As you asked so nicely @Uff 😁, we have 2 lofts (one over the double garage). I must confess to never having actually been in either, but l have stood at the top of the loft ladders and poked my head in. Then my courage failed me.
To be honest, the house one isn't too bad, 2 Christmas trees and 3 boxes of decorations etc. It was cleared out a few years ago when we had work carried out on the plumbing etc. Before that it was full of empty boxes from everything from mobile phones, kettles, toasters, etc etc. Not just our stuff, but stuff bought for my MIL and FIL as well. My OH used to say that he was keeping the boxes in case an item had to be returned, but a lot of it was years old (Atari anyone ?).
We have lived here for over 33 years, many years ago the house was struck by lightning. Luckily the torrential downpour put out the fire caused by the lightning strike, and it also damaged many of the boxes. They were chucked out but it all built up again, and to be honest l thought another lightning strike just to get rid of it all was a little drastic. Fortunately the plumber and electricians forced another clearout.
As for the garage, there are still empty boxes up there from the move all those years ago, but we have a mouse that's made a home up there, so that's having an enforced sort out. We have also had mice in the garage itself, amongst other things they have made a home in an old roll of carpet (over 10 years old). My OH is clearing out one side of the garage so that he can get his car in over the Winter. Only half of it though. There is so much shelving that it's impossible to get another car in without a complete alteration. There are boxes of old computer programming books, bits of wood that could come in useful, old cans of paint, etc etc. If it was up to me, l'd hire a skip and chuck the lot.
When I did start looking properly, with plans to get rid of the junk, I came across the box of stuff my wife brought home when she left a previous job - in 1998.
There's a Commodore 128 somewhere in ours, as well as at least two old laptops that I know of, and various other computer parts ("I might need a 5.25" floppy disk drive one day")
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I went through ours last year and it had 40 odd years of accumulated family junk (I bought my parents house when they downsized and they left it all there). I'm pretty ruthless and not sentimental so most of it went out after seeing what they wanted back, the reply often was "no we don't want it" to which I replied "so why on earth did you keep it in the first place". We donated a lot to the charity shop and sold a few things which paid for another layer of insulation and it was amazing how much warmer the house felt with it.
I did find and left because it's to heavy and awkward to move, a horrible day glow orange carpet which was up there when my parents bought the house 45 years ago plus a lot of detritus no one would admit to.
OH never throws anything away. When he can no longer move about, he just builds another shed. We currently have 3 large (very - size of a small bungalow) sheds and a garage full of rubbish, as well as a big space in front of one of them that resembles a salvage yard. That doesn't include my garden shed, or the two loft spaces (admittedly both quite small) that were stuffed to the gunwales long before the first shed came into being.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Very old computers are worth a fair bit of money. We are keeping our spectrum for a rainy day.
I had to help out a customer clear his loft.... lucozade bottles from the 1970s still with the cellophane on.... They made £20 each on eBay! Folks collect odd things!
No loft in this house.. Quite glad as the tenants in the last flat had put used nappies up in the loft...... It would have been easier to put them in the bin... But no. We do have a basement but we've renovated it to living space which is really snug with an open fire. For the hoarding there is a very large shed which gets filled and half emptied and filled again on a regular basis.
I don't have a loft but the one in my house in England definitely needs a clear-out. I remember there is an old, damaged, rocking horse. It was mine and I wanted OH to repair it for our children but he never got round to it - maybe one day for future grandchildren? There is also a suitcase with some of my mum's dresses in from when she went dancing with my dad many years ago. She used to have them all hand-made and looked so beautiful in them. There are also some love letters dad sent mum when he was in the RAF. There are some old train sets too. Blimey, that's all I can remember off the top of my head but I know it is very full!
Martina Franca, Puglia, southern Italy Love living in Italy but a Loiner at heart
everything that I haven’t look at or used in the last 2 years has to go. If I die suddenly, no-one should be forced to bin my stuff.
Never a truer word written.
I had the nightmare of clearing out both my parents' houses after the died (they were divorced). I also had the craziness of sorting out their affairs. I would beg and plead with you on my knees - don't leave your mess, crap, boxes, junk or otherwise accumulated bits and pieces for someone else to clear up after you.
Bite the bullet now - get a house clearance company to come in and take the lot. You don't need to review every letter or photo. Get rid of the bits of "just-in-case" wood. Put all the old tools and gear that you don't use on Freecycle of Gumtree. Be ruthless.
Think of it as a huge gift of love and generosity to those that come after.
I think we could write a book. Fascinating the stuff we hoard.
There's a box full of Royal Crown Derby up in mine. I had 2 display cabinets before we moved but had to discard one as this cottage is much smaller than the house we sold therefore lots of china still packed in the box. I don't want it but if I give it to a charity shop up here it would probably be sold for 3p a piece. Perhaps it should go back down to Derbyshire where it might make more money for a charity.
Posts
I must confess to never having actually been in either, but l have stood at the top of the loft ladders and poked my head in. Then my courage failed me.
To be honest, the house one isn't too bad, 2 Christmas trees and 3 boxes of decorations etc. It was cleared out a few years ago when we had work carried out on the plumbing etc.
Before that it was full of empty boxes from everything from mobile phones, kettles, toasters, etc etc. Not just our stuff, but stuff bought for my MIL and FIL as well. My OH used to say that he was keeping the boxes in case an item had to be returned, but a lot of it was years old (Atari anyone ?).
We have lived here for over 33 years, many years ago the house was struck by lightning. Luckily the torrential downpour put out the fire caused by the lightning strike, and it also damaged many of the boxes. They were chucked out but it all built up again, and to be honest l thought another lightning strike just to get rid of it all was a little drastic.
Fortunately the plumber and electricians forced another clearout.
As for the garage, there are still empty boxes up there from the move all those years ago, but we have a mouse that's made a home up there, so that's having an enforced sort out. We have also had mice in the garage itself, amongst other things they have made a home in an old roll of carpet (over 10 years old).
My OH is clearing out one side of the garage so that he can get his car in over the Winter.
Only half of it though. There is so much shelving that it's impossible to get another car in without a complete alteration.
There are boxes of old computer programming books, bits of wood that could come in useful, old cans of paint, etc etc.
If it was up to me, l'd hire a skip and chuck the lot.
Bet you're glad you asked now 😁.
In the sticks near Peterborough
We donated a lot to the charity shop and sold a few things which paid for another layer of insulation and it was amazing how much warmer the house felt with it.
I did find and left because it's to heavy and awkward to move, a horrible day glow orange carpet which was up there when my parents bought the house 45 years ago plus a lot of detritus no one would admit to.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I had to help out a customer clear his loft.... lucozade bottles from the 1970s still with the cellophane on.... They made £20 each on eBay! Folks collect odd things!
No loft in this house.. Quite glad as the tenants in the last flat had put used nappies up in the loft...... It would have been easier to put them in the bin... But no.
We do have a basement but we've renovated it to living space which is really snug with an open fire. For the hoarding there is a very large shed which gets filled and half emptied and filled again on a regular basis.
Love living in Italy but a Loiner at heart
There's a box full of Royal Crown Derby up in mine. I had 2 display cabinets before we moved but had to discard one as this cottage is much smaller than the house we sold therefore lots of china still packed in the box.
I don't want it but if I give it to a charity shop up here it would probably be sold for 3p a piece. Perhaps it should go back down to Derbyshire where it might make more money for a charity.
AnniD that's a pearler of a hoard.