When do you throw away...

[Tettsui]

I was discussing with a friend about the topic of throwing away junk that doesn't really break. These are things such as trash cans, chairs, dishes, cups, scissors, shoe racks, book shelves, etc.

My family basically didn't throw away anything until it is utterly useless. So a fax machine that can't fax anymore is kept as a 10 lbs phone. There are desks and drawers in the house that are easily 25-30 years old. Maybe someday they will be revived as antiques.

So when do you get rid of something that's working? Or do you? What's your rule?

I just thought it'd be interesting to hear since we have people from all different backgrounds on this board.

[Dent]

Osu!

If I can use it, I keep it. I also do fairly well on salvaging operations.

Osu!

[smoothsake]

I have a rule that if I haven't touched it in a year or two it goes in the trash or recycle bin or on eBay.

[Olrac]

Please be carefull what you post here.
If my wife reads these posts, she might get rid of me too.

[Brad]

osu

Nice one Olrac. I have got shoes, and some clothes that i have had for 7 to eight years. Please don't run when you meet me!!!

[tmd]

I moved house 7 or so years ago and have stuff that went form one loft to the next and is still unpacked.

Where I used to work we had a two year rule where after 2 years the item was written off, so it was trashed right? NO! it was still kept in the 'just in case' area which was eventually as big as our main stores - I left there after around 5 years and there was stuff in there that was them bins that was there before me and out lasted me.

We are trying to move again (great timing huh?) and I'm trying to throw stuff out but I am man - I must hoard!

[Bloke]

I went thorugh all my clothes recently to make room for any new stuff my daughter is going to get (clothes, toys etc) and for the first time in almost 23 years I binned some Kyokushin T-Shirts. I had T-Shrts from when I first started training ( I was 60 Kilos and Im 94 now) and as a hoarder I never threw any out even when they didnt fit.

[jcc]

Osu!

Murphies 55th Law: Unused junk will always fill all available space.

Afraid you can never break that one!

Osu!

[walshy]

Originally Posted by jcc

Osu!

Murphies 55th Law: Unused junk will always fill all available space.

Afraid you can never break that one!

Osu!

Murphies 56th law: If I throw something away, odds on that my wife needed it!!

[tmd]

Originally Posted by walshy

Murphies 56th law: If I throw something away, odds on that my wife needed it!!

Murphy's 57th Law if I throw it away the kids will break the new one

[aloha_girl]

You could always have a garage or lawn sale. When I moved from New York to Tokyo recently, I sold a lot of my stuff.

On the sidewalk a women bought a pair of old (I repeat oooold...) Nike's that my roommate left behind for 3 dollars. Some kids bought some other Nike's for 20 each. Plates, bowls, dishrack 1-5 apiece depending on what it was. An old guy bought a ratty backpack for $2.

I had a $1 box for old t-shirts, clothes, and brick-brac. Books were $1-5. As you can imagine a dollar here and there add up. I made about $120 that day.

The rest of the stuff I donated to charity. It's a tax write-off in the US.

[Tameshigiri]

I Will Do That Today..

Thanks For The Post.

[Tettsui]

Moving is always a great reason to get rid of stuff...because you don't want to bother hauling all that junk. It's easier to throw away than carry.

I just gave a bunch of clothes to charity to free up some drawer/closet space.

It takes more discipline than I thought.

Now it's the books....

[aloha_girl]

The books are the best!!

Amazon or Ebay (it just takes some time to post everything and mail off once an order is placed...)

You can sell DVDs, CDs, and books and make a bundle. Just set up an account/Marketplace and wait for the orders to come in.

I did this too, about 6 months before moving and made a bunch of cash.

[Bloke]

Could never get rid of my books

[jcc]

Originally Posted by Bloke

Could never get rid of my books

Osu!

Must agree with that! There´s something about a good book - like an old friend you can always turn to...

I was searching for for a 'vintage' amplifier the other day and found one at a reasonable price on Craigslist. Unfortunately the shipping costs made it too expensive, but it does seem like a good system to buy/sell (give away?) 2nd hand stuff.

Osu!

[Tettsui]

Originally Posted by aloha_girl

The books are the best!!

Amazon or Ebay (it just takes some time to post everything and mail off once an order is placed...)

You can sell DVDs, CDs, and books and make a bundle. Just set up an account/Marketplace and wait for the orders to come in.

I did this too, about 6 months before moving and made a bunch of cash.

That is an awesome idea. The problem with Craigslist and Ebay is you are hopefully selling the item at exactly the same time someone wants it. You have to take what you can get. With Amazon, it can stay up until someone searches for it. Fantastic!

[smoothsake]

Check out half.com for books/dvds. Same idea. You can leave it out there until it sells.

[aloha_girl]

I was helping clearing out office paperwork and junk for my job and found a pile of books. I asked my boss what he wanted to do with the books and he said to throw them away.

I was in the midst of selling all my books and stuff on Amazon, so I asked if I could have them and got an OK.

That night I posted all the books--90% for under $5. However, there was one book that people were willing to buy for $1500!! I couldn't believe my eyes! I posted it for $1400 (to sell fast) and the next day it was sold. I still couldn't believe it was real until Amazon transferred the money into my checking account...

So, you never know what you have until you go and sell it---even an 'old friend' might fetch a pretty penny...

[meguro]

Can you imagine if the buyer is now telling a similar story? How he or she came across a priceless treasure on Amazon for just $1400.

Still, $1,400 is a nice bit of change. Don't tell your boss unless you want to share.