I Am Thinking It Might Be About Time To Start Downsizing My Possessions

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Second week in and I am already failing at this. Just wheeled the 96-gallon tote to the road for trash pickup today. Sadly, it's only half full this week.

I did package some hardback books up and sent them to a friend in Tennessee. Not very cost effective downsizing, but at least they are going to a good home.

Weather looks to be a lot better in the next 7-days so hopefully I'll get more motivated in tote filling for next week. :rolleyes:

Tom
 
PROSTOCKTOM said:
Second week in and I am already failing at this. Just wheeled the 96-gallon tote to the road for trash pickup today. Sadly, it's only half full this week.

I did package some hardback books up and sent them to a friend in Tennessee. Not very cost effective downsizing, but at least they are going to a good home.

Weather looks to be a lot better in the next 7-days so hopefully I'll get more motivated in tote filling for next week. :rolleyes:

Tom
Click to expand...
Progress of any sort is good.
 
PROSTOCKTOM said:
Second week in and I am already failing at this. Just wheeled the 96-gallon tote to the road for trash pickup today. Sadly, it's only half full this week.

I did package some hardback books up and sent them to a friend in Tennessee. Not very cost effective downsizing, but at least they are going to a good home.

Weather looks to be a lot better in the next 7-days so hopefully I'll get more motivated in tote filling for next week. :rolleyes:

Tom
Click to expand...
I always feel better getting good stuff to someone who could appreciate it. Even if it costs me money to do it. And it is gone. Just keep moving forward, it does not matter how fast you go.
 
I'm getting ready for another coat of 2 k and a final block on my dart thing is I have to put everything on halt and just work the dart a couple of weekends....I do enjoy working on it. Its quiet time in the garage with my stinky cigars etc. 25 years ago Id be out there every night...used to be a garage rat. For me its about finishing it although te car is worth something the way it is it turn key starts and runs etc.
 
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hemi71x said:
I too have been thinking about letting go of lots of my auto related items that i haven't done anything in years.
For instance i have shelves full of Mopar factory repair manuals that go back from the early 1950's till the later 1990's.
And factory parts books from the early 60's thru the 1970's.
Been wondering if there's any vendors out there in the USA that come out and buy entire collections.
Not getting any younger at age 72, and sooner or later, some of my medical conditions are going to finish me off, and take me out.
And i'm the end of the line, family wise, and nobody else left to give my stuff to.
Gotta find new homes for things while i still can, i guess.
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Problem is most literature has gone down in value over the years. 25 years ago a typical manual was $50. It's about the same now and harder to sell. You can find many online for free or by an electronic copy. Factoring inflation for 25 years, the selling price has gone down.

Your Irv Bishko and the like have to buy this stuff for 25 cents on the dollar. They have to physically store it and make a profit on it.

And typical books.... $40 books, $10 to sell not including shipping. Even large $60-70 books ... $10-15 and shipping will be more. Some real specialty stuff little more.

Jim, I just got a collection of literature from a friend I'm sure like you have. 30 boxes. I did it mostly so the widow didn't have to deal with it.
 
@hemi71x ... small portion of it.

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it’s so good to just get brutal and turf stuff out. Me and my wife have been lugging around portfolios of design and art stuff from when we were at college, that’s 35 years ago, we’ve moved hemispheres 5 times and lugged it all back and forth. Anyway this winter just passed my wife just started screwing up her drawings and using them to start the stove! So for about 2 months we started the fire with drawings of cars and ballerina costumes, it was great, all gone irrelevant stuff from the past that we never look at and no one else would ever care about. Freedom!
 
I'm giving one gun up out of the collection to a youngster and went through them all with my oldest son so he knows which to keep.

He knows he's stuck ridding the house of junk and many many collectibles.
He really wants the house but . . . Boy 2 would need to be bought out.
The whole process is a battle.
 
Righty said:
it’s so good to just get brutal and turf stuff out. Me and my wife have been lugging around portfolios of design and art stuff from when we were at college, that’s 35 years ago, we’ve moved hemispheres 5 times and lugged it all back and forth. Anyway this winter just passed my wife just started screwing up her drawings and using them to start the stove! So for about 2 months we started the fire with drawings of cars and ballerina costumes, it was great, all gone irrelevant stuff from the past that we never look at and no one else would ever care about. Freedom!
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Man when I started going through college notebooks and random receipts from 10 years prior hahahaha…good for you.
 
I love to give "things" away but only to those that will appreciate such.
Sometimes the younger folk feel that us older folk should just give it all away before we croak? Sometimes.
And to give such away to someone that might stop to help an old guy with a flat side the road maybe too.

Funny story (sorta). About 3 years ago, this grand daughter was 12-13 and I was 74. She had ridden a little but wanted to come down from Mo. to Tx. here and ride one of "granddads" quarter horses. OK. I had already tuned on this really broke, trained gelding with years of doing, using, and soon as they get here, off to the barn we go. I am sitting on the horse and giving a few pointers of horsemanship I expect her to use shortly.

She promptly informs me she does not want any advice, she will "figure" it all out on her own. So I explain I had put years into his training and IF I had not hung up my spurs, she would be doing good for me to let her pick his poop, much let crawl up on his old back. I spent a lifetime learning and developing my skills all the hard way. What I would have given 70 years ago, to have a mentor to teach me anything! The pros back then never gave advice, trade secrets, or any info. None.

So left her to make a complete fool of her self.
 
jrc4y4 said:
Man when I started going through college notebooks and random receipts from 10 years prior hahahaha…good for you.
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I've moved several times since my college days (mid 80's), and it was just this past winter that I started tossing out my old notes and textbooks. I figured, "If I haven't needed or used them since then, I sure as hell ain't gonna need them going forward!", and our recycling bin has been jammed for every pickup since November or so.
 
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ProjectBazza said:
I've moved several times since my college days (mid 80's), and it was just this past winter that I started tossing out my old notes and textbooks. I figured, "If I haven't needed or used them since then, I sure as hell ain't gonna need them going forward!", and our recycling bin has jammed for every pickup since November or so.
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I too have a mountain of textbooks and notebooks from college, and I haven't looked at any of them since school.

So those are on the chopping block soon.

Tom
 
barbee6043 said:
I love to give "things" away but only to those that will appreciate such.
Sometimes the younger folk feel that us older folk should just give it all away before we croak? Sometimes.
And to give such away to someone that might stop to help an old guy with a flat side the road maybe too.

Funny story (sorta). About 3 years ago, this grand daughter was 12-13 and I was 74. She had ridden a little but wanted to come down from Mo. to Tx. here and ride one of "granddads" quarter horses. OK. I had already tuned on this really broke, trained gelding with years of doing, using, and soon as they get here, off to the barn we go. I am sitting on the horse and giving a few pointers of horsemanship I expect her to use shortly.

She promptly informs me she does not want any advice, she will "figure" it all out on her own. So I explain I had put years into his training and IF I had not hung up my spurs, she would be doing good for me to let her pick his poop, much let crawl up on his old back. I spent a lifetime learning and developing my skills all the hard way. What I would have given 70 years ago, to have a mentor to teach me anything! The pros back then never gave advice, trade secrets, or any info. None.

So left her to make a complete fool of her self.
Click to expand...
Man people unwilling to learn from those before them love to learn the hard way I guess. SMH. I’m 35 and literally just called a 71 year old today, my childhood best friend’s dad, asking advice. Hopefully your granddaughter gains wisdom in time. I know at that age many of us go through a phase where we know everything. Usually life humbles us.
 
PROSTOCKTOM said:
The older I get the less interested I am in owning a bunch of stuff, to the point I feel owning things is like a ball and a chain around my ankle.

I've heard if you don't use it for a year then you should toss it out. I have a car in the garage I've owned since 1995 and haven't touched it since 1998. Not tossing it out, but I should.

In the day it was easy to find cars and there were at least 5 junkyards close by. Today there are no junkyards and you are not going to find any cars sitting around behind houses, or on

county roads. To me the good days of the hobby are slowly getting behind me and I am sure I am not the only one feeling this way. Even going to the dragstrip is becoming more work

than the enjoyment I get out of it. One of the truly enjoyable things I like to do a lot nowadays is taking long naps. Gee, I sound Like I have one leg in the grave already. I suppose at

some point we are all faced with what to do with all that we own, and what to do with it. How have you downsized your treasures?

Tom
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Give the car to me haha

Kidding. What I would do in your shoes, assuming you have no family next generation that is interested in any of it and assuming you don’t need the cash, I would link up with your local highschool auto shop class. See if you can do one of two things: either donate the car to the highschool to allow them to teach the next generation, or if you have the time or desire, get to know the highschool kids in that shop class, maybe one of them proves worthy of inheriting said car directly. Kind of like the kid in the movie Gran Torino.
 
barbee6043 said:
I love to give "things" away but only to those that will appreciate such.
Sometimes the younger folk feel that us older folk should just give it all away before we croak? Sometimes.
And to give such away to someone that might stop to help an old guy with a flat side the road maybe too.

Funny story (sorta). About 3 years ago, this grand daughter was 12-13 and I was 74. She had ridden a little but wanted to come down from Mo. to Tx. here and ride one of "granddads" quarter horses. OK. I had already tuned on this really broke, trained gelding with years of doing, using, and soon as they get here, off to the barn we go. I am sitting on the horse and giving a few pointers of horsemanship I expect her to use shortly.

She promptly informs me she does not want any advice, she will "figure" it all out on her own. So I explain I had put years into his training and IF I had not hung up my spurs, she would be doing good for me to let her pick his poop, much let crawl up on his old back. I spent a lifetime learning and developing my skills all the hard way. What I would have given 70 years ago, to have a mentor to teach me anything! The pros back then never gave advice, trade secrets, or any info. None.

So left her to make a complete fool of her self.
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Self reflection time here:

I’m 38, while I wasn’t as bad as most, I did go thru a period, especially 18-26, where I assumed I knew all I needed to and didn’t need any advice. Man was I wrong, in many ways. But I changed that outlook and now am a LOT more willing and even asking for advice. It’s possible she turns around too.
 
dukeboy440 said:
Self reflection time here:

I’m 38, while I wasn’t as bad as most, I did go thru a period, especially 18-26, where I assumed I knew all I needed to and didn’t need any advice. Man was I wrong, in many ways. But I changed that outlook and now am a LOT more willing and even asking for advice. It’s possible she turns around too.
Click to expand...
Time will tell!!!!!
 
We dont have any kids and any nephews and nieces I have sadly have no interest in manual skills or knowledge, they're just typical modern children - if it's on a phone or tablet its interesting if not "whatever" that's cool the worlds different now.
But I have 2 goals:
1. Learn as much as I possibly can about how to maintain my Barracuda, I'm sure I have one more house reno / build left in me but I want the car to be the thing that keeps my brain sharp and my fingers nimble as I get older.
2. When the time comes hopefully many years from now, I want to find some teenage kid or kids who are interested in how things work and how to make things and I will give them all my tools, my car, my Lambretta and anything else I've got and wish them well.

The Western world is fading away because we have given up valuing our industry, innovation and skills, you might believe that Trump will change this you might not, as the saying goes I don't have a dog in that fight, but here in the UK it's irrelevant anyway, we are literally down to our last steel maker shutting down the blast furnaces for good next week because the Chinese owners won't buy materials to keep them running, I turned on the TV because our Prime Minister called a special session of Parliament to pass a law to stop it happening and all the idiots were doing was slagging eachother off trying to score points. So I'm going to make sure I keep my skills going and I really hope that maybe will I get to help some young kid have that opportunity too.
 
Righty said:
it’s so good to just get brutal and turf stuff out. Me and my wife have been lugging around portfolios of design and art stuff from when we were at college, that’s 35 years ago, we’ve moved hemispheres 5 times and lugged it all back and forth. Anyway this winter just passed my wife just started screwing up her drawings and using them to start the stove! So for about 2 months we started the fire with drawings of cars and ballerina costumes, it was great, all gone irrelevant stuff from the past that we never look at and no one else would ever care about. Freedom!
Click to expand...
I did that with pics of old girlfriends the wife hated that i kept them and I tossed them in the stove...them women don't look like that any more any way :)
 
Speaking of college materials although I never went, the house I bought 12 years ago came furnished with a plethora of items including notes etc. from 50's college courses.
Anybody interested in old road maps from 60's ? Lol
 

Workingdog1 said:
Speaking of college materials although I never went, the house I bought 12 years ago came furnished with a plethora of items including notes etc. from 50's college courses.
Anybody interested in old road maps from 60's ? Lol
Click to expand...
Possibly, especially if any of them have Route 66 on them
 
Great Stories, Guys!
If you have a favorite child or kids...when you croak, they will get the joys of dealing with all of your hoarded junk. Including but not limited to: old car magazines/papers, car parts, tools never used, cars that shoud have been junked years ago, closets of old clothes, more aluminum disposable pans than needed/used & brand new gifts never used.
P.S. You're welcome, Dad. You knew I (we) could manage it all.....
 
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