When it is it enough "stuff"?

[Hemlock]

"He who dies with the most toys.... wins!"

 

[ilostmypswrd]

I started thinning stuff out at 50. I need to make another pass through my garage and dump more. My health is declining and I can't do what I did ten years ago so I am getting things in order for my old age. I have nobody to leave my stuff to so from here on out I will continue to off load things and only keep what I can use. I'm only 58 but my physical self is worse than a few 70 year olds I know. That has a big impact on my life.

Ditto as well, after I retired from the Marines I had almost 600 rifles/pistols/shotguns, and a unknown amount of ammo, im now 65 and recovering from 2 major colon surgeries, and over the past 10 years I have sold off almost all of my rifles all but 1 shotgun and most of my pistols, the funny thing is, when I had 100`s of bolt action rifles I still only hunted with the same 2 or 3 rifles that my Dad had bought for me more then 50 years ago, a Win model 54 super grade in .257 Roberts, my Remington Model 760 pump in .300 Savage ( great rifles) Ruger NO1 in 300 H H Mag( for the big stuff), and I traded for a Christensen arms carbon fiber, in 308 Win last year that I have yet to even shoot.My wife is way more happy not having all of the extra rifle stuff around, happy wife happy life.

 

[orygun]

"He who dies with the most toys.... wins!"

He who dies with the most toys, still dies.

 

[P7M13]

I have a PhD in guns --- Piled higher and Deeper. Both the safes are full, and I have plenty of powder, brass, bullets and ammo. If any of that crap is going to go, it's getting given away. My oldest is coming for a visit soon. They will leave with a few more guns and a boatload of ammo.
I hate selling stuff.

It's the other crap I purge every year. Projects that are no longer important, shizz I've held onto but haven't used in a decade, etc.
Completing projects is satisfying. So is purging.
With completing projects, there's the common phrase, "I coulda/shoulda done it this way...." With purging there's the, "where is that... oh...crap."

When I divorced eighteen years ago, I started out with almost zilch : table saw, drill press, chop saw, and hand tools I've owned since I was 14. As far as sports gear, only a Lee load master and the remaining 9, 40 & 45 components I had. The intent was to get the remainder of my stuff, but the ex sold it all off at garage sales.
Over the last five years, I've reacquired welders, torch sets, metal working tools, and oh how I missed working with iron. It's immensely satisfying repairing or creating stuff, not using electronics. I also pick up random discard with the intent of repurposing it, much of which I already have.
I've started repairing cars again, and that, too, is very satisfying. I don't mind the busted knuckles or dirty finger nails.

My ramblings are my contribution to this thread -- what can appear to be piles of stuff may not be such a bad thing. To others I may look like a white trash hoarder, wrenching on cars in my driveway. Me, I see stuff in various stages of completion.

 

[Joe13]

I rotate thru my hobbies so I rarely part with things.

If I do not have space to add something then it doesn't get added.

I'm in the same age range but I don't feel old enough to think about what I'm passing on by a long shot.

If I don't have to sell something then I keep it.

 

[monks]

It must be a 50ish thing for sure! I think back when I was younger and I didn't have much but I think I was happier with less. Now I have all the stuff I could want plus and I've been wrestling with letting go of some things for a while now. It's really tough to do because a lot of it's sentimental. I've got my dads old truck that he had all my life, my dads model A and my fully rebuilt CJ7 out in the barn. Haven't driven any of them in years because I have three cars in the driveway as well. What am I doing with them? My best friend died this last fall. Knew him for forty years. He was a month older than me. It really gets you thinking........

 

[CLT65]

I appreciate you guys who give stuff to your kids and grandkids. That's been a bit of a foreign concept in my family. My dad was more generous with strangers than he ever was with family, and I only have a very few of his guns. One I had to trade him for, another he wanted back a couple years before he passed, and another my mom gave me after he was gone.

I'm changing that. In coming years as my kids grow up, I plan on passing on some of the special guns to them at appropriate times.

 

[Unka-Boo]

It must be a 50ish thing for sure! I think back when I was younger and I didn't have much but I think I was happier with less. Now I have all the stuff I could want plus and I've been wrestling with letting go of some things for a while now. It's really tough to do because a lot of it's sentimental. I've got my dads old truck that he had all my life, my dads model A and my fully rebuilt CJ7 out in the barn. Haven't driven any of them in years because I have three cars in the driveway as well. What am I doing with them? My best friend died this last fall. Knew him for forty years. He was a month older than me. It really gets you thinking........

I aint 50 yet!






49 this month...

 

[SCARed]

Dang, after reading all this it's made me think about downsizing a bit. A bit meaning letting 1 gun go. Everything I've acquired guns or otherwise is a meant to be used. Guns, watches, cars, guns, etc. But there's 1 gun I have which is more just wall art. It's a complete Umbrella Corp AR in 300blk. I've shot it once or twice, it literally just sits on a wall to look at. Seeing the price some of the individual parts sell for made me think if letting it go. Paying off debt/increasing cash flow is becoming more of a priority now days.
I'll be 50 in a few days and agree with a lot of the comments here that priorities change with age.

Ah, who am I kidding. I'll sell the collector gun just to spend it all on other "user" guns.

 

[Indy62]

I had a brand new Fender American Ultra Stratocaster that just hung on my wall for four years. played it twice. I didn't want to mar the pickguard, so my go-to was a G&L ASAT (fender telecaster like) that I built from scratch..finally sold the strat two weeks ago and haven't regretted it one minute. The new owner loves it.

I guess for me, if I'm not enjoying using something..someone else will..and I'll get some $$ out of it.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

When is it enough for "stuff", including gun stuff? While I am not old, I am coming right up on 50 and the way I look at things has changed a lot. I still find myself wanting a lot of things, but I also end up asking myself when am I going to use it, how much will I use it, where will I store it, etc.

For example I have wanted to learn a lot more about metal working and get a welder and a nice lathe but between space, time and I do not have any specific projects that I need the for hold me back. I also do not want to leave a huge pile of stuff that someone else has to deal with when I am gone. I have some friends that have been going through this with their families. With that said, I did just pick up a nice 15" drill press off the local classifieds.

So now that brings me to gun stuff. I just saw another good deal on a press I really want, and 20 years ago I would have just bought it, but now I find that I am asking, "what am I going to do with it". I have 2 of the same progressives now and 3 single stage presses. My original plan was to set up one progressive for each main caliber I run so no change over needed, but things are pretty well loaded up.

I look at some of the stuff I have stashed away also. At one point I owned a belt fed, semi auto M-60 so I have enough stuff to load about 10,000 rds. I no longer have that gun and I only have one semi auto .308 and I have a ton of loaded ammo so I have been think about selling off some/most of the components. Same for a few other the other calibers I rarely shoot. I am in the process of loading up a batch of around 500 .243 ammo for my hunting rifle and that will last me the rest of my life. I do have my core arms and a good amount of ammo for all of those and that will not be changing. I also have family and sentimental stuff that also will not be changing.

My wife and I both remote work so we travel frequently, often for months at a time. When we retire we will likely continue to travel, but for longer periods and to more distant places.

I know that is a lot of misc ramblings, but when did you start making changes in your habits? What did that look like? Are you happy with your change?

You're supposed to just keep buying bigger houses to store more stuff.

 

[Indy62]

You're supposed to just keep buying bigger houses to store more stuff.

Makes me think of the tv show American Pickers. How many old men did they run across who couldn't let go of even one little thing..like a jar or oil can. Instead they just kept adding sheds and out buildings.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

George Carlin on stuff

View: https://youtu.be/MvgN5gCuLac?si=CCFZ6GpMX66lDNeW

 

[Nwcid]

I appreciate you guys who give stuff to your kids and grandkids. That's been a bit of a foreign concept in my family. My dad was more generous with strangers than he ever was with family, and I only have a very few of his guns. One I had to trade him for, another he wanted back a couple years before he passed, and another my mom gave me after he was gone.

I'm changing that. In coming years as my kids grow up, I plan on passing on some of the special guns to them at appropriate times.

Yes, I will be passing a lot down. I also do not want to leave a mess that someone else has to deal with. Some of that simply comes in the form of organization and labeling. Like I hav a box full of springs and spare parts for guns. I know what they are, but it is not inherently obvious what they are for. Or ammo that works great in gun A, but not in gun B.

 

[monks]

Yes, I will be passing a lot down. I also do not want to leave a mess that someone else has to deal with. Some of that simply comes in the form of organization and labeling. Like I hav a box full of springs and spare parts for guns. I know what they are, but it is not inherently obvious what they are for. Or ammo that works great in gun A, but not in gun B.

I sorted through mine last week and it was tough but I threw some things away. They were things I won't use but I still had this attachment to them for some reason. I get a guilty feeling thinking someone else could use them so I should keep them. I have some holsters that are in the same situation.

 

[Nwcid]

I had a brand new Fender American Ultra Stratocaster that just hung on my wall for four years. played it twice. I didn't want to mar the pickguard, so my go-to was a G&L ASAT (fender telecaster like) that I built from scratch..finally sold the strat two weeks ago and haven't regretted it one minute. The new owner loves it.

Same with a vintage Giant Road bike I built..it hung on my office wall for years, while I road a Bianchi mountain bike I built..selling that now too.

I guess for me, if I'm not enjoying using something..someone else will..and I'll get some $$ out of it.

That is something that happens so often also. One of our major hobbies is off roading in our UTV. I see guys that put all kinds of fancy stuff on them, do a full detail wash/wax after each ride, and keep them in immaculate shape, but hardly ride them.

Yes, I have winch, bumper, lights, headsets, etc in ours but we also ride a lot averaging over 3000 miles a year and the items on our machine are things that get used frequently. We spray the chunks off as needed, and fully stay up on maintenance, but it is scratched, worn and used with a ton of enjoyment. I have an AR pistol that rides in the machine, and it has major wear marks where it rubs, is often covered in dirt and mud,, but it works and it is a tool. I did not buy it to sit in a safe for resale. In reality it is a fairly inexpensive gun, but now my only concern is not being able to replace the receiver if damaged since we are in WA......

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Measure 114 is the biggest reason for more guns for me. I bet statewide in OR there are several hundred thousand more guns now than if there was never any threat of measure 114.

 

[Joe13]

You're supposed to just keep buying bigger houses to store more stuff.

Funny you bring that up…

My wife and I only actually USE 1/4 of our house daily. The rest is for lack of a better word 'storage'.

We want to retired in a ranch style home and leave this 2 story thing behind. BUT My attic is lined with 2x4's the entirety of the house and filled with kids stuff from growing up (my wife bought a lot of wooden and quality toys for her and we would like to pass that down but she isn't going to have a kid anytime soon and even then it's a 50/50 if it's a girl that will want play houses etc) plus holiday decorations and all of the stuff you know you aren't touching unless you really get nostalgic.

Then there is all of the wood furniture filled with glass and stuff, then the basement and garage filled with mostly my stuff.

The thought of packing, sorting and getting rid of and moving all of that is more then just a little horrifying.

I raised my daughter with my wife at home and myself as our income so we tended to keep things we weren't using because we might not be able to afford to buy it down the line if we did need it.

Now the things we keep, it just only gets used at certain times. Like my fishing poles…. I break them out a few times a year but then they take up space the rest of the year.

I have an auto clay thrower that was given to me that I've never used but I love busting clays - I just haven't done it in quite awhile.

Some of my best memories however are from times that we basically had nothing and very little income. We played with the kid, watched movies, went in walks etc. Now I have a dog to do that with and haven't touched a single 'toy' since we got her.

I still want to play VR games, play my guitars and go fishing but until the pup is a bit older I'm not sure I see that happening.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Well youngsters, I'm just shy of 70 years old. My guns are my friends. I shoot almost every week. I will not sell my friends.
I have seven, gun safes stuffed with so much stuff that it overflows into other places in the man cave/house.
I have no heirs and don't need no more money.
My hobby makes me feel good, and that's good enough for me.
When I die, I die. I will not worry about my stuff left behind.

At my age, I'm constantly reminded that there are more birthday candles behind me than in front of me.
The enjoyment I get from shooting and being around other shooters makes me happy and takes my mind off of the fact that death is closing in on me real fast.
I hope but for the grace of God, I will still be shooting till the week I die.

I had been musing about what folk might do given no heirs. One of the Waltons died not too long back. She gave PBS/NPR like $40B.. like they need it.. it's publicly funded through taxes, groan. It's just more gas for the gaslights.
Along those lines, I was wondering who here might give their estates to a worthy cause like perhaps GOA or somesuch instead of it going to the state?

 

[Joe13]

I had been musing about what folk might do given no heirs. One of the Waltons died not too long back. She gave PBS/NPR like $40B.. like they need it.. it's publicly funded through taxes, groan. It's just more gas for the gaslights.
Along those lines, I was wondering who here might give their estates to a worthy cause like perhaps GOA or somesuch instead of it going to the state?

Hey, anyone without someone to give their 2nd amendment stuff to can always gift it to me and be at rest that they will treasured and never leave my family.

I have been given a thing or two and they honestly are on level with my inherited firearms and I would never consider parting with them except to pass them down.

Never know how this country will be in 100 years and I want my heirs to have access to protection on the off chance it gets to the point you can't buy firearms anymore (crosses fingers that never happens).

Worst case I have my brothers kids and grandkids to pick from when the time comes.