seamaiden

Seems like I've been in the process of moving, or helping someone else move, for almost a decade. I'm never settled, but I keep hanging onto things I really don't need, moving them from place to place for reasons unsure to me.

Such as: Whiskers my cats loose
All my report cards from grades 1 through 12
My favorite dress from the late 1970's
...and more
I really should simplify.



At least I got rid of the most useless thing I kept for three decades...my narcissistic , alcoholic ex.

Xerxys

Computer parts like IDE cables and 3 hard drives with data on them. I should defragment them soon.

Lady Bear Cub

my entire bedroom at my mom's house. i should just load it all into a dumpster. i've lived a year without all that junk so i'm sure i'd survive.

thirdsun

The little plastic storage boxes that SD data cards come in...

I rarely keep the cards in them, but I can't bring myself to throw them away.

mixedmedia

I've really tried to pare things down over the last five years.
I have a large box with all three of my daughter's artwork.
and a box of old Playboys and other girlie magazines.
otherwise, that's about it, I think.

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

wooÐs

I can't lose clothes that are too small or too big for me anymore. My weight has fluctuated so much over the years that I end up wearing them again eventually. I like the whole 'if you haven't worn them in 6 months then trash them' idea. But I do end up wearing this stuff again.

Plan9

Pictures of former lovers. They now all reside in a dusty footlocker I had in Afghanistan.

I put them in there and don't look at them. I don't know why I keep them.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

The Inspector

Old shoes that are still wearable but I know I'll never wear them any more since I have new shoes.

Wood scraps in my shop..... I cannot bear to throw away anything larger than my thumb, thumb sized pieces can make perfect cleats under small shelves or drawers or such.

Old electronic devices that can be cannibalized for resistors or diodes or caps.

Mic and patch cables that do not work...... they only need cut off and new ends and they will be fine if I get the time to do it (I never do get time)

Star Wars etc cups from fast food places. Not the nice glass ones that you pay extra for but the flimsy junk plastic kind.

Ram, ram and more ram..... all the way back to the 286 sx25 days. But it'll be an antique soon.

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Generic nondescript inoffensive saying

YellowBird

I keep lots of things. Books, shoes, holly stockings. I've got a lot of old glass bottles....

Fremen

I'm a packrat. Not out of control, yet.

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Google

ryfo

I keep old coffee jars. They are too good to throw out, in fact all my canisters are old coffe jars. I just drink too much coffee for the amount of canisters i need

CinnamonGirl

I still have notes, letters, & other mementos from high school. Also, when I go on vacation, I don't really buy souvenirs...so I keep other things. Matchbooks from bars... a subway ticket... chopsticks from a restaurant... boarding passes... silly little things that wouldn't mean anything to anyone else, but make me smile when I see them.

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"...for though she was ordinary, she possessed health, wit, courage, charm, and cheerfulness. But because she was not beautiful, no one ever seemed to notice these other qualities, which is so often the way of the world."


"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Grasshopper Green

Boxes, but only if they are shoebox size or smaller. My husband teases me relentlessly about it.

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"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa

Bacchanal

I keep receipts for some reason. I know keeping them for a certain amount of time is fine, for returns and such, but I just found one today in a book from 2003... might be pushing it a bit

Shoe boxes, but to be fair I keep a lot of old stuff in some of them, CDs, comic books, etc..

Power cords. I have cords for things I'm sure are long gone, but I have to keep them around "just in case".

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Universal Truth Is Not Measured In Mass Appeal

BadNick

What plays into my pack-rat-ness is having too much space so I keep way too much stuff since it doesn't get in the way...usually. I got my "fun" car when it was totally factory stock, now it's got a lot of modified parts on it, but I saved ever part I've ever taken off even though I'll never use them again. I still have my note books from high school, that was over 40 years ago, as well as college note books, since I wanted to save my doodling on many of the pages. Clothes, shoes...I've kept way too many but lately have been bagging them up and giving them to local charities who use them; they're coming again next week for more since I'm cleaning out my closets (M&M's!) on the 3rd floor prior to renovating that area. I have about 5 old computers laying around, including my first one from 1984 my beloved NEC Powermate 286 10Mz/40meg HD beast. Old fixtures, both lighting and plumbing, that I've replaced over the last 35 years are still under my workbench in the basement. Old speakers...the boxes look like they could be rehabed with new drivers...that I'll never get. There's more I'm sure.

MSD

I've been bad with this over the years and as a result I have not been able to walk to my closet, nevermind open or close it in several years. I've started throwing away anything that I won't take with me when I move out next summer. My family has always been a bunch of sentimental packrats, and cleaning out my grandmother's house over the past year has highlighted just how much crap we save that should be thrown out. On the other hand, there's a lot of really cool stuff I've found that I want to keep.

ZombieSquirrel

Having had to clean out my deceased pack-rat parents' house, I try REALLY hard to not keep so much stuff. However, I had pack-rat parents and learned bad habits.

I keep concert/play/movie/sporting event tickets. I don't know why I would ever need to prove that i attended these events.

I keep Christmas and Birthday cards for long periods of time. (I will NEVER throw out the last one my father ever gave me though.)

I'll buy something useless because I think it's funny...ie Latke Larry who has the voice of Jerry Stiller and sings a song about Hanukkah. No, I'm not Jewish, but I love latkes.

I am a LOT better than I was, but I still have a closet full of clothes I don't wear anymore that need to make their way to a charity.


I do this too. I think it's because they helped mold who I am now. I like to look back on them and remember who I was at that time and who I am now... Reminders of the mistakes I made and how I will try to not make the same ones.

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Attack ZombieSquirrels

Salem

Ohhh I keep the most random things. I have a "memory box" full of these said items. For example.... a magazine clipping of the prom dress I wanted when I was in grade 7, a bracelet my best friend made me in grade 4, a bracelet my boyfriend made me in grade 8, an american quarter, a rock from god only knows when/where, a post it note with the first shifts i ever worked written on it, birthday cards, random notes my sister has written me, Loverboy concert ticket stub, a picture of my first boyfriend, and the list goes on...

World's King

As a hoarder...


Everything I keep is useless.

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heavy is the head that wears the crown

seamaiden

You guys make me feel good about my cat's whiskers.

Jove

I used to save all my movie ticket stubs starting in 1995 and ended about 2005. I stopped because the tickets went from a hard square paper to a this soft paper and the ink fades away within a month.

Charlatan

When I moved abroad, just over three years ago, I went through a process of purging a lot of junk from my house. When I left Canada, I arrived here with three suitcases. It was liberating.

I have since accumulated more stuff, kitchen ware, furniture, etc. but I have tried to be quite brutal with what I keep. I now do regular purges of my stuff. I off load old books, throw out stuff that I don't need. I get rid of clothes I don't wear.

I may not be at three suitcases but I am nowhere near the kind of clutter I had before moving.

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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Iliftrocks

Can't really bring myself to throw away old tools, even if they are half destroyed. I love to make new stuff out of them, but only get the urge a couple times a year.

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bill hicks - "I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out."

seamaiden

New stuff? Are you an inventor?

biznatch

All the CD's/DVDs I've ever burned, even though a good 40 of them probably have so many duplicates I could reduce them to 10.
A couple toys from my childhood, they've followed me through the years. I even still have my NES/SNES cartridges, even though I couldn't keep the consoles.

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Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

ShaniFaye

I keep lots of useless things, but the one Im the worst about is every band that has ever adorned my wrists from bars, concerts, festivals etc.

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

sapiens

I have syllabi, articles, and assignments from all of the courses I have ever taken or taught. They fill boxes in my garage. I also have a box filled with old, useless electronics. I haven't thrown it away yet though it mostly contains orphaned power cords.

Ce'Nedra

Clothes that don't fit anymore
CD cases - not the actual CDs, I don't know where some of those are. But I can't throw away the case because the minute I do the CD will turn up.

lulu_mq

me too! also, empty lighters, empty cigarette packs and empty water bottles...why does everything i keep have to be empty!?!? booooo for me! haha.

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What kind of bee's make milk?! ..............BOOBEES!!!

Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.
-- Elbert Hubbard

Salem

A post it note that says " I <3 You"
A picture of my first boyfriend,
a doll i hate that my grandparents got it
pill bottles
Movie ticket stubs.

I have a large collection of crap. I like to call it my memory box. Every once in a while I'll go through it and throw out the wrappers and papers from things I have no idea where they came from.

Poppinjay

Radio memorabilia. Pics, a couple of microphones, mugs, stickers, shirts.

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I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet

redsneaker

I have an impressive collection of stickers that they put on apples. They're actually on a kitchen cabinet right now. Makes me smile when I see them.