[lboorse2]

I've recently come to the realization that I need to simplify my life. No, I'm not going to give away all my worldly possessions and move out to Lancaster to join the Amish community.

I don't know what exactly has led me to this. Maybe it has to do with dealing with my Aunt's estate and my watching my Mom struggle with what to do with my Dad's belongings since his passing. Both my Aunt and my Dad had a lot of stuff. Let's take my Dad's tools for instance. I must have cleaned out 50 of each Philips Head and Flat head screwdrivers. I'm not exaggerating. I can see having a few duplicates of each usable size and type, but when have you gone overboard? Why keep a bunch of 30 year old screwdrivers with broken wooden handles and tips so rounded off, they're completely useless? Neither were hoarders mind you, but sometimes they just didn't know when to say when.

It was part of my upbringing - "Hey, that might be useful someday. Maybe you should hang on to it."

When we cleaned out my Aunt's house, we found she was saving a lot of pocket change. We all do it. We have a jar, or a coffee can, or a water jug somewhere that we just toss all of our loose change into. My Aunt, however, had one of each of those, plus multiple shoe boxes, gift boxes, cigar boxes, etc, all with change in them all in various places throughout the house. Mind you, she was only living in the house for 3 years. Why have all of that change in multiple places? It's not like she was an absent minded person. She had some reason in her brain for saving it that way...

I've come to the conclusion that I don't want to have stuff around in various places just because maybe I could use it some day. In terms of collecting, I have a few nice complete bikes. I also have a lot of parts and frames that will probably never be ridden by me or even built. I want to sell it off to slim down to just 2 or 3 completes and 1 to 2 projects. The only "loose parts" I want around are those slated for the immediate projects.

I've just recently begun the purging process and I already feel like I can think clearer about the projects I'm working on. No longer will I buy the nice looking parts because they're a good deal and I might be able to use them sometime in the next 10 years on some bike I haven't even thought of building yet.

I know there's a lot of guys here who have simplified their collections over the past few years. How did it make you feel after you did it? Did you feel a weight lifted? Could you think clearer? Has that "simplification" spilled over to other areas of your life? Has it made things better?

Discuss...

[I am the owl...]

Get a divorce, then you wont have anything left. That was the turning point for me. Once you lose everything, you realize very little of it matters. I have sort of become cluttered with bike stuff in the last few years, but now most of that is gone too. Once my kids bikes are built, I will get rid of the few bits still remaining. I am a minimalist by nature, and the clutter of the unncecassary, is something I cannot stand.

[keep_it_warm]

I downsized my bikes. Did basically what you said you intend to do: sell off nearly all loose parts and some completes. I'm down to 4 completes, one frame, and a handful of parts. That's it. I'm totally fine with it. No regrets. Not for one second.

My dad sounds similar to your family members - but worse. He DOES collect and it's getting worse as he gets older. I have no idea what we will do when he passes away. The sheer volume of stuff is amazing. My brother and I combined do not have enough room to take in everything he has.

It's funny, because my brother and I want better for him. In our minds, that would mean selling his stuff off so he can use the money to focus on enjoying his life. But the reality of it is: buying, collecting, hoarding stuff IS where he gets much of his enjoyment in life.

He sacrifices and will go without the basic things he needs in his life in order to acquire more 'stuff'. It's sad to watch, but without it, I think he would begin to decline....

[RipVanWinkle]

Good subject, Lee.

I was stripped down to nothing in 1987. All I had was a one way bus ticket and a pack with clothes. I too am happiest with less. All I really care about are family historical items, photos, etc. I often dream about having the cash spent for every useless item in our house. Once I get everything scanned to a flashdrive, I'm hoping a flaming out of control truck pushes my Ford Focus into the house.

[Jarvi]

We can have a chat about this next week Lee. Getting rid of stuff, both bike and other thing became addictive for me. Just make sure you know exactly what you need to keep so you don't sell the decent Peregrine axles with the crappy wheels because you forgot you had a decent set of wheels too...

Leaving some locations can be a bit sad for me, however, clearing everything except for what travels with me in my case, feels great. It's like a small reinvention of life every few months. Often I think the thrill of selling/giving/tossing something actually feels better than getting it in the first place.

I was the same when I worked in an office. As a consultant I was shuffled around from office to office and could make the move in less than 10 minutes. Everything went in a set of drawers and so all I had to move was the drawers and my chair.

Like many other things, once you form the habit, it becomes second nature to think if you really need something and not just put it in the cupboard/drawer/basement/garage just in case.

[MelvinsArmy]

I'm on board with the less is more idea. A few years ago I started selling off a bunch of my crap. Haven't regretted it at all, and am still doing it. It didn't take long to realize that when you have 1 or 2 of something, instead of 8 or 10, it's much easier to appreciate what you have. Those items you have left become special, not just "more stuff". Also, when you sell off 4 or 5 of one thing, then you can usually buy 1 really nice of whatever kind of thing that was, and have some money left over. Simpler is definitely better for me. Less dusting, less maintenance, less moving it all around, etc.

The ultimate for me was selling one of my favorite paintings. You think selling a favorite bike is hard? Try selling something you made from raw materials and it turned out to be one of the best things you've ever done, ever. After 2 years of negotiations with a friend, I sold one of my favorite paintings to him. Haven't regretted it. I know it's with someone who appreciates it. I also know I can always paint another version if I wanted to. Same for bikes and junk. If you miss it, you can always buy another. The only thing I'd advise against selling is personal relics, childhood items, family heirlooms, that kind of thing. Those can't be replaced.

[Richard Vogt - bmxmountainbiker]

Yes.

RV
bmxmtb

[lboorse2]

Wow. Only two completes in my shed. I have 1 project in progress, 1 on the shelf and one frame going for paint. Other than small parts the rest is out. Shed feels empty but feels good. God help me nothing is coming back home with me from Summer Slam tomorrow.

[MelvinsArmy]

lboorse2, on 03 August 2012 - 07:23 PM, said:

Wow. Only two completes in my shed. I have 1 project in progress, 1 on the shelf and one frame going for paint. Other than small parts the rest is out. Shed feels empty but feels good. God help me nothing is coming back home with me from Summer Slam tomorrow.

I'm down to my commuter mountain bike and my Firemans Texas Cruzer. The wife has a Firemans and cool old klunker too, but I'd say two bikes each for two people is pretty pared down, no pun intended. It feels great. Do I miss my JMC and Pro Freestyle Tour and other cool bikes I've owned? Yes. Do regret selling them? No. Maybe some day when I have a little more money and a lot more space I'll replace them. But for now things feel great.

Although guitars and amplifiers seem to be taking over all that empty space now.