I Collect Too Much Junk

[roaduck]

Apart from knives and scissors I also have loads of cigarette lighters, radios, personal stereos, Hi-Fi gear, laptops, desktop computers, Hard Drives, Servers, CD`s, records, cassettes, books...allsorts !

I have to stop - my house is too cluttered.

I grew out of my OCD when I was twelve but I sort of carried on collecting - I couldn`t help myself.

Do any other members here sort of...over-collect or do you think you have just the right amount of hobby items ?

Do you guys try and consolidate things so they`re more manageable...space-wise ?

 

[fishface5]

Got some cool lighters there!

 

[roaduck]

Ah thanks fishface5 most of them are solid brass Chinese Zippo clones but much heavier with really strong hinges plus they have rubber seals so lighter fluid doesn`t evaporate - no need to fill with petrol every week.

Normal Zippo`s weigh about 60 grams or just over 2 ounces.The Chinese Zorro brand lighters weigh 180 grams to 384 grams or 6 to 13 ounces - for a 3 inch tall lighter and have a lifetime guarantee but they don`t have to go back to the factory to get the hinges mended like Zippo`s.

The two big brass and silver petrol ones with a cross on them are big heavy pocket lighters used in the Constantine film starring Keanu Reeves.

The silver one weighs 6 ounces and the brass one weighs 13 ounces - they make rare special edition Zippos look like toys in comparison - the hinges are huge and they weigh 7 times as much; plus they don`t leak at all; they`re sealed with gaskets.

Plus I have butane inserts and pivot action petrol inserts for the Chinese Zorro lighters.

I think they`re very good value and quality IMHO - They also do bespoke lighters in precious metals and gemstones, fingerprint recognition / operation etc.

There are quite a few metal clippers and metal clipper pipe lighters with side angled flames.

I also drill cheapie clippers and put a keyring / lanyard on them so they don`t get lost or stolen.

The tall one at the back has a six inch jet flame torch that makes holes right through aluminium soda cans in 2 seconds flat with an eight inch ferocious flame; obviously it goes through butane like no tomorrow.

 

[Hickory n steel]

knives, old tools, vintage airguns, hotwheels, jackets, vintage ultralight spinning reels.
Then there's the specific tools I over accumulate, hammers, pry bars, screwdrivers, 1/4dr ratchets, and Channellock tools mostly pliers but I'll buy just about any American made tool with their name on it

 

[roaduck]

I totally agree Hickory n steel - It`s good to be patriotic - there is still a lot of quality American tool manufacturers - but they must not outsource their labour abroad because it is decimating the Country - it`s short-terminism, greed and shareholder dividends / profit driven which is so sad.

Globalism sucks bigtime.

 

[eveled]

I just went through my house van truck barn etc and figured out I have 14 Estwing hatches and hammers.

The real issue is not that I have 14, but I compiled the list so I could buy more and not duplicate ones I already have.

Last week. I found a 10 lb sledgehammer in the trash. I took it home and put it with 8 other sledgehammers.

I have a problem, but I figure my kids will never need to buy a tool, knife or gun.

 

[roaduck]

Wow eveled - 8 sledgehammers - that`s just like me.. !

At least you have enough tools for everybody.

I`ve just gotta say enough is enough even though a lot of my stuff is cheap Chinese stuff - it`s counterproductive and ultimately useless to me.

 

[Ratatoskr]

I would say I use at most 50% of the stuff in my house. I need to Marie Kondo that "#$%. But as soon as you throw something away...

 

[eveled]

Wow eveled - 8 sledgehammers - that`s just like me.. !

At least you have enough tools for everybody.

I`ve just gotta say enough is enough even though a lot of my stuff is cheap Chinese stuff - it`s counterproductive and ultimately useless to me.

All of my stuff is quality American made. That is why I can’t just toss it away. Tough to replace quality tools. Like I said my kids will use them long after I’m dead.

 

[roaduck]

I would say I use at most 50% of the stuff in my house. I need to Marie Kondo that "#$%. But as soon as you throw something away...

Haha Marie Kondo looks like a narcissistic idealistic deluded bore to me and I`ve just seen her piccy a sec ago.
If the SHTF she`d be totally Donald Ducked because she wouldn`t have the necessary gear to survive cos there`s no space in her 2D boring empty probably massive pad and no space in her tiny narrow-minded brain; poor darling I feel for her she`s deffo OCD with knobs on - if it`s her way or the highway - met so many like her - no true social skills and therefore no true friends - if she doesn`t get enough social media hits she probably goes in a huff or cries haha !

I`m totally opposite _ I`m not even a tiny bit vain - I don`t look in the mirror for years - honestly and I`ve zigged and zagged a bit since the late sixties.
Lived in Egypt, Norway, Bermuda , Israel, France, UK, Russia, Poland, Macau, Kokomo IN, Uttar Pradesh, Hong Kong, Monaco etc
Here`s my garden - I`m a bit eccentric but I`m too old to change now.

 

[K.O.D.]

My father passed in January 2022, and left a TON of stuff behind. Around 1500 albums, a boat, tons and tons of fishing and golfing equipment, tools, paint, fishing clothes, regular clothes, like 30 pairs of shoes, most in a state of disrepair he used only for specific tasks. One pair for sealcoating the driveway, one for blowing leaves of the roof and cleaning the gutters, one for painting, etc.

I've managed to sell his boat, give away or sell a bunch of stuff too. The problem is much of it wasn't organized.

I AM PISSED my sister and brother in law took most of his power tools. He had brand new Milwaukee stuff, including the multi-tool weed eater/limb saw thing. I don't use that stuff much, but its nice to have for emergencies. I had no problem with her taking the radial arm saw, but I'm down to one cordless drill and one driver. A lot of the tools and fishing equipment I kept because it was my great grandfather's (hand tied flies etc) or stuff I have fond memories of, like my first fishing rod I won in a fishing contest when I was 8.

I think the key to having lots of "stuff" collections or whatever is to keep it organized and uncluttered. That way when its time to meet our maker our loved ones aren't stuck trying to figure stuff out. My dad was murdered by the hospital, and we were completely unprepared.

Me, I used to have more "collections" of stuff, but the last 7 years I've really pared it down. Knives, guns, a few Star Wars lego ships, two RC cars and parts, and my actual car. Most of the other stuff I don't care about.

 

[roaduck]

I can totally relate to you K.O.D. I just lost my Auntie at the end of July and you often see somebody`s true colours at weddings and funerals.
My Auntie was murdered too soon in a hospice and was grossly mismanaged and neglected but I didn`t have the heart to fight a case against the docs, nurses, carers team, hospital etc - I`m not brilliant myself at the moment.
Rich relatives were squabbling over her will and really petty stuff - nasty.
I lost my Mum in 2001 just after 9/11 and I still have a lot of her books and some furniture.
It`s very hard when people leave disorganised big collections.
We don`t always plan for the future.

I wish you all the best in the times to come.
I am trying to stop all collecting - I have completely run out of space.

 

[bdmicarta]

I have tried to reduce my buying, at least in several hobby areas but I still accumulate other stuff even if at a reduced rate. Someday if I'm able I will start reducing the collections but for now I'm in the using stage.
I was never a serious collector but was a serious accumulator, in hobby areas such as watches, knives, flashlights, photography. Some of the accumulating in watches and knives was a search to determine what I liked and what worked best for me. I would buy, use, then sell the things that didn't work out. I'm at a point now where I have flashlights, knives and watches that I like and use. All of those areas were impacted by Covid, then by switching to work from home. I have less interest in rotating my watches and knives when I'm not going to my office every weekday.

 

[roaduck]

Got you B bdmicarta - I totally understand.
I ran out of room for 3000 cassettes so I got 5000 CD`s and had no room so collected Desktop PC`s and servers - no room for them so got a few laptops with about 150 TB on over 50 SSD`s thank god the 4 TB drives are affordable now.
I`ve got a few hundred old rare records, rare books from the 18th Century onwards.
I have two good DSLR`s - both bridge cameras with high zoom.
I have 2 quality Hi-Fi`s - one upstairs - one downstairs - I`ve spent far too much on stereos since the early eighties.
I have an old Tissot automatic and an old Seiko - the rest are cheapie Chinese watches.
I have a bespoke Chinese Chef`s knife in RWL-34 - the rest are good quality Asian knives. I`ve been cooking since the early seventies.

I have Chinese laser torches with a 1400 metre throw plus loads of big and small powerful flashlights
I used to live and work in China in the 1990`s and have family and connections there plus I have Chinese wholesale accounts so I can get massive bargains.

I need to stop collecting - period - just make do with a few quality items....it`s all I really need.

 

[Ebbtide]

We moved after 25 years in the same house.
That’ll really make you realize how much crap you’ve collected.

 

[kvaughn]

We moved after 25 years in the same house.
That’ll really make you realize how much crap you’ve collected.

Same here after 20 yrs in the same big house.
Gave,sold, Goodwilled all kinds of stuff,
I had a free table at the end of the driveway and they took stuff that shocked me. I'd fill it up and it would be gone by the end of the day.
I had to put a sign out-"Don't take the table"
I still have too much.

 

[Ebbtide]

The garbage man would grimace coming up the block. Lol
After the 2shopping bags of cassettes were gone I found a boombox.
So it goes.

 

[K.O.D.]

I can totally relate to you K.O.D. I just lost my Auntie at the end of July and you often see somebody`s true colours at weddings and funerals.
My Auntie was murdered too soon in a hospice and was grossly mismanaged and neglected but I didn`t have the heart to fight a case against the docs, nurses, carers team, hospital etc - I`m not brilliant myself at the moment.
Rich relatives were squabbling over her will and really petty stuff - nasty.
I lost my Mum in 2001 just after 9/11 and I still have a lot of her books and some furniture.
It`s very hard when people leave disorganised big collections.
We don`t always plan for the future.

I wish you all the best in the times to come.
I am trying to stop all collecting - I have completely run out of space.

Thank you. I'm sorry to hear about your aunt. My father died of pneumonia during the "omicron" bullcrap. They gave him medicine for covid when he didn't have it, and that medicine is contraindicated for pneumonia, and it killed him in 18 hours. The death certificate said cause of death was pneumonia, but they tacked on in fine print "with complications from covid" so we couldn't sue for wrongful death. My PCP told me it's nearly impossible to have both.

Bastards.

I'm probably going to add another gun to my arsenal soon. I am going to sell one though. I have a Remington 887 nitro mag I never used, have only put maybe 25-30 rounds through it.

 

[bdmicarta]

Same here after 20 yrs in the same big house.
Gave,sold, Goodwilled all kinds of stuff,
I had a free table at the end of the driveway and they took stuff that shocked me. I'd fill it up and it would be gone by the end of the day.
I had to put a sign out-"Don't take the table"
I still have too much.

I moved one time from a house where I had lived 10 years. I threw away a lot of junk. Our city would pick up anything we stacked on the curb so I was creating a big pile as I cleaned out the garage. I noticed throughout the day the pile was getting smaller and smaller. I was helping my sister in law to clean out her house after she moved. I stacked a few things on the curb but her street doesn't get much traffic and everything was there the next day so I took it to Goodwill. She had called a junk man to haul off most of the junk but his price was too high. He had a thrift store on the side and ended up taking away a lot of things for no charge. The good stuff that was left I took to Goodwill, the junk I spent time bagging or boxing up so the trash service would pick it up.

My third move was from a house where I had lived 15 years. I rented a dumpster to set in the driveway and threw all of our junk into it. This is the easiest way to deal with junk if your city trash service won't take it.