Sentimental clutter - do you have it?

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EthanMH

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I have boxes of things that belonged to my grandparents , some childhood items , books and gifts from friends.

I am going to be travelling for a while and I don’t know what to do with all of this stuff. I find it difficult to throw my grandparent’s things in the bin, when they hold such strong memories.

What is your view on such things? Are you the sentimental type at all?
 
Just spent a week clearing out two family properties. Most of it got chucked. Reminded me that while it’s fun to collect most of it will eventually going get binned anyway.
 
PaulKempTheSecond said:
Take what you want, sell the rest.
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We never sell anything. That R1000 - R2000 I may make when selling stuff will probably not have a significant impact on our lives, but could have a big effect on those receiving. When my mom passed away, we donated most of her stuff to an old age home or shelters for those in need.

When we buy something big like e.g. a fridge or living/dining room set, we ask the delivery people if they want the old items for free. That saves us the trouble of trying to get rid of the items.
 
Have a few odds and ends.
My father police and rank badges.
Then i tend t gather something small from places I have been or enjoyed.
Prized possession at the moment is a gravel pebble from Didley Squat Farm.
A mug from Arundel Castle.
A hook from when I caught a monster Muscle Cracker with my dad.

Bunch of small things, fit in a shoebox.
 
geezer said:
We never sell anything. That R1000 - R2000 I may make when selling stuff will probably not have a significant impact on our lives, but could have a big effect on those receiving. When my mom passed away, we donated most of her stuff to an old age home or shelters for those in need.

When we buy something big like e.g. a fridge or living/dining room set, we ask the delivery people if they want the old items for free. That saves us the trouble of trying to get rid of the items.
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That's not as noble as you think :ROFL:
 
I personally find it mentally exhausting trying to hold-on/archive/preserve anything really, even digital artefacts e.g. photos on a hard-drive (yes I know, you can load them onto the cloud, but that process alone is a PITA)

So I generally look at it, if it has no purpose, out it goes - either into a bin or donated. I might hold on to very sentimental items for a short while, but eventually it all suffers the same fate.

Imagine trying to hold on to all those memories, burdening yourself with the responsibility.

My wife knows, when I pass, burn me - no chance I am anchoring my family to my grave-site and all the hassles that goes with cleaning and visiting.
 
geezer said:
We never sell anything. That R1000 - R2000 I may make when selling stuff will probably not have a significant impact on our lives, but could have a big effect on those receiving. When my mom passed away, we donated most of her stuff to an old age home or shelters for those in need.

When we buy something big like e.g. a fridge or living/dining room set, we ask the delivery people if they want the old items for free. That saves us the trouble of trying to get rid of the items.
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And the amount of people that will either grab your donated items for themselves or go on to sell it and coin the profit themselves is staggering. If you know of someone that needs it and can donate to them directly, power to you. Donating to old age home or whatever, you can assume at least some of it ends up being sold on a blanket next to a road.
 
EthanMH said:
I have boxes of things that belonged to my grandparents , some childhood items , books and gifts from friends.

I am going to be travelling for a while and I don’t know what to do with all of this stuff. I find it difficult to throw my grandparent’s things in the bin, when they hold such strong memories.

What is your view on such things? Are you the sentimental type at all?
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give this a watch https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3810760/ it helped me sort through loads like this.
 
The_MAC said:
That's not as noble as you think :ROFL:
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It is entirely noble. Do you expect him to spend some more monies to get rid of his second hand goods ? That is crazy.

We usually get rid of stuff by giving it to trash pickers on Monday which is pikitup collection day. Principle is same - I don't want to spend more monies in getting rid of items and if someone can take it off my hands at no cost to me, great. Times are hard. Some things like toys get sold on FB and son gets monies.
 
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Neuk_ said:
A few odds and ends but notably my grandfather's WWII service award badges and bible, my great great great grandfather's ceremonial dress sword given to him when he made the rank of Major in the Cape Town Highlanders and my great grandfathers diary from WWI which is sadly not the original but a copy.
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I've got a ±400 page book about the Cape Town Highlanders from 1885+ from my grandfather. He is probably mentioned in the book if you're into that stuff.

The Cape Town Highlanders, 1885-1985 (With Loosely Inserted Letter and Errata Slip) | Neil Orpen

The Cape Town Highlanders, 1885-1985 (With Loosely Inserted Letter and Errata Slip) | Neil Orpen, The Cape Town Highlanders, 1885-1985 (With Loosely Inserted Letter and Errata Slip) | Neil OrpenPublisher: Cape Town Highlanders History Committee (1986)ISBN: 0620095075Condition: DJ in good...
www.bookdealers.co.za www.bookdealers.co.za
 
Unfortunately, I was always a hoarder. Trying to get rid of stuff slowly over last few years so there is some progress. I know it is not considered upper class to sell things on FB marketplace but I do it at times. Times are really hard. Each year, I have been on Januworry thread since covid. :-(

Big things like old fridges/ovens etc go to trash pickers/security guards/anyone willing to take it.
 
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