Trying to cut down my stash Help

[Moondog55]

So here I am suffering mental anxiety trying to rid myself of some stuff my beloved calls junk and get some working space in the shed. She wants me to explain why I HAVE to have all these rucksacks on the wall and what I do with them. So here I'm thinking I need help, if I simply have too much then some of it gets passed on to others who may need some starting out gear.

Is it unreasonable to have separate outfits for all types of walking/outdoor pursuits?
I have a summer set using the recently rebuilt Macpac exterior frame, poncho, tarp and very light down bag
I have my big winter bag with a decent SB, bivvy-sack and choice of winter tents [ either the Megamid or the Plateau]
I have my car camping swag and canvas tarp
I have the winter base camp tent I'm trying to rebuild along with its associated sled and heavy sleeping system
A 40 liter day pack for simple walks
WE 70 liter Breakout I am trying to sell also the ALICE pack was an experiment and that is surplus to requirements
My hunting/bushcraft waxed cotton pack which has a tarp, poncho and very light Thinsulate SB and goretex half sack
And a small carry-on daypack/computer bag for air travel
I don't think I have too many except for the Breakout.
I have a delaminated Wild Country tent should I chuck it out or try and recoat ? I really cannot decide.
I only have 2 stoves although each pack has its own set of cooking gear and each rucksack has a mattress or pad available.
I don't however keep each rucksack packed ready to go as I hate to store clothing and sleeping bags compressed for too long.

[Picaro]

Get a lock for the shed....

[Moondog55]

Then she would know I was trying to hide stuff Picaro

[matagi]

Is it unreasonable to have separate outfits for all types of walking/outdoor pursuits?

Unreasonable? Proabably no.

Unnecessary? Probably yes.

What you need to ask vis a vis the shed is ..... does your beloved have special plans for it? Plans which don't include space for an outdoor outfitters full catalogue.

How big is this shed? Is all this stuff stored neatly on shelves? Do you just need to rethink your storage system maybe?

[andrewa]

Have you see this

http://www.aetv.com/hoarders/

A problem we probably all have.

At least I have 4 kids who variably need stuff, so I can justify keeping more stuff.....but I do need to offload some things. Me thinks , Ted, that you may have more than I!

A

[GPSGuided]

It's all a question of luxury and what your socio-economic circumstance can support. If you are being pressured on the domestic front and not winning the verbal justification, then there's no choice, is there?

[Moondog55]

Well I admit to a small hoarding problem, it's probably partly genetic as my dad has the same problem as do 2 of my siblings.
It's more a lack of storage space due to very poor management skills but in the future we plan to demolish the shed to make way for a planned extension to the house.

I also make speakers for a hobby and I have the stuff for about 8 or 9 planned projects on the shelves as well as all the camping gear. A bigger shed is maybe a decade away. Anybody want some speaker drivers free to good home, enough to make a decent party box if sound quality isn't a real issue

[icefest]

It it is working space that you are after, then you could just make do with a better filing system.

Most Aussie houses have some form of access to the attic/roof.

If you just get a couple of large cardboard boxes you can always have either your winter or summer gear up there.

For me that would be 1/2 to 1/3 of all my gear.

[Moondog55]

I have had exactly that thought and I have been trying to work on that. We have recently had the roof space vacuumed out so rats and mice are no longer a problem. I suppose I could put my winter rucksack up there but having just lost a tent to being stored rolled up I have hung all the others from the garage roof beams and they take up a LOT of space. I could put up some shelving in the roof and move some speaker parts up there I guess but I would need some substantial new roof timbers across the wall plates to support the weight

[icefest]

I have had exactly that thought and I have been trying to work on that. We have recently had the roof space vacuumed out so rats and mice are no longer a problem. I suppose I could put my winter rucksack up there but having just lost a tent to being stored rolled up I have hung all the others from the garage roof beams and they take up a LOT of space. I could put up some shelving in the roof and move some speaker parts up there I guess but I would need some substantial new roof timbers across the wall plates to support the weight

Depending on insulation and where you live, it can get hot and some gear might suffer.

[Moondog55]

Yes, in summer it would be borderline for some stuff, it can get to 45-50C in the roof space, it used to be worse but we have been upgrading the house gradually to 5 star.

[matagi]

Ok, some questions -

Why do you have separate outfits for your different walking/outdoor pursuits?

How long has the delaminated tent been sitting there waiting for you to decide what to do? If it has been longer than 12 months, then get rid of it, because it is unlikely you will do anything with it.

How long have you been trying to get rid of the Breakout and the ALICE - if longer than 6 months, then you need to make a REAL effort to get rid of them.

[Moondog55]

Hmmm The tent I discovered just before the winter trip, the ALICE I only just finished and the Breakout about a year, I simply won't sell it for less than I think it's worth [ $160-]

I have so many sets because I never throw anything away, but the different pursuits also need different types of gear.
That's why I find it so hard

[matagi]

When selling stuff, it's not a question of what you think its worth, but what the market thinks its worth, so you may need to drop your price on the Breakout to move it.

You need to be ruthless when looking at your stuff and deciding what to get rid of.
As a start, I fail to see why car camping requires its own set of gear (swag, etc.) You can easily use some of your other stuff, so there's a couple of things you could get rid of.

Why do you need a separate hunting/bushcraft pack? Why can't you use the Macpac or your winter pack for this application?

And realistically, each pack does not need its own set of cooking gear, does it?

[Moondog55]

Smaller packs that don't get caught up in the thick scrub for the deer hunting.
Anybody want to buy a swag? A swag is simply so easy to throw on the ground when you need to stop driving tho and not being a tent it means you are not breaking the "No camping" laws that apply now in so much of Australia. OK I can see that I could loose a set or two of cooking gear

[Strider]

Quiet fabrics also matter for deer stalking, obviously.

[whynotwalk]

Strategically placed mirrors in the shed can make the space look bigger

... so can a bigger shed

[Moondog55]

I guess a lot of it was I had fun putting these kits together. Strider this is where all my old woollen gear gets used and used up pretty quickly too.
I have promised the Boss I won't buy any more gear until something breaks or wears out so that's a a start. While I could do with and use a new superlight sleeping bag and solo tent I don't NEED one.

[Happy Pirate]

Is it unreasonable to have separate outfits for all types of walking/outdoor pursuits? .

My 5 packs and 6 tents say "No"
If you get rid of stuff you'll only have to buy it again one day. I still have the original Fairydown -5 bag my dad bought me when I was 14. Almost 30 yo and still makes a good quilt for car camping in +0 nights.
But really, do what I did, get a big cheap wardrobe and store everything inside. Bags and jackets hang from coathangers. Mats stand on their ends. Packs sit flat on a shelf. Misc gear sits in boxes with tents on the floor.
Best thing I did; saves space and keeps the bugs out too.

cheers
Steve

[Moondog55]

Then it is an organisational problem on my part I think. Good call on the wardrobe and I have been packing my winter gear and moving it into the roof space in plastic tubs

[stry]

I can truly, truly empathise.

Unfortunately, I am as unable to deal with my situation as you are unable to deal with yours.

Best wishes

[Tortoise]

Then it is an organisational problem on my part I think.

Ah Moondog, as nice as that would be (and it is definitely part of the solution), I'm afraid that as a recovering hoarder, I don't think that's the only problem.

Well I admit to a small hoarding problem, it's probably partly genetic as my dad has the same problem as do 2 of my siblings.

And learned behaviour perhaps?
My Mum always lamented that 3 of the 4 of us kids took after Dad, and the one who was neat and organised left home first.
The fact that you do admit to a small hoarding problem probably means that you have...well...quite a big one.

It's more a lack of storage space due to very poor management skills but in the future we plan to demolish the shed to make way for a planned extension to the house.

When I went away for a few months once, friends offered to burn my shed to solve the clutter problem! A bit drastic, I thought, and declined their offer.

One of the issues I had was a keen eye for a bargain, with an unrealistic idea of how I'd adapt whatever it was to make it just what I wanted. So... each decade added more unfinished projects, taking up rather a lot of room. I know that you are very skilled at actually adapting stuff - but you could manage quite well I suspect without it all. A bargain isn't necessarily a good buy.

We hoarders tend to have an unrealistic view of what things are worth - good point from Matagi re the Breakout - it's true $ value is only that which someone else is willing to pay for it.

It's one thing to deal with what you already have, but it also takes a big mental shift to 'stem the incoming tide' - as described by Sandra Felton in "Messie No More", a book that changed my life for the better when I was ready to accept it.

There are heaps of reasons why we hoard - emotional ties with the stuff making it very hard to decide what to keep/toss, until that mental shift, and a new perspective.

All the very best, and good on you for asking for help with your stuff.

[wayno]

if you put all teh pack s in a box where she can't see them would it still be an issue? is it the visual clutter of them hanging on the wall thats the real issue?.
if you have to get rid of anything. get rid of the smaller packs. getting rid of large ones is an issue if you're eventually going to need the large size... can you stash packs inside of packs.
having gear that needs work like recoating you can just use that as a reason to throw it out if you have something similar that will do the job in it's place....

[Moondog55]

One of the reasons I bought the Breakout in the first place ( another forum member thru this site) was the advice that the asking price was very good value. This is and was true and the only reason for selling it is to fund a sleeping bag purchase Oh and I find it too small for winter and too big for a day pack I thinl less than half new cost is a fair price and as they get dearer every year I'll hang on until I get what I want for it.
Wayno has part of the solution in his post, a lot of the objection to the gear is the visual clutter and my intrusion into "Herselfs" workroom. I need to move my own sewing machine to the garage and work on my projects out of her space

[wayno]

yeah, i'm allowed a wardroom and chest of drawers to store my gear in,, and if it spills over from that , then heaven help me because no one else will! so i know if i want to buy something i have to be able to fit it into my storage areas which are at capacity, so that tells me when its time to ditch gear, then i have to make the hard decision of what goes....
i have some emotional attachment to old gear , but a few years back i replaced a lot of old gear when isaw how much better designed and lighter the new gear was, i didnt have the space to keep the old gear so that was that... out it went...

[andrewa]

Moondog, I'm actually with you, but I have a slightly bigger shed..., and no particular need to offload. I'm the major breadwinner, so there's less ( note, not "no"") interest in what I buy, than what there might be in another relationship.

However, I still would like 3-4 wardrobes x4 specific for storing my stuff, and would love to have "SRG".......stuff ready to go...... cache.....which doesn't seem to work for anyone.......but if anyone has managed that, let us all know, coz I don't reckon anyone has got their Stih together that much.

A

[Tortoise]

Ok i'll pull my head back in now.

[Moondog55]

Ok i'll pull my head back in now.

OK Now I understand your moniker. LOL

I am making a concerted effort and trying to keep out of the Op-Shops as well, but I am afraid I paid $5- for a PINK sleeping bag for a 5YO and sleep-overs The real one was "Brooowwn" and not totally acceptable.

[Tortoise]

Hi there Moondog.

Ok i'll pull my head back in now.

OK Now I understand your moniker. LOL

Yep, that's one of the reasons for the name. Sorry I got carried away earlier.
The other reason for the name is my pace up mountains with a big pack.

I am making a concerted effort and trying to keep out of the Op-Shops as well, but I am afraid I paid $5- for a PINK sleeping bag for a 5YO and sleep-overs The real one was "Brooowwn" and not totally acceptable.

[Happy Pirate]

Well I admit to a small hoarding problem, it's probably partly genetic as my dad has the same problem as do 2 of my siblings.

Yeah my dad had the same hoarding problem; as did his 20 adopted children......

(Damn! And I promised myself I wouldn't use that line .......)

Sorry