Not quite a horder - decluttering

Oh my - I thought I had moved out 148 cassette tapes (mostly made by me in 1970-1990) but they're coming back. Can't remember if told you all that I ordered & put together a TV entertainment center so I could consolidate video & audio stuff in one room. The construction went fine, even though I had to use Gorilla Glue on one of the legs that split when I tried to turn the piece over by myself. Ex-DH came up to help w/the electronic re-wiring. It was a nightmare trying to connect digital and old analog pieces. The newest piece was a 2 year old TV, then a 14 yr old DVD - all the rest of the pieces are from the 1980s - VHS, Amp, CD player, phonograph & Cassette player. So... the cassette player wouldn't work anymore - no real surprise. I only cared about 4 or 5 tapes that were of my Grandpa reading stories and my Mother reading nursery rhymes & singing to my son. Since both are long gone, I hoped to hear their voices again. My EX decided he had to buy a new player that would digitize the tapes & bring me one CD. I have the original vinyl that all the other tapes were made from so I gave him the 148 tapes. He's decided he doesn't want any of them - and furthermore that he's going to give me the new cassette player since he says it's not good enough quality for him. Eeek. Not sure how to refuse the darn player, but at least it won't take up any extra room stacked in the new stand I built.

oh minustwo,,, I feel your pain with all the cassettes!  I have that area to deal with at some point!! Not that I've played them in years, but I seem to have a reluctance to get rid of them.   I also have old stereo equipment from the 80's,,, and somewhere I know there is another cassette player! It's in a bin somewhere,,, I'll find it one day.  And the turntable,,,,

So here's the funniest heart breaker. I had an old upright piano that my son used for lessons when he was young. I was never any good, but it was relaxing for me to just sit & play occasionally, but occasionally happened less & less as time went on. Son is now 45 and hasn't lived in the same state in 25 years. He doesn't play at all and they aren't planning on having children. But I was going to play when I retired. Oops, that was 2007. So finally it was time to get rid of the piano. Well, it was time 10 years ago but I couldn't imagine living w/o a piano. Over the 4th of July weekend I offered the piano to a young family with 3 kids who live across the street & down 5 houses. They were delighted. The father & the grandfather came with some 4 wheel moving dollies and literally rolled the piano down the middle of the street. The two boys circled the procession on their bikes & I followed carrying the bench. Good thing it was late afternoon on the holiday and most people were off swimming or on a picnic or something. Now I'll have to sort through all the music collections. That will make me miss the piano all over again, but the it needed to go to someone who would use & enjoy it.

Glennie- I have some Infinity Speakers too (still using them) from around the mid 1990s. Old stereo equipment and TVs are hard to sell and/or sometimes even give away. Maybe check E-bay to see if there is anything similar and what the value is before you decide what to do with them?

Glennie, The turntable might be worth something. People are going back to vinyl and turntables don't come with stereos now. We still have ours. : )

^..^

OncoWarrior - great artlcle, Thanks for posting. I am guilty!!!

I did discover that the cheap replacement cassette player my ex bought didn't fit in the hew entertainment center I put together - so 148 cassette tapes are going. I still have the vinyl they were recorded from. Unfortunately I also discovered that my phonograph no longer works after it was moved. Gee whiz, it's only from 1982. WTH. So I got a new Sony phonograph that also has a USB port for $129. Both the old cassette player and the old record player went away today. One in - one out, plus 148 tapes. WIN!!!

You & me both Glennie. Not going to be spending any time putting the vinyl on computer until I get all the xxx years of Kodak photographs turned to digital. A monumental task that I keep putting off.

When I used film,,, I was really good at putting photos in albums. I have MANY of them.  Now that pics are digital, the majority are on my old desktop, not very organized at all. There is an attempt at albums but it's not very good. Organizing them is not high up on my priority list. And there is no way I'll scan my thousands of prints into digital. After I go, no one will want them.

I need to get back in gear with my tossing,,,,

I only have one son so there are TONS of pictures that we probably all took w/a first born - all lovingly saved and put in albums. I plan to go through & keep fewer than one in 10. Many are almost the same and many should have been thrown away when they got developed. Then there are all the pictures that never got into albums for 10 years after he graduated from HS. But I need to finish boxes of saved papers from my childhood through college first since they're spread out on the living room floor.

Good one, Wren!

Jazzy - too bad we couldn't have had a party. Does booze really go bad? I would have helped. But I know what you mean. I still have Amaretto, Frangelica, Tuaca, Kahlua, Tia Maria, Baileys, Chambord, Curacou, Butterscoptch Schnapps, and that's in addition to the regulars - scotch, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequilla, rum. Can't tell you how many years since I drank anything except red wine or Gin & Tonics - and darn few of those. Sounds serious, except I used to entertain a LOT and kept it all in stock. I need to find some younger folks to pass it on to.

Wren - how did you explain curfews & sign in sheets & dorm mothers? Kids just don't have a clue.

Yup, my party days are over too. I'm back to having one glass of red wine every evening. Maybe once a week I switch that for a gin & tonic or a bourbon & water depending on the weather & the season. We were kidding one of the ladies at our water aerobics class tonight that we were going to "crash" her regular Thursday Margarita party at a local restaurant w/her fellow workers - but they don't start until 7pm and continue until midnight - too much party for me.

And you're right. I should just pour out most of the the darn stuff that was only there for "guests" anyway. Hint though - I discovered that vodka makes a great 'green' cleaning agent just after I poured out a quart a couple of years ago. You can google that.

^..^

Minus, Take the nap. That's way to hot to be in a garage.