sometimes a guy just has to stop...

[mobile_bob]

and take time off to regroup.

over the last couple of months things have gotten a bit crazy in my life, my ex which has been a thorn in my
arse for the last 30 years, finally decided to quit and move half way across the country, which leaves my youngest
daughter a bit perplexed. however for the first time in as many years i can finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing it is finally
over with her.

also about that time the realization that i will finally be able to relocate myself in just under a year and get my offgrid existence
underway. i guess subconsiously i have not come to terms with that because of the frequent need to go to court over something
related to the issues surrounding my daughter and her mom.

anyway, i digress

getting back to work on the trigen, i find that i really do need to get 'er done, time is drawing near that i will be needing it fully functional.

what i find now is that my shop is so full of iron, electronics, bits and pieces and other quality "junque" that i cannot even wiggle in there, so

i guess before i do anything, it is high time i take time out to do a thorough shop cleaning and get rid of that which i don't have a good need
for.

it looks like it will take a month of sundays to accomplish that goal, however in the end i think it will make it easier to work, and in the end have
a shop i look forward to going out into and get something done, rather than a place of constant aggravation.

my wife calls me a "pig", and after taking a hard look at my shop, i can't argue

i think she is right!



bob g

[Chris]

Bob,
I know the feeling about the "junk" in the garage. My wife has given up on nagging me about it, but she does have valid points to make. Sometimes I spend more time looking for that junked water pump that had that brass fitting that might work on the busted pump if I could only find it. She does however, after many years come to value my "junk".

Sorry to hear about your personel problems. Been down that road as well. My daughter is in Vancouver and does not commicate with me or her mom (Ex wife). Leaves a hole in my sole.

Keep up the good work. You have me convinced that a Changfa may be in my future.

Chris

[rl71459]

Bob

I can relate.... I have become a "Collector" myself. I believe it is a disease.

It is often associated with trying to do too much all at the same time which inturn slows everything to a crawl! (Very Frustrating!)

I recomend not trying to clean it all at once.
I find it much more tolerable to set goals of smaller areas at a time. In this way you can see the progress and often make adjustments to what you need/want as you continue. It also allows you to tackle the enevitable "Need It Now" project that always springs up whenever a major cleaning is undertaken.

If it helps... you can think of "PIG" as an acronym... (Positive,Intense,Genius) or whatever sounds good!

Another way to look at it is.... "People who do little, make little or no mess"

You'll get cleaned up.   Rob (The Collector)

[luv2weld]

Bob
I can also relate to what you are going through.
My ex was a pain for a long time. And my daughter hasn't spoken to me or
communicated in any way for over 10 years.
But my girl friend of the last 20 years says
"If you never do anything, then nothing can ever go wrong."
Besides, you need those "treasures" to fix things when something does go wrong.
I know about the cluttered workshop, but who has time to stop work and clean it up.
I'm too busy trying to keep everything running so we can just survive.
(completely off-grid at 9600 feet in central Colorado, 27 miles to the nearest hardtopped road; phone lines,
etc.)
So as you were saying, Sometimes a guy just has to stop and say F__ it! I'm doing all I can.
Maybe it's time to go fishing!?!?

Ralph

[LowGear]

Hi Group,

My name is Casey.

I have a problem.  I bring crap home and call it worthy of storage.  I'm a ................... ah - hoarder.

(welcome casey)

Sgt. Snyder always said that if I wasn't F......ing Up I wasn't doing anything.  Then he a little quieter would remark that I must be doing more than just about anyone he'd ever ran into.  Ol Sgt. had such a way with words.  (all 73 of them)

I share a garage with a neighbor.  He watches the American TV show about hoarders.  I watched one episode for three minutes and had to leave the room.  It was just too much like my mother's garage.  Holy artifacts, I am a genetic hoarder.  The neighbor is not genetic but still gifted.  We're actually hauling crap to the dump.  And yes, we've throw out stuff that could have been used a couple of weeks later.  But you know what?  I didn't spend an hour and a half looking for it.  Ying and Yang.  I can now walk all the way around the car that has been in there for three years and there is a nearly three foot path all the way around the place.  Freedom!

We moved ten years ago and it was Heeellllllllllllll.  Truck after truck to the dump once Good Will started turning their lights off when they saw us coming.  When it was over I tried to vow that we would pretend move every fiive years and anything that had not been moved in those five years would be liquidated - like bad guys in the movies.  I'm not ready yet.

I just turned down an opportunity to go to England and mess around bringing engines back to the US.  I woke up this morning and realized I had backslide years.  Great adventure but I don't hang out around collectibles any more.

I wish you luck Bob.  And remember, every piece of nothing you get rid of is another thing you don't have to haul out into the country side and trip over when you're in a hurry to get something necessary done.  Onward my brother.  Hold your head up high.  You have met Satan and you have him by the throat.

Casey

[JohnF]

I've been cured of hoarding - 72 times if I remember right.....Every time I clean out an area, damed if it doesn't just up and fill itself in again - usually overnight!

It's getting worse - I've become a car collector - me, who USED to say "ahh, they are only for getting from point A to point B"...Well, now I can get there in about 8 seconds flat

HELP!!!!!!!

[Crofter]

Hi, my name is Frank and I am a hoarder too! Not especially great at keeping my hoard neat. It is compounded by changing or adding new hobby occupations so aquiring new sets of gear. Guns and reloading and all its associated books and magazines. Building and flying RC planes. Building strip boats and canoes. Raising miniature cattle and doing artificial insemination. Shoeing horses. In many of these areas I have punished myself enough and dont have to do it any more but there is something so final about getting rid of the haunting reminders I still store. You never know, I might get interested again in something and regret if I throw it out now. Surely I waste more time looking for stuff I know I have some of somewhere than I would spend running down to the hardware store to get it. That actually is what I often do!

Some day I am going to quit this compulsive behaviour, so help me!

[AdeV]

get rid of that which i don't have a good need for.

Tsk, looks like you've got the whole self-reliant thing ass-backwards.

Step 1: Buy or build a Shed. An ordinary wooden one, like this:


Step 2: Transfer anything that is NOT:

a) of immediate use, and/or
b) able to live indefinitely in the garden

into the shed.

Step 3: Transfer anything that is able to live indefinitely outdoors, outdoors. No point in having something waterproof if it never gets wet, eh?

Step 4: You should now have a fully-functional workshop. And a SHED!


Of course, I can't talk, I have a garage at home full of cr*p, a 4000sq/ft warehouse full of cr*p, and that's just the big stuff...

[AdeV]

I'm guessing it's a 6x3 shed, could be wrong, but you'd be amazed at just how much stuff you can fit in that sized space. Especially if you don't need any of it anytime soon...

Just remember to pack all the things you think you might need first, and all the stuff you're sure you'll never use last - because you can guarantee if you do it the other way round, the first thing you'll need is something you never thought you would, and it'll be buried...

(PS Jens: My "shed" is approximately 80'x50'... and it's too small. When I finally buy my last home in the sunshine (the one that will need Lister power), I'm hoping it will come with a selection of outbuildings in which to accomodate the sh*t I've gathered over the years...

[vdubnut62]

YES!!!!! I need the Warehouse13 type shed just to hold the junk rare pieces and parts that I can't bear to part with!!!!!!
But being in the badlands of South Dakota would be a drawback. Hmm, how big a cogen set to heat and cool, because I WOULD live in that sucker.
Ron

[mobile_bob]

ok, plan B...

after going through the stuff, it is clear to me that there is simply too much high quality "junque" to simply dispose of.

it just doesn't seem right to part company with things that i have been packing around for nearly 30 years, just because
it is too cool and i certainly ought to have a use for it sooner or later.



so here is plan B

get a bunch of heavy duty cardboard boxes, and start packing stuff away to be loaded into a semi trailer for the move.

i figure if i clearly mark each box with its contents, then map where in the trailer i put the box, and keep a cross reference
it should be a safe bet that i will never see half of it ever again.



i give up, i just can't bear the separation anxiety, i am a hoarder and i might as well admit it and stand proud shoulder to shoulder with
my fellow hoarders.

in a perfect world we all should have pooled our resources, bought a section of ground (640 acres) and put all of our efforts into one huge shop
with all the specialized equipment and surround it with the worlds largest collection of iron ever amassed in a single area.

then we could have homesteaded the perimeter of the "yard" with each of us building on 5 acre lots,

that way we could protect our "junque" from the rest of the world!

all we would each have to have would be a single front fence, that would provide a completely enclosed area, a compound if you will.

and janet reno could kiss our collective asses!

ya, thats the ticket!



in all seriousness, i think i will just do as i said, and pack it all up and move it all to kansas.
i mean how the hell does one throw away things like

50 odd feet of 6/4 rubber cased copper cable that is new

dozens of new old stock multigroove A, B and C, Q bushed cast iron pulleys made by browning.

several reversing contactors sizes 00, thru #4, all near new and/or servicable

at least a dozen steel electric boxes of various sizes, a squareD 3phase breaker panel full of breakers,

hand tools out the ass, power tools, welders etc enough to start a small manufacturing company.

oh yes,,, lest i forget

my 55 chevy 2dr post, that i bought in dec of '74, with a cad 472cu/in, turbo 400, cone lock rear, ladder bars, 4"lake pipes
ladder bars, and all of 2" of ground clearance,  what the hell use will i have for this old girl out in the country?  hell i can't even drive it
on I-5 for fear of losing it in a pothole!

oh the hell with it, when i die i will need a coffin anyway, they can just bury me in the 55!

this is insanity at its worst!

oh ya, did i tell you guys i have 4 daughters? 

that means i don't have a son to dump all this crap onto when i die

i guess when that day arrives i will just have to take it all with me, can't wait to see the look on the devils face when i show up!

lmao

bob g

[LowGear]

Jens,

Concrete floor is good.  You've done a big thing here and should be proud.

Casey

Maybe a line of concrete floor like a path next year.

[Crumpite]

It must be catching !

Just this week I managed to catch a glimpse of my floor, and then even cleared a path around the inside of the shop.
I'm *very* proud of this milestone as I haven't seen the floor since the CHP project started. 

I think I must go off and check my temperature, as sudden attacked of neat may be indicative of something more serious...

Crumpite

[Randybee1]

I don't normally make an offer like this but here goes... If you guys really need help getting rid of your "junk, just let me know. I'm always looking to pick up a Changfa, Lister, Redstone, ST head etc. Send them my way! You'll feel much better

Randy B... cleaning out my garage for all the stuff you guys are gonna send me!

[LowGear]

Yes, my brothers and sisters,

Always remember these words of Randybee1.  There are other sick ones out there that need our help.  Remember the most important step in cure is hitting the bottom.  And if one of these descending retches wants your crap - Are you their mother?  Know in your heart as you watch them scamper off in their pick-up or trailer that you have helped them move one more day closer to "Holy Shit, I'm sleeping in a tent and my 14 cases of Snipe Tails are in a heated garage - somewhere.  Or are they in the crawl space?"  But I, for sure, am not in a comfortable bed throwing Zs against the ceiling.

I just got a call on the hutch that has never had anything purposeful in it since I brought it home (what a whammer of a deal) 1 1/2 years ago.  And I'm not paying them to haul it away.  With that gone I'll be able to walk right across the room!  In a straight line!  Wow! 

Casey