How to stop hoarding projects, parts, tools, etc?

In reply to eastsideTim :

As much as I would very much like to tell you that as soon as you unbury that, I'll be there ready to stick it in my B.U.T.T., it violates two rules that I'm trying to impose upon myself right now:  #1 - Any and every tool at Toiletbird Industries will either fit on a shelf/drawer or have wheels and #2 - If I don't see an immediate need for it and it's bigger than a breadbox, don't drag it home.

I'm not saying that I always follow those rules, but I'm going to try.

From a time management perspective, check out Trello.  I use it at work with some frequency and while it's really designed as a tool for a project team, I find that it helps even with a team of one.  I can see all the different things I have stacked up that need to be done, all the things that I'm actively working on, and all the things that have been completed.

I have a slightly deeper and wider 2-car garage for all my junk. I built large 2x4 and plywood shelving to get everything of mine off the ground and against the wall and just recently bought a five drawer rolling cart from HF for most of my tools. All of my hobby/garage-related items stay in the garage and on the shelves or my workbench.

If it it can't go against a wall or up on the shelving and I can't think of a need for it within the next year or so, I trash it. 

The time trying to move it around to make space or trying to dig it out to see if I still even have it is worth more to me than the few dollars I'd save over just buying a new one.

I may not be the guy to discuss this with. But I am having more wins than losses on my quest to slim down the hoard.

Motivation:  Sounds like you have had enough of the present situation and want to streamline and declutter. Welcome to the Dark Side! Now you need to get a few wins under your belt and get some sort of vision for the future. Make a list of goals and rules and stick by it. 

Organization: These goals and rules are often broken up into bite size chunks and require doing stuff and revising the lists as necessary.  Clean the workbench area from floor to ceiling, "bulldoze" everything from that wall outside, if you pick it up...put it down ONLY where it belongs. If whatever you pick up has no place, then make a spot or dispose. Floor is not a shelf, trash can is your friend...feed him daily! I put up a white board that helps me remember stuff like "scooter #2 needs back tire, headlight aimed and good spot to hang the key" or  replace droplight with something that actually works.  This helped me remember when I found an estate sale box of electrical plugs (25 for 2 bucks) to help my cord replacement projects. 

Repetition: Do something every day! Rotate those tires, remove that bolt that was put in wrong yesterday, mount that battery charger on the wall...something. Check the white board if you are stumped. Clean up as you go and definitely after you do something.

Beware of backsliding! The lure of the "nice clean space" is difficult. Handle the problems you have before piling on new ones. THIS ONE IS HARD!

Seems like having an attitude of "NO I don't need another project" is a magnet for people offering screaming deals. I had a $1500 Miata got price dropped to $400 in 2 days. While I did sell the hard top for $900, I still have a spot clogged up with a 91 Miata! I would dang near give the remains away (Hint, hint). Sure I don't need another ratchet or socket set, but a set of Snap-On impacts for 10 bucks...come on! My brother would beat me if I walked away.

Start, do it, finish. Start is always the hard part.

Bruce

Ian F said:

Guitars - I don't really know right now, so let's just say I have around 20.  Most do work, but many of them need some fiddling.

Sounds like you need a fiddle.

eastsideTim said:

My wife and I both have hoarding tendencies, and hobbies that encourage it (me - cars and Legos, her - knitting, sewing, and other crafts), and the house is overloaded, too, but I am trying to work on that.

Cheebus, are we the same person and don't know it?  That's identical to DW and I, except she's more into LEGO than I am.

I'm almost at your point, but it all currently fits in my house.  but I have at least 2 sets of wheels for cars I don't even own any more, and the stupid leather Neon interior I've been trying to give away for a decade.  Pretty soon I'm going to stop trying to give this stuff away and just dumpster it, which will be a shame.

Duke said:

and the stupid leather Neon interior I've been trying to give away for a decade. 

 

I'm sorry, your what now?

wae said:

Duke said:

and the stupid leather Neon interior I've been trying to give away for a decade. 

 

I'm sorry, your what now?

If wae don't  i do assuming that the shipping won't give me rectal bleeding. I have spare seats for the acr, and an acr with leather sounds appropriately sacrilegious.

In reply to egnorant :

​​​​So, um, would this Miata likely make a drive up to Chicago?

wae said:

Duke said:

and the stupid leather Neon interior I've been trying to give away for a decade.

I'm sorry, your what now?

I have a grey factory leather interior from a 1st-gen Neon sedan.  There were a 1995-only option and there were maybe a thousand made.  It consists of the following:

Front bucket seats - grey leather; these are like the Sport seats except bolstered slightly deeper; they're pretty comfortable.  As I recall there is bolster wear on the driver's side but it is not split.

Rear seats - grey leather; molded pieces.  One side has a split seam at the headrest bump from sun shrinkage.  As I recall the sedan rear seat is slightly different from the coupe - it may or may not fit in a 2-door.

Steering wheel - black leather-wrapped wheel with no airbag.  The leather is sound but the finish is shot on top.  Works and makes wheel thicker for better grip.

ATX shifter handle - black leather-wrapped; condition same as wheel.

Door panel inserts - grey leather; replace the fabric panels in the plastic door cards.  Good condition, all 4 doors.

I'll throw in a full-length grey Sport console, which is nicer and has a bigger storage bin than the base one.

I bought the interior from a junkyard in about 1997-8 and put it in my wife's 2.4-swapped '95 Sport.  When that got hydrolocked and junked, I swapped the interior into my '95 ACR sedan.  When I sold that in 2006 I kept the leather interior.  It's been in my basement ever since.  About once a year I list it among the various automotive communities as free, come get it.  No one ever has.

I suspect shipping costs would be egregious, but I live about 15 minutes off of I-95 halfway between Philly and Baltimore.

EvanB said:

I'm cursed by having a lot of space so i can justify to myself keeping stuff around. I try to go through stuff at least once a year to throw out or sell stuff i don't use or never will. It isn't always much but it slowly chips away at it and keeps it organized for the most part. Let's just not talk about the wheels and tires.

You sell off more stuff than anyone else I know.

In hindsight, this possibly means you also acquire more stuff than anyone else I know.

I also have a set of bugeye WRX wheels with 3 good tires and a set of '96 Celica wheels with bad tires.  The WRX wheels will probably clean up but the Celica wheels will need to be blasted and painted.

Free, come get 'em.

In reply to Duke :

Oh, sedan....  That's a damned shame.  Mines a 2-door.

wae said:

In reply to Duke :

Oh, sedan....  That's a damned shame.  Mines a 2-door.

The front seats bolt right in.  The back seats may fit.  You'd have to research.  The door inserts won't fit the longer doors.

I think for me it was the 3rd engine in the track rat Miata that popped. I then got tired of spending my entire weekends in the garage. And I've done the "I'm a man thing" when we built my S52 E30 in a gravel driveway. Had to move big 4x8 pieces of plywood around the car and driveway for the engine hoist, etc. 

I don't have many tools by any standard to most of you. But I found that I was able to almost do everything in the swap, and then subsequent motor swaps, clutch, etc, on the Miata, with not much more than a Craftsman 252 piece set, in the plastic case I bought back in '06 maybe? 

I'm at the point now, where my sets are incomplete, the containers and bags are old way beat up........I'd honestly just like to get rid of what I have, start fresh with new stuff and new way to organize and keep it, before I get my next project. So that will likely be a year or two before I can do that. 

I can also say now that I've been in the house I bought for two years, I'm already collecting more stuff than I want. 

I actually kind of liked when I first moved to OKC almost 3 years ago. After a divorce, 2 lay offs and a few moves in the previous 2 years, I was down to the minimum of what I needed and it felt great. Of course, there was a lot of stuff I didn't have that my girlfriend has added to the house now. Lots of domestic type stuff, crock pots, serving platters, extra blankets/pillows,etc.

Knurled. said:

EvanB said:

I'm cursed by having a lot of space so i can justify to myself keeping stuff around. I try to go through stuff at least once a year to throw out or sell stuff i don't use or never will. It isn't always much but it slowly chips away at it and keeps it organized for the most part. Let's just not talk about the wheels and tires.

You sell off more stuff than anyone else I know.

 

In hindsight, this possibly means you also acquire more stuff than anyone else I know.

I've passed up multiple cars Evan's sold due to a lack of space and time.  Yet he still doesn't sell the CT90 - that, I would find space and time for. 

It's impossible to stop.

And if you did manage it they would kick you off the forum so is it really worth it?

My problem is I hate selling stuff. Not because I want to keep it, but because I hate dealing with the buyers. 

Toyman01 said:

My problem is I hate selling stuff. Not because I want to keep it, but because I hate dealing with the buyers. 

Before buying something, I often ask myself is this important enough to have now that I may need to deal with Craigslist buyers when I decide to get rid of it.  Helps cut down on the acquisitions.

eastsideTim said:

Toyman01 said:

My problem is I hate selling stuff. Not because I want to keep it, but because I hate dealing with the buyers. 

Before buying something, I often ask myself is this important enough to have now that I may need to deal with Craigslist buyers when I decide to get rid of it.  Helps cut down on the acquisitions.

when i was parting the C4, there was a guy from out of town who passes through every couple weeks for business.  he had bought things from me a couple times.  so we agreed on $40 for another thing, and i told hiim i wouldn't be home but i'd leave it next to the garage and there would be a zip-loc bag under a brick for him to put the $40 in.  When i got home the part was gone and there was a single $20 in the bag.  after that, i threw a bunch of stuff in the dumpster at work, because berkeley him.  now, i pretty much throw away anything that i'd sell for less than $50.

Toyman01 said:

My problem is I hate selling stuff. Not because I want to keep it, but because I hate dealing with the buyers. 

This. So, so much this.  

Ebay used to be the nice easy-button for unloading unwanted stuff, but then even that became a royal PITA.  But at least eBay does (did?) have a good shipping system that had the buyer pre-pay.

In reply to AngryCorvair :

I did the leave the part outside, leave the money somewhere. Somehow totally forgot about the transaction found $10 weeks later and could barely remember what it was for or why it was there. That was before life got busy. 

Ian F said:

Toyman01 said:

My problem is I hate selling stuff. Not because I want to keep it, but because I hate dealing with the buyers. 

This. So, so much this.  

Ebay used to be the nice easy-button for unloading unwanted stuff, but then even that became a royal PITA.  But at least eBay does (did?) have a good shipping system that had the buyer pre-pay.

The little stuff I pitch or give away. There is no way I'm going to deal with the idiots for under $200+ I just gave a kayak to a friend that thought she might like to have one. I'm even going to deliver it to her.

For instance, I listed two brand new tires on Sunday for about half what they sell for. Within 5 minutes I got a message asking if they were still available. I responded and got nothing back. 

It's the big stuff that keeps piling up. I have 2 busses and a class A RV. I have 3 boats. I actually have to stop and count the number of cars I have. 8 at the moment, not counting the company stuff which is another 5. Several I would be willing to part with and a couple I've tried to sell, but it's just not worth the hassle. The sheer stupidity of the average person is mind blowing. I used to be able to get my daughter to sell the stuff for me, but she has a life and a real job now. I'm running out of room to park the damn things.

wae said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

As much as I would very much like to tell you that as soon as you unbury that, I'll be there ready to stick it in my B.U.T.T., it violates two rules that I'm trying to impose upon myself right now:  #1 - Any and every tool at Toiletbird Industries will either fit on a shelf/drawer or have wheels and #2 - If I don't see an immediate need for it and it's bigger than a breadbox, don't drag it home.

You could put wheels on it. You can't find a pallet with wheels just anywhere.

EvanB said:

wae said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

As much as I would very much like to tell you that as soon as you unbury that, I'll be there ready to stick it in my B.U.T.T., it violates two rules that I'm trying to impose upon myself right now:  #1 - Any and every tool at Toiletbird Industries will either fit on a shelf/drawer or have wheels and #2 - If I don't see an immediate need for it and it's bigger than a breadbox, don't drag it home.

You could put wheels on it. You can't find a pallet with wheels just anywhere.

Damnit.

Okay, how big is this thing?  Standard GMA 4ftxalmost 4ft?  Maybe that could have the antique findings drawers mounted on them and I could use the hospital bed base for something else...

wae said:

EvanB said:

wae said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

As much as I would very much like to tell you that as soon as you unbury that, I'll be there ready to stick it in my B.U.T.T., it violates two rules that I'm trying to impose upon myself right now:  #1 - Any and every tool at Toiletbird Industries will either fit on a shelf/drawer or have wheels and #2 - If I don't see an immediate need for it and it's bigger than a breadbox, don't drag it home.

You could put wheels on it. You can't find a pallet with wheels just anywhere.

Damnit.

Okay, how big is this thing?  Standard GMA 4ftxalmost 4ft?  Maybe that could have the antique findings drawers mounted on them and I could use the hospital bed base for something else...

Looks like it's about 44" x 30"  Its under shelving and a cabinet right now, so it won't be going anywhere for a bit, but once it does, it's yours if you decide you want it.