Fluff thread: Do you get rid of things just because you've tired of them, or do they have to become unusable first?

[NotUrsula]

As a general rule, I'm probably too much a keeper of things. Not a hoarder, but since I'm pretty tight with money, I tend to try to get maximum value out of money spent.

I was thinking about that the other day when I was dealing with some clutter, and it struck me that my m.o. is never to discard or donate anything that is still useable for its original purpose in my life. Not the whole "someone might use it someday" thing, but, for instance, I'm still using most of the same dishes and small appliances that I got as wedding presents over 30 years ago, though I certainly could afford to replace them; if they haven't broken, they are still in the kitchen cabinet -- or the linen closet. Most of what I have that isn't the sort of thing you use up or outgrow has been in my house for at least 20 years now. (I even regularly wear some clothing items that are that old, if they are classic, such as a plain WDW hooded windbreaker that I bought when my now college-graduate DS was a toddler. I don't keep what doesn't fit or is really out of style, but things like rain jackets, pajama pants, or tank tops stay if they are in good shape, and I usually re-sole my shoes a few times before I replace them.)

Part of my realization came from a thread here a few weeks back, in which someone commented that no one would want to keep the same furniture for 30 years. I do. I don't get rid of regular furniture unless it is so worn out that its impossible to repair, and so far in my adult life that has only happened to one end table and 2 mattress sets, though I've got a recliner that is probably about done for.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I guess I lean toward using things until they're too worn/gross to continue using, though occasionally I will "freecycle" things that are still usable or of a lower quality.

20ish years ago when DH and I were young and struggling, we bought a fair bit of our furniture and housewares from IKEA. We still have some IKEA items in our family room that we bought back then, but as we became more successful in our careers, we started replacing items with nice antiques or oak furniture made in PA Dutch country. Some of the items we replaced were just a little bit worn, so I put them on freecycle and gave them away. It doesn't feel so wasteful that way. I gave away my college/women single woman dishes that way as well. Though I will admit I'm still using IKEA duvet covers I bought in 2002...... and my old Corelle dishes are in a box in the basement, but it's okay, I'm about to put them in my new RV.

Lately with 2 dogs and 2 elementary/tween age kids in the house, stuff is just getting wrecked and pitched. When I can't get dingy linens clean anymore, I just let it go. Gum in a cheap rug, let it go. The ancient easy chair smells like dog, let it go. DH will tease the kids about being Conan the Destroyer all the time.....

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

As a general rule, I'm probably too much a keeper of things. Not a hoarder, but since I'm pretty tight with money, I tend to try to get maximum value out of money spent.

I was thinking about that the other day when I was dealing with some clutter, and it struck me that my m.o. is never to discard or donate anything that is still useable for its original purpose in my life. Not the whole "someone might use it someday" thing, but, for instance, I'm still using most of the same dishes and small appliances that I got as wedding presents over 30 years ago, though I certainly could afford to replace them; if they haven't broken, they are still in the kitchen cabinet -- or the linen closet. Most of what I have that isn't the sort of thing you use up or outgrow has been in my house for at least 20 years now. (I even regularly wear some clothing items that are that old, if they are classic, such as a plain WDW hooded windbreaker that I bought when my now college-graduate DS was a toddler. I don't keep what doesn't fit or is really out of style, but things like rain jackets, pajama pants, or tank tops stay if they are in good shape, and I usually re-sole my shoes a few times before I replace them.)

Part of my realization came from a thread here a few weeks back, in which someone commented that no one would want to keep the same furniture for 30 years. I do. I don't get rid of regular furniture unless it is so worn out that its impossible to repair, and so far in my adult life that has only happened to one end table and 2 mattress sets, though I've got a recliner that is probably about done for.

Things like jackets and shoes, I definitely keep, as long as they are functional. Older shirts/pants get reused as 'at home or doing messy projects' gear until they are unusable. If the clothes are really good, or expensive (or business ones that you wouldn't wear around the house), they get donated/freecycled.

I've replaced my dishes a few times; we each had dishes when we started out together, got rid of one, then replaced the other with better ones. Those were replaced when they were halved due to breakage. I'm looking at replacing the ones I have now later on in the year with a better quality set...these were some off brand that Publix sold, and they have been great, but they chip so easily...and I'm down to 6 dinner plates, 5 mugs and 7 bowls.... All my old stuff was donated/freecycled.

The rest of my kitchen stuff gets used until either I find a better replacement (like replacing the cheap plastic measuring cup with a Pyrex glass one) or until it dies. If it's something I don't really use (eg. breadmaker), I will donate/freecycle it. My first crockpot was an early 70s model, bought at a yard sale in 1996, and it still worked great when I passed it along to DD#2 in 2012..and still worked when she passed it to a friend in 2014. The only downside to that one was it didn't have a removable pot!

We've replaced furniture a few times. Our early years were all with donated/purchased used; we have replaced the mattresses 4x now, since we've lived together (mattresses don't last forever, and we were very rough on frames ) and the bedroom set 4x (1st was cheap set, 2nd was my favorite but didn't fit DH, 3rd set was cheap; current set I like a lot). Living room furniture is on set #5 (1st was just cheap bamboo rattan stuff; 2nd was cheap futon stuff; 3rd was my favorite set in southwest style, but DH didn't; 4th was expensive set that went in an L shape, with recliner in the middle, and I hated it...but kept it until the whole thing died; now 5th set is 5 years old, and I want to replace in a few years.) Dining room is 2nd set (loved the first one, table was great, chairs died horrible deaths). We sold some of the stuff, other parts were just tossed/freecycled if in semi-decent condition.

When we moved in 2019, I donated my bell collection and most of the knick knacks. The kids didn't want them, and I was tired of hauling boxes around that hadn't been opened in 15+ years. The last time the bells had seen the light of day was when I repacked them in 1998 for a state to state move, lol. They weren't really worth anything...they were mostly state bells, and a few decorative ones (I kept the ones that had special meaning). We did the same when we moved cross country in 2007; we got rid of DH's china (he got for free from a friend, and it was not worth much at all) and tons of books we bought but didn't have room for in the moving trucks (we must have given away 2000 books...).

DH is bad about electronics stuff. He kept computer parts that were so outdated.....finally got him to toss them in 2019. He is limited to one box of cords, one box of parts, and one box of disks/manuals, now. LOL As we upgrade, though, we tend to sell the older parts (or, like last week, we used our old parts to upgrade one of DS's friends computers...his was very old and had trouble playing microsoft card games..but it will now run Minecraft and Cyperpunk 2077, lol.) We upgraded DS and DH's video cards this month, and DH got a new case and some other parts. DS and I will be upgrading our cases over the next few months (leaving mid-towers behind and going full, hooray for cord management!) and DS and DH both got new chairs this month as well (DH's old one comes to me, as it's in great shape, being just a year old) and we'll sell mine (DS's old one is toast, but it was 5 years old).

 

[soccerdad72]

Generally speaking, I'd say we're in the "tired of them" camp, but obviously it differs with the items.

 

[BrianL]

I definitely will use things until they are completely unusable, like my car for instance. I only recently replaced my main TV, an HD CRT, and I only did that because newer devices weren't outputting in 1080i anymore. I'm just that way I guess.

 

[ronandannette]

I’m as guilty as the next person of having stashes of junk around that should be long gone - obsolete electronics, clothes that don’t fit, gadgets and books that were received as gifts but don’t interest us. A good purge certainly wouldn’t hurt.

In general though I don’t like to have my things get ratty and old-looking. My living room furniture is really starting to bug me. It’s 11 years old and the upholstery has seen better days. The problem is that changing it should also include refreshing the entire decor and I’ve got a 3-story feature wall that nobody wants to repaint. My everyday dishes are also quite woeful, the edge of every single dinner plate is chipped. That shouldn’t be such a big deal but I’ve been looking for two years for replacements and can’t find anything I love at a price I’m happy with.

 

[easyas123]

I used to keep everything, and my house was always cluttered. My reasoning was "just in case, might fit someday, might need someday, might use someday". In reality most I didn't use, need, or fit me anymore, so I started tossing stuff and it became very freeing! I still find I need to thin my clothing out, but I've really streamlined what I do and don't need/use in my house. I got rid of so much crap from the kitchen... so now I have a less is more mentality.
My son is about to buy a house and I've already given him the current dining room furniture we have, a freezer, some patio furniture and the large sectional in the finished basement. Not worried about replacing them right away-

 

[disneychrista]

Yes. If I don’t want it or use it and don’t think I will it goes to goodwill.

There are things I need to get rid of still. It is unbelievable how much crap I have. And I don’t buy things just because either. But every few months there are several boxes of stuff to take to goodwill.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm a pack rat if there ever was one. Often I'll think "but there may be a need for that someday" and majority of the time..there isn't lol but every now and then that thing I kept that seemingly had no usage came in handy one of which was a microwave from college we used for over 5 years after our new microwave in our new home died just after the 1 year warranty (we replaced with a new microwave finally this last summer).

Generally speaking we use things til they die but I would also categorize things we used when we were teens/early 20s that now in our early 30s it's like "yup time to get new". I'm on the hunt right now for nightstands. My husband's nightstand is part of a bedroom set from when he was growing up in which the dresser is in a spare bedroom that is used for the cat's room and the chest of drawers is in the front bedroom which functions as a guest bedroom though we've only had 2 overnight guests at this point. My "nightstand" is a sterilite 3-drawer thing. While I really haven't minded it over the years I'm just really wanting new and actual nightstands. In prior places we've lived we've only really needed 1 nightstand as the bed was pushed up against the wall. We replaced our mattress this past summer too that we had had for like 8 years and it belonged to the in-laws prior to that (it needed to be replaced).

Some things we upgraded early on. When our house was complete we did within the first 2 months buy a whole bedroom set (sans the nightstands at that time) and a sectional. Prior to that we were using in-law's sectional and we weren't using a bedframe just used the chest of drawers mentioned above for a tv stand.

For the last few years we've been wanting to replace the kitchen table (which is the in-law's table from their lake house they sold years ago) in order to get a counter height one that matches our coloring. We just don't want to spend the money on that for the moment.

Most of the stuff serve their purpose but some things are quite old at this point, worn down, mismatched, etc. Over the years we have gone through the garage a few times getting rid of things but wouldn't you know somehow it fills right back up

My husband is really wanting to get a new car (suv and we're in disagreement on the size of that suv) towards the end of this year and that might push us to have to really go through the garage. We still have my car which is a 2002 that I've owned since December 2005. I don't want to get rid of my "nuts and bolts" car (that's the way my mom describes it). It's cheap on insurance even full coverage (yeah I'm strange to have that) and I don't drive it too too often. My husband's car is a 2010 that he's owned from the beginning (it only had 6 miles on it when he bought it and it now has 150K which is more than my car). But that car still is usable and would be a good commuter car. So then that would leave us with 3 cars. We have a 3 car garage but the 3rd car bay doesn't have a garage door opener at this point and is used as storage/workshop but if we kept my car we would want to continue to keep it in the garage along with my husband's car and the new car..so yup. But I understand my husband's desire to get a new car. Our sedans are fine but they don't give us the full functionality that we're looking for at this point and well it's about 11 years my husband has owned his car I can understand him wanting a new one. Me on the other hand while a new car would be lovely I'm also okay with my 18 year old car that I've been driving for 15 years at this point (though I won't pass up driving the new car ).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

But every few months there are several boxes of stuff to take to goodwill.

I envy you on this. I think ours is more like every few years if that.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

DH is bad about electronics stuff. He kept computer parts that were so outdated.....finally got him to toss them in 2019.

We have 3 boxes of electronic stuff from keyboards, to computer mice, to cords upon cords. Then there's 2 old desktop computers, several monitors, etc. Partially the reason why my husband has so much is that his work has given him stuff when he went onsite and didn't necessarily want it back as they had no usage for it. But last March when he was sent to work from home he was able to pull one of those monitors (which was just stored in the closet in the room we use as our office) and hook that up so he could have dual monitors and then his work laptop on a docking station so that somehow came in handy later on I suppose. I don't mind the boxes of electronics but I would rather they be a bit more organized and it's getting my husband to go through those boxes and make them more organized that is the hard thing at the moment..I'm thinking in a few months when clean springing urge comes on maybe I can finally get him to do that.

 

[barkley]

as far as appliances go-we use them till they are unusable, and we've got some ANCIENT ones that demonstrate how well made they were 'back in the day' (made to be repaired not replaced)-a farberware counter top rotisserie that's over 50 years old, vita mix about the same age, kitchenaid mixer that was manufactured in 1937 and works like a charm (all were passed down by family or friends when they tired of them). i've replaced so many purchased new coffee pots, toasters and other items over the years but the items i mentioned above i've done a few inexpensive part replacements on (they still manufacture the parts-indicates allot of them are still plugging away).

 

[Donald13]

We replace things as needed. We don’t hold onto things that are no longer functional.

 

[kymom99]

I never get rid of anything because I’m tired of it. I go for function. I have side tables and lamps from my mom. They serve their purpose even if they aren’t in style. If I had a brand new house I might want new things but as it is I don’t care that much. As far as clothes I wear them till worn out or if I (sigh) outgrow them.

I have a friend who constantly gives things away. Expensive things she buys and doesnt like as much as she thought she would. To me it’s so wasteful but if she has the money, good for her

 

[DisneyHardin]

Things like appliances I won't replace until it's broken. Things like clothes, dishes, shoes, curtains, even some furniture, I will replace when I get tired of it.

 

[wilbret]

As a general rule, I'm probably too much a keeper of things. Not a hoarder, but since I'm pretty tight with money, I tend to try to get maximum value out of money spent.

I was thinking about that the other day when I was dealing with some clutter, and it struck me that my m.o. is never to discard or donate anything that is still useable for its original purpose in my life. Not the whole "someone might use it someday" thing, but, for instance, I'm still using most of the same dishes and small appliances that I got as wedding presents over 30 years ago, though I certainly could afford to replace them; if they haven't broken, they are still in the kitchen cabinet -- or the linen closet. Most of what I have that isn't the sort of thing you use up or outgrow has been in my house for at least 20 years now. (I even regularly wear some clothing items that are that old, if they are classic, such as a plain WDW hooded windbreaker that I bought when my now college-graduate DS was a toddler. I don't keep what doesn't fit or is really out of style, but things like rain jackets, pajama pants, or tank tops stay if they are in good shape, and I usually re-sole my shoes a few times before I replace them.)

Part of my realization came from a thread here a few weeks back, in which someone commented that no one would want to keep the same furniture for 30 years. I do. I don't get rid of regular furniture unless it is so worn out that its impossible to repair, and so far in my adult life that has only happened to one end table and 2 mattress sets, though I've got a recliner that is probably about done for.

I tend to discard things that don’t get used. If they get used, I will keep it until it’s useful life has ended.

I have donated countless kitchen appliances we have been gifted or tried, that only collected dust and took up space. On the other hand, I have had the same recliner now for about 22 years! I have been given money twice as a gift to replace it, but it is great shape and functions perfectly.

I go thru my closet every few months and get rid of stuff that I just never wear. Some clothes like shirts from Old Navy have a very short life span, but I have some high quality shirts that I have had for at least 17 years! Lol.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I was heavily influenced by two depression era grandmothers. It has to be unusable or unrepairable before I toss it.

 

[SteveH]

It really depends on the item.

We used our wedding dishware for years, eventually we had a few broken plates that made it such we couldn't go 3 meals between washing, so we bough new ones. However we put the old ones in storage and when our kids moved out - they were repurposed.

We did a big remodel of our house in December and everything, and I mean everything moved in to the garage or we sold things off and a few trips to the local (non-Goodwill) thrift store. Now we have a dedicated shelf in the garage for the unknown things that we're not sure we went to keep or not. After a couple months we've cleared some items off that shelf, and added a few more - but they are out of the house. We've reduced the knickknack type of items dramatically since the remodel and plan to keep it that way.

 

[mrodgers]

17 years of marriage with stacks of dishes in the basement because even though we only had $500 for the $600 house payment, at the store, "Oh! Pretty!" and she was buying more dishes, we can pay the house payment next pay.

I have some of those dishes now that I'm divorced. Along with dishes from my mother because of the same "Oh! Pretty!" except she doesn't not pay her bills first.

Cars get run into the ground unless there's a problem such as my current car. It's a 2016 death trap with the barely useable headlights and massive blind spots. I can't wait to get rid of it, but it's paid for and I still have a year until my youngest graduates.

Electronics weren't horded, it was more too much of a pain to get rid of so they got tossed on a shelf in the basement. I get a new computer about every 10 years so it is well beyond it's life expectancy when replaced.

I will get rid of something if something better comes along. Example, I have a perfectly fine toaster oven but I'd like to have a toaster/convection/air fryer style. I would be taking my old toaster oven to work and use in my office though. I wouldn't get rid of an old working microwave just to have a new one that does the same thing.

In the garage is the tough one for me. "I can fix that" or "I can use that for something else" is a problem for me. Stuff use to sit in there for decades because I could eventually fix it or use it elsewhere. I solved that by trading the 24x24 garage and wife for an 8x8 shed which also homes my motorcycle so there isn't any room. Things get purged instead of stored.

 

[Wendy31]

I think, for us, it depends on the item.

Bigger, more expensive items (appliances, furniture, electronics, etc.), we usually keep until the item is either broken & too expensive to fix or really old & worn-looking.

Smaller, less expensive items probably get replaced more as we get tired of them.

For example, we’ve been married for almost 26 years, & we still have the same bedroom furniture that we had when we got married. However, we’ve replaced our bedding several times over the years.

Additionally, we only have so much room in our house to store things. We have one linen closet. So, as I update throws, pillows, bedding, towels, etc., I tend to donate the older items - because, again, there‘s only so much room in the linen closet.

We’ve replaced our every day dishes once since we’ve been married because the dishes were getting chipped and/or broken. My grandfather had purchased a lot of our every day dishes for us when we got married, & we had everything - dinner plates, dessert plates, soup bowls, dessert bowls, cups, saucers, serving dishes, 2 meat platters, butter dish, sugar bowl, & even a soup tureen. Because my grandfather had given us so many of the pieces, I felt a sentimental attachment to the dishes. However, again, many of the plates were chipped & even broken, so we no longer had a full set of the pieces we actually used & needed. Additionally, the dishes were no longer really my style - styles have changed a lot since the mid 90s. So I kept some of the serving pieces, put some of the more special pieces like the soup tureen in a box in the attic, & donated the rest. We just don’t have the kitchen cabinet space to store more than one set of dishes.