My Dad was a packrat! This is what we cleared out of his house!

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Wyatt Burp

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This is the biggest dumpster they had. It took me and my wife twenty hours to fill this thing. We didn't just throw crap in there, we assembled it filling every nook and cranny. There's still more. My sister who just went kyacking couldn't help because she has "back problems". My brother weighs over 400 lbs. and is alergic to anything that involves work. My dad saved everything and had a zillion hobbies. He kept very busy. We're going to start clearing out our shed this week.
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your doing it all wrong.. you just nee da few jerry cans of fas on that thing, call teh waste company back and tell 'em we didnt need it after all..

any guns among dads goodies ?
 
Yeah, I've been there and done that. And my son is going to have to do it. I bet your dad did not make many unnecessary trips to the hardware store either.:D
oldogy
 
oldogy said:
Yeah, I've been there and done that. And my son is going to have to do it. I bet your dad did not make many unnecessary trips to the hardware store either.:D
oldogy
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His shop WAS a hardware store. It made Home Depot look like a toolbox. He was a master carpenter and jack of all trades. He kept busy right to the end. He told me on his deathbed with a sinister grin,"Yer gonna have fun cleanin' out this place".
 
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It gives me a warm feeling inside. You're a criminal for tossing his treasures, without even going thru them to see what goodies he left for you. If you took them to a flea market, you'd be rich!

My sons face a similar future. The youngest would volunteer to call for the dumpster. He'd be MIA when it came to throwing out our stuff. The oldest would be spending nights at the house, making sure he had every last set of Roper and Kearsage grips, along with the nasty old guns from 100 years ago. The youngest couldn't tell a Randall or handmand Hibben from a gas station steak knife from the 1960s.

Both would vote to melt the silverware an sell it for scrap. They've got no class. You can lead them to water, but you can't make them drink. Buy them books and they'd eat the pages.

My oldest got the bad news last summer. His inlaws have no faith in their own sons. When the FIL dies, he's got to inherit all his FILs tools, too. He'll need a warehouse. And a big truck for multiple trips. Packrats aren't sick, they know value when they see it.

The comment about unnecessary trips to the hardware store is spot on. Babyfood jars full of 1/4-20, 1/4-28 nuts. Bolts sorted by length. :)
 
rburg said:
It gives me a warm feeling inside. You're a criminal for tossing his treasures, without even going thru them to see what goodies he left for you. If you took them to a flea market, you'd be rich!

My sons face a similar future. The youngest would volunteer to call for the dumpster. He'd be MIA when it came to throwing out our stuff. The oldest would be spending nights at the house, making sure he had every last set of Roper and Kearsage grips, along with the nasty old guns from 100 years ago. The youngest couldn't tell a Randall or handmand Hibben from a gas station steak knife from the 1960s.

Both would vote to melt the silverware an sell it for scrap. They've got no class. You can lead them to water, but you can't make them drink. Buy them books and they'd eat the pages.

My oldest got the bad news last summer. His inlaws have no faith in their own sons. When the FIL dies, he's got to inherit all his FILs tools, too. He'll need a warehouse. And a big truck for multiple trips. Packrats aren't sick, they know value when they see it.

The comment about unnecessary trips to the hardware store is spot on. Babyfood jars full of 1/4-20, 1/4-28 nuts. Bolts sorted by length. :)
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We seperated all the valuble stuff as per his wishes. His tools are not in this pile of crap. My sister got all the stuff in the house minus the gun collection. Guess who ended up with that. My nephew is a carpenter and got the tools. My brother got the vehicles then tried to steal our stuff. Didn't happen, though.
 
We held a "antique collectors" auction at my wife' grand parents. They haunted farm and estate sales.

Took a week with 5 of us sorting and cataloging stuff for the sale.

Had two sale rings with 2 auctioneer's going.. Deal was everything had to sell. Much of it went for a dime on the dollar. Sale lasted 12 hours and it took 3 days for the buyer's to collect all the booty.

Even at that, the auction netted over $12K.
 
I'm glad you kept some of his important stuff. It's tough when your dad goes. My condolences.
Sonny
 
My father had the clothes in the closet, various bank accounts, and that was about it. I had power of attorney for health & finances, and he had already given the house to the grandson. As executor I was very appreciative of how simple he kept it. I hope I can do half as well.
 
My MIL was a pack rat and I was dreading cleaning out all her junk....but Katrina took care of that ;) SOmetimes I think that having lots of stuff is a curse.
 
Someone posted a couple of years ago here about his parents or grandparents, who were careful not to throw away anything that might be useful, just as my parents were. I will always remember his commenting that when he cleaned out their house after their passing, he discovered one full box neatly labelled "String Too Short to Save."
 
Model520Fan said:
Someone posted a couple of years ago here about his parents or grandparents, who were careful not to throw away anything that might be useful, just as my parents were. I will always remember his commenting that when he cleaned out their house after their passing, he discovered one full box neatly labelled "String Too Short to Save."
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Wow. We found a little box full of those little serrated wheels to spark up disposable lighters. You know, where you light it with your thumb. He took them off the lighters and kept them. Probably for some art project.
 
When my father went some years ago...he didn't have really anything that we had to "split."

I guess, after his first two marriages, he wasn't so keen on getting a lot of stuff that he was interested in that I wasn't. Fortunately for him, I was interesting in everything, and took care of things. :D He never had anything passed down that wasn't taken away by the first two wives and two house fires.

My sister and brother-in-law, really didn't want anything, and I had already been given the tools and such. Now, when Mom goes that's when the family fun begins. :confused:

There are a couple of places that she owns that have been rented out for years- one was my great-grandfather's, and my uncle and his "kids" have lived there on part of it free...I suspect some of the rest of the vultures in the family will be circling- they already have been to no avail with her. It won't be pleasant (for them) when I have to take over.

I could swear some of my family lives near Charlie Sherrill and showed up as cameo appearances in his stories. :p
 
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My mother died while I lived 1000 miles away. Despite her will, half brother stole everything of value from her house. There was nothing but junk there when I arrived. I asked why he took everything and his answer was "you have so much and I have so little". I haven't talked to him in 27 years.

Charlie
 
My two sisters and I are going to inherit 452,736 Kodachrome slides.

Fortunately, we're very generous with each other and will do our best to make sure each sister gets her share.
 
Both of my in laws are on the down hill slide. They have 14 kids and none of them are grabbing the bull by the horns yet. My wife so is somewhat level headed gets frustrated with them bickering over what to do with the house and belongings. Trying to figure out what to do with 70 years of stuff is daunting. I am in Iraq and unable to help at all.
 
Well I come from a long line of hoarders... I get it honest. I can and do go through and toss stuff or "find homes for it with other hoarders" if I don't get to it or someone needs something.


My grandpa had a two story shop full and a yard full. I was to young and too far away to amass any of his stuff- my dad was too cheap n lazy to get any.

My dad had a house full of crap I got to deal with about fifteen years back. The man is an idiot... saves the envelopes your bills come in flyers,empty cigarette packs etc on top of potential good stuff... he started to do so in my house after he lost his and I moved him into a little bungalow when a great deal came along... He was filling it up as he believed he was entitled to untill he was told different by the landlord...

I have had the pleasure of cleanin house there a copuple times over the last ten or so... he does handyman work and the amount of used and broken crap is amazing.

He recently scared us with some memory issues and must have been scared enough that I was allowed to come in and simplify things to the greatest degree ever. No need for seven non working remotes and dead phones when you can't figure out what ones ya use....

I have been upset with this for years... he does not see that all he is doing is leaving me yet another mess and I refuse to wait anymore. If he insists he will be on his own because I can't deal with it anymore and when the time comes its never when its slow.

I believe the ONLY reason he is open is he was scared. He does not do much anymore and I started the rounds to the docs with him demanding we at least see if there was a fix for the memory stuff instead of assuming it was Alzheimer etc... we got real lucky in that it was not but just memory loss due to vitamin B12 ,depression and lack of a life beyond the tv... the meds are helpin him but he sees that he can't keep doin what he was and that its time ta clean up.

Moneys tight and the YEARS of spending 150 a month to store junk he has not touched since he put it there are drawing to an end.


As far as the hardware stor comment goes- yep its nice but ONLY if ya can find it... knowing ya have ten of something and not being able to find it when needed still gets a trip to Home depot :D
 
My Grandmother saved the plastic bags that loaves of bread come in.

Stacks and stacks of them neatly folded in the bottom of her pantry and held in place by bricks.
 
BarbC said:
My two sisters and I are going to inherit 452,736 Kodachrome slides.

Fortunately, we're very generous with each other and will do our best to make sure each sister gets her share.
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I'd just get one of those automatic digitizing machines and put a stack of them in there and let it go to town.

That's what we are planning on doing around Christmas- digitizing all the family photos that we have, simply for the reason that if we have a house fire or something, nothing is lost as everyone in the family will have a copy.

This is the scanner the Mrs. has, and it works great!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000782JIQ/ref=cm_rdp_product/186-7646094-0861840
 
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Wyatt Burp said:
For sale: One old leather sachel filled to the brim in a plastic bag with cigar tobacco saved from the ends of finished cigars. Tobacco is loose halving been removed from the last two inches of cigar. $400 or trade for S&W K-22.
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Would you take an RG .22 and some canned good past the "use by" date? :o
 
When my father died, my older brother had a dumpster with a 3 story chute delivered. Dad was an accountant and thought he had to have every tax return he had ever done for himself and hundreds of clients. If these people ever knew what info was now at the local dump, they would die.

When my old school grandma died, my mom was sorting out stuff to give to Goodwill. She found thousands of dollars in cash and gold coins sewn into the hems of dress and her purses. Granny never drove a car or wrote a check her whole life. Grandpa always wondered why grandma need $100 a week for groceries for the two of them. For me growing up she always shoved $20 in my hand " to have some fun with".
 
I went through the same thing a couple of years ago when my step-father died. I got the biggest dumpster available and my brother didn't help either. The experience taught me something about my own hoarding habits. :)
 
... My sister who just went kyacking couldn't help because she has "back problems". My brother weighs over 400 lbs. and is alergic to anything that involves work....
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We must be related! Certainly sounds like we have relatives in common... Funny how bad backs don't interfere with enjoyable activities, just undesirable work... :(

After you break your back doing all the work without them, be ready for their complaints about not getting a chance to go through the stuff like you did... :mad:
 
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