grw184 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi After a weekend clearing out the loft 'attic' following its' near collapse, I need some treatment for my addiction - having thrown away several <large> boxes of clean/washed Marmite/mustard/Medicine jars, I now need to attack the pile of lumber (our local cabinet maker regularly puts out off-cuts of veneers, ply and loads of hardwood 'blocks' - too good to let go - so up in the loft they go! - I even stripped out a bamboo 'hanging blind' and now have many scale miles of raw material for beach breakwaters (at least that was the idea at the time) - not to mention my total inability to throw away anything electrical - from copper cable to 3 pin plugs (thinking that if I ever got a lathe then I had some useful raw material) - to components - amazing the stuff you find in an old floppy drive - but saving the magnets from harddrives can get a bit silly... Problem is that this collecting lark is taking over from any modelling that I do Is this normal - my wife is beginning to get worried! Graham Woodruff GRW184 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointstaken Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Nah ! You're just a normal railway modeller. Dennis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
greybear Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hey, another squirrel, just like me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
corax67 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Perfectly normal and acceptable behaviour for a modeler, think nothing more of it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Must be the time of year!! Started on the garage today, so far: 1 x large roll (aprrox 10'x15') old carpet underlay. Approx 100m of old style BT phone cable (unused) About the same with orange coated computer cable. Box assorted electrical fittings, plugs, light fittings etc Likewise plumbing odds and ends plastic pipe etc. Ditto electrial cable. Boot full of mdf/ply/chipboard offcuts and softwood bits. Approx 20 plus old rattle cans paint, most of the nozzles etc blocked, some about 15 yers old! Mrs BR was overseeing as I was moaning you couldnt get in garage anymore. Lucky she was there otherwise it would have gone back in! Took it to the recycling centre which closed at 1600, arrived 1615! Took it home, just about to go through it to see what I could reclaim! NO CHANCE! Locked in car till tomorrow, when it goes to tip! Still I managed to recover my old combat jacket, cam gear and a pair of boots. You never know when it will come in handy! Railway Modellers are ALL inveterate hoarders!!!!!!! lol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 My attic is definately a Drey, as is my workshop which is jammed full of racks of components and bits of broken up printers and circuit boards. All is not lost though:My link Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJH584 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Our attic is no different. With the stuff we have up there I am surprised that the joists and ceilings haven't given way. We'll get up there - one day - clear it out and start again :lol: David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 If I cleared out what I'm hoarding the house would rise three inches on its foundations And then a coupld of days later I'd be buying some of that I'd thrown away. So I don;t think I'll clear out - think of the money we'll save! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted February 15, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 15, 2011 The only partial cure that I have found to this addiction is moving. This is only a temporary cure not a long term solution it seems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Just before we moved I had instructions to have a "good clear out". I loaded the van and set off to the tip, but when I got there there was a long queue to get in. Whilst waiting I started to examine what I had. I think you may be able to guess what's coming. Yup, I thought "that could be useful", or "that's not taking up much room" until I had persuaded myself that the van was full of treasure! and tok the b....y lot back home again! Luckily SWMBO was out so I was able to hide the evidence. Ten years on and I still have it all and another decade of accumulation. I ain't moving. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted February 15, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 15, 2011 I am now unable to get into my attic due to a back problem, it is almost empty anyway. I do have a spare room (12'X12') that is designated my 'modelling room' but I am unable to use it much because some corners (3 actually) are now inaccessible! Every time that I try to have a clear out I find so much stuff that 'might be useful' that I am lucky enough to fill a supermarket carrier bag, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Judging by my partner's office, you are not alone in your plight. She has taken a bedroom and filled it with so much stuff that "might come in useful someday" and rendered it almost impossible for more than one person to be in there at the same time. As for all the wood, get yourself a wood burning stove and keep yourself warm next winter. Hardwoods make excellent fire fuel! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 We are top hobby for repair, reuse, recycle I reckon. My entire layout structure is from scrap, ( including a very nice conveyor system stand) all the wiring is from salvaged discarded mains (ripped out in rewiring), all the lead ballast in my stock is salvaged (mostly from a couple of roofing jobs I commissioned on church properties) the ballast is from sieved bird grit the previous owner of the house left behind. My wife used to accuse me of pack rat tendencies in the early years of our combined operations: having now seen me economically fix many things with 'stuff I have by me' this activity is now looked on with some favour. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted February 15, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 15, 2011 The only partial cure that I have found to this addiction is moving. This is only a temporary cure not a long term solution it seems. When we moved 4 years ago I took a full Luton Van to the tip with junk accumulated over the previous 10 years. Already have a garage full again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelb Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 my nick name used to be packrat cos i hoarded any thing and every thing . even now i cannot go past a skip without having a look. Having said that last week i got a roll of trin telephone type cable lol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
298 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I've just scrapped a couple of baseboards, after removing some useful hardware such as hinges, screws and plugs. The frames were warped and not of a construction style i'd use again, so they're off to the tip. I'm sure not many people would think about throwing stock away, but layouts are nothing more than consumables, a few items can be reused if necessary but on the whole, trackwork and point motors wear out, electrical connectors might be too unreliable to be reused, and scenery & buildings have to be treated with care otherwise they'll easily be damaged and worthless. I take the view that there's no point in hoarding anything when I have a B&Q 5 minutes walk away, although other members in my family take a little more persuading. At the very least they're leaving a legacy for someone else to throw away, and at worst no better than TV's Mr Treebus and his battle with the local council. I think part of the problem in this age is you can't throw something away without recycling as much of it as possible, either through your own means in an enviromental manner or leaving it for the "Self employed scrap metal collectors" to pick up ( dread to think what happens to the gas from fridges and freezers). It's OK caring for the enviroment, but when your own enviroment is degenerating through hoarding things that "might" become useful then it's best not to bother. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I seem to have the other problem now with the family. I work in the construction industry.. (high up in management) but I do walk around the skips (you see it is part of my job!!!! Stop throwing out usable stuff guys) and I have noticed that I have not taken anything from a skip in 4 years (5amp red and black wire to a security system about 100lm and about 100lm of 42x19 pine which is now mostly in my layout and SRman's). I don't know weather I am getting more picky or just accustomed to it always being there if I do need it. The other thing about the job is what went into the garage after the renovation, Floor boards etc. have now been taken out and droped on construction sites were they have been used! (is that stealing from my own hoard???? )Less with me has become the more. Not hoarding is becoming part of my hobby. How little can I throw out and use the entire packet up! So I guess the cure is a strange one... go to work were these things are needed, you do your bit for the enviroment and the companies bottom line... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crichel Down Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 So you're a hoarder. Welcome to the human race! (We must all still carry some DNA from squirrels in our genes.) I think my wife is a worse hoarder than me. But she might not agree with that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 I'm not as bad as I used to be. A house move from a 4/5 bed semi (home for 31 years) to a 2 bed bungalow, compounded by daughter deciding to move back in the same day, enforced a clear out. Since then I've been quite reasonable. As for throwing useful things away, well round our way we have active FREEGLE groups to recycle them. Google it if you've never heard the term, I give & take some useful stuff there! Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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