else I could do with my life that I want to sell everything I own and just start over, but, you know.