I need help...
Dec. 6th, 2003 10:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
datahawkYes, I just said that. As Duncan so lovingly pointed out last week, I have 30 lbs of shit in a 10 lbs bag.
I am a pack rat. And as neat and loving as rats are, a pack rat is annoying. I need advice on what to do with some of my stuff, cause it's getting really annoying to look at. What I want to do is clean out stuff that I no longer use/want. I have lots of decent stuff, good and usable. Meaning, I won't throw it away. But it's stuff I'm not gonna use. A rummage sale didn't work, we had two this year and barely moved anything. I wouldn't mind giving it to the salvation army, but they charge way to much. And honestly it's way to nice to just give away (but I'd rather do that at this point and just get rid of it). Any suggestions?
I also have stuff like folding chairs, sleeping bags, a bicycle, roller blades and costuming that needs to be stored. The attic works for some things (like the skates, which we likely won't use much in the winter). However the attic isn't easily accessible, I need someone else to help me up and down, and is well packed with other crap and Christmas decorations. Not to mention the books, and computer crap and other 'needed' things around the house that need useful places to be put. A number of you have been to my place and know it's fairly small. We have a 1 bedroom with a 'den' that's pretty much another bedroom without a useful door. I have very little closet space and very few cabinets. Honestly a garage would make a few things easier to deal with, but I digress. Any ideas? (that wouldn't mean getting rid of stuff I do use and need)
Plus, of course, I have way to many clothes. Now I am, above all things, a clothing whore (like my mom). If it still fits, I'll keep it. But even without those I still have way more clothes then closet/draws. There is also my letterman jackets (I was a jock and a band geek, go fig), my prom outfit, plus a few other things that I want to keep and don't want to store in a box in the attic, but is taking up space in my closet.
Plus I won't even go into my other things..you know like Barbie’s, Cabbage Patch Kids, Hockey Jersey's, Star Trek, Jem...ok you get the idea, that I really want to keep and especially have no room for (Garfield) that I know I will never really have the room to put 'up' (baseball hats) but really really want to keep anyway.
I know a house would help with things, like enough space to store linens and towels, cleaning fluids, vacuum cleaners, buckets and such, but I can't afford a house right now and sure the hell don't have the credit (let alone down payment) to get one. Any clues, WTF I should do? Cause if you have ideas, you got more then I do. Sorry, this was all brought up when I went into the attic to get the xmas decorations and spent as much time fighting with other boxes as I did actually getting the decorations down. I'm just really sick of this (looks and points around). My mom and grandmother are both pack rats and both still have stuff from when they were in their teens. I'm finding the same to be true for me and I don't want to end up in house/apartment full of shit that someone will have to go through when I'm dead. I want to be relatively normal. I know I will never be truly normal, or have one of those 'Martha Stewart' clean homes. But just having some place to put stuff would be sooooo nice.
Ah well, off to go through decorations boxes. Maybe I'll find gold in all that crap. And if you've read this far, thank you.
I am a pack rat. And as neat and loving as rats are, a pack rat is annoying. I need advice on what to do with some of my stuff, cause it's getting really annoying to look at. What I want to do is clean out stuff that I no longer use/want. I have lots of decent stuff, good and usable. Meaning, I won't throw it away. But it's stuff I'm not gonna use. A rummage sale didn't work, we had two this year and barely moved anything. I wouldn't mind giving it to the salvation army, but they charge way to much. And honestly it's way to nice to just give away (but I'd rather do that at this point and just get rid of it). Any suggestions?
I also have stuff like folding chairs, sleeping bags, a bicycle, roller blades and costuming that needs to be stored. The attic works for some things (like the skates, which we likely won't use much in the winter). However the attic isn't easily accessible, I need someone else to help me up and down, and is well packed with other crap and Christmas decorations. Not to mention the books, and computer crap and other 'needed' things around the house that need useful places to be put. A number of you have been to my place and know it's fairly small. We have a 1 bedroom with a 'den' that's pretty much another bedroom without a useful door. I have very little closet space and very few cabinets. Honestly a garage would make a few things easier to deal with, but I digress. Any ideas? (that wouldn't mean getting rid of stuff I do use and need)
Plus, of course, I have way to many clothes. Now I am, above all things, a clothing whore (like my mom). If it still fits, I'll keep it. But even without those I still have way more clothes then closet/draws. There is also my letterman jackets (I was a jock and a band geek, go fig), my prom outfit, plus a few other things that I want to keep and don't want to store in a box in the attic, but is taking up space in my closet.
Plus I won't even go into my other things..you know like Barbie’s, Cabbage Patch Kids, Hockey Jersey's, Star Trek, Jem...ok you get the idea, that I really want to keep and especially have no room for (Garfield) that I know I will never really have the room to put 'up' (baseball hats) but really really want to keep anyway.
I know a house would help with things, like enough space to store linens and towels, cleaning fluids, vacuum cleaners, buckets and such, but I can't afford a house right now and sure the hell don't have the credit (let alone down payment) to get one. Any clues, WTF I should do? Cause if you have ideas, you got more then I do. Sorry, this was all brought up when I went into the attic to get the xmas decorations and spent as much time fighting with other boxes as I did actually getting the decorations down. I'm just really sick of this (looks and points around). My mom and grandmother are both pack rats and both still have stuff from when they were in their teens. I'm finding the same to be true for me and I don't want to end up in house/apartment full of shit that someone will have to go through when I'm dead. I want to be relatively normal. I know I will never be truly normal, or have one of those 'Martha Stewart' clean homes. But just having some place to put stuff would be sooooo nice.
Ah well, off to go through decorations boxes. Maybe I'll find gold in all that crap. And if you've read this far, thank you.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Doing the same here
Date: 2003-12-07 09:12 am (UTC)My suggestion would be AmVets or find a shelter that takes clothes. A lot of them will and you know they are going to people who really need them.
The space bags Dali mentioned do work, but they usually need to be re-vaccuumed every so often since air does eventually get back in.
Extra shelving helps too. I've thought about mounting a few above the computer desk here.
As far as stuff actually worth something. I'm trying to find good homes for some of it. Some I'm going to E-Bay, and some will simply end up out by the dumpster for whomever wants it before the trash is collected. The two classes of items that are going to be hardest to do for me are books and plush. I have too many of both. For the books, I'll probably take the ones I don't want to a used book exchange since that would cut down on the number of books as well as get me some new ones I'd like to read. The plush I don't want will probably go to charity if they are in good shape or get trashed if they aren't. Butterscotch said she doesn't mind the Papasan chair of plush in her room, but even that is piled to the point of ridiculousness.
I wish you luck in your organizing.