Dislike of throwing things away

To counter the ‘dislike of clutter’ thread – anyone here hate throwing things away ‘just in case it might be useful’? I am terrible, especially with boxes and tins etc – old ice cream containers, coffee tins, ‘display’ tins for nice malt whiskys etc. I have a garage cluttered to hell with all sorts of stuff and, just yesterday, I recycled about 12 ice cream containers as I finally accepted I would never find a use for them.

It can be a symptom of anxiety?

Yup, quite tidy though, no point keeping it if you can’t find it. Bikes and guitars I find particularly hard to part with. Most get played or ridden at least once a year.

Scrap wood, bike bits, random kit. Yes, guilty as charged.

I really should clear out the workshop a bit so that I can actually do things like use the bench, but the widows we have there could/will be useful when my GF builds the place in the forest and that scrap ply always comes in handy when building stuff.

It can be a symptom of anxiety?

More a symptom of being a Yorkshireman I think.

**** no. Get rid of that shit, unless you’re going to use it now, right this minute, in the recycling or trash.

It can be a symptom of anxiety?

This is the case with my Dad – it has become clear that his OCD, depression and anxiety is all linked – as is his keeping ‘just in case’ tenancy!

The is no doubt that our ‘throw away’ culture could be improved by keeping stuff a bit more. But personally I do think there is a balance.

Definitely, as I have always experienced the whole, “well I threw one of those away last weekend”  phenomenon, far too regularly. Don’t keep complete rubbish, but helped clear out my g/f’s grandad garage 10 years ago and took away a bunch of stuff he’d collected over his lifetime, most of which I have used (except the hammerite pain collection, but I can’t bin that!). I’d much rather recycle &  I’m trying my best to declutter using the local “before the tip” fb groups, well I’ve joined them at least.

Now outdate computer tat, I have far too much of, for no good reason… 20x 2gb pc3l sodimm anyone?

Me, me, me.

I’d agree with the link to anxiety and potential OCD-ness.

I (very occasionally) try to have a bit of a clear out but find it very difficult. Maybe I should get pissed before my next attempt. That might make me a bit more carefree.

no. i have no problem with throwing way, or selling, or donating stuff i dont use.

but there is no stuff really to worry about.

I love having the right screw/ bolt bit of wood.

They are mostly organised.

The bolts frequently come in handy. The screws and wood sometimes.

Last 3 times I’ve moved I’ve left the wood collection behind, haven’t missed it and slowly re accumulated it.

This house has a loft. Stuff goes to the loft, then the bin. Probably not the best system, but sometimes it gets used again.

My parents in law loft has stuff like boxes for keyboards that were bought 30 years ago. It’s my life goal not to have a loft like that. I’m not quite sure my wife and kids are on board with that

old ice cream containers, coffee tins, ‘display’ tins for nice malt whiskys etc. I have a garage cluttered to hell

where else are you going to store all the pens that don’t work, flat batteries, spare buttons for garments you no long own, ikea Allen keys, Nokia phone chargers, iPod nano, and windows 95 install disks etc?

The is no doubt that our ‘throw away’ culture could be improved by keeping stuff a bit more. But

it’s the circular economy – you buy stuff, you use it, and when you’re finished with it you put it in something cylindrical and put it in the garage

I don’t like waste so I keep stuff, with little organisation. Because it is not organised I can’t find the thing I need so throw a lot of stuff out or give it away. A few days later I need a thing that  I just threw out….so after getting in a bad temper for a while I start keeping stuff again.

Guilty as charged,but there is nothing (for me) more satisfying than being able to repair/reuse/upgrade something.

Can see ,where at certain levels of OCD/anxiety it could be very debilitating ,but I am not quite there yet.

The trend for rampant consumerism and high levels of waste makes me sad

My shed/workshop is the best comfort blanket I have ever had 👍🤣🙃

Clothing lasts decades with me and it pains me to get rid of worn out socks so use them as hand wiping material for cleaning windows.

I’m somewhere in the middle on this one, I hate clutter but my better half loves her art/craft hobbies, so I’ve had to learn to accept clutter to stop myself going madder.

But I’ve become more guilty of keeping hold of things like containers, some for me, but also thinking many could be used for better half’s hobbies.

Probably also an element of recycling going on too, for instance I find the 1Kg natural peanut butter tubs useful for food and non-food stuff.

Sometimes bits “hoarded” do end up being really useful, for instance, our old age Surface Pro 4 became unuseable with the touchscreen… But an old keyboard with USB ports to connect an old pc mouse and ANT+ dongle now means I can turbo without using my mobile running the Zwift (or alternative) app on a ~6″ screen.

“Anyone here hate throwing things away ‘just in case it might be useful’?” My inlaws are like this and it drives me insane. They’re wonderful people, but it feels like they haven’t cottoned on to the fact that all their adult children have left home and they don’t need to hold on to the amount of crockery and general stuff that they do ‘just in case’.

I’m going though a big clear out at home at the moment as with a recent newborn we’ve accumulated loads of stuff, much of which has been generously donated, but, they’ve grown out of loads of things and I’m keen to de-clutter and pass on for others to make use of rather than hold on to.

As an aside,years ago I bought a pair of Ritchey V4 pedals from scotroutes ^^………

They are still in the box 👍🤣🤣🤣

#onedaysoon

This is why I couldn’t contribute to the ‘how many pairs of shoes do you have’ thread.

I do keep a lot of useful stuff, but I only save stuff that really is useful. I periodically go through my stash and put away stuff that I have not needed in ages – but if it is useful to someone, I put a word on my local cycling forum and give it away to the first responder. I have given away tires, rims, wheels, couple of frames, and some clothing that did not fit me well.

Also donated a pile of bike bags etc recently when I noticed I don’t use them anymore / been replaced with different kit.

I do keep a large stash of spare parts, but they are mostly new and fit my various bikes – most of it will certainly get used. I just want to have enough spares for all my bikes (and spouses) so I don’t need to obtain anything when I service them. Drivetrain parts, derailleurs, cables and casings, brake pads and discs, jockey wheels etc.

This was really handy back in 2020-21 when many parts were difficult to obtain anywhere. I had everything I needed stashed.

Big fan of repairing stuff too, many of my gloves have been stitched together, shoes glued and patched, same with bags and packs. I have a pile of cool fabric patched I glue on top of any holes in my waterproof carriers and packs and so on.

Gü jars! Argghhh!

I love having the right screw/ bolt bit of wood.

There’s a difference between “things that are always genuinely useful” vs “things that may be useful at some as yet unspecified point in the future for some unspecified reason” You’re always going to need screws, the 20th empty ice cream tub, less so.

Me: A full on bin in to win it but with a waiver for the ‘big bolt and screw drawer’, a ‘Trove of parts/wood/electronics for a hobby I gave up 10 years ago” and “Mountain Bike Magazines, 1998-Today”

My Better half:  One day there will be a worldwide shortage of all the crap we have collected in nearly 30 years together and then I shall be a) right and b) rich. Honestly, I have to sneak 15 year old broken computer monitors out of the house under the cover of darkness otherwise they are repatriated to the “one day Rodney” pile.

Now the kids have left, we have all their crap as well. When the builders re-insulated the loft last year (and it’s massive, runs length of the house) they had to redistribute and then redeploy the above mentioned 30 years of tat. I’m sure one of them has been in therapy since 😉

My dad is a complete nightmare for this. He’s still got my old toys from 40+ years ago. He didn’t let any of his grandkids play with them either, they are just in the loft unused for some reason. He’s also still got every LP, cassette, CD and minidisc he’s over owned, as well as VHS tapes of stuff he’s recorded off the TV, and DVD’s. Also millions of old newspapers and magazine cuttings. The list goes on. The whole house is full of clutter.

The actual stuff I’d consider meaningful, like family photos, or old cinefilms, are impossible to find.

It’s pushed me the other way I think. I’m quite trigger happy with throwing stuff away.

When I inherited the contents of my neighbours house and garage I realised I was an utter amateur at keeping stuff. I’m still sorting through some stuff more than 4 years later. While there was plenty that just got binned or recycled there was some fantastic stuff which warrants going through it carefully. If anyone needs a few spare chain links for their 1937 triumph I can help 😂

the 20th empty ice cream tub, less so.

In my defence, we have rabbits and we use them for filling with chopped vegetables so they get used and abused a bit, however, I seem to have collected way more than I needed.

@johndoh rabbits are the best. My vintage wooden furniture might disagree though. But nothing better than a little furry animal waking you up with binkies in the bed in the morning instead of the alarm clock!

If it’s not an easy sell/ something I need to sell to fund the next thing, I’m keeping it till I move house, then an almighty clearout commences

No plans to move…

I dislike throwing things away AND I dislike clutter!

I’m a mess 🤪

I still have a whole pile of those few links of new chains that you remove when sizing the chain correctly. Kept them all “just in case”.

If I rummage around I might have enough offcuts and spare used quickinks to make a 9 speed chain.

I have no 9 speed bikes any more.

My dad has a serious issue with getting rid of stuff. From his old projects (he collects vintage tractors) to the more mundane magazines and screwfix catalogues, he can’t bring him self to throw anything away. The house is becoming cluttered which is fine in itself, but he’s started having falls in the house so everything is now a potential hazard.

I have to make a conscious effort to get rid of things that aren’t going to be needed at home, as I can see the same tendencies in me as my dad, is it hereditary!?

I get this. I don’t like throwing things away but not for the normal reasons. I really struggle to throw things away that are perfectly good but I no longer have a use for. It just feels incredibly wasteful and never sits right with me. Someone else could get good use out of it so why bin it?

Heres the problem. I’m terrible at either selling stuff or just giving it away. Selling stuff always has the inherant back and forth of negotiation that my brain just shuts down on. Try to give stuff away and still get messed about. The issue is dealing with people, just ends up being frustrating really.

So here I am with too much stuff in the loft and the garage and no easy way to get rid of it.

I dislike throwing things away AND I dislike clutter!

I’m a mess 🤪

I feel seen.

I was raised by wartime grandparents who would keep the wrapper from a block of butter for when a pan might need greasing.  I’m very much of the mind “this might come in useful someday” but I’m hopefully(?!) on the right side of keeping hold of a 3.5mm-to-Phono cable versus hoarding 20 ice cream tubs.  It’s not like actual Tupperware-esque storage boxes are hard to come by.

My partner is the other way.  She dislikes visible clutter, so she stuffs empty packaging into cupboards “to deal with later” until I unearth it two years later.  Regular away I’ll get asked “can you pick up [deodorant | polish | air freshener | etc] whilst you’re at the shop?”  I think “we’ve surely got like four bottles of the stuff” and we do, but they’re all empty or near-empty.  Just this evening I had to dig deeper than normal through the cupboard where we keep tea-towels after one of the cats yeeted a full glass of Vimto across the room, at the back I found a large grey mailer envelope, used and balled up and completely empty.  Why?  The bin is literally four yards away, leave it out and I’ll deal with it if you’re too busy.

I love her dearly but her OCD for randomly hiding things drives my Aspie brain absolutely batshit.

I have no 9 speed bikes any more.

Yes, but someone else might.

 I really struggle to throw things away that are perfectly good but I no longer have a use for. It just feels incredibly wasteful and never sits right with me. Someone else could get good use out of it so why bin it?

Heres the problem. I’m terrible at either selling stuff or just giving it away.

Same.

Moving house forced my hand with a lot of stuff, though I do have regrets.  My laserdisc collection went to landfill rather than sitting in a cupboard unused at the new place like the rest of my AV setup.

I dislike throwing things away AND I dislike clutter!

I’m a mess

But a tidy mess…

I don’t like the throw-away culture, but at times, it’s awfully hard to try to actually give away things  to be re-used.

– it took us an age to get shut of a just-too-large-for-us-now decent leather sofa + virtually like new chair.  Even with full fire tags etc,, no interest; even BHF not interested.

– have a spare bed frame, boxed up. It’ll probably turn to coal before it’s got another user.

– good quality  wooden cot, known brand, looks virtually new… ditto.

We were willing to give away  to see another use, or to a  refuge or whatever, rather than them sit boxed up in the garage unused.  I Even deliver within reason !

– I was selling some old bikes (but well serviced / fully working, fine for commuting or cycle trails like Tissington or Higg Peak etc. For not much.(2-digit price –  need the space in the garage.  One went OK to someone genuine.  The others ? People were totally taking the piss – wanting 2 for 1 (we were only talking £50 or £60 to start with – I’d have made 5 or 10 times that if I broke them and sold bits – but no time to)  and one wanted me to knock off  ££ to cover THEIR 30 mile petrol money for them to come collect. Talk about taking the pish.  At that point I really would rather chop them up with a hacksaw and recycle.

(Gave the bikes + a few spares like 9spd chains etc to the Derby bike-back recycle scheme).

Got any Britains Deetails you guys found in the loft and don’t want :-). Drop me a PM if you don’t want 🙂

But it might come in handy. Last weekend I made a GPS mount for my TT bars out of a bit of monkey metal pipe that was an off cut from some nasty curtain rails I put up at least a decade ago. This is the off cut I saved during installation, not the rails which are still up there. Last night I repaired a pair of Specialized cycling shoes, the plastic strap that goes into the clip had snapped off. Cut it tidy, cut a similar bit of a pair of Sidis kept for just this purpose and done with some glue and 15 minutes with a big needle and the fly fishing line I saved when selling some reels that I inherited. I have cleared out both an uncle and my dads junk on their deaths, most in to my sheds. God help who ever does that for me.

Thought of this thread today. Spreading some glue earlier. Opened up the drawer where I keep spreading and scraping tools and pulled out a debit card that expired in 2004. That’s before I moved house so I’ve made reasonable effort not to throw it away.

In my defence I’m a model maker so I have many boxes and drawers of miscellaneous materials that might come in handy one day and they often actually do.