getting rid of junk

[sumdawgtwigg]

As I posted for the next 28 day challenge i'm going to start getting rid of my junk. I just wanted to share the tremendous sense of pain I have putting my Michael Crichton and Stephen King books in a bag to give away. I honestly will never read any them again, I've never read a book more than once (other than "the beach" which will be staying with me) Anyone else have problems with hanging on to stuff? This seems like a totally useless post reading over it again, but what the heck.

[sumdawgtwigg]

Got it narrowed down and the rest are in a trash bag ready to be donated! I kept:

The legend of Zelda and philosophy, The beach, The girl who loved Tom Gordon, Different seasons, Robinson Crusoe, Slaughterhouse Five, Lord of the flies, Jurassic Park and Alien Agenda! The amount of shelf space now available is breath taking !

[67alecto]

If you are looking for cash or karma, you can try selling things to people who want them.

What I specifically mean, is that yes, you can donate all of the general stuff, but if you have some specialized things you want to get rid of, you can 1)get some money and 2)pass on the enjoyment to someone who will appreciate it.

I had a lot of diecast and RC cars of Magnum, 300C, and Charger cars. I posted pictures over at LXforums and have sold quite a few.

I posted my old Dungeons and Dragons stuff at Dragonsfoot and RPG.net, too. In one week, I have gotten a combined $450 from selling things at those places (they also have to pay for shipping, so I'll use the method of their choice).

The USPS flat-rate boxes make it ridiculously easy to get them shipped (they are free boxes/envelopes with the idea that "if it fits, it ships". I was at the post office every day this past week mailing multiple packages.

http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=47492

http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=251811

It's pretty easy to find the specialized audience for what you are selling with a couple of google searches...start with whatever it is your selling and add "forum" to it to look for discussion boards.

[sumdawgtwigg]

Thanks for the advice! I'll keep that in mind! I'm just a giving person and hate selling things to people, especially when it comes to books or something of that nature.

[CokeCanNinja]

I keep books just to make myself look smarter. Not enough people have personal libraries these days.

[sumdawgtwigg]

lol good point ninja, I just hate all the space they take up. I had a whole bookshelf full of them and then another shelf with a pretty good stack of them as well. I've been thinking about getting a kindle but I like the smell of books to much lol.

[Shadawyn]

I keep books just to make myself look smarter. Not enough people have personal libraries these days.

I felt that way until I had to move them a few times XD I had seven bookcases of books, most of which I'd never read again, or never read at all. Now we have two book cases (and shrinking), a pair of Kindles, and figure I'm at least wiser, if not smarter, by not carrying the extra weight XD

As for the getting rid of--we donate all our books to the local Friends of the Library for their book sales, clothing to Goodwill (or your charity of choice), and other things on Craig's List. Some things I intend to sell, but I figure the money is already gone and selling things seems to be harder than just giving them away.

Husband and I are looking to move into a smaller space (by choice, not circumstance) in the near future as well as long-term travel, so we're trying to pare our things down to minimal--which is hard, because we're both materialistic packrats. At least we can do music and books digitally now--two of our biggest vices. XD

[nightlight]

i'm paring down my book right now.

rules: if i haven't read it more than once, or REALLY believe i'm going to read it again it goes.

i'm also allowing myself one shelf in the bookcase for sentimental books that i just can't part with.

[sumdawgtwigg]

i'm paring down my book right now.

rules: if i haven't read it more than once, or REALLY believe i'm going to read it again it goes.

i'm also allowing myself one shelf in the bookcase for sentimental books that i just can't part with.

Yeah there were a few that I just couldnt part ways with because of sentimental reasons.

[spezzy]

I felt that way until I had to move them a few times XD

just makes the move a better workout.

I... don't part with books unless I really didn't enjoy the book or absolutely have to.

They're one of the only things that I allow myself to be packrat-ish with. I love them too much to part with them.

[Oogiem]

YES!!!

I've just spent all day and got 33 boxes of books sorted from my mother's estate. We have more books than our local library!

Got rid of her archeology, rock art, most of the cookbooks, the feminist literature from the last 50 years, western history, botany, geology, gardening, cider making and mushroom growing, also most of the classic lit I can get on my kindle for free.

Saved 3 boxes of books, mostly some cookbooks, some I remember from my childhood, <mumble> years ago, some special rock art and some history books.

Now for wine, scotch, aspirin and bed

[Raincloak]

All together now: "Don't touch my junk!"

oh, wait ...

... ahem. Congrats on lightening your load! If you really don't read books more than once, you must be much happier without the extra mass. Some books, and I'd put most thrillers in this category, really are only worth reading once.

I read many books over and over, and I have made the mistake in the past of giving away my favorite books, and regretted it. No one will love and cherish my babies like I will. (The library just sells 'em off for pennies :cry: ) The downside is, I always seem to have more than I think and they take up a ridiculous amount of space and weight! It's like they expand to fill the space so no matter how many I box up, there's still the same amount on the shelf. f I didn't remember how I acquired every last one of them, I'd swear they were breeding behind my back. I think they follow me home because they know I like them.

However, I have gotten rid of some that I didn't actually like and won't miss. I need to do more of that, except right now's not the time because my stuff is all on the other side of the country and my arms are not that long. But when I get back over there and clean out the closet, I know my parents will rejoice. They understand about books (they have hundreds of their own), but the back wall of that closet has not been seen in years.

[Oogiem]

I hear you on the regret about getting rid of stuff only to wish you had it later. Especially bad when the replacement items are poorly made and don't last compared to the original.

I love books, our house is filled with built-in bookcases. It's is extremely painful to decide to let books go but there were a bunch that while interesting and useful I will never read.

I'm easing into getting rid of books, I managed to get rid of all my Hillerman novels last year and haven't missed them. I think a lot of my mysteries can go after one reading. But I am keeping a list of what I've already read and of all the books I am getting rid of, just so that I can check it. I get fooled when books come out in new covers (less now with the kindle but it does still happen) and have on occasion bought books more than once.

I also re-read many of my books and some are collections I will not get rid of for other reasons. The entire set of Dickens published in the late 1800s that was my grandfathers. Even though I can get the books on kindle those particular volumes are how I learned to read and they will stay with me forever. The cryptography books from my Grandad and other similar ones.

[spezzy]

I hear you on the regret about getting rid of stuff only to wish you had it later. Especially bad when the replacement items are poorly made and don't last compared to the original.

For regular stuff, I try to think of it this way: Is the cost of keeping it greater than the cost of replacing it? (Cost of keeping it: need bigger house, moving costs, storage costs, etc).

I'm also lucky enough to have a mother with a basement that I can keep some of my nicer furniture I don't have room for in my apartment...

Books are invaluable. Especially my signed first editions. So they stay

[Raincloak]

For regular stuff, I try to think of it this way: Is the cost of keeping it greater than the cost of replacing it? (Cost of keeping it: need bigger house, moving costs, storage costs, etc).

I'm also lucky enough to have a mother with a basement that I can keep some of my nicer furniture I don't have room for in my apartment...

Books are invaluable. Especially my signed first editions. So they stay

Yeah, there's always that cost/benefit thing. I find that easier with kitchenware; except for a couple special implements that I use all the time (hello garlic press), I don't buy tools that can only do one thing. (Sorry gourmet heart-shaped ramekins, you have no place in my little world...)

I got a few signed books too! For which I usually had to hunt down an author signing and wait very patiently for hours... but those, I am willing to let go if the price is high enough. I need cash more than I need collectibles, and even if the book goes, I will always have the memory of meeting the author.

[alr]

I have started giving books away to friends after I read them. It lessens the pain of getting rid of junk if it turns into sharing something nice with someone you love. Also, it gives you an excuse to have nice booky conversations with those friends and that's even better.

That said, I had to sell a lot of my favorites over the summer when I was unemployed. Choosing between keeping the books and eating kind of put some stuff in perspective.

Getting rid of junk is an awesome goal. Way to go!

[CokeCanNinja]

I want to be like this: http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/ticket/archives/main.jpg

[alr]

That's a great picture. I also want the socks.

[Cacophony]

I'm bad for collecting reference material. You don't even want to ask how many canine behavioral and training methodology books I own (I've been grooming for 20 years now) and my newest addiction seems to be flowing with my PFT course load. I'm noticing that with any "fitness" or "health" based you really have to be careful what you're willing to pay money for and that the best books need to be special ordered directly from the groups/people who wrote them but I've been lucky so far and no lemons. I've read a few times on here about kindle and I'm torn between looking into it so I can have more books and not having a book in my hand.... Now, if they'd put my stupid school TEXTBOOKS on a program like that!! Just for fun, we put my Anatomy testbook on a very expensive, high calibration scale at the dojo used for registering fighters for competition... 7.8lbs. For ONE book. No wonder all off a sudden I have definition in my triceps.....

[Oogiem]

I'm bad for collecting reference material. .... I've read a few times on here about kindle and I'm torn between looking into it so I can have more books and not having a book in my hand.... Now, if they'd put my stupid school TEXTBOOKS on a program like that!!

My reference material weakness is old agricultural books. I have a huge collection of stuff from about 1900 until the start of WW II. I've found more of that is more appropriate to a small diversified farm using hand labor than the modern farming info.

On the kindle textbooks. Some are available on kindle, you just have to look and see if you school supports e-books or not. And some colleges are providing most of the class notes on PDF files. If you do get one for schoolwork I'd strongly suggest the kindle DX, the larger screen is important for anything with line drawings.

[pengrok]

I find books a comforting presence in the house. Psychologically, they make me feel smarter even without opening a page even. Also, this e-book reader technology is probably still new to me, so I just can't automatically equate looking at a Kindle and say "oh! I should read [insert fav. author of the moment]"..