Moving stuff - how do you decide?

tod osier

tod osier

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I've accumulated a lot of stuff in 25 years here in Connecticut. We are going to move a big load of stuff out to WY this summer to declutter the house for sale and I keep running into things that I really wonder about. Calls for birds like brant that I'll never hunt again and decoys for same. The calls are easier given they are small - the decoys are bulky (but I hand carved them and killed boat loads of birds over them)... Things like a couple 5 gallon buckets of turkey legs and beards, WTF do I do with those? They are dusty in a pile in the shop now as it is.

Then there is stuff like wood and cork, the cherry and oak stash are easy as are the cases of original Wiley cork, but where do you draw the line? I have some 2x14x14' planks that I really like for my pump jacks and I sure spent a lot of time on them siding and roofing our 2 houses here, do you move those freaking things?

Thoughts or wisdom on how you have made choices with these semi-sentimental things that accumulate? Obviously, there is a cost vs reward thing going on, but I also don't want to get rid of planks if I just need to find nice ones and repurchase later. Cost of moving isn't really an issue, either, but the larger piles of stuff you have to manage in a move does make it harder.

Favorite brant calls that I'll never use in the desert...
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Yikes!
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You'll get little useful advice from me as I struggle with the same problems. But having moved a number of times, those have been the moments to weed as much as I could stand. Frankly, much of my weeding out has come after moves... unpacking and finding places for stuff I then can't believe I packed.
 
HenryHawthorne said:
You'll get little useful advice from me as I struggle with the same problems. But having moved a number of times, those have been the moments to weed as much as I could stand. Frankly, much of my weeding out has come after moves... unpacking and finding places for stuff I then can't believe I packed.
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Watched Jen's parents do the downsizing move this fall, so I'm glad that we won't be there for a long while, hopefully. Painful, but then again it is just stuff.
 
Turkey stuff would get the heave. Surely theres an empty spot on a wall or beam for the calls. Rent a 30 yard dumpster, you'll find that once you get rolling stuff flies into it. I did my office of 35 years and my parents house in 2024, total of six 30 yarders. Very satisfying and I haven't thought about but one or two things that went.
 
OK here goes. I lived in a 3 bedroom, 3 floor townhouse that was jammed packed full with art, hunting, fishing, decoy carving shop, and carving stuff. Not to mention all the other items one has accumulated after 25 years in one place. Boats, large items, antique furniture and much carving wood was stored at other places my friends had. I began choosing what would move with me to western NY 8 months before the move. The packing took 6 months. Moving some of the things I wanted was spread out over 3-4 years.

The things that would not go with me were sold at a loss, and given away to those that I knew would use them. The list is long and I won't bother cuz it brings up memories I'd rather leave behind.

In my world all wood & cork for carving and other use had to Go with me cuz it is not easy to replace them. The moving itself took several trips with the help of friends. Thank goodness the place I lived in PA had large dumpsters, cuz I would make many trips at night tossing things that I knew I would not use again. Many of those things tossed could have been sold or given away. You get to a point where you just want it OVER so ya shut off yer feelings and attachment to Things. You will no longer have them but you will not forget them.

It is painful for sure to part with pieces of ones Life. Good Luck.

my 2 cents
 
I've found that if I haven't given an item a second thought in a long time, I'm safe to let it go. More significant end items go on Market Place and lesser to Goodwill. Borderline gave away a couple dozen goose shells that someone left with me. Felt good getting those gone, since they have no use for me. Also finally sold my long tail, which really freed up some space in the shed.
 
tod osier said:
I've accumulated a lot of stuff in 25 years here in Connecticut. We are going to move a big load of stuff out to WY this summer to declutter the house for sale and I keep running into things that I really wonder about. Calls for birds like brant that I'll never hunt again and decoys for same. The calls are easier given they are small - the decoys are bulky (but I hand carved them and killed boat loads of birds over them)... Things like a couple 5 gallon buckets of turkey legs and beards, WTF do I do with those? They are dusty in a pile in the shop now as it is.

Then there is stuff like wood and cork, the cherry and oak stash are easy as are the cases of original Wiley cork, but where do you draw the line? I have some 2x14x14' planks that I really like for my pump jacks and I sure spent a lot of time on them siding and roofing our 2 houses here, do you move those freaking things?

Thoughts or wisdom on how you have made choices with these semi-sentimental things that accumulate? Obviously, there is a cost vs reward thing going on, but I also don't want to get rid of planks if I just need to find nice ones and repurchase later. Cost of moving isn't really an issue, either, but the larger piles of stuff you have to manage in a move does make it harder.

Favorite brant calls that I'll never use in the desert...
View attachment 73578

Yikes!
View attachment 73579
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Tod~

The Wiley Cork Depository here at Pencil Brook Farm has no "tipping fees". - and is open 24/7. I believe that - on a Mercator projection - we are right on your way West....

I have gone through a number of moves and clean-outs over the years. Always keep too much - and always need something a month or so after I parted with it....

All the best,

SJS
 
Thought about it some more while working on the boat this morning and do have 1 piece of advice I'll share, something I did the last couple of moves that worked for me.

For stuff that was borderline but that I was struggling to eliminate... go ahead and pack them in boxes that are well-marked and take them. But do not unpack them at the destination - find an out of the way but periodically visible spot to put those boxes. Once all the other stuff is fully unpacked and you're totally settled in, you revisit those boxes. As an estimate, half of those were immediately discardable for me - easy to do since still packed up nicely. The others stayed packed up until I needed them or something in them. At our last move, I threw out 2-3 boxes I'd packed from the prior move and never opened.
 
HenryHawthorne said:
Thought about it some more while working on the boat this morning and do have 1 piece of advice I'll share, something I did the last couple of moves that worked for me.

For stuff that was borderline but that I was struggling to eliminate... go ahead and pack them in boxes that are well-marked and take them. But do not unpack them at the destination - find an out of the way but periodically visible spot to put those boxes. Once all the other stuff is fully unpacked and you're totally settled in, you revisit those boxes. As an estimate, half of those were immediately discardable for me - easy to do since still packed up nicely. The others stayed packed up until I needed them or something in them. At our last move, I threw out 2-3 boxes I'd packed from the prior move and never opened.
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Spent the afternoon cutting into the wall under the kitchen sink to fix a bizarrely cracked through waste line that decided to leak like a sieve.

Thanks all, I’m mainly worrying about loosing out if I through too much out.

We have been joking where the cutoff level is. “A” grade stuff that is a no brainer vs “f” grade that won’t go. I have a lot of “D” level stuff that I do get into. Old trailer parts, wood cutoffs, etc…

Dumpster as soon as the weather breaks a bit. I’ve been labeling boxes well and taking photos as they fill.
 
Steve Sanford said:
Tod~

The Wiley Cork Depository here at Pencil Brook Farm has no "tipping fees". - and is open 24/7. I believe that - on a Mercator projection - we are right on your way West....

I have gone through a number of moves and clean-outs over the years. Always keep too much - and always need something a month or so after I parted with it....

All the best,

SJS
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I have a bunch of really nice 8’ sticks of 4x8 white pine that I’ll drop off too. :) Still has the moving stickers on it from the last time it was moved.
 
Steve Sanford said:
Always keep too much - and always need something a month or so after I parted with it....
Click to expand...

Yesterday when I was fixing that cracked sink waste line, Jen and I were looking for a piece of 1 1/2" ABS pipe that I knew we had and we looked all over knowing the approximate size given what I'd needed to use it for previously. Jen found it in the barn cut into 6" pieces for another project, each with a single hole in the center making them useless for plumbing. So yes, the struggle to not part with useful things is real. Only 10 bucks for another piece at the store, but now I have another piece to decide what to do with :).
 
tod osier said:
I have a bunch of really nice 8’ sticks of 4x8 white pine that I’ll drop off too. :) Still has the moving stickers on it from the last time it was moved.
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Tod~

I guess that White Pine would be ok...but only if it's perfectly clear and buttery soft!

All the best,

SJS
 
Huntindave McCann said:
Don't toss any fishing rods!
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Don't worry about that! I'm not all that much of a fisherman, but have fished for a LOT of different types of fish and bought specialized gear for all of it seemingly. I put all our rods (usually 3 of each for each of us) in a stack last year and I was REALLY glad that Jen fishes and was partly to blame when she saw the size of it! :). It is also sobering when you see a nice "new" rod in the stack that is 15 years old.

We watch the show "Alone" for easy watching some evenings and the last series we watched, they were catching a lot of pike. Got my pump primed for some pike fishing. I used to catch them quite a bit growing up, just often enough that they weren't a surprize, but seldom enough that they were special to catch. I'd like to catch some now that I really know how to cook too.
 
Steve Sanford said:
Tod~

I guess that White Pine would be ok...but only if it's perfectly clear and buttery soft!

All the best,

SJS
Click to expand...

Not close to clear, but it has that silkyness that you can see in white pine. The first couple dozen birds I did were pine bodies and heads, and then I went to cork (a LOT of black cork, which I really like). I think I like cork just because it forces me to leave any details out on the body.

Don't need all that many new decoys for the future, especially when my black duck rig gets repainted as mallards, probably a rig of coot will be my last decoys I'll need. Maybe a rig of Pintails if what I saw this fall is typical.
 
Jen has been working on books, yikes! Built in bookcases will be the first cosmetic "winter project" at the WY place.

When I was building this built in, the mother in law was visiting and asked if I'll regret leaving these behind given all the work. I can honestly say that I will on this - the drawers and cabinet doors are a regret given the work. There is a world that I could take them for reuse and put some sort of wicker basket in the bottom carcasses to show the house, the struggle is real on those. What would be the bottom cubbies are finished nice enough to just leave as is with no doors on them or drawers in them.

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The bucket of turkey parts has to go, and since you have that, you must have some old coffee cans filled with nuts and bolts that your father and grandfather saved. You should get rid of those also. Let me know if you need any more advice.
 
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