# Help me throw things away **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001 "2006-02-24T23:51:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MsMitey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@MsMitey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsMitey)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/21 "2006-02-25T23:12:50Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > It also helps when you have a hoarder in the family, and you can see what lies at the end of the “keep everything because it might be worth something someday/you might need it someday/it’s too good to give away” road, and it ain’t pretty. Hmm, I might actually be you, because I’ve also had to clean out a few of these places. Kee-rist, how does someone acquire 100 gallons of laundry soap? Stocking up when it’s on sale doesn’t even begin to explain. Emptying out a couple of relatives’ houses finally made my mom get rid of a _whole_ lotta stuff. ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/22 "2006-02-26T00:28:10Z")
> [@Miss Purl McKnittington](#): > > Whoa. Really? What does the Salvation Army do with the money from the selling the donated clothes? Is it like Locks of Love, where most of the donated hair is sold to make wigs and extensions for rich folk, rather than wigs for little kids with cancer, and then no word as to what is done with the profit from that? I’m feeling really naive right now, but this has actually surprised me quite a bit. w.t.f. Here’s an entry about it, still researching, anyone have a news-ish type cite? > **[Locks of Love = ungood](https://zellandyne.livejournal.com/430726.html)** > > Just for the record - Locks of Love is evil. Im just gonna paste some chunks of text here, explaining. So first, we discover that they may not meet the requirements for charity organizations. From the Better Business Bureau: Locks of Love (LoL) does... ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/23 "2006-02-26T01:04:15Z")
> [@Miss Purl McKnittington](#): > > What does the Salvation Army do with the money from the selling the donated clothes? You might be aware that the Salvation Army does a lot of good for the needy and homeless, including providing food, shelter, financial assistance and even clothing. Presumably all of this costs money. It’s not like they’re taking the donated clothing, selling it and then having a party with the proceeds. > [@Mynn](#): > > w.t.f. > > Here’s an entry about it, still researching, anyone have a news-ish type cite? > > [http://zellandyne.livejournal.com/430726.html](http://zellandyne.livejournal.com/430726.html) That blog seems like a weak criticism of Locks of Love. The IRS form 990 for 2004 for that group says that they received $352,000 in revenues from selling “unusable materials” which is used to “purchase manufactured custom hair prosthetics” so even the hair that they can’t use benefits the kids. Plus the the criticism is based on the lack of details provided to the BBB, but the Charity Navigator website gives them a generally good review. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/24 "2006-02-26T21:31:58Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Who told you that most of the Salvation Army stuff goes to third world countries? There are Salvation Armies all over the northern US! > > Good thing too, or I’d be nekkid Salvation Army & Goodwill donated stuff gets sold at the local & regional stores. Only crap too beat up or worn to be sold is usually tossed and it has to be \*pretty \*distressed for that to happen. There are places that collect for the 3rd world but the US Slavation Army and Goodwill aren’t those places. ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/25 "2006-02-26T21:39:08Z")
> [@MsMitey](#): > > I have a fool-proof way of making you stop keeping things. Move. Preferably a couple of times. After you’ve schlepped all that crap around, up stairs if possible, you’ll have no problems getting rid of stuff. We moved all the time when I was a kid, and now, if I haven’t used it in the last year, it’s gone. Also, if I get a new pair of shoes, I throw out an old one. My husband was a terrible packrat, but 3 moves later, he’s as good a junk-tosser as I am. This may not be an easy solution, but I promise it’ll work. > > Other people, like my stepmother, will occasionally say to me “But they’re memories!” No they’re not, they’re things. Which is why she has 2 houses full of tchotchkes she can’t afford, and we’ve happily got a little apartment with our essentials. My memories don’t have to get crammed into a truck every few years. > > Good luck! I don’t promise you it’ll work. I think I’ve moved 9-10 times in 7 years, and I’ve accumulated a ton of stuff. Seriously, moving a bunch of stuff doesn’t deter everyone. That said, move into a much smaller place each time. If my last two apartments are any indication, that will be the way to make it happen. Still, I own a ridiculous amount of stuff, and am really bad about getting rid of it. It’s nice that the apartment I live in has a freecycle type thing down in the laundry room. That also helps. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/26 "2006-02-26T23:11:43Z")
> [@Plan B](#): > > I’m looking for rationalizations, justifications, anything I could think about when I say good-bye to all this stuff. Or any rules that you use - things like “If I don’t wear it for two consecutive years, it’s history.” Well, for starters, one rationalization is that it’s just stuff. It’s _people_ that matter, not the errata that we accumulate as we live our day-to-day lives. The other thing you might want to do is, at the moment of purchase, instead of thinking “Now I’ll have item X!” think “Shit! I now have $53 less to save for my retirement, pay for school, pay off that debt, etc etc etc.” Think about how many hours you had to work just so you can buy that X-Box, money that would be far better going to, say, paying off the mortgage earlier. Learn to feel _guilty_ about spending that discretionary dollar on mere consumerist items!!! Improve your cash position and stop buying non-appreciating assets like DVD’s, that home theater system, that shirt. (As I noted in another thread, we’re rather parsimonious). That’ll help you stop accumulating it, at least. 😉 To be honest, I couldn’t imagine having a piece of clothing (other than my suit and my winter jacket) that I wouldn’t get around wearing in a three _week_ period. I have 8 pairs of pants, 10 shirts, 3 shoes… all of it worn regardless of season. I’m stunned whenever I hear about closets so full of clothes that people could go _weeks_ w/o cycling though them. I have 5 bookcases. If I have more books/CD’s/DVD’s/computer games than can go on five bookcases, I get rid of books/CD’s/DVD’s/computer games. I do **not** make space for overflow. We have regular “purges” and nobody is spared: myself, the wife, our child. Toys, books, clothes, stuff we haven’t used in a while, all of it goes to Goodwill. And it works: Our attic is completely empty… and we have enough space in our garage to fit both cars. _With_ the Christmas stuff and my toolshelf. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/27 "2006-02-28T23:00:53Z")
I think we’re about ready for a purge, too. Maybe a spring purge. Yeah, that’s it. Rent a truck and make a dump run, if necessary. Some of our stuff seems too good to throw away, but not good enough to give to anyone else, so I might have to do something distasteful and just chuck it. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/28 "2006-02-28T23:21:04Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > . Learn to feel _guilty_ about spending that discretionary dollar on mere consumerist items!!! God, we’ve tried. I tell myself that this stuff was probably made off of the underpaid sweat of third-world workers, and that I’m supporting evil corporate entities. I’[ve even tried putting my purchase through environmenist protestations: think of how may trees died to make this, how much petroleum went into the plastic, and how much pollution it will create." It doesn’t work for Hubby and I. One of us will always pop out with our one-size-firts-all justification: “That’s why we work: so we can buy the stuff we want.” We save for retirement, of course, and pay extra on our mortgage dilligently, but the only thing I can ever think of when it comes to think-what-this-money-could buy is the stuff I could buy\* instead.\* (Books, mainly. As in: “The cost of this lamp would buy me five books.”) ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/29 "2006-02-28T23:21:20Z")
Watching that show, _Life Laundry_ was it called? was a good way to motivate one to throw stuff out. Just seeing the crap that other people accumulate and won’t part with made me want to leap into my closet and pantries and begin culling. What happened to that show, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/30 "2006-03-01T00:26:10Z")
> [@Plan B](#): > > I’m having a hard time getting rid of things that just aren’t worth keeping. The biggest problems are perfectly good clothing that has gone out of style. Especially the ones that were gifts. > > I’m looking for rationalizations, justifications, anything I could think about when I say good-bye to all this stuff. Or any rules that you use - things like “If I don’t wear it for two consecutive years, it’s history.” Ok, but you asked for it. Last May my mother died, very suddenly and pretty young. Her house was like one of those nasty places you would see on TV where you couldn’t get around the house and stuff like that. One room was so full you could not go into it. I spent two full weeks, as in 14 days at least 5-10 hours a day going through everything. Because of stupid laws that say you can’t get rid of anything really I had to hire someone to come in and move it all. That’s what took the two weeks to move out. Everything was sold, most at a huge loss. The rest that wasn’t sold, clothes do not get sold here in Maryland, I took a ton, yes a ton of junk to the dump, I know because I went back twice and they weigh it. I also took 5-600 pounds worth of clothing to the Goodwill. Last week I had to go to the court and get all the estate money finalized. I lost $31 from all of her stuff. Plus the two weeks off from work. I could have called some place to come take it away for cheaper then that. The sad thing is that I asked the woman going over my paperwork and she said that I got off lucky and only lost 31 bucks. Since then I’ve really changed, I get rid of clothes that I just don’t wear. I throw stuff out, plenty of it. I hadn’t been to the dump since I was a kid, I’ve been ten or so times now, even things that might be worth something I get rid of. Yesterday I paid a junk place $200 to get rid of a basement full of stuff, most of it wasn’t mine it was from the people we bought the house from. I’ve rid myself of hundreds of books, I’ve selling all my Star Wars stuff on eBay, plus anything else I can think of. If I can’t put it on a couple of bookshelves, or in a display case that I have then I’m hoping to get rid of it. My plan is to have maybe ten boxes worth of stuff, a couple for Christmas and Halloween, a couple for baby stuff for when we have a second kid, and maybe some collectable stuff that I want to hold on to, but very little of that. The sad thing is that my mother died with all this stuff, but if she wouldn’t of had it all I think she would have been in better health, had a ton more money, and might have been happier. My advice, you can’t wear it, don’t wear it at least once a season, or can’t display it in a reasonable space get rid of it. Someone will have to go through it one day, and I can tell you first hand that it’s hard to do. BTW if you want pictures of what my mother’s house looked like email me and I’ll send them on. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/31 "2006-03-01T02:14:55Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I donated an old (analogue) mobile phone and charger to a women’s shelter. They seemed pleased to get it. That works because, by law, it has to be able to call 911 without other service. I keep one of my old ones in the glovebox of my car just in case for that exact reason. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/32 "2006-03-01T02:48:50Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I keep one of my old ones in the glovebox of my car just in case for that exact reason. I hadn’t thought of that. I take my mobile phone with me most of the time, but not always. My old one is around here someplace. (Aside: Whenever I say ‘around here someplace’ I flash back to high school German: _Ich habe es irgendwo liegenlassen._ It was funny to say.) I should probably put it in the car just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/33 "2006-03-01T02:49:35Z")
Thanks to all for the very helpful comments. I was hoping that someone would say that they’re from NY, broke, need warm clothes and either don’t care about style or love the ski look of the 1980s. But that’s OK, the advice will suffice. Edward the Head, you’ve got mail. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/34 "2006-03-01T19:47:48Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > God, we’ve tried. I tell myself that this stuff was probably made off of the underpaid sweat of third-world workers, and that I’m supporting evil corporate entities. I’[ve even tried putting my purchase through environmenist protestations: think of how may trees died to make this, how much petroleum went into the plastic, and how much pollution it will create." No, no, no, no, no. Feel guilty about how the discretionary spending is negative impacting _your_ life. 1. After all, that dollar that you spend today on a new shirt will be worth $1.50 by the time your kid goes to college. A $50 shirt means $25 less spending power 15 years from now. 2. You accumulate stuff. It obviously has a psychological cost, or else why this thread? 3. Stuff must be stored. This costs in that you need storage containers, space, and effort in storing it. If you pay $1,000 towards a mortgage on a 2,000 sq ft home and 5% of the space in your home is dedicated to storage of stuff you don’t use, then this means that you are spending $50 and 100 sq. ft. of space, every month, to store stuff you don’t use. That’s $600 a year spent storing stuff that you’re not using. That’s 100 sq. ft. of space in your house that’s dedicated to keeping stuff that isn’t important enough to take an active role in your life, but is important enough that you’d spend hundreds per year so that you won’t have to be “bothered” by the presence of stuff that is, honestly, just one step away from being tossed or donated. (Please read the royal “you” into the above as, of course, I haven’t the slightest idea as to your specific situation. 😉 ). I mean, you get to a point where you don’t own stuff, the stuff owns you. That’s not a good space to be in. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/35 "2006-03-02T00:05:32Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > If you pay $1,000 towards a mortgage on a 2,000 sq ft home and 5% of the space in your home is dedicated to storage of stuff you don’t use, then this means that you are spending $50 and 100 sq. ft. of space, every month, to store stuff you don’t use. That’s $600 a year spent storing stuff that you’re not using… Actually it can be much worse. Imagine you have a beautiful expensive apartment in a great building. Let’s say you pay $2000 a month in rent. You could get the same size apartment in a bad building for $600 a month. You fill your expensive apartment with crap so that it’s about as esthetically pleasing as the cheap place. Cost = 12(2000-600) = $16,800 a year ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001/36 "2006-03-02T00:39:46Z")
I forgot to mention that a house full of stuff looks dirty and dark and needs constant cleaning of otherwise-ignored knick-knacks. I’m just _sayin’!_ 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-throw-things-away/346001.md?page=1)