The great junk transfer is coming • Hacker News Board

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#141

Post by antisthenes » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:30 AM UTC

jahewson wrote: post #81

flybrand wrote: post #8

When FiL passed away there were multiple buildings on their 50 acres full of stuff. Both he and MiL were only children. Everything over 200 yrs had flowed to them. “Priceless heirlooms” weren’t of interest to anyone. Auctions led to junk dealers. There is a hopelessness in realizing that lifetimes of activity were of little value, that nobody even knew what many objects were. I felt like the girl in the movie Labyrin…

Oh yes, we had a few of these accumulators on my wife's side of the family. It's like the depression created an entire generation that couldn't bear to throw anything away. Five giant boxes of rags. Every tax return back to 1942. Every disposable coffee cup sleeve. Presents, never opened. Dresses, last worn in the 1980s. Every little white table-shaped thing that comes in a takeaway pizza box. 20 of the same wrench,…

> All in a tiny post-war 3 bed family house. It took us 2 years to get through it all.

Did it take you 2 years because you thought some of it would be actually valuable?

Seems like a weekend job with a couple of buddies and a pack of beer. Buddies are also great for this, because they don't have any emotional attachment to the junk.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#142

Post by robocat » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:30 AM UTC

robocat wrote: post #70

Cleaning up after your parents is a gift you give to them: look at it like them paying it forward for all the times the cleaned up after you as a child. Psychologically, mentally, and physically, parents can have difficulty tidying up their stuff. My friend’s parents came from very poor backgrounds and had a lot of trash. The father had a shed full of stuff that was useful to him - he knew what was in it and how to u…

And an altruistic gift for friends and family: take away their useless rubbish.

Tell your aunt you need some wires from that old Pentium computer she has, and take it to be recycled.

“Drop in” at your friends on the way to the dump with half a trailer full of rubbish, and ask if they want to fill up the other half for free.

When there is a book market on, visit your friends and take away their old books to go to the market. Boxes of books they don’t really want but which are too “valuable” to throw out.

Tell your friends you are doing a metal recycling run, and does anyone have any old metal that they want gone?

One friend I took 3 or 4 trailer loads of stuff away, mess which was really depressing them, and it has really cheered them up over the long term.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#143

Post by prmoustache » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:30 AM UTC

olivermarks wrote: post #29

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…

The difference here is that until recently things used to be well made and built to last. It's easy to buy a bunch of junky tools etc that might last a few years but it sometimes amazes me how people don't understand that owning a few good quality tools that will last forever is vastly preferable to giving them away. Same is true with a lot of other things, but of course this is only relevant if you're going to use t…

Yes.

Alao furnitures. Though they are out of style I would totally accept the well made furniture my parents own than the shit we tend to buy nowadays at ikea and similar that don't last 2 moves. Problem is partner would probably not accept it.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#144

Post by helsinkiandrew » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:32 AM UTC

I thinking it was the Canadian sitcom "Kims Convenience" that had the excellent line from the father when he was cleaning out his basement with his son:

"We're putting things into two piles, one we're throwing away now and the other you throw away when your mother and I have died."

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#145

Post by prmoustache » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:34 AM UTC

yardstick wrote: post #100

> And, even if they did want them, this Great Intergenerational Dump is happening just as millennials are facing a housing crisis, which will leave many of them either renting or living in much smaller homes. Grandma’s massive china cabinet is not going to fit. Seems like a weird comment given the possessions were already in a property in the first place, and the death of the parents will normally result in one of th…

As said above, if there is more than one child the most common is that the no child can afford or is willing to pay his siblings their share of the existing house and it ends up split.

Also most people have their own life/home, often far enough from their parents place to want to relocate there.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#146

Post by donw » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:35 AM UTC

verve_rat wrote: post #118

nlnn wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some woodworkers still use manual drills (I own two, along with a brace and bit). They're useful for very exact/delicate work, quiet drilling, and for getting into awkward places where an electric drill doesn't fit.

Yeah, I'm just starting out in woodworking as a hobby and a brace and bit is something I'm considering putting on the wishlist. The useless tools might have been a treasure trove to the right person.

Exactly what I was thinking.

I'd love to go through all those "useless" tools.

Oh no, Dad's old all-steel table saw that was designed and built to be repaired, and which has the same tolerances as a "precision tool" today, doesn't have bluetooth to pair with your iPhone? Guess you'll just have to toss it, then.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#147

Post by dukeofdoom » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:37 AM UTC

fy20 wrote: post #134

dukeofdoom wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen the guy from "my self reliance" (Youtube) use manual hand drill in the building of his remote cabin. No power for electric drill. A battery operated drill would probably fail rather quickly boring through a log with a large drill head. If I remember correctly, proper wood working chisel sets are still very highly priced. And the antique ones can be of higher quality.

"Highly priced" should be taken in context, for a retired person who has no other income it's worth to go to the effort of selling them on eBay or the like. For the type of crowd on HN who probably have relatively well paying jobs, probably not.

When I made the comment, I was vaguely remembering information I learned from this video.

https://youtu.be/3LB8wtA9LwU?t=265

He prefers 80+ year old American chisels due to quality of steal. "The older the better".

But anyway, just to confirm, I did an ebay search and top of the line Japanese chisel set is listed for $8.5k. I was thinking "highly prized" but wrote "highly priced", but I think it can stand.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#148

Post by Symbiote » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:38 AM UTC

fy20 wrote: post #131

dhosek wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel a bit that way about my life’s accumulation of books. I suspect that the vast majority will end up getting donated to the library book sale after I die (plenty of worn and ancient paperbacks). I have made a point of pre-segregating the books that will likely have a notable resale value, but those are not many. Perhaps when I’m older but not too old I may spend some time trying to connect some of the specialize…

I'd check if they can be donated first, rather than leaving that burden for your next of kin. The phrase also works the other way around: One man's treasure is another man's junk. When we had to clear out the apartment of MiL, she had a sizable collection of books, and a bunch of clothes and shoes that had only been worn once. We tried the library and a few different charity shops, but for most things they said no. T…

Clothing that can't be sold can be recycled into rags, cushion stuffing, cleaning cloths etc.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#149

Post by heurisko » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:45 AM UTC

chaostheory wrote: post #36

I feel with Millennials not being able to buy normal sized homes and the rise of minimalism with trends like Marie Kondo, this traditional junk transfer may end with Gen X.

I think there is also a generational divide in not wanting to collect figurines, ornaments etc.

Re: The great junk transfer is coming

#150

Post by digisign » Wed, May 25, 2022, 6:45 AM UTC

warning26 wrote: post #121

bentcorner wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My dad is getting older and even though he doesn't say it I can tell he's contemplating his own mortality. He recently asked me if I'd like to take the old Vic-20, C-64 and Apple 2e off his hands. We have a lot of very fond memories we made together with that technology and it played a part of who I am today. But frankly I don't have the room nor do I have the time to do anything with that stuff. It'd just sit in a b…

You’d be surprised at how much that stuff will sell for on eBay — people will even pay the massive shipping costs. Retro computing is really popular.

Not sure about ebay but you can't sell on amazon any longer without them knowing everything about you. I used to sell but am no longer allowed. Not worth it.