Not really cleaning yet. Just going through the debris of my life and throwing stuff away. Working through pictures now. No one is going to want your photos when you are gone. Kind of addicting getting rid of stuff I have not used and don't see using now at may age.

I think that is a great way to look at it, I'm old enough to take it to heart!!

Amen brother.

I have to disagree. I love old family photos and I wish I had more from my family who are no longer around.

Many photos were from vacation and were local attractions. If my wife or I was not in the photo- out it goes. Don't have children so no one care about family photos. Many photos I had no idea where they were taken. Some were from my parents of their friends.
We keep entirely too much stuff. Too good to throw away or else we would have already done it. All getting thrown out now.

quote:

Originally posted by mdj:
I have to disagree. I love old family photos and I wish I had more from my family who are no longer around.

People in the past did not take many photos. I have thousands of the grandchildren alone

My step father had a similar idea.

He threw me out. Saved a bunch on film and processing fees.

I have too much junk and I’m going through stuff now. It’s like a constant battle.

If you were within an hours drive and you had more than a milk crate of pictures I'd say dibs , right now .

Since my parents have passed away, one of the things I most regret is not getting my hands on my Mothers photo album.

As a rule of thumb, I throw things out if I haven't used them in five years. Of course, sometime later, I look everywhere and can't find that left-handed widget hook. I know I had one.

I am a Pack-Rat and I know it. I am not a hoarder though. I really need to dispose of more stuff. I have been giving things to the Vietnam Vets Thrift Store for quite a while now, but still have plenty to go.

We had a couple of floods at my parents’ (now my sister’s) house that destroyed nearly all the family photos, going back to the early 1900s. Along with most of the other family heirlooms. Fortunately the sole blood heir, a 28 year old nephew, is uninterested in anything other than soy based foods and computer games. Which makes it nice.

I tend to hang on to stuff that I purchased with hard earned money and is still in good working order even though I know deep down I'll likely never use this item. That said, when you finally make the decision to jettison some of the old crap it is rather refreshing. Kind of like taking a good shit.

My grandmother thought the same. Threw out all of her promo pictures when she was in roller derby in its beginnings .... my mother and I both wanted them. We have a single picture from a newspaper clipping left

I wish I was addicted to throwing stuff out.
Unfortunately, my kid appears to have acquired my tendency to keep things - to the extent of going in the garbage and digging out bubble pack backs for the pictures...

quote:

Originally posted by GT-40DOC:
I am a Pack-Rat and I know it. I am not a hoarder though. <snip>

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

I do go through stuff and donate or throw away things 2-3 times a year. Sometimes because I'm bored and can't think of anything better to do, sometimes because I'm running out of room.

Being a tinkerer, I have a YUGE supply of nuts/bolts/bearings/general hardware and a goodly supply of wood, steel and aluminum cutoffs, and similar stuff that a lot of folks would consider junk.

I know people thin out the herd as a way of making life simpler for their heirs/survivors and I may even do that myself when I get old. In, say, 20 years or so.

Meanwhile it's all stuff I might need some day. At least a couple of times a month, I make something I need out of whatever I have laying around. On those rare occasions I have to buy new materials, I buy extra.