The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Blackhawk »

I've often thought that inversion therapy would feel great. I know it isn't considered a long-term solution, but the idea of reversing the pressure on my spine does sound nice. Then again, I'd think that hanging from a bar by my hands would give nearly the same effect, but without all the risks that come from hanging upside down. One of these days I'll find a door bar that will actually fit my doors.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Just repurpose that old sex swing, man.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by TheMix »

Blackhawk wrote: Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:49 am I've often thought that inversion therapy would feel great. I know it isn't considered a long-term solution, but the idea of reversing the pressure on my spine does sound nice. Then again, I'd think that hanging from a bar by my hands would give nearly the same effect, but without all the risks that come from hanging upside down. One of these days I'll find a door bar that will actually fit my doors.
I really like our inversion table. I don't think hanging by your hands is the same. A lot of the benefits from inverting are for your internal organs. You wouldn't get any of that. And I don't know that the effect on the spine would be the same either. I'm not sure what risks you are referring to, but I haven't encountered any issues. Well, a couple of times when gilraen used it and I didn't notice that the setting was shortened. It's really tough to get back upright when that happens.

I believe MHS has had one for far longer and also had no issues.

Though considering your situation, I would imagine both cost and space would be the limiting factors (it doesn't take up much space, but it does take up some).

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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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TheMix wrote: Sat Apr 10, 2021 12:30 pm
Blackhawk wrote: Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:49 am I've often thought that inversion therapy would feel great. I know it isn't considered a long-term solution, but the idea of reversing the pressure on my spine does sound nice. Then again, I'd think that hanging from a bar by my hands would give nearly the same effect, but without all the risks that come from hanging upside down. One of these days I'll find a door bar that will actually fit my doors.
I really like our inversion table. I don't think hanging by your hands is the same. A lot of the benefits from inverting are for your internal organs. You wouldn't get any of that. And I don't know that the effect on the spine would be the same either. I'm not sure what risks you are referring to, but I haven't encountered any issues. Well, a couple of times when gilraen used it and I didn't notice that the setting was shortened. It's really tough to get back upright when that happens.
The benefit to the spine is that your body weight is pulling the vertebrae apart instead of smashing them together like it does all day, at least if you relax your muscles while hanging.

The issues aren't major if you're in good health and don't spend too long upside down. But there are a variety of potential issues with having all your blood going the wrong way. We didn't evolve to push blood upward toward the feet. It increases your blood pressure while slowing your heart. If you have heart issues it can kill you. It can cause major problems if you have certain eye issues, as it increases pressure in the eyes. If there was any reason at all that you couldn't get yourself upright again, it can be (and has been) fatal.

Again, none of that's likely to happen if you're being careful and don't have shoddy equipment.
Though considering your situation, I would imagine both cost and space would be the limiting factors (it doesn't take up much space, but it does take up some).
Nah, I don't plan on actually having one. I would just like to try it for a while and see how it feels on my achy back.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Kraken »

And now for something completely different: Harmony universal remotes are no more. I used a Harmony One for many years -- long enough to wear the paint off the buttons and to burn an image into its little postage-stamp screen. It had to sit in its cradle *just so* to recharge -- when I finally hit the sweet spot after much wiggling, I had to tiptoe away from the table lest it move a nanometer. Even elastics couldn't secure the connection. Eventually the rechargeable battery stopped recharging, and that was that.

Of course, the streaming age mostly left universal remotes behind. But it was a helluva little device in its day.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Kraken wrote:And now for something completely different: Harmony universal remotes are no more. I used a Harmony One for many years -- long enough to wear the paint off the buttons and to burn an image into its little postage-stamp screen. It had to sit in its cradle *just so* to recharge -- when I finally hit the sweet spot after much wiggling, I had to tiptoe away from the table lest it move a nanometer. Even elastics couldn't secure the connection. Eventually the rechargeable battery stopped recharging, and that was that.

Of course, the streaming age mostly left universal remotes behind. But it was a helluva little device in its day.
I was pretty bummed when I read this yesterday. We currently use Harmony remotes in three rooms in our house, and now I hope they keep working for a long time, because there's nothing else available that works the same way. Now I'm tempted to buy a new Harmony while I still can just to have a backup for the day my aging One stops working. I know that the need for certain technologies fades over time, but I Did see this one coming.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Smoove_B wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:29 pm I have a Singer sewing machine from the 1930s or 40s and a cedar wardrobe that's from the 1950s; both belonged to my great grandmother. The idea of trashing them bothers me, but I honestly don't' know what to do with either of them.
I have a sewing machine from the 80s that my Grandmother had. It's in a cabinet that my grandfather built. Had it for years and never used it once. I did give it to a friend who used it but then they moved to a smaller house and didn't have room for it. I think I"m going to trash the cabinet and keep the sewing machine. I think the sentimental cost is the hardest to let go.

KKBlue wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:59 pm I've been selling on Mercari lately, made over $1,800 since September of 2020! Used Craigs List for 2 years when we were moving out of the house into a condo, good experiences with that venture too. Facebook has a Market Place to sell unwanted things, bought and sold on there as well.

Consider putting things out in your yard's "free" zone first before filling up your dumpster. Putting stuff you no longer want near the curb is a great way to cycle things out of your life. Amazing how it's there one minute and gone the next! Many people are looking to repurpose or sell the metal or simply have a need for your thing. :roll:

One person's junk is another person's treasure!
I sold several things on Facebook Marketplace the last few weeks. I have also bought several things that I didn't truly need too. Finally got rid of some martial arts kick bags that I've had for 10 years. I've never had trouble getting rid of stuff on the curb. Someone always wants it.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Speaking of stuff, I'm finding that I'm hitting a real storage wall. My board game shelf is full, but I've got a few more coming in from crowdfunding over the next couple of months, a few of which (Sword & Sorcery: Ancient Chronicles, Monolith's Conan, and Core Space: First Born) are going to be huge space hogs. Plus, board games share shelving with unpainted miniatures, and Bones 5 is due very soon. As an aside, one thing the ADHD meds have done is let me realize how much poorly considered FOMO-inspired impulse spending I've done on Kickstarter. he only thing I've backed this year has been a $9 set of terrain.

Anyway, I've been working out a lot, and now have two sets of workout clothes plus a handful of equipment (a mat, a roller, a pressure ball, my resistance bands, etc) and nowhere to put any of it, plus I've got a small box worth of extra VR stuff (extra mounting hooks, extra face cover, etc) that need safely stored.

I need to figure out how to pull off a cull. I may take a ruthless pass at my board game collection and take those I don't actually ever play (many of the two player only games, plus a few that just suck) and move them to off-site storage (IE - Michelle's mom's spare room.) Something's got to give.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Kraken »

If you inherited a large box of baseball cards dating back as far as the 1960s and collected by someone who was at least semi-serious about collecting...how would you go about getting a fair and accurate appraisal? I know nothing about them and could easily be fleeced.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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I know theres some app where you take a pic of it and it searches online for prices.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Daehawk wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:57 pm I know theres some app where you take a pic of it and it searches online for prices.
That would take way more patience and time than I have. There must be 1,000 cards in this box.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Kraken wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:23 pm
Daehawk wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:57 pm I know theres some app where you take a pic of it and it searches online for prices.
That would take way more patience and time than I have. There must be 1,000 cards in this box.
https://www.beckett.com/online-price-guide
Beckett's price guides are a good place to start. You can get a 1 month subscription for $15.

Save yourself some time and only look for the ones that are from the 60s and 70s. They might have real value. 80s and onward are usually not worth a lot, unless they turn out to be someone's rookie card.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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disarm wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:34 am
Kraken wrote:And now for something completely different: Harmony universal remotes are no more. I used a Harmony One for many years -- long enough to wear the paint off the buttons and to burn an image into its little postage-stamp screen. It had to sit in its cradle *just so* to recharge -- when I finally hit the sweet spot after much wiggling, I had to tiptoe away from the table lest it move a nanometer. Even elastics couldn't secure the connection. Eventually the rechargeable battery stopped recharging, and that was that.

Of course, the streaming age mostly left universal remotes behind. But it was a helluva little device in its day.
I was pretty bummed when I read this yesterday. We currently use Harmony remotes in three rooms in our house, and now I hope they keep working for a long time, because there's nothing else available that works the same way. Now I'm tempted to buy a new Harmony while I still can just to have a backup for the day my aging One stops working. I know that the need for certain technologies fades over time, but I Did see this one coming.
Ohnoes.

I am in the same boat. We use harmony in 3 rooms. In one of those rooms it isn't really necessary as we are just using the TV with integrated apps. In another room we have tv, cable box, roku and receiver (plus DVD player we never use). In theory that could be thinned down to just the cable box and TV. Now I am wondering if there is a streaming app for my TV for Uverse TV. The last one is the actual home theater with the projector, PS5, receiver and XBOne. This would be the hardest to refactor. On the "plus" side, the PS5 is our main video source and the harmony doesn't really control that. On the other hand, we can't just use TV speakers or an attached sound bar here. The room has 7.1 surround with components behind closed doors.

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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Jaymon »

If you have "stuff" to give away that isn't junk. Consider the BuyNothing app. There may not be any presence in your locale, but if there is, you can post free stuff, and people may want it, and you can give it to them.

Also, if you need something, you can post a 'want' and maybe somebody has it for free, or if applicable, for borrow.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by disarm »

Jaymon wrote:If you have "stuff" to give away that isn't junk. Consider the BuyNothing app. There may not be any presence in your locale, but if there is, you can post free stuff, and people may want it, and you can give it to them.

Also, if you need something, you can post a 'want' and maybe somebody has it for free, or if applicable, for borrow.
I participate in my local BuyNothing Facebook group, and it's amazing what some people will offer for free...and even more impressive what some people will take. I don't give or receive items often, but it is definitely a great means of getting rid of unwanted items that aren't worth the trouble (or financial return) to sell.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Interesting concept, but...
You must use your personal Facebook account,
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by hitbyambulance »

i would also be using the local BuyNothing group if it wasn't also FB-affiliated
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Jaymon wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 3:00 pm If you have "stuff" to give away that isn't junk. Consider the BuyNothing app. There may not be any presence in your locale, but if there is, you can post free stuff, and people may want it, and you can give it to them.

Also, if you need something, you can post a 'want' and maybe somebody has it for free, or if applicable, for borrow.
Is there a neutral swap site, or does it involve having people come to your house?
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Kraken wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 7:13 pm
Jaymon wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 3:00 pm If you have "stuff" to give away that isn't junk. Consider the BuyNothing app. There may not be any presence in your locale, but if there is, you can post free stuff, and people may want it, and you can give it to them.

Also, if you need something, you can post a 'want' and maybe somebody has it for free, or if applicable, for borrow.
Is there a neutral swap site, or does it involve having people come to your house?
I suppose you could call it neutral, if you consider full Zuckerberg surveillance to be neutral.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Theres also FreeCycle.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by disarm »

Kraken wrote:
Jaymon wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 3:00 pm If you have "stuff" to give away that isn't junk. Consider the BuyNothing app. There may not be any presence in your locale, but if there is, you can post free stuff, and people may want it, and you can give it to them.

Also, if you need something, you can post a 'want' and maybe somebody has it for free, or if applicable, for borrow.
Is there a neutral swap site, or does it involve having people come to your house?
It's whatever you want to do, just have to make arrangements with the person donating. Most of the time, people are sharing their addresses and leaving items outside to be picked up without in-person contact. I'm in a small town where everyone is pretty friendly, however, and not likely to do anything bad. If you're in a place where you're more worried about people coming to your house (or going to theirs), you could easily make other arrangements.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Kraken wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:23 pm
Daehawk wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:57 pm I know theres some app where you take a pic of it and it searches online for prices.
That would take way more patience and time than I have. There must be 1,000 cards in this box.
I don't know much about cards, but I do know enough about comics and how sales compare to say that condition is hugely important. How a card's condition grades can be the difference between one particular card being worth $3 or $400. Talk to other collectors in your area. Check Facebook (or whatever.) See if there is a dealer around that's considered reliable and trustworthy. Take them there and ask (you don't have to sell - just ask.)
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Kraken »

Blackhawk wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:14 pm
Kraken wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:23 pm
Daehawk wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:57 pm I know theres some app where you take a pic of it and it searches online for prices.
That would take way more patience and time than I have. There must be 1,000 cards in this box.
I don't know much about cards, but I do know enough about comics and how sales compare to say that condition is hugely important. How a card's condition grades can be the difference between one particular card being worth $3 or $400. Talk to other collectors in your area. Check Facebook (or whatever.) See if there is a dealer around that's considered reliable and trustworthy. Take them there and ask (you don't have to sell - just ask.)
I would pay a dealer for an honest appraisal, if I knew that I'd get one. That's most likely what we'll eventually do.

It reminds me of when I sold my childhood comic book collection. I had a lot of obvious dreck (Ritchie Rich, seriously?) and probably some desirable things. A dealer offered me $100 for the whole box. For all I know, I might have had one or two comics that were worth $100 on their own. I had a lot of DC and Marvel comics from the mid '60s, but they were all in used condition. I snapped up the $100 because that would feed a starving college student for a month, and I'm sure that dealer made bank on the deal. This is a situation like that (except I'm not poor now). A few weeks ago I didn't have any baseball cards. Now I have a big box of baseball cards. I would like to convert the box of baseball cards into money, but I neither want to become an expert on baseball cards nor get ripped off.

More likely we'll just store them until we die and then they're someone else's problem (or fortune).
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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We just had our community garage sale today. My wife and I put out two tables worth of my board games that I won't get to because I just don't have the time to learn the rules or people to play them with. Along with a sign that said "Free". The first group was a bunch of seniors that came by. One of them took the "X-wing miniatures base game" for her grandsons. Another couple had a friend who was into boardgames, so they zoomed him and showed him the games. They took three more.

Then a husband, wife, and daughter showed up in a van. The lady looked through some of the games and was interested. She asked "So which of these are free?" "All of them," I replied. "Can I take them all? I feel bad about taking them without paying, so how about $5 for all of them?" And I agreed.

So now I'm down to the games that I still think I'll have time to play one day or be able to play with the kids.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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I dont think my cards from the 70s are worth anything but I need to go through them sometime. I dont have more than 100 I dont think...maybe 200. I can look them up online. Half are football and others are baseball and such. I know I have Ed 'Too Tall' Jones and an OJ Simpson or two. Doubt anything worth anything.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Jeff V »

raydude wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:14 pm Then a husband, wife, and daughter showed up in a van. The lady looked through some of the games and was interested. She asked "So which of these are free?" "All of them," I replied. "Can I take them all? I feel bad about taking them without paying, so how about $5 for all of them?" And I agreed.
And here I thought you were selling a "Free" sign for a ton of money.

Without knowing what titles you gave away, you might have tried putting them up for sale on Ebay or something and see what happens. Some games you might be surprised as to their value, especially if out-of-print. I once sold a game I paid $5 for in close-out bin for $200.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

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Believe it or not, this thread actually got me to stop procrastinating. I have begun a purge. I've been working my way slowly through the house, one type of item at a time (board games one day, drawer clothes the next, etc.) Each and every item gets thought. Is this something I actually ever use, or am likely to use? Is it something I have a personal attachment to? Is it something that simply makes me happy just because it's there? Or is it something I'm keeping because 'maybe someday?' Or something that's there just because it's always been there? Based on my answer it either stays or goes. By 'goes', I mean trash, donation, or in a very few fringe cases, storage.

I dumped an entire 20-gallon trash bag worth of stuff off of my game shelves, and not one bit of it was a game. It was spare bits and bobs, extra containers, stuff I though I might use some day with a board game or RPG. I do have a stack of board games that are going into storage as soon as I get a tote. A few are games I ended up with that I doubt I'll ever play (a couple missing parts), a few are games I simply don't like (bye, Munchkin), and a few are games that I do like, but never, ever get to play, usually games that require exactly two players that I got years ago when I had a local board gaming friend who has since moved away.

From my dresser I almost filled a 13-gallon bag with donations, and that's just from three drawers. Old shorts that fit, but I hated. Extra belts that came free with this or that pair of pants. Extra pairs of gloves. That sort of thing.

Next up is my hanging clothes, then the kitchen cabinets (that's going to be an ugly one.) Books are on the list, as I find it hard to let go of a physical book once I own it. I did purge my bookshelves last year of any technical book that was out of date. I would not, for instance, trust info from a 25 year old chemistry book. A few years ago I gave away almost all of my novels and switched to ebooks for fiction, save for a few that had special meaning (the first fantasy novel I ever read, anything with 'Tolkien' on the cover.) Now I need to force myself to be honest with the books I know I'll never open regardless. A food clean-out is on the list, as is another pass at my action figures/collectibles/tchotkes. Then office supplies and many hundreds of burned CDs/DVDs from 15 years ago I know I'll never touch. The RPG shelf is going to be a tough one, but it's been a year since I've run anything, and it's doubtful I'll run any in-person games anytime soon, and I certainly am not going to need physical access to my ancient GURPS/Rolemaster/etc books. Nothing will be thrown away, but a lot can go into storage until I actually need it.

After that? We'll see what's still standing.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by dbt1949 »

The problem with junk around the house is it wasn't junk when it was pt there. It became junk over the years when you had no need for it and/or forgot it was there. Not it's obsolete or passed from your interest. And now it's junk.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Smoove_B »

Blackhawk wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:19 am The RPG shelf is going to be a tough one, but it's been a year since I've run anything, and it's doubtful I'll run any in-person games anytime soon, and I certainly am not going to need physical access to my ancient GURPS/Rolemaster/etc books. Nothing will be thrown away, but a lot can go into storage until I actually need it.
If you get to the point where you think you might sell some of your RPG stuff, I found a guy online that buys *anything*. I haven't used him yet, but he seems to be highly recommended.

My RPG stuff is something I've carved space for, but I'm going to take an honest look at some of it and make decisions. The issue for me is that keeping it all in a closet or box doesn't spark joy (to borrow a concept). If I can't get some of this stuff out on a shelf and visible, then I question why I'm holding on to it.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Jaymon »

Blackhawk wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:19 am I have begun a purge.
This is a very hard step, so good on you mate!

I have purged twice in my life. Once in my 20s when I moved overseas. That one was really rough, because nearly everything went.

Second time was a few years ago, going to move into a new house, so did a significant purge first, so I wouldn't bring the clutter with me.
The hardest thing to let go was the old PC game accumulations. I mean, I know in my heart, I will never need the laminated unit list and tech tree from Empire Earth, but its a thing thats cool and will never exist again!, But its been just sitting there for many many years untouched.

In the end, I am glad for my purge. Doesn't matter if it was donated or trashed, the weight of all that clutter is off my mind and off my shelves.
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Blackhawk
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Blackhawk »

My problem is that while I'm not a hoarder, I am a collector. For non-hobby stuff, everything gets tossed without a second thought, but if it's part of a set of something? It's part of the collection. That's not really an issue - I'm not saving every scrap of paper, or every empty punch board, or whatever. But a classic D&D module that fills a hole in my set? Hell, yeah! It's my psychology - I love to organize, and I love to see completion. A full set of something is fundamentally satisfying to me.

The only reason that it's become a problem is that I've picked up a few too many hobbies that have collectible elements: Video games (thank goodness Steam games don't take up physical space!), books (I've largely let this one go due to the combination of ebooks for reading and the internet for research, although I still have my Tolkien collection), comics, RPGs, miniatures, painting, board games, war games, and now fitness equipment. Something's got to give. I need, for example, to recognize when a hobby is 'dormant' and put the bulkiest stuff related to it into storage and not add more to the collection. Even if there is a Kickstarter. And it has exclusives. :shock:

Interesting note: All of the underlined items, to me, are directly related to one another, and all are offshoots of one of the others. For me it went books -> RPGs -> miniatures -> painting (and miniatures/RPGs -> board games and wargames.) And actually, video games were an offshoot of RPGs and wargames as well (I got into PC gaming specifically for fantasy strategy games and RPGs.)
Smoove_B wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 10:36 am If you get to the point where you think you might sell some of your RPG stuff, I found a guy online that buys *anything*. I haven't used him yet, but he seems to be highly recommended.

My RPG stuff is something I've carved space for, but I'm going to take an honest look at some of it and make decisions. The issue for me is that keeping it all in a closet or box doesn't spark joy (to borrow a concept). If I can't get some of this stuff out on a shelf and visible, then I question why I'm holding on to it.
To me, half of the fun of RPGs is research and inspiration. The books for games I don't actually run have thousands and thousands of pages of art, idea, advice, maps, floor plans, monsters, and so forth that I've borrowed for all sorts of games. Of course, the internet serves the same function, but these have been my beloved reference books for 30 years now, and each one has stories associated with it. I can't imagine actually selling them. I'd sell all of my board games and books before I'd get rid of my RPG stuff if it came to that. Besides, all of my paper RPG stuff (so not counting miniatures/dice/accessories) only takes up one bookshelf:
Spoiler:
Image
However, if I can clear one shelf's worth of space on that bookshelf, it'll help quite a bit with the other stuff (especially if I can move the RPG stuff off of the very top and onto a regular shelf.)
Jaymon wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 10:39 am The hardest thing to let go was the old PC game accumulations. I mean, I know in my heart, I will never need the laminated unit list and tech tree from Empire Earth, but its a thing thats cool and will never exist again!, But its been just sitting there for many many years untouched.
I did that years ago. At first I kept every game in the CD case on shelves, and all the manuals on bookshelves. The boxes I flattened and stored in a tote in storage. Then I put all of the games into binders and the CD cases into another tote. Then I reached a point at which I knew I'd never have room for all the cases, gritted my teeth, and got rid of every case and box. Then about two years ago - and this was the hardest part - I got rid of all but about a dozen manual. Hundreds of them. At the same time, I got rid of every strategy guide save for a couple written by people I know. And I got rid of every back issue of every gaming magazine, about 15 years worth. Again, I saved about a half-dozen issues that had special meaning (my first one, a couple that I was mentioned in, etc.) My entire PC gaming collection is down to about 18" cubed of space taken up by three CD folders, plus about a foot's worth of books.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by dbt1949 »

Last year I subscribed to a couple of model railroad magazines and now have quite a few of those. I love the pictures and I don't want to get rid of the mags. So now I have those taking up space. Fortunately I don't feel like building a layout.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Jaymann »

My daughter and her man are clearing out the junk in the garage. Periodically they let me inspect my portion, mostly books. While some are old favorites, I know I will never re-read them, so I keep maybe 1 out of 10. I don't care about making a pittance off them, but rather hope that someone else will get a chance to enjoy them. I enjoy the extra car-parking space.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Daehawk »

I have the hundreds of books I read in the late 80s and early 90s stored. Lately Ive considered re reading them all as I am positive I wont remember the stories by now.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Jaymon »

The books was very hard. I went from about 500 down to about 200 , and it was tough.
I also got rid of most of my playing cards. I had around 300 decks or cards, I saved maybe 10 or 15 with special significance. I had collected a lot just for the sake of having them. Souvenirs and such.
Role playing books was tough, but I had to make an honest judgement about "if I am ever actually going to play that again". I did keep all the Bones miniatures I got from the kickstarters, and here I am, several years later, most of them still unopened.

I didn't have too much trouble with crafting supplies and excess computer parts. Clothing was not that bad, except for the shoes. I have a (probably unhealthy) obsession with Chuck Taylor High Tops, I finally made the decision to not keep any that didn't fit. I still have about 30 pairs even after that.

And then there was the stuff. I thought, Can this be replaced if needed? And if yes, then it went to goodwill or whatnot.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Blackhawk »

I only have 15-20 decks of cards, but I could probably get rid of a few of those, too. They're mostly for Savage Worlds, which uses them in gameplay. I tried to pick up decks suitable for different settings, but ended up with some that weren't all they were cracked up to be.

To me, the surplus of miniatures isn't a problem (well, other than space.) I don't see them as a backlog, but as a resource. When I'm playing something and need something specific, I have that resource to draw on. I'll never need every one of them, and I'll never paint every one of them. So I start a game and suddenly find that I need to get my hands on a female gnome wizard, a chimera, and a handful of humanoid fish looking people. I have that. Or if I'm in the mood to paint just for the fun, I have choices to draw from.

That said, I'm really not looking for more. I may or may not back the next Bones, and if I do it will be more about choosing the stuff that appeals artistically than about the stuff that fits my games.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Holman »

There's a very good market for used boardgames as long as they're verified complete and in good condition. I've occasionally pared down my collection on BGG or Ebay, and a popular out-of-print game can sell for more than you paid originally. Sites like Miniature Market and Noble Knight will sometimes buy complete OOP games from you for cash or credit.

There's also the possibility (on BGG) of setting up trades where, if you're lucky, you can unload three or four games you don't want for one or two you really do. That still counts as paring down!
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by raydude »

Jeff V wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:35 am
raydude wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:14 pm Then a husband, wife, and daughter showed up in a van. The lady looked through some of the games and was interested. She asked "So which of these are free?" "All of them," I replied. "Can I take them all? I feel bad about taking them without paying, so how about $5 for all of them?" And I agreed.
And here I thought you were selling a "Free" sign for a ton of money.

Without knowing what titles you gave away, you might have tried putting them up for sale on Ebay or something and see what happens. Some games you might be surprised as to their value, especially if out-of-print. I once sold a game I paid $5 for in close-out bin for $200.
Yup, I did the Ebay thing for several years. People just don't want to buy wargames like the tile games: Gettysburg, Hammer of the Scots, or Command and Conquer Napoleonics or maybe they get scared off by the shipping costs, cause I ain't paying that. They look at wargames like Wooden Ships and Iron Men, Lock and Load: Band of Heroes, or Band of Brothers: Screaming Eagles and don't even bid.

And no one has even heard of the Ace of Aces picture book wargames.

So yeah, I got rid of all my games from the 80s and 90s that have a niche following and most likely the folks in that niche already have them.
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Re: The other stuff, or the random randomness of things

Post by Jeff V »

I'm in an AH FB group where there is still much excitement with members finding old titles they never played or become reacquainted with something they once had. Then there's companies redeveloping and reissuing some of the older titles -- I just found out recently that my old favorite, The Russian Campaign, is getting such treatment. I picked up a new copy of the last AH edition when Amazon was liquidating their stock then sold it for $100 more...I had also somehow gotten rid of my old, well-worn copy. I may look into the reissue, although I really don't have anyone to play against at the moment and it's not clear whether my kids will ever develop any sort of affinity for such games.
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