Things you never throw away

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with all of the downsizing that I have done last 9 years, I have thrown lots and lots of stuff away only to look around a few years later and wonder what happened to some of the stuff. then I quickly realize that I simply threw it away thinking I'd never need it again, but there's only so much space and living in a condo there is basically very little storage, other than the 3 ft x 6 ft closet out on the patio and that's not much.
 
I sold a lot of odds and ends online during the pandemic. Got in the habit of keeping boxes and packing material so I would always be able to find a just-right box that would minimize shipping costs. It got to be too much. Threw a lot of it in the recycle bins this week. More room in the rocket room, for sure.
 
For me it is computer parts. Hard drives, memory sticks, so on. I have a huge box stuffed full of all kinds of drives and another with memory, fans, video cards and on.
last week I came across it while putting away Mrs Christmas tree. I decided I’ve not used it it nor seen it since moving into the current home. It is now placed to go to the electronics e waste system.
 
My storage boxes of model railroading stuff - locomotives, rolling stock, structures and structure kits, track, etc…even a couple of things from our childhood HO train sets. I was a dreadful railroad modeler, building a good looking and good running layout is more than a learned skill - you need at least a modicum of talent, which I don’t have, so I boxed it all and there it sits in a corner of the rocket shop. I still skim through the model railroading sites and online vendors but thank rocketry I haven’t bought anything in years.
 
For me it is computer parts. Hard drives, memory sticks, so on. I have a huge box stuffed full of all kinds of drives and another with memory, fans, video cards and on.
last week I came across it while putting away Mrs Christmas tree. I decided I’ve not used it it nor seen it since moving into the current home. It is now placed to go to the electronics e waste system.
Old computer stuff is also my curse... Miles of old cables, many old speakers, keyboards, mice, games. etc. I finally recycled a half dozen CRT monitors a while back because they took up to much room.
 
LOL, I saw the title and before entering the thread I thought about my little foam pile! Have many various foam densities to choose from!

Also the computer and power cables hoarder a bit. But finally did have to access the pile the other day and it sure helped out.

Inverters; have way too many 12V inverters! But I keep the higher voltage ones for printers too, for potentially powering future LED lighting projects.

LEDs and some electrical components from old devices, like switches, relays, capacitors, inductors, and certain surface mount resistors usually of impedance lower than 1 ohm.

Wire, for use in electrical projects.

I should probably stop there. ;)
 
Y’all just had to mention cables and power supplies - that’s borderline embarrassing for me - but on those rare occasions when you need one it’s sure nice to have a box or two in hand to dig through. Fixed the charger for our sump pump backup system with a surplus inverter and if anyone ever needs 20-50-ish feet of modular phone cables I’m on it (as long as you have enough connectors to hook ‘em all together 😆).
 
Things you never throw away
You mean keep on purpose? :p (Otherwise there's lots of lot and forgotten garbage.)

None of these are things I really never get rid of, but there are some I've only recently learned to let go of, and they still feel hard.

Books. Enough said.

Computer parts. I've only recently got rid of the three and four generation old mother boards and RAM modules, and pared down to one or two spare keyboards, mice, CD drives, cables, etc. But I really have been the guy who says "Sure, I can read the data off that 5-1/4" floppy and put it on a thumb drive for you." More than once. Not lately.

Tools and odd bits of metal that might be specialty tools for something.

Rocket parts, and no apologies there. Scraps of balsa that might become rocket parts or specialty rocket tools. Inluding spent engines. Mind you, I still keep plenty of those; I've just learned to get rid of some of them.

And yup, LPs. I have a turntable and pre-amp, and plan to digitize them. I've been planning to digitize them for over a decade. I only recently got rid of a lot of VHS tapes that I had been planning to digitize, only after buying three Craig's List VCRs that all didn't work. Over a decade ago.

Inverters; have way too many 12V inverters! But I keep the higher voltage ones for printers too, for potentially powering future LED lighting projects.
Do you mean wall warts and bricks, that you plug in and get some DC power out of? FYI, that's sort of the opposite of an inverter, which produces AC from DC. Inverters are great to have, for example, in the car. (Oh, damn, now I have to go buy a little inverter for the car.)
 
Thinks I NEVER throw away:
  1. My copy of "Topics in Advanced Model Rocketry", purchased in 1973 from the Univeristy of Pittsburgh Bookstore.
  2. My engineering textbooks (not so bad, right?) and class notes... (eek!)
  3. A library of Bible exposition that would make many pastors think they'd died and gone to heaven.
  4. At least 150' of Aurora "Model Motoring" HO race track and accessories (including 2 HO scale train crossings). Had it since I was a kid. Pin & joiner style, mostly.
  5. The HO train set, much simpler. Grandkids enjoyed it for the first time this Christmas.
  6. Balsa scraps, burned engine casings, body tube scraps, wood scraps and cutoffs from shop projects.
  7. A pretty good collection of sheet music that I've acquired. Note I currently have no musical instruments except a jaw harp and kazoo (which I also won't throw out), and even if I had a keyboard I'm woefully rusty, wasn't that good to begin with. Oh, and edited toadd, my Irish Tin Whistle that I also don't know how to play. I'm wondrering now wher is that bugger?
  8. Plastic models - about a half a dozen kits I hope to get to someday - including one partially built kit of a car I once owned, a 1987 Chevy Monte Carlo Aeroback.
  9. All the Pennsylvania wild cherry lumber I had sawed from a 30+inch tree in our yard over a dozen years ago. Crimimee, I've gone through about 4 tarps trying to keep that stuff!
I'm glad that I never threw away the launch pad that my son built when he was 14 or 15, based on how I told him I'd built one as a kid. He's going to be 47 in a week or so here, and that's the pad we use! Took about 30 years, though!

Yes, much to my wife's dismay, I'm cluttery; I like what I like and I don't stop liking it. Well, actually that works out pretty good for her too! (I'd better duck...)

I'm pretty bad about pens, wire, packing materials and boxes and stuff like that as well. I have a turbine-generator coupling bolt (a souvenir from a job) that I occasionally use to ensure that EVERY LAST DROP has been squeezed out of a tube of whatever!
 
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Dont forget the IDE hard drive cables.
My Japanese Anime book collection of Space Cruiser Yamato "Star Blazers" will
never get thrown away till after I kick the bucket.
 
If I throw something away, someday I wish I still had it. Nevertheless I do throw things away occasionally so I'm not a hoarder. I don't have all that much volume of stuff saved because we have a small house without much storage space. In terms of volume the biggest category I have is books, and at that I have half what I had 10 years ago. I have old photographs, CDs, DVDs, but again it's not a huge volume. And a little bit of scrap wood from woodworking. We've moved twice in the past 9 years and each time I tossed a lot of stuff.
 
looking around and thinking about things that I have kept since high school..... it is my LP's

I have LPs and 45s I have collected since high school along with my dad's record collection. He brought over his records one day and gave them to me on the condition that I never sell them and that he can spin one whenever he wants when he visits.
 
Besides my record collection, I have quite a bit of spare parts for my bikes. Unless a part is damaged beyond repair, I usually toss it in a box to have parts available if I need them. I even recycle tubes to wrap around the chainstay to protect against chain slap.
 
I have LPs and 45s I have collected since high school along with my dad's record collection. He brought over his records one day and gave them to me on the condition that I never sell them and that he can spin one whenever he wants when he visits.
I guess looking back on it I have given away a thousand records(had 1400) in the last 9 years as I moved four times in 6 years. every time I would move I would call one of my friends and ask him if they wanted to come over for a boxer to the records. I gave my best friend 600 of them, and another friend 200 as I just kept having less and less room and wanted to get down to something that was manageable.
 
I guess looking back on it I have given away a thousand records(had 1400) in the last 9 years as I moved four times in 6 years. every time I would move I would call one of my friends and ask him if they wanted to come over for a boxer to the records. I gave my best friend 600 of them, and another friend 200 as I just kept having less and less room and wanted to get down to something that was manageable.
Digitize your LPs, put them on a thumb drive or SD card.
Make sure you back them up.
There are software that can remove the clicks and pops.
Space no longer a problem.
Losing the thumb drive, well.........
 
Digitize your LPs, put them on a thumb drive or SD card.
Make sure you back them up.
There are software that can remove the clicks and pops.
Space no longer a problem.
Losing the thumb drive, well.........
I've done that with most of my CD collection, but there's something about the whole package with a vinyl record that I love. It's beyond the dust cover and the artwork. It is also the ritual of placing the record on the turntable and enjoying the album. I don't have a high end system either.. It is easier for me to actively listen and focus on the album this way than it is on digital media. I tend to multitask more when streaming or listening to a digital copy on a device.

There are also memories associated with albums. In the 90s and 2000s, it was more of a hunt for vinyl. I mail ordered and scoured flea markets for some. I bought many direct from bands at shows. Some were such small runs they were only sold at concerts. I used to make mixtapes for girls I Iiked and those memories are mostly good too.
 
Oh, I'm a pack rat. I have a Lionel train that my Aunt gave me for my first Christmas. I would have been 8 months old. Got to be worth some money. I have 3 30 gallon tube full of stuff from my youth. Newspapers from all of the space shots. Slot cars, Boy Scout stuff. Even a brick from my Middle School that I picked up during a remodel. I have rocks and pine cones. I have kept a lot of golf stuff. 5 or 6 30 gallon tubs worth. Golf balls, towels. Stuff from Scotland and England. A couple hundred military aircraft pictures from air shows. Brass from bullets. I've been saving brass for 30 years. Lead from Linotype machines. Concert tee shirts that no longer fit. Lots of clothes from when I was in the golf biz. Guns and knives and ammo. The list goes on and on. Foam and packing material too. The foam is cushioning for rocket transport. Lots of boxes and other containers for exploding targets. I could do this for an hour.
 
I guess looking back on it I have given away a thousand records(had 1400) in the last 9 years as I moved four times in 6 years. every time I would move I would call one of my friends and ask him if they wanted to come over for a boxer to the records. I gave my best friend 600 of them, and another friend 200 as I just kept having less and less room and wanted to get down to something that was manageable.
IMO, giving away isn't throwing away. Lots of the stuff I keep is because someone might need it (or want it) and that someone may or may not be me.

Losing the thumb drive, well.........
That's why, as you said, "Make sure you back them up." As the saying goes, if you only have one copy it wasn't important anyway.

I've done that with most of my CD collection, but there's something about the whole package with a vinyl record [Joe: or CD] that I love. It's beyond the dust cover and the artwork. It is also...
The liner notes.

Years ago I googled "homemade sanding sealer" and fdsailors' post on his blog came up.
https://fdsailor.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-make-sanding-sealer.htmlAnd a little more detail on a post of mine some time back:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/sanding-sealer-types.153553/#post-1898692
I saw this, and wondered if either of those links would mention using acetone. The first one doesn't. The second one, to a thread here, was about using MEK (the same as the first) but a little further downthread, someone else did. three guesses who that was. :) Anyway, yeah, acetone works.
 
IMO, giving away isn't throwing away. Lots of the stuff I keep is because someone might need it (or want it) and that someone may or may not be me.
I hate throwing stuff away but I am *thrilled* to give stuff away. The hard part is connecting with people who want the stuff.
 

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