www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Sideways following on from Dewaltdisney's thread about fakes:

You "treasure" something, and when you kick the bucket your next of kin take stuff to the tip. I tried to "get rid of some stuff" (Not from a dead person) that was taking up too much space in the shed, advertised it for collection only, and free, (reminds me of the time I offered a load of dead batteries, free of charge ) No takers, I advertised it again elsewhere, and a person asked for it, Just ONE, I got their address (Not in the UK) found a courier (I have to pay, not the receiver) and as I am now exporting stuff, I have to answer 20 questions as to what it is (I already knew, but did you know you can't send Christmas crackers to most places as they technically contain explosives) It was so long-winded, every time I thought I finished, another page came up with more questions, I gave up.
So to me it goes to show, you can't even give stuff away.

What have you had to bin, and why?

I know what you mean about export. I had a hydraulic pump for an old tractor I sent to the US (taking up space and not needed, as I sold my tractor in 2019). I was pleased to help a guy out as his old tractor would have been scrap without my pump as his original casting had cracked and these pumps are scarce now. The export process is really testing and you would think that you are exporting a consignment of arms. It took 10 days overall most of which was going through US customs as it was stateside in two days. The guy paid me for the postage and export fees as I offered him the pump for free but he added 50$ as thanks.

I agree that you have to grit your teeth and dump stuff, even if it is of perceived value.

DWD

Someone-Else wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2024 8:48 am What have you had to bin, and why?

Binning is probably the last option in my books if I’m honest . I feel that almost everything has some sort of residual value. When I lost my parents we obviously had to clear their house ( primarily to rent it out) . I mentioned my mother’s doll collection that got sold . She tended to stock up on bedclothes , towels , soap and so on which we kept . Some furniture got sold or given away although some of the softer furnishings we had little choice but to take to the dump . Father , like many of his generation , had sheds full of stuff , tools and even jars of bent or rusty nails and bolts and random screws and so on. Those I felt of little use got chucked in the scrap bag so made a few pennies here and there . There was paint some of which was unopened but probably 40+ years old . It was still ok which is why our garage floor is a very fetching pea green colour . Bits and pieces of wood headed to the wood burner , old clothes again some found a market , some went to charity , some were kept and some converted to rags . I’m pleased to say the only skip we ever got in was when we dug out part of the lawn to extend the drive. One of my customers has a skip on her property now and is just throwing stuff away Willy nilly . I’ve taken stuff out each time I’ve gone round , bits of scrap , a couple of pairs of secatares , a couple of decent wheel barrows , it’s like a weekly treat wondering what I’ll pick up .