[Irish]

As I have noted this last week it’s inventory time here in the studio and this year we are doing more … we are doing a full house cleaning of the shop. Now in the last ten years Mike and I have:

1. Inherited a bunch of stuff from both of his parents that have passed away.
2. Inherited a bunch of stuff from my Dad who has passed away.
3. Inherited a bunch of stuff from my Mom who moved in with my brother.
4. Inherited a bunch of stuff from his maiden Aunt who passed away.
5. Have tons of storage boxes for business records, manuscripts, and old carvings from having opened our wood carving shop.
6. Had a teenager go off to college, which means ALL of his stuff in in storage.

Now this storage is in a wonderful 16’ x 16’ salt box building that was at one time, pre-1995, my studio. That salt box was filled with 16’ x 16’ x 8’ worth of stuff when I started cleaning last Monday … I’m down to about 4’ high worth of stuff and still throwin’.

I have found:
1. empty computer, monitor and scanner boxes … we might need to send something back!
2. 20+ note card tin boxes full of very old blank index cards from Mike’s aunt … it was hers so we can’t throw them away
3. Every transformer toy ever marketed … plus a 6 gallon popcorn can full of legos … three huge boxes of comic books (Didn’t throw any of that away)
4. A ton of moldy wool fabric that I with which I was gonna make a braided rug, a kazillion wicker baskets, two big boxes of half carved thingies, a 1930 singer sewing machine still in it’s sewing stand with bench …
5. And stuff and stuff and even more stuff

Got the idea?

So I came to an epiphiany this morning! DARWIN WAS WRONG! We, mankind, did not evolve from the apes … we evolved from the Pack Rat !!!

AND! I have proof! It's a 16' x 16' x 4' pile of junk stuff ready for the trash ......

Susan

(Or maybe it was the Bower Bird ??? This theory needs more thought!)

[Marci MN]

Trash? Oh nooo.... At least list them on freecycle and give someone a chance.. LOL

We have a dairy barn.. wich had an empty hayloft...and let me tell ya.. In the 14 years we've been here... that loft is getting full! I just dread going up there... boogeyman lives up there as far as I'm concerned.

[AlArchie]

Susan, my neighbor solved his storage problem about 20 years back.........he built a 40' x 60' barn to house all his stuff, a workshop, two cars, and tractor.

?Today, the tractor sits outside, the cars are parked on the street, the work shop is full of stuff, and he is eyeing, with envy, the new 40' x 50' garage across the street.

Personally I don't think all that stuff is actually inanimate.....there is a breeding process that goes on in the dark corners of storage areas where nuts and bolts mate, fabric snuggles up with other fabric, papers lying on top of each other have "little papers" which grow into large reams of offspring, and blocks of wood that we thought were just there, are actually growing and reproducing. Check around, and I'm sure you will find Wood spores all over the place!

Al

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

If you leave all that stuff right where it is, it will evolve into a policitician, or maybe a 747, ..nope, thats the junkyard that will evolve into a 747, and don't leave marbles laying around, they will adjust and become a whole new universe ha ha!

[arbarnhart]

Carving makes it worse. Off cuts from other wood working projects are hard to throw away when they are big enough for a small carving project (never mind that there are already hundreds of pieces that size in the box). I forget who it was , but someone famous died and among his *many* effects was a box in the attic labeled "bits of string too short to be of use".

I am getting better at it. I am on the 12 step program. Step 1 - Craigslist is your firiend...

[Tom H]

For my birthday, I have asked for the delivery of an empty industrial Dumpster.And the worst thing is, I might need more than one. Kids said, "are you serious?" I said, "serious as a heart attack" Tom H

[jillsy]

Susan, memorize these words: Ebay, Goodwill, Salvation Army, Purple Heart! I married a major packrat and have the basement to prove it. I throw it away, yet it somehow reappears! My husband's the only guy I know who trash-picks his own trash!

[Kenny_S]

I am a firm believer in moving every ten years. But then, I lived in the same place for 25 years before moving and I been here 10 years. Hmmm, Guess I don't practice what I preach.
One thing is for sure, When moving to a bigger house one acummolates more stuff. All are treasures, according to my little bride. I throw out a pickup load of "Stuff" every year from my garage.

[decoycarve]

Sue,
I also started in a shed in my back yard. Then rented one building, then the shop that has storage in the back, then rented another part of the building, and am looking at buying two of the 20' cargo containers and have them set out side of the shop. Someone offered me 6000 bdft of red oak for one of my biker santas. 12 to 16 quarters 6" to 18' wide by 10 to 12' long you know I didn't turn that one down. Darn, stacking that stuff was heavy, wore us out yesterday. Anna says I cant have anymore wood. We haven't started on the motorcycle stuff yet. 3 motorcycles, 2 minibikes, 1 mini trike, a cycle lift, blastcabinet, mill/lathe, a bender and 3 welders. Anna says no more bikes or tools either. Anna calls it The "Old Md WorkShop" The only thing the New Yankee Workshop and Orange County Choppers has on us is a TV show.
He Who Dies with the most stuff wins!
Goody

[Irish]

I just crawled out from under the piles of stuff and somehow made my way back to the house ... so, the first thing I do is check the WCI message board ...

Now, I want to say clearly I was/am way too tired to have laughed as hard as I did reading the responses to this thread.

Jill ... No! The idea behind today is to get rid of everything I can TODAY! Ebay means saving it some more - posting it - waiting - mailing it. No way, this stuff is out of here. Except the three truck loads of old books that will go to our local Goodwill yearly book sale.

Your good hubby is not the only trash picker in existance, my guys do it too by the box full right in front of my eyes. I haul it out and they try and haul it back in.

OK ... I can take the randomly reproducing paper reams, the wood spores and even the marble universes, I don't want to have to move and I don't own a barn ... but, if I find a politician has spontaneously evolved out of one of those piles I'm beatin' on him with a broom until he's dead.

Susan