Fellow Packrats, Forgive Me For I Have Sinned

Zz Yzx wrote:
> I know the feeling too well.
>
> My Dad (a woodworker, boatwright, and more) died 15 yrs ago. I went
> down to the house to gather his tools &tc., and discovered that, in
> addition to the usual stuff (his tools and his Dad's tools, scrap
> wood, salvaged hardware, &tc.), the man had saved every piece of
> automotive heater hose or fuel line (including clamps) he'd ever
> replaced;

ROTFL! How did you know what's in my "automotive" box??

> I think its hereditary.

Probably is. It wouldn't surprise me if my folks still had my first grade
papers c. 1965 in the box somewhere.

-- Mark

You coulda asked one of us if we wanted that scrap wood...and the
pegboard. Oh, probably the hardware from the sofa, too! Good idea
getting rid of the sneakers and the pumpkin, as they had a life of
their own. Tom

Mark Jerde wrote:
> In an attempt to bring some order to the chaos of my home office where I
{snip}
> Sure, my shop is useable again, but somehow I feel guilty....

Mark, you should give stuff like that away on Craigslist. There's
probably one covering your area. www.craigslist.com

R

>Mark, you should give stuff like that away on Craigslist.

>You coulda asked one of us if we wanted that scrap wood...

Come on, guys! You're just making him feel more guilty! I'm sure all
of us have plenty of toaster cords and 2x4 cut-offs, and I'm sure he
didn't throw away any nice useful figured cherry, or anything like
that.
Mark, I'm impressed. We all have too much junk, but you actually did
something about it. I'm sure you'll find a use for something you threw
out as soon as the garbage truck comes, but STAY STRONG! Your shop is
usable!
Good work.
Andy

RicodJour wrote:

> Mark, you should give stuff like that away on Craigslist. There's
> probably one covering your area. www.craigslist.com
>
> R

Not to mention Freecycle : www.freecycle.org

Jerry

Mark Jerde wrote:
> Zz Yzx wrote:
> > I know the feeling too well.
> >
> > My Dad (a woodworker, boatwright, and more) died 15 yrs ago. I went
> > down to the house to gather his tools &tc., and discovered that, in
> > addition to the usual stuff (his tools and his Dad's tools, scrap
> > wood, salvaged hardware, &tc.), the man had saved every piece of
> > automotive heater hose or fuel line (including clamps) he'd ever
> > replaced;
>
> ROTFL! How did you know what's in my "automotive" box??
>
> > I think its hereditary.
>
> Probably is. It wouldn't surprise me if my folks still had my first grade
> papers c. 1965 in the box somewhere.
>
> -- Mark

A few months ago my Mom (age 78) handed me a folder. In it were such
treasures as some 3rd grade tests, a cub scouts uniform inspection
checklist (with a couple of demerits), copies of my first two income
tax returns from when I was 15 and 16 (1972 and 1973) and other things
that had made it into my dad's desk somewhere along the line. Dad died
in 1995 and I think Mom has now made it through two or three drawers of
that desk. Of course, I didn't get any of the important stuff like hair
clippings or projects made while in cub scouts - these can be mine
after she passes.

Some day I will finish cleaning out Dad's shop. We have the basic
building cleared out of old milk jugs and coffee cans, etc. (since Mom
lets us store our jetskis and boat related stuff in there, but the
rafters are still full of important things like the boxes from the
Kirby sweeper purchased in the 1960s, steel lettering from a school
building that was torn down in the 1970s, foam mattresses he made in
the early 1970s when trying to turn the back of a pickup truck with a
topper into a "camper" (Mom didn't go for that for some reason), and
lots of various pieces of pine trim and plywood scrap.

Dave Hall

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 08:06:45 -0800, Zz Yzx <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>I think its hereditary.
>
I KNOW it is hereditary! My dad's garage/shop was always stacked to
the ceiling with stuff that might be useful some day. My garage/shop
is stacked six feet high with stuff (I just haven't been at it as
long). My daughters' places are a wreck with stuff places here and
there that could be useful someday.
John in SC

That's one solution to the age old
Have to move EVERYTHING
in order to move ANYTHING
so that I can make SOMETHING
that'll hold the stuff I had to
move to make it
Syndrome

I foolishly thought that if I
made cabinets, with shelves
and drawers and cubbyholes
for things, and a rack for all
those damned clamps one MUST
have, and a rack and set of
bins for sheet goods, shelves
for wood etc.. I'd break The
Cycle and liberate my shops
working space.

Alas, all those effort failed.

Only after consderable investigation
did I discover the source of the problem
- the conservation of matter - between
alternate universes.

I began counting and weighing my
socks as they went into the wash
and again when emptying the
dryer. The fact that what went
in was greater than what came out,
over a six month period of my
study was no surprise - washing
machines and dryers consume
socks in order to continue working.

But then I started weighing the
stuff that would mysteriously
appear in my shop. After a
5 year exhaustive study, I've found
that my shop is a portal between
alternate universes and that
whatever leaves here and goes
there is matched by an equivalent
mass from there to here.

Anyone want to buy or rent a
Portal Between Universes?

charlie b

"Mark Jerde" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:0MFLf.171$fU6.124@trnddc08...
> In an attempt to bring some order to the chaos of my home office where I
> write software for a living, I spent an hour and a half in my one-car
> garage shop slapping together three MDF & hardboard desktop inclined
> bookcases. (I had just ordered 7 *more* computer books from Amazon and
> didn't know where to put them...) To use the tablesaw I had to move stuff
> piled on it to my router table and downdraft/assembly table. Then I had
> to move stuff off the router table to use it. Finally I did the glue ups
> on the router table and put them on the table saw because there was no
> room whatsoever on the downdraft/assembly table. Plus there was lots of
> stuff on the floor, including a half-black pumpkin SWMBO put in an
> out-of-the-way corner last halloween and both of us forgot about.
>
> I like making things in the shop, and I hate throwing away things that
> might be useful someday, but dagnabbit the shop had become alsmost
> completely unworkable. Something had to change!
>
> Last night I took a garbage can in the shop, put a tape from Earl
> Nightengale's "Lead the Field" series in the cassette player for
> motivation, and ruthlessly started going through stuff.
>
> -- I THREW AWAY the tennis shoes I use when exercising on the stepper.
> Sure, the heels were worn out and the big toes stick out, but they were
> fine for use on the stepper. Why get my "good" tennis shoes sweaty? But
> hey, the shop needs the space, so now there's just the one pair of shoes
> over by the stepper, by the router table.
>
> -- I went through many of the plastic see-though boxes on shelves in the
> shop, THROWING AWAY some things to make room for the more important things
> cluttering the table saw, router table, etc. That PVC plumbing "tee" with
> part of the lip cut out could have been used on some jig or project
> someday I'm sure, but out it went. So did some hardware from the sofa I
> disassembled for the wood. And I'm limiting myself to just ONE box of
> misc. electrical wire, as I'll probably never need more than 15 or so
> cords I cut off from dead toasters and the like.
>
> -- I decided to limit myself to just four boxes of scrap wood and (sob!)
> went through my scrap and THREW AWAY the least desirable pieces.
>
> -- I cut up and THREW AWAY the hardboard and pegboard pieces to make a
> second copy of a failed invention. That really hurt, but now I can use
> the disk sander without moving them somewhere.
>
> Sure, my shop is useable again, but somehow I feel guilty....
>
> <G>
>
> -- Mark
>
Mark - no matter how much room you have you still never have enough. My 2
1/2 car garage is overflowing too. Seems I can get things organized but by
the time I complete a project its a mess. I need to spend a few hours before
every new project cleaning out the junk that acumulated since the last
project. My cut-off bin is overflowing. I know there is a lot of trash in
there but who knows when I may want something. Yea, I know, clean up during
and after each project. What fun is that?

>> I think its hereditary.
>
>Probably is. It wouldn't surprise me if my folks still had my first grade
>papers c. 1965 in the box somewhere.
>
> -- Mark
>
My heart goes out to you and I hope the funeral was grand. That's
why you need to make arrangements like I did with the city dump. I
take out a load or two to the special spot that I have reserved - in
case I need something back. Unfortunately, by the time I get back the
whole landscape is changed and the reference stick I left behind to
pace out the spot is long buried. Fortunately, I now have only the
finest junk left at home.

And yes, we do have the school stuff all the way to kindergarten for
both my kids. They're 31 and 27 years old.

And yes, it is hereditary but mostly it's a disease. I caught it from
my wife.

Pete

Fri, Feb 24, 2006, 3:38pm (EST+5) [email protected]
(Mark=A0Jerde) doth shamefully admit:
<snip> I went through many of the plastic see-though boxes on shelves in
the shop, THROWING AWAY some things to make room for the more important
things cluttering the table saw, router table, etc. That PVC plumbing
"tee" with part of the lip cut out could have been used on some jig or
project someday I'm sure, but out it went. So did some hardware from the
sofa I disassembled for the wood. <snip>

No, no, no. Stuff like that, you don't save like that. What you
do is you get one of those 5 gallon plastic buckets, like spackle comes
in. Any odd stuff, you toss in the bucket. The "important" stuff ou
keep in the clear plastic boxes, stuff you actually use. Then when you
think you need something from the bucket, you just dump it out into a
tray, or on a flat surface, so you can sift thru, then just sweep the
rest back in the bucket, and stick the bucket back out of the way
somewhere. Beats the Hell out of trying to find the specific place you
put that interesting little whatever. Not only that, you can cut a
couple of plywood discs, pad them, and viola, you've made a short seat
out of the bucket too.



JOAT
If you have something to say, raise your hand.
Then shove it in your mouth.

I'll tell what's even worse, Come home to a garage full of treasures
that have been floating in 24" of semi-brackish water after a
hurricane. Sheer bliss and great motivation for throwing out those
things that seldom got used. Trouble is, there is virtually nothing
left now, :<

===========================================================================
Chris

Andy wrote:

> I'm sure he
> didn't throw away any nice useful figured cherry, or anything like
> that.

Yup, just MDF & hardboard scraps. All the hardwood scraps stay, even if
they're smaller than a toothpick. ;-)

-- Mark

"Mark Jerde" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:0MFLf.171$fU6.124@trnddc08:

> In an attempt to bring some order to the chaos of my home office where
> I write software for a living, I spent an hour and a half in my
> one-car garage shop slapping together three MDF & hardboard desktop
> inclined bookcases. <snip>
>
> -- I THREW AWAY the tennis shoes I use when exercising on the
> stepper. <snip> That PVC plumbing
> "tee" with part of the lip cut out could have been used on some jig or
> project someday I'm sure, but out it went. So did some hardware from
> the sofa I disassembled for the wood. And I'm limiting myself to just
> ONE box of misc. electrical wire, as I'll probably never need more
> than 15 or so cords I cut off from dead toasters and the like.
>
> -- I decided to limit myself to just four boxes of scrap wood and
> (sob!)
> went through my scrap and THREW AWAY the least desirable pieces.
>
> -- I cut up and THREW AWAY the hardboard and pegboard pieces to
> make a
> second copy of a failed invention. That really hurt, but now I can
> use the disk sander without moving them somewhere.<snip>




Mark


What have you be doing down my shop? :) By the way, what size are those
tennis shoes? :) The cutoff's and wood scaps at least go into the
woodstove here, but all those metal and plastic things just keep piling
up! The garage holds my metal working, welding and blacksmithing stuff
plus the tractor. It too would be almost workable if I could just get rid
of my son's lime green electic Bradley (car).


Jerry
>
>
>

J T wrote:

> No, no, no. Stuff like that, you don't save like that. What you
> do is you get one of those 5 gallon plastic buckets, like spackle
> comes in. Any odd stuff, you toss in the bucket.

Don't know where I'd put (another) bucket. Wait, there might be some space
over near the hollow core door I snagged from the neighbor's trash and the
folded up drafting table my son didn't want in his room anymore. On second
thought, that's where I put the kerosene heater after we got power after the
last storm.... ;-)

-- Mark

If you can fit everything into one 5 gallon bucket you don't
have a problem in the first place.

J T wrote:

> No, no, no. Stuff like that, you don't save like that. What you
> do is you get one of those 5 gallon plastic buckets, like spackle comes
> in. Any odd stuff, you toss in the bucket.

On 24/02/2006 11:06 AM, Zz Yzx wrote:

> I think its hereditary.

Most of the people I know who, like me, are old enough to have parents
who lived through the Great Depression, are packrats of some form. Our
parents *had* to save junk because new stuff was non-existent for most
of them.

My Dad was a used nail and screw collector. He had a special anvil and
hammer that he used to straighten out the bent nails. When he died, I
gave his entire collection, including the old empty paint cans holding
it, and the hammer and anvil, to the local Mennonite salvage place.
Those nails are probably holding up local barns now. I like to imagine
the screws are part of fine furniture somewhere. Every once in a while I
go visit the anvil and it's new owners.

My own collection is somewhat more modest, but my own daughters give me
the gears about it from time to time, especially when I tell 'em that's
all that's in the will :-)

I know the feeling too well.

My Dad (a woodworker, boatwright, and more) died 15 yrs ago. I went
down to the house to gather his tools &tc., and discovered that, in
addition to the usual stuff (his tools and his Dad's tools, scrap
wood, salvaged hardware, &tc.), the man had saved every piece of
automotive heater hose or fuel line (including clamps) he'd ever
replaced; every broken appliance motor or heating element or switch
from refirgerators, wash machines, vacuums; just about every bolt, nut
and screw that was ever left over; every one of my baseball gloves;
even a small vial of gold nuggets he'd picked up in his youth.

I think its hereditary.

-Zz

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:38:36 GMT, "Mark Jerde"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In an attempt to bring some order to the chaos of my home office where I
>write software for a living, I spent an hour and a half in my one-car garage
>shop slapping together three MDF & hardboard desktop inclined bookcases. (I
>had just ordered 7 *more* computer books from Amazon and didn't know where
>to put them...) To use the tablesaw I had to move stuff piled on it to my
>router table and downdraft/assembly table. Then I had to move stuff off the
>router table to use it. Finally I did the glue ups on the router table and
>put them on the table saw because there was no room whatsoever on the
>downdraft/assembly table. Plus there was lots of stuff on the floor,
>including a half-black pumpkin SWMBO put in an out-of-the-way corner last
>halloween and both of us forgot about.
>
>I like making things in the shop, and I hate throwing away things that might
>be useful someday, but dagnabbit the shop had become alsmost completely
>unworkable. Something had to change!
>
>Last night I took a garbage can in the shop, put a tape from Earl
>Nightengale's "Lead the Field" series in the cassette player for motivation,
>and ruthlessly started going through stuff.
>
> -- I THREW AWAY the tennis shoes I use when exercising on the stepper.
>Sure, the heels were worn out and the big toes stick out, but they were fine
>for use on the stepper. Why get my "good" tennis shoes sweaty? But hey,
>the shop needs the space, so now there's just the one pair of shoes over by
>the stepper, by the router table.
>
> -- I went through many of the plastic see-though boxes on shelves in the
>shop, THROWING AWAY some things to make room for the more important things
>cluttering the table saw, router table, etc. That PVC plumbing "tee" with
>part of the lip cut out could have been used on some jig or project someday
>I'm sure, but out it went. So did some hardware from the sofa I
>disassembled for the wood. And I'm limiting myself to just ONE box of misc.
>electrical wire, as I'll probably never need more than 15 or so cords I cut
>off from dead toasters and the like.
>
> -- I decided to limit myself to just four boxes of scrap wood and (sob!)
>went through my scrap and THREW AWAY the least desirable pieces.
>
> -- I cut up and THREW AWAY the hardboard and pegboard pieces to make a
>second copy of a failed invention. That really hurt, but now I can use the
>disk sander without moving them somewhere.
>
>Sure, my shop is useable again, but somehow I feel guilty....
>
><G>
>
> -- Mark
>
>

Yeah. That fits.

Dad made a compressor to run his air tools out of a refirgerator pump,
an old beer keg, and salvaged hardware and fittings. He turned the
refrigerator box (the old kind, made of metal with white enamel
coating and the old handle that locked) into a smoker. He'd build the
fire in the bottom where the pump used to be, load the racks with
albacore he'd caught, and smoke away. He made a disk sander out of an
old washer machine motor.

And he sharpened his chisels using the free-hand scary-sharp method
(progressive wet-dry sandpaper stuck on his table saw table) back when
I was just a kid (c. 1965).

-Zz

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 12:39:59 -0500, Doug Payne
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On 24/02/2006 11:06 AM, Zz Yzx wrote:
>
>> I think its hereditary.
>
>Most of the people I know who, like me, are old enough to have parents
>who lived through the Great Depression, are packrats of some form. Our
>parents *had* to save junk because new stuff was non-existent for most
>of them.
>
>My Dad was a used nail and screw collector. He had a special anvil and
>hammer that he used to straighten out the bent nails. When he died, I
>gave his entire collection, including the old empty paint cans holding
>it, and the hammer and anvil, to the local Mennonite salvage place.
>Those nails are probably holding up local barns now. I like to imagine
>the screws are part of fine furniture somewhere. Every once in a while I
>go visit the anvil and it's new owners.
>
>My own collection is somewhat more modest, but my own daughters give me
>the gears about it from time to time, especially when I tell 'em that's
>all that's in the will :-)