Hoarders

[Stallard12]

I have three pairs of shorts, five golf shirts, two pairs of jeans, three pairs of western boots and two hats.   Yet, every time I open a closet in any bedroom, I have to fight my way over a zillion shoes and racks bending under the weight of clothes!   I don't want my wife to go without, but surely she could get rid of the poodle skirts, midi skirts, bell bottomed slacks and bobbysoxs, but apparently I'm wrong, they are essential !

[Evil Sid]

my clothing occupies a four drawer filing cabinet and a three drawer bedside size table in my back bedroom/computer area. The front bedroom contains i large wardrobe, three large chest of drawers and a few smallish cases all full of Mrs Sids stuff. would not surprise me if there were a tribe of lost pygmies living amongst the stuff in the back of the wardrobe.

My clothes are divided into three lots. clothes that i am wearing, clothes that have been washed and ready for wearing, clothes that need to be washed. oh and a suit for weddings/funerals.

Mens clothes are looked on by women as outdated five minutes after you have got them to a comfortable state. womens clothes are looke don by women as out of date five minutes after trying them on in the shop and buying them. (slowly reaches for tin hat) ⛑️

[Davy51]

Women are not like us . We can get many years out our favourite jumper .

[Evil Sid]

I have a pair of boots that are over 40 years old and still as serviceable today as the day i got them. Mind you i have only worn them a few times the first time was when i went down the mines.

[Bill]

It's not only women!

My son and myself are complete opposites when it comes to throwing stuff away. He lives in a big Victorian house with plenty of space so when something breaks he buys a replacement but doesn't throw the old one away because it's "only a bit broken and could be fixed" . I on the other hand live in a Hobit hole of a bungalow and tend to chuck anything away that I have no immediate need for because I hate clutter and in any case I don't have much room to store things. 

The thing is, if you have lots of space I think your more likely to become a hoarder. My son apart from his huge house, has a stable/store room at the back, so full of junk that he can't find anything in there. He often argues it's easier and quicker to buy online and get someone to bring it to the door than start looking in the shed. I can't really argue with that because I end up having to do the same having thrown stuff away that I now need. 

Either way, you just can't win.

 

Bill

 

[Davy51]

I must say ,i had a clear out a few days ago. I started with reorganising my wardrobe & drawer space  & managed to find a small piece of cardboard packaging to get rid of ,the clothes will get further use . 

Mrs Davy was amazed !

[Evil Sid]

My dad was a great hoarder, however he had a big shed to put stuff in. We always used to say if you wanted anything no matter how obscure or unusual my dad would have it somewhere.

Between the kitchen wall and next doors fence was a space about width of a standard gate. he roofed it over and fitted a door to it to store wood, all sorts of wood, from six foot lengths of 3 x 6 oak to six inch offcuts of quarter beading.

if there was a tool that had been invented chances are he had it or could make one just as good.

When we finally had to empty everything we found tins and jars full of rusting bolts and nuts with all the old threads like Whitworth and BSW.

[Bill]

Sounds just like my son's place Sid. 

He'd talked several times about how his outbuilding would make a good home office but like most of his big ideas, he just never gets around to doing anything about them. So, a couple of years back, while he was away on holiday, the wife and myself spent a whole week clearing the place out. The father in law was an industrial plumber down at the docks in Liverpool so the local scrap metal bloke struck lucky and took five transit van loads of scrap copper, lead and enough prehistoric heavy industrial tools to fill a museum. 

I think when your having a big clear out, you need to close your eyes and just do it. As soon as you start to think that may come in handy or that's too good to chuck away, your never going to get clear. One of the worst things is thinking you could put half the stuff on Ebay and make a fortune (someone somewhere must want a box of 5/17th British rarefide screws with a left handed threads) but the trouble is you never actually get round to doing this and so the problem remains.

Anyway after numerous runs to the tip and a huge bonfire, we had it completely empty in just under a week. That was just about two years ago so his new proposed office is now a shed full of junk again. As I say, you can't win. Even when you throw a six, you end up going down a bloody snake!

 

Bill  

[Evil Sid]

no matter how big a shed you have there is never enough room for all the odd and ends that you keep justy in case in fifty years time you have a use for it.

when we cleared dads shed i lost count of the number of half gallon paint tins with about half an inch of paint in, each one had to be opened and checked to see what was in it, just in case you found something useful, like you do.

[Stallard12]

Ah, now you're talking about good hoarding.   I had a workshop and storage building built with the house, the front half is a workshop and the back half is a tools and lumber storage area.  Twenty years ago they were both clear, clean open spaces, now they are packed to the gills with peg boards loaded with tools, mechanics chests, scarred and stained benches.  The storage area has my supply of two x fours and every piece of scrap lumber over 12" long, every yard tool imaginable, all covered in a layer of sawdust and cobwebs and I love the lingering smell of gasoline from the riding mower.   Amazing how, without trying, in twenty years they look like they have been there since Queen Victoria was a baby and the sides are bulging.    Nothing quite as exciting as wandering in there on a cold winters morning, with a sketch, a plan of action and a cup of coffee.