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Post by Di on Sept 15, 2014 6:39:03 GMT -5
lostchild, that is one of the reasons I think they should evaluate items on the shows. Educate the person as to why their items are worth/not worth ________ instead of leaving the person feeling robbed and violated.
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Post by lostchild on Sept 15, 2014 6:54:13 GMT -5
Wouldn't that just leave them humiliated instead? Yourstuff is worthless because you didn't take care of it.
And most of the time they try to tell the hoarder that and due to their distorted values they don't accept the information anyway!!! Because they don't accept this info what good would an appraiser do telling them the same thing?
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Post by Di on Sept 17, 2014 15:23:38 GMT -5
I have a dear friend who is holding on to "antiques". I know that in her case and many others, an appraisal by an expert would allow her to release items. Sometimes it's the not knowing that bogs us down. In my purge I did get several things appraised, some were wort it. Some were not. I don't think that many of us have an objective view of our stuff. Our eyesight is filtered through hope and sentiment.
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Post by larataylor on Sept 17, 2014 15:35:38 GMT -5
Value is always subjective, from million dollar paintings to old stuffed animals. Stuff is worth something to somebody, or maybe nothing to anybody!
An appraiser can give you a much more realistic picture of what your stuff could be worth to other people. I think that could be really useful.
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Post by lostchild on Sept 17, 2014 16:56:07 GMT -5
larataylor is it worth appraising is my question. Many times much of stuff not appraisalable due to hoarding...that's situation I see , not for many of us a blend of trash and treasure in our homes.
Only hoarder I saw was clean was lady with over 2000 storage plastic containers. Her house was spotless...no infestations but she had 4 trucks ready to haul...she let go of one container.
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Post by TML on Sept 17, 2014 19:03:38 GMT -5
I think it all depends on where you are in the digging out. If someone is about to lose their children due to hoarding nothing is worth getting the house clean and keeping the kids. If you are drowning in stuff and can't function then it's value decreases unless it is that special item that is worth a ton.
I got rid of a bunch of fabric, a sewing machine, and a butcher block. The butchers block was probably worth 250 but I gave it to a friend who helped me dig out over two weekends. I told Mom not to buy it that we did not have room and I have hauled that thing through one move and put up with it in the road for far too long. It was worth seeing it gone. Other things I am practical about and I do price them online and make I hope good choices on what to keep.
I had far to much just craft garbage that I unloaded and I gave myself amnesty. Mom had collected years and years of newspapers for papier-mâché projects she never started, tons of old calendars/catalogs/magazine for decoupage projects that were never started, boxes and boxes of fabric for quilts that were never started, enough racy romance novels to start my own book store - I think she read those, plastic bags and plastic sheet wrappers for projects, tons of old ripped towels/bedding/shirts/socks for the making of rag rugs (never started), and a pile (mountain) of cut out coupons and recipes (but Mom never shopped at grocery or cooked).
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Post by TML on Sept 17, 2014 19:09:19 GMT -5
@lauralotsofstuff when you wrote about tossing someone else's stuff and it being easier than tossing our own it reminded of an interview I had seen once. This lady was challenged to clean her house. She said she had a productive day and had cleaned out 2 closets and the garage. She threw out tons of old junk she never needed, used, or wanted. Turns out though it was her husband's closets and his stuff in garage. He was O.O when he found out and had a cow. He then rounded on her about her stuff and she said well why would I throw out my stuff it is all good stuff.
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Post by LauraLotsaStuff on Sept 17, 2014 19:23:40 GMT -5
@lauralotsofstuff when you wrote about tossing someone else's stuff and it being easier than tossing our own it reminded of an interview I had seen once. This lady was challenged to clean her house. She said she had a productive day and had cleaned out 2 closets and the garage. She threw out tons of old junk she never needed, used, or wanted. Turns out though it was her husband's closets and his stuff in garage. He was O.O when he found out and had a cow. He then rounded on her about her stuff and she said well why would I throw out my stuff it is all good stuff. HAHAHAHA that is TOO FUNNY! Poor guy--it was probably the only stuff he had in the whole place, if she was a hoarder! I'm ready to purge a lot of stuff again, but I keep forgetting to bring home boxes (I can get all sizes and shapes free from work). I'm seeing things all the time that I want to get rid of, good things, some new, but I just don't need them. I do want to donate them though, and I can't stuff donate things in a bag, except for clothes, and I almost have another bag of those full. Gotta get it outta here!! I may use it, I can use, but I would rather just go get a replacement IF I need it in a few years. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2014 12:13:31 GMT -5
When I was growing up, my father, especially, valued everything highly and was reluctant to throw anything out (except for obvious trash like food scraps and wrappers). He thought it was wasteful to throw things in the trash. And although he often shopped at thrift stores, he never donated anything.
So I grew up learning that throwing away clutter was equivalent to throwing away money.
Unfortunately, since the house was always so cluttered, he never wanted to call repair people. And it was hard to clean or paint or make other improvements.
When the time came to sell the house, it was in a state of disrepair, and we sold it at a huge loss.
--
Now, as critical as I always was of my father's attitude, I've come to realize that I am doing very much the same thing, albeit on a smaller scale.
But it's a fact that I have not painted, or removed the old carpet, and my plumbing is overdue for some updates. And it's all because there is too much clutter in the way.
This clutter is mostly things I've been saving "just in case"-- things that I've been afraid to toss because it seemed wasteful to do so.
But I'm coming to realize that my house is losing value as I put off repairs and improvements which could be done, if only I would get rid of all the clutter that is in the way.
So it's true-- my STUFF is not worth much at all, compared to what I stand to lose if I let my house fall into disrepair.
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Post by desireelafleur on Oct 15, 2014 8:13:06 GMT -5
We give it a name. Stuff, clutter, horde, mess etc etc etc. That alone should tell us what we need to know about the value of the objects in our home. Sometimes, if pressed, we might be able to say that we horde books or papers or games but rarely does that cover the scope of the the types of things that we collect....
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Post by lozzylooloo on Mar 12, 2016 3:44:29 GMT -5
(...snip...) -- Now, as critical as I always was of my father's attitude, I've come to realize that I am doing very much the same thing, albeit on a smaller scale. But it's a fact that I have not painted, or removed the old carpet, and my plumbing is overdue for some updates. And it's all because there is too much clutter in the way. This clutter is mostly things I've been saving "just in case"-- things that I've been afraid to toss because it seemed wasteful to do so. But I'm coming to realize that my house is losing value as I put off repairs and improvements which could be done, if only I would get rid of all the clutter that is in the way. So it's true-- my STUFF is not worth much at all, compared to what I stand to lose if I let my house fall into disrepair. Bumping an old thread as I've been browsing some of the older stuff. Think this whole thread is fantastic but this Post in particular really resonated for me. |
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Post by larataylor on Mar 12, 2016 17:47:40 GMT -5
A friend of mine refers to "long term off-site storage." You place whatever you're not using in a bin at the curb, and some nice men come and pick it up for you. When you need that item again, you go to a place called a "store" and it's there for you, all wrapped up and clean and working properly. And you pay for the "storage" only at that point.
Compared to a self-storage facility, this is really quite cost effective.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2016 19:30:28 GMT -5
lozzylooloo, I'm glad my post resonated with you. It's 2 years since I wrote that. Over the winter holiday break, I did a big declutter. I got rid of at least 6 large trash bags, filled about 3 large recycle bins, and took 2-3 car-loads of items to Goodwill for donation. But my house is still too cluttered to consider painting, or removing the carpet. And I'm anxious because I'm due for an annual plumbing and furnace/AC check (already paid for), and there is a lot of cleaning and probably some painting to do in preparation for having a plumber over here without embarrassment. I will say that I don't miss a single thing that I got rid of. If anything it made me realize that I can get rid of much more without missing things. And as the years go by, I'm realizing just how important it is to maintain the house, and how that takes priority over keeping extra things around "just in case".
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Post by Irisheyes on May 9, 2016 19:04:21 GMT -5
A friend of mine refers to "long term off-site storage." You place whatever you're not using in a bin at the curb, and some nice men come and pick it up for you. When you need that item again, you go to a place called a "store" and it's there for you, all wrapped up and clean and working properly. And you pay for the "storage" only at that point. Compared to a self-storage facility, this is really quite cost effective. This is awesome!   |
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