Throwing things out / Getting rid of stuff

Tempting because I need space. Dangerous because I know I will miss something later.

And how can this be avoided in the future?

thought about a new year's resolution - throw away one thing you own every day for the next year

the danger is in your head - you're unlikely to miss it. get rid and enjoy it!

i'm kind of addicted to getting rid of things but i still feel like i have too much stuff.

throw it out, all of it!

youll miss like one thing once

What if the stuff is worth something though? I have a guitar I haven't played in years that would make some kid's day if I gave it to him.

then give it.

this is very "1 weird trick"-ish but I read it and it seemed cool:

-put red stickers on all your possessions that you don't use much but don't want to throw away.
-if you use them over the course of the next year, take off the sticker
-at the end of year, get rid of everything that still has a sticker on it.

a year is a long time.

"whoaaa ohhhh-ohh for about a year"
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HssRpVvizgc/0.jpg

I am working on this. Stuff-loving spouse has a harder time letting go than I, but it has to go because we need to (mostly) vacate this house soon, leaving only furniture and basics (pots, pans, tableware, bed linens, towels) behind for a tenant. And oh god there is the basement and the garage to deal with, too. . . how did we not get rid of more stuff when we moved last year! We should not have so much stuff at this point!

And yet I just bought a meat grinder on Amazon this morning. SMDH at myself righ now.

Pre-holidays is the perfect time to clear out unnecessary stuff. My family tends to accrue a lot of nonsense, so it feels good to let it go and get a bit of control over the house again.

If I don't use an item in 5 years I'm never going to use it, and to the animal shelter resale shop it goes. I make exceptions for my books and cds (which I'll never sell, and all fit in one box using the vinyl sleves they fit into).

I agree with sanpaku that functional items you never use are pretty safe to get rid of.

There seem to be two separate universes of stuff people hang onto too long: things they are sure have future value because they might be useful some day, and things they know have no real use but have a sentimental value of some kind or are just 'cool stuff'. Both categories can get you into trouble, but most people specialize in just one or the other, but not both.

i worked as a desk attendant at my college dorm and the 1st floor custodian was this awesome bawdy old Greek lady named Aldora. she'd be tidying up the lobby in the mornings after kids hanging out/studying all night and come across a magazine or a notebook or a sweater or something and always asK if it was mine or if i knew whose it was. if the answer was no she'd exclaim "THHHRROOOOW IT AWAAAAYYY!!" with great relish. i've said that to myself when i'm getting rid of things ever since.

THHHHHOOWWW IT AWAAAAYYYY!!!!

correct book about Stuff and hoarding

and yeah getting rid of stuff can be nearly as satisfying as acquiring it. I am moving in uh a couple hours and I had to dissuade my parents from saddling me with assorted old furniture and appliances that they thought I might want.

your categorisation sounds rights, aimless, though my mum is the possibly interesting, possibly common case of evidently being the latter but half-heartedly pretending to be the former. why yes, those filthy broken toys may be worth something one day.

Oh man, this is a constant preoccupation of mine and has been for the last coupla years. I live in a decent sized house, we have a medium sized loft with plenty of storage space for boxes and boxes of books, CDs, magazines (tons of magazines, why lord??) domestic goods packaging, old papery items etc;

What I can't get to the bottom of, is the part of my personality that is so very fearful of making some future mistake by throwing away items.

But I am also perplexed by the near constant thought that I am somehow going to make my life more streamlined, simpler and therefore better by chucking out or selling items.

I'd like to know if any ILXOR has done this to some extent then totally regretted it later on?

I always sold records as well as buying them, had a big clearout around 1990 when I got bored of prog (for a decade or so anyway) and did sell a few things I later regretted. BUT if I hadn't, then I'd still have 7 or 8 Rick Wakeman LPs weighing down my soul, so sometimes you have to just do it and not worry about changing your mind in the future.

Also, if you have old copies of Mojo, Select, Q or Record Collector - chuck the fucking things. The world doesn't need them.

You will miss less than 5% of anything you chuck! (unless you actually suffer from OCD, which you don't)

if you ever regret getting rid of something you can just find it on ebay at a later date

I'm in the middle of a move and I initially decided to be remorseless when it came to getting rid of stuff, but y'know, this baking book in a language I don't speak that's been here since I moved in, it could be useful some time, yeah?

You never know! Better pack it just in case.

Rule of thumb : if you didn't already own it, and saw it for sale at a reasonable price, would you buy it? If not, you don't need it and can chuck / sell it (unless it has actual proper sentimental value).

sent off three big boxes of CDs and books I didn't care about to music magpie and ziffit since I moved £120

gonna get rid of 90% of the rest of CDs is my aim

I'm in the middle of month three in cleaning out my mother's hoarder house. The one lesson I've learned so far is that it's best to toss whatever it is out. The psychic exhaustion that comes from it having a presence in your life, either by moving it, putting off what to do with it, or the anxiety that results from worrying about making a mistake by tossing it, will all be greater than the replacement cost of whatever it is.