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The great junk transfer is coming

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Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#271

Post by BeFlatXIII »

Mountain_Skies wrote: post #123

Generational differences in tastes will take its toll on some of this more than other bits. I don't know anyone under the age of 40 who cares one bit about fine china and china cabinets. As more and more people who collected china die off, there's a bigger glut of it. Collections that took a lifetime and thousands of dollars to accumulate end up going for pennies at estate sales while the cabinets end up in a landfil…

I bet house price inflation is a factor. Pianos, china cabinets, and grandfather clocks are all a major pain to move and aren't worth owning until you have purchased your forever home.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#272

Post by BeFlatXIII »

SoftTalker wrote: post #10

After having to deal with all the stuff my parents left behind I swore to myself that I would not do the same thing to my kids. It's easy to say "just throw it out" but so many items have nostalgia and memories attached. Yet if I hadn't had to sort through it all, I never would have missed that stuff. I need to get on it. I'm not getting younger.

> if I hadn't had to sort through it all, I never would have missed that stuff.

That's the thing I hate most about doing deep cleans. I end up emotionally drained from nostalgia. If someone else had thrown away all the mathoms while I was on vacation, I'd never even notice they went missing.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#273

Post by lupire »

teh_klev wrote: post #241
hiq wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a good argument for living in a small place rather than a house as big as you can possibly afford.

I think you'll find for the generation being discussed they likely didn't buy "a house as big you can possibly afford". Their houses were sanely priced, decent sized accommodations before the property market went bonkers at some point in the 80's.

A lot of those houses got additions added over the years, and were 2500sq ft which is plenty of room for junk as kids grow up and move out

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#274

Post by lupire »

lebski88 wrote: post #206
donw wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. The top-level article is unbelievably crass. I have had to deal with this. Sorting through an entire lifetime's worth of knick-knacks, papers, Christmas cards, plaques commemorating achievements and milestones that probably wouldn't even make sense to a twenty-year-old, all of it. Sure, it was hard. It takes time. But so did changing my diapers. And dealing with infant-me crying through the night. And watc…

Having done both sides I'd say the kids are getting the better deal :-) Palliative care for a parent is draining and can take years but it utterly pales compared to how much effort raising kids is. Doing both at the same time is not recommended!

Kids are far far more fun.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#275

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

hiq wrote: post #184
onion2k wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone who owns a house fills it with what other people call junk.

That's a good argument for living in a small place rather than a house as big as you can possibly afford.

I'd love to, problem is that they don't make 400-600sq ft houses anywhere near a job.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#276

Post by lupire »

brazzy wrote: post #220
donw wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. The top-level article is unbelievably crass. I have had to deal with this. Sorting through an entire lifetime's worth of knick-knacks, papers, Christmas cards, plaques commemorating achievements and milestones that probably wouldn't even make sense to a twenty-year-old, all of it. Sure, it was hard. It takes time. But so did changing my diapers. And dealing with infant-me crying through the night. And watc…

Hell, no. What's unbelievably crass is the idea that children are obliged to respect and sift through gigantic heaps of stuff just because their parents had some emotional connection to some small parts of it - because most of it is guaranteed to be absolutely useless junk they did not actually value but merely couldn't bring themselves to throw away because of hoarding instincts. The idea that this obligation is som…

You don't have to sort any of it. You just have to not make them sort it. You can just pay to have it hauled if you don't want it. Or sell the property as is or forfeit the property to the state.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#277

Post by JoeAltmaier »

Recently had this experience. It helped me to consider it this way:

An old stage theatre has finally closed, after nearly a century in operation. I had the task of emptying the prop room. Going through it, I found very recognizable things from shows I knew and loved. Also some things I maybe remembered, but not sure what script it supported. And lots of stuff, no idea why it was there or what show it was in.

Anyway, it's just props. The actors have done their lines, the shows long finished their runs, the audiences come and gone. The important part, the only part that really stays with us is the memory of the performances and how that changes us.

So sure, keep a prop or two if they are particularly commemerative. But don't worry about the rest. They can move on to another performance in another theatre elsewhere, or even the bonfire if that's their fate. Others should have them if they find them useful for their audiences.

Thinking about that helped frame it for me.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#278

Post by lupire »

cbhl wrote: post #137
shakezula wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This feels like the anti-hero to Kondoesque sparks-joy cleaning.

Even if you follow Kondo's methodology, your late parents' things are almost certainly "sentimental items", which Kondo explicitly states to leave for last.

But that "last" is almost all of it, after "bulk/hazardous that I can't just toss to the curb". The rest was already gone.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#279

Post by randomsearch »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #277

Recently had this experience. It helped me to consider it this way: An old stage theatre has finally closed, after nearly a century in operation. I had the task of emptying the prop room. Going through it, I found very recognizable things from shows I knew and loved. Also some things I maybe remembered, but not sure what script it supported. And lots of stuff, no idea why it was there or what show it was in. Anyway,…

Thanks, that really helped. Perhaps a good framing for life and episodes within it too.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#280

Post by GlassKingdom »

kelseyfrog wrote: post #122
laurieg wrote: post #27

I feel like these days, stuff is incredibly cheap and therefore it's very easy to accumulate a huge amount of it. Sure, we have out sentimental items and useful tools we use everyday. But a huge amount goes un-used, sitting in boxes, closets, attics and garages waiting to be thrown away. I try to "live small". My apartment is relatively small. I'm still wearing clothes from high-school. I still the knife, fork and sp…

It's 2066 and a grieving 54 yr old has to figure out how to throw away boxes and boxes of their dead parent's funko pops.

All unopened in box.
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