When do you know it's time to start getting rid of stuff????

[JBinMN]

I have been pondering this "thinning down" of possessions of all types for some time & am still struggling & having a hard time with doing it. Not so much from an attachment to things, but because I worked my *** off to get a lot of them & went without taking the trips I wanted to take, family or not along, and I also know that many would be hard to replace now that I am on a limited income.

The other side is I do not want to burden anyone when I am unable to enjoy/use what I do have due to my physical condition(s), or pass on to rest on the other side.

Only one of my sons is interested in many of the things I have from tools , hunting & fishing gear, camping stuff, firearms, reloading stuff, etc. & my grandboys are too young yet to have the much interest in such things yet, although they do lean towards interest in them. Part of my problem is that I don't know just what they would want to keep & so I don't want to part with anything until I do know...

So, I tend to keep things I likely should get rid of & many call me a packrat for what I have, but almost all has a purpose & is not BS fluff.

Funny story about this came up just recently during last deer hunting season... Oldest son was watching me get some things out of my stuffed with tools & gear garage. ( So, much you could not get a car in there & it is a 2-1/2 car garage.). He says to me, " Dad, you are the "keepingest" S.O.B. I have ever seen..

I laughed , & turned to him and said, "Well, sonny, after I am gone you will likely be the "throwing-awayist" S.O.B. that you ever saw, too.". We both laughed & that was it. Just thought it was funny since both of us saw the irony & humor in our words. Hope you did too....


Anyway, like I said, it is somewhat of a struggle for me right now, but in the end, I will deal with it before it is too late to do so myself. Unless I am taken before hand, but I plan to get a good start on it this Winter by doing some tossing out & getting ready for a yard sale in the Spring.

G'Luck to all who are in a similar situation.

[Winger Ed.]

After clearing the estates of our parents, three of which were hoarders.
We've been drastically thinning the herd around here.
Something that helped a lot was moving out of the city to a smaller house after I retired.

My kids aren't shooters, so I've been thinning out the gun safe for the last few years.
I've gotten it down to the handful of weapons and ammunition I actually shoot a fair amount.

[375supermag]

Hi...
Pretty large collection of firearms, reloading equipment and shooting supplies here.
My son is going to inherit all of it.
He owns a fair number if firearms of his own, hunts small game, deer and bear and does a lot of reloading of rifle and handgun ammunition.
I will quit collecting and shooting when I can no longer physically do it. Until then, I still have firearms I intend to acquire and use.

[Texas by God]

My late MIL was the neatest hoarder I've seen. Everything was in its place, nothing strewn about. I spent 3 hrs at a burn barrel getting rid of receipts and various paperwork dating back to 1943. The estate sale took 2 days and we still have boxes of "memories" in my shop.
I'm trying my best to NOT do that to my kids. I have a "5 year" rule- if I haven't used it or thought about it in 5 years it needs to go to someone who will.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[merlin101]

Funny you brought this up, I recently had quite a scare and spent some time in the hospital. It was a wake up call for sure! I realized that I am not superman and I should start taking care of things. I've got a few guns listed locally and a few on consignment and others I've made a list and added to my will. I still need to go thru so much other stuff from tools to artillery shells, it a daunting task but needs to be done.

[Handloader109]

I've only been accumulating for the past 6 or 7 years. Had a shotgun and a couple of rifles. Now have added several more rifles and a good bunch of pistols. (no where near what I'd like to have, but money can be issue). I'm 62, and I'm not really concerned about the guns and reloading stuff. Daughter can sell or keep. She might keep some guns, Reloading stuff will be going down the road. I've much more Woodworking items that she'll have to get rid of.
Mom passed at 92 in spring. She had never gotten rid of a lot of stuff either, brother and I took what we wanted, and his daughter has the rest as she moved into house. Good for her....

Things that are important to us are not going to be important to anyone else.

Sell what you want to get rid of now.

[RogerDat]

I can relate to "I worked my... tail... off to get some of this stuff" I tried to buy what would serve my needs or that I really wanted, by seldom rushing the purchase I was able to be pretty sure I really wanted it by the the time I spent my money but that money was earned, often saved over that same long duration.

I'm thinking about it and trying to make sure my stuff is organized, and in the process some pitching is taking place. Projects I won't do go so I can focus more on the projects that matter the most. But I am also thinking in terms of what "things" would I really like to have or enjoy for whatever time I have. At some point "someday" becomes a much shorter and smaller potential scheduling option.

So there are things I will get rid of, things I will plan for their eventual disposal, and a few items I will decide are worth my money to purchase now while I can enjoy them.

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Eventually we will do a bit less, or not realistically be able to complete an infinite list of projects. Or even be around to use anything. Knowing this one can decide how they wish to deal with that and act on those decisions.

Myself I hope to die with brass, primers, powder, and lead on hand. That simply means I never ran out in my lifetime. I also hope to be able to be using them pretty close to the end of my life. One can hope eh? But mostly I hope I have the wisdom to recognize when I should stop because I can't do it well or safely anymore.

One can make arrangements to have those components and items disposed of by friends or to friends, or to family. Same for tools I spent a danged lifetime learning to use the things I don't plan to get rid of them while I can still do so but will try and provide written instructions for their disposal complete with serial numbers or pictures.

Also need to have those sometimes awkward conversations like "do you want my pancake compressor and air nail guns when I die?" Because some of the kids might be able to use it, some not. Might as well ask now if they want it rather than leave them something they would feel bad about getting rid of. Say no to white elephant gifts! If I downsize home before then it just makes that process easier. What no one wants I can sell and blow the money on brown liquor and wild parties. Why should the people that attend my wake have all the fun?

[jsizemore]

I know you guys are not this bad, but my sister and I are in the process of clearing out my 93 year old mother's house.
She is a hoarder.
Yesterday we filled one dumpster and easily could have done another.
Lighten your load now....imagine having your kids having to do this.
It isn't fun.....but think what it would be like to do the guns, reloading equipment and all the "stuff".
Thin the herd while you have the time and the energy to do so.

You need to earn that inheritance. Do the same for your kids.

[AR-Bossman]

There's alot of psychology going on with keeping stuff. If I get a deal on something, I have a hard time selling/giving that item away. You see this with motorheads and car geeks. They die with barns and basements full of high performance stuff that nobody could talk them out of. I've got motor parts that I won't sell because I might "use some day". And by the time I realize I'm done messing with engines, electric vehicles will have taken over and my parts will be worth NOTHING.

Also you run the risk of whoever deals with your stuff after death or you're put in a home, will throw away very valuable items.

I got depressed at an auction once, where it was obvious that a guy's life long tool collection was just callously piled up and sold off. Something about that hit me as sad and a bit wrong.

[abunaitoo]

One of our members passed a little while ago.
Wife a short time after.
Years ago he moved off island, and took almost everything with him.
He would come back to visit once a year.
Son was not much into collecting, but did appreciate what his father had.
He was a big time collector of old military firearms.
Major Springfield collector.
He even had a Gatling Gun when he was here.
Son kept a few firearms and the rest were donated to a military museum someplace.

[Maineboy]

For years I had an 03 Collectors License and bought many milsurp rifles that I cleaned up and got shooting. I bought brass, dies, and molds and spent much time casting, reloading, and at the range just shooting and taking part in our club military rifle shoots. Loads of fun but alas, I haven't done much of that for 15 years. About 5 years ago, I started getting rid of guns that I hadn't shot in a long time. Some I gave to my son, my only one who shoots, but discovered he was selling them to further his black rifle and Glock habit. I gave a Marlin 39 to my other son when he moved from the city a very rural place but he gave it back when he returned to the city. I brought a bunch to Cabela's in Scarborough, Maine and got way more than I paid for them. Hopefully they will go to someone who will appreciate them. I have a few milsurps left, a Remington 03A3, a sporterized Krag, a M96 Swede, a M39 Finn, and a K31 that I can't part with. I haven't thinned my hunting rifles and I still reload and shoot them, just not as much in recent years. My reloading stuff and bullet molds are still piled up, and I have a big supply of boolits for everything except for 30 caliber. I'll probably spend a day doing a bunch next spring. I have way more 45-70 projectiles than I will ever use and 6.5s as well. I have 8mm dies, boolits and 3-4 molds but I haven't had an 8mm rifle in about 5 years. I recently found a stash of wheel weights and linotype and I have no idea where it came. I have a bunch of group buy molds from the early days of Cast Boolits that I bought and used a bit and then mostly forgot about. Remember the 30 caliber HBC? I guess at some point I will get rid of some of that stuff.

[skeettx]

I am 71 and starting to sell off some things, but mostly trying to shoot stuff up _

[drac0nic]

Lots of good takes here, I end up tossing some junk every time I go to an estate sale that has a bunch of crap at it they're trying to offload. I've taken on some dead people's stuff and I tend to have these ideas:
-The lead is stashable and won't go anywhere. I have a few hundred lbs of "dead man" lead.
-Powder I try to load up and shoot even if it's a small quantity. I got a bunch that way the LGS had sitting for free. Been loading up "blasting ammo" ever since.
-Tools, dies brass etc. I try to reduce my foot print by being limited in my calibers. I may pick a new one up but I'm pretty darn not inclined to do such. At this point I may even shed down 2 calibers (30-06 in a Savage 10 series and my 450 Bushmaster) after a while.
-I certainly have more junk than I need. Moving helps as it makes you think "is it really worth it to haul this junk." In many cases no. If you're at a house for 10+ years oh boy get it figured out.
-If you're going to sell a project just sell it don't go "I'll do X, Y and Z then sell it." Set a deadline then do it. I have an Atlas Lathe downstairs I need to finish up getting running well, sell and get its much less worn replacement installed. My point proven folks.
-Limit projects. Trust me, I have a thousand of them and will likely have a thousand more if I'm not too careful.
-A thought I want to get more into is if it's not an expensive bit toss it then buy it if you need it later. Don't stash something thinking "Well I may need it some day for some job I don't have a clue about."

[EDG]

Shooting and rifles have been a part of my life since about 1960 when I paid $12 for my first .22 rifle.
When my cold dead hands.....

[Kraschenbirn]

Been thinking about 'thinning the herd' for a couple months. Haven't hunted for years, dropped out of competitive shooting while in my early 60s, and will turn 75 in a couple of weeks...but still make it to the range enought to go through about 5K rounds a year. In just one of my safes rest several grand worth of shotguns, mostly doubles and M12s, that I haven't fired...literally...in years along with a couple of IPSC 'raceguns' and the Jimmy Clark Ruger I shot for NRA bullseye. Basement reloading bench (I've a second set-up in my workshop) is just about as bad: a Dillon and a Rockchucker, bins of extra brass that I'll probably never get around to reloading...some of it for calibers I no longer own..., parts, misc. supplies and a few thousand rounds of ammunition.

Problem is: I'm really not sure where...or how...to start. The other day, I took out the OM Vaquero .44 I carried for many years as a 'trail gun', thinking that it might be good trading material, but just handling it brought back some fine memories of our younger days when my wife and I were back-country hikers and campers so I wiped it down and put it back it the rack. Seems like everything I pull out...other than some of the milsurps...reminds there's a reason I've kept it as long as I have.

Bill

[BD]

Guns are the least of it. When I can't get a truck into the shop to work on it, it's time to get rid of some stuff. This summer I bought and erected a 12 x 20 fabric shelter to put tractor driven implements in. Boats? Trucks? Mowers? Stationary tools? Hopefully my daughter and her husband will see the utility in what I've collected. All of my guns and reloading gear would fit in a single 12' U-haul, and they could be loaded by hand.

[john.k]

Not guns related,but anyone with a weekly rubbish service needs to fill the bin with junk every week ,insted of letting it be picked with a few scraps in it......I was shocked at what a small skip cost per load .....cant burn anything here,so it all goes to the tip ,one way or another.

[lightman]

When I started thinning out stuff I gave my Sons a chance to look through it and keep what they wanted. I also suggested that they think about anything their Sons, my Grandsons, wanted.

[MrWolf]

Actually been on a kinda buying binge last month or so. Son was out and told him what I am doing and to keep everything hidden once I am gone. Will only cost a few thousand to keep the place and timber should bring in some money. My biggest concern will be selling. Told him it may be very hard to get what I've accumulated in the future.

[Geezer in NH]

I know you guys are not this bad, but my sister and I are in the process of clearing out my 93 year old mother's house.
She is a hoarder.
Yesterday we filled one dumpster and easily could have done another.
Lighten your load now....imagine having your kids having to do this.
It isn't fun.....but think what it would be like to do the guns, reloading equipment and all the "stuff".
Thin the herd while you have the time and the energy to do so.

Or consider it payback to the kids. Make them work a bit for the inheritance.