Ovibos
Naughty Wood Librarian
I recently discovered that our 'box room' had everything in it except for a box to ship the amp is just sold on Reverb...
I've taken several boxes of books to a seniors residence.
Just a reminder to y'all hoarders with kids... My mom passed away this spring and left me with her sh!t. It cost me over $1700 just to throw her crap away. Salvation Army and the like are super picky about what they'll even consider taking now, so it's not like the free garbage dump it may have used to have been.... a side effect of our disposable culture, perhaps.
But by all means, if you hate your kids, or perhaps they have a fragile marriage that you wanna push over the edge... keep stacking your sh!t to the ceilings.
My buddy's dad died a few years back. Huge hoarder. Jeff found a canoe paddle in the basement. His dad never owned a canoe. He found a console from an old car, with his dad's old wallet with some money - no ID or credit cards, just money.
My father-in-law was a big train guy - tons of model trains. He sold at shows, too. It's been almost three years - we're still selling stuff. Or trying. Part of the problem was that he never wanted to take less than he paid, so my mother-in-law doesn't want to do that, either. I took a panoramic shot in their basement when we started this after he died - there were places where you couldn't see the wall opposite. It's getting better, but taking forever.
After my buddy's stories, I told him I wanted to put a note in one of my books that said, "There is $xxxxx in Book X as of xx/xx/xx" and have several amounts and dates on it. Book X would be a book I've never owned. You know, because I'm a great dad!
On a more serious note, my father-in-law always hid money so he'd have cash on hand. The problem is, he never told anyone where it was. So when he suddenly took ill and became unresponsive overnight, he died without telling anyone where the money was. Even worse, he apparently bragged to a couple of his train buddies about how much he had - I think it was just a case of them trying to top each other, not an accurate accounting, but the problem is my mother-in-law has no idea because he didn't tell her. So, if you do that, be sure someone knows. Don't get me wrong - I have my guitar stash, and my wife doesn't know the amount (neither do I), but she knows where it is and she can get to it. Have a stash - just make sure your loved ones know where it is.
I mean, keep your guitars and amps and stuff but... boxes? C'mon.
I hear MkV's fit well into the 13 gallon bags.
..who to call to get rid of guitars.
Are you sure?Sadly, I know I'm not on that list.
Canoe paddles are great for whacking the dust out of rugs.
You brought up another good point. It can take years off of your loved ones life just getting rid of your sh!t. If you try and sell it... f@ck... Hope you enjoy your new part-time job. My buddy's dad died..maybe ten years ago? He was a huge collector of, shall we say... "Militaria" I guess would be what you could call it... Dude spent seven years of cold sweats, gun shows, eBaying, and more ridding himself of that stuff. I mean, he grew up around it but, as a way of youthful rebellion he devoted his life to pacifist spiritual pursuits and then basically had to become a gun dealer for seven years. F@ck that! And I helped him catalog all that stuff too.
I now know more about web gear, bayonets, military service manuals, can tell the difference between a ..30 cal. and a .50 cal. cleaning rod, etc. etc..and what that sh!t sells for... and I can still smell Cosmoline (which sounds like it'd be a cool fruity drink or makeup.. you know, something I'd like, but.. no.) every time I get in his truck.
Helping him go through that made me start to clear out my mom's crib before she died, for four years, and it practically ruined my relationship and my life.. and I still had to spend... IDK.. from Good Friday to this very day still tossing sh!t and wading through garbage paper stuff on the oft chance I'd find something of value (total amount of money found in house so far $144 and change).
My dudes, get your sh!t together! Hoarding is a form of mental illness, for real. I mean, keep your guitars and amps and stuff but... boxes? C'mon.
Are you sure?
So, any idea what the propeller was for? Jeff still hasn't figured that one out.
After the first show, my wife came home and said there was another woman there who was selling off her late husband's collection - for five years, I think. My wife said, "I don't even want to be doing this in three." And here we are. My kids helped with the first few, then they got frustrated because a) nothing much really sold, so they were loading and unloading the same stuff over and over; and b) my MIL has a very hard time coming down from the prices that my FIL had on stuff. Not to mention that she's got train friends telling her "that's worth more than this guy is offering" - but not offering more. We think she's finally going to move to selling stuff through a third-party who will put it online (we were adamant that our kids were not going to do that).
My mother, on the other hand, has been allegedly cleaning things out since my grandmother died 10 years ago. She'll dump a bunch of stuff saying she doesn't need it - then buy some stuff just like it. The best was when my dad retired - he called me and my brother-in-law to come up because "I'm getting rid of a bunch of these tools I'm not going to need anymore, so you guys might as well take what you need". So we went up and went through stuff. It went - seriously - like this:
Me: I could use one of these.
Dad: I'm not getting rid of that.
BIL: I've been looking for one of these.
Dad: I'm not getting rid of that, either.
Five minutes later...
Dad: Nope, not getting rid of that yet.
Me: So what exactly can we pick from? Seems like that might be quicker.
Now, though, he is starting to dump stuff - old parts and stuff that, at 80, he's finally figuring he won't need.
Shortly after my grandmother died, I was in my mother's kitchen with her and my aunt, and my mother said, "When it's time, I don't want you kids to do what I'm doing. Just bring in one of those estate sales companies and let them handle it." I said, "What makes you think I'm not going to just drop a match on the way out?" My aunt laughed, my mother just looked at me. My wife said she's not sure where my sense of humor came from, but she's pretty sure where it didn't originate.
Does 150 guitar boxes count?