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But then there are things that I acquired for free and am storing for when I need them later. A few examples are LCD computer monitors, TVs, headphones, and printer paper. Those things take up space, especially the monitors and TVs as they need to be stored on the floor. I figure I have between $700-$1200 worth of spare computer monitors and TVs. I'd be pretty stupid to throw those out.
Stupid is hanging onto tech stuff that will be functionally obsolete once the time comes that you actually need it. What’s a cathode-ray TV worth today, or a printer that uses an SCSI cable port?
Sell that stuff now, while it still has value, and put the money aside. Then when you actually need to replace your current TV or computer components, you’ll have the money you need to do so. You won’t be stuck trying to make obsolete tech work with whatever new interface/connectors they will be using by then.
I cleared out a massive amount of stuff a few years ago when I moved from a house into a condo. But the state of my closets makes it clear that Round Two of the Great Purge of Excess Stuff is overdue!
I foolishly bought some expensive hobby equipment I thought I’d use (several telescopes and accessories), but it’s now clear that it’s just taking up space. That is going to be hard to get rid of. At least the clothes and other assorted junk can be easily disposed of via Goodwill.
Fighting the urge to keep too much stuff is something I think most of us battle with at some point.
Its a delicate balance. To be thrifty you kinda do have to be a bit of a packrat. Otherwise you keep buying same stuff over and over. But alas its also hard to not collect lot stuff that will never be used.
I weld and collect odd bits scrap iron and such. Lot cheaper than buying new steel for small jobs. Things like this will never be worth more than scrap value. And no thrift store wants stuff they cant easily sell. Heck they dont really want clothes. Seems they get too much of it and unless its some hoity-toity brand name, far more of it than they can sell. Even market for rags are way down. Some factories in world can now make new cloth similar to what used to be made from rags and CHEAPER. It truly is shame to send perfectly good fiber like that to land fill.
I'm often surprised that Alaska doesn't have more hoarders living in it. Maybe it does...they just build places on the remoter outskirts of towns where they aren't as noticeable. It costs so much more in $ and time to get consumer products shipped to yourself here it makes sense to hold on to everything you can for as long as you can. If you were already struggling with miser/hoarder tendencies when you moved here, they'll just get magnified. Still, I suspect one counterbalancing aspect keeps it in check for most. If the consumer product is remotely temperature, moisture, or rodent sensitive you have to build or buy more and more secure heated space to cram it into. THAT'S not cheap!
I moved into a small house last fall and that required some downsizing...not too much; I don't tend to hoard even though I've lived up here for decades and have more than my share of "necessary" stuff. Just finished a new heated garage with shelf storage around half the walls. I detest parking my car outdoors just watching the weather age it faster. As part of the garage plan I "promised" myself I'd do more purging so the car could actually be parked in the structure intended for that purpose. Probably the hardest things for me to get rid of are animal care/terrarium/pet stuff and books, but I managed to cut my library in half. The wonky little used bookstore in town was thrilled with the new inventory, but I wonder how many of those books ended up at the owner's house! His eyes gleamed as he looked them over. He cheerfully offered me an unlimited store credit but honestly, the last thing I want to do immediately after a hard library purge is to BUY MORE BOOKS!
Last edited by Parnassia; 10-31-2020 at 02:29 PM..
Its a delicate balance. To be thrifty you kinda do have to be a bit of a packrat. Otherwise you keep buying same stuff over and over.
I've actually found the opposite. If you pare down you can find everything and don't end up buying duplicates because you KNOW you had that size of screwdriver but you can't find it so you go out and buy another. After DH died I collected all his tools, weeded out the good ones that I knew I'd use and listed the rest as Free Stuff on Craigslist. I highly recommend this tactic for most things; you put the item at the end of your driveway and delete the ad when it disappears. Not profitable and I suspect most items get resold at flea markets or on eBay, but better than the landfill. This past weekend I got rid of a TV cart, 4 giant outdoor lights with yards and yards of very stout cable, and a bunch of garden tools I don't use.
I also highly recommend recyclespot.org. They show places by Zip Code and by item type. I have an ancient CRT TV- don't think even Craigslist people will want that. I'm pretty sure I'll end up paying a fee but if they can dispose of it safely it's worth it.
To me, part of being frugal means being very careful about what I bring into the house. "Free" stuff isn't free to me if it becomes clutter. My husband and I are the opposite of pack rats, and in almost 30 years, I can count on one hand the times we had to re-buy something we shouldn't have gotten rid of.
I look at "stuff" and its importance in one scenario:
If my house was on fire, would I drag that item out. If the answer is no, you don't need it.
I had a neighbor move out a few years back, she sold everything she owned and bought all new for the new house. Movers wanted $8500 for a cross town move. She applied that and the sale proceeds to her new home furnishings budget. I thought she was nuts in the beginning, now I realize she was a genius! I'd take my tools, workbench, clothes and replace everything else.
I had a neighbor move out a few years back, she sold everything she owned and bought all new for the new house. Movers wanted $8500 for a cross town move. She applied that and the sale proceeds to her new home furnishings budget. I thought she was nuts in the beginning, now I realize she was a genius!
I am going to move at some point and I have the same idea. I am used to living in a smaller space, and most of my furniture needs to be replaced anyway, since almost all of it is 10+ years old or older. Plus, I want to be flexible and don't want to be able to take a lot of time looking for the right place without worrying about stuff or paying for self storage for it.
I had a friend who moved to the opposite coast and left his stuff in storage in California. Well, life happened and it took him 10 YEARS to finally get it out of self storage. OMG, he paid for his stuff I don't know how many times over. And he really couldn't afford to do so. Now I hear he's stuck working at a grocery store at 65--not because he wants to, but because he has to. That $250 or $300 a month invested over a decade at 6%-7% would have amounted to ~50K in savings. Not enough to retire on, but I'm sure a lot more than he has in savings right now.
at some point all your stuff is taking up real estate space in your house. get rid of it. trust me it's not worth nearly as much as you think it is. i live in an area with a lot of Free giving sites on facebook and it's tough to get rid of stuff! People don't want old technology or outdated furniture. just get rid of it now. it really has nothing to do with being frugal.
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