Are you a packrat?

No. The Navy taught me to live out of a sea bag and I've always liked that feeling. Plus I've moved too many times in my life. I accumulated more in the last 15 years I lived at the farm than any other time and that made it a real pain to move and downsize last year. A man who owns little is little owned.
 

In the course of ten years working for Metro Toronto Ambulance, I was into a least a few thousand homes, apartments, and flop houses, all over the largest city in Canada. Most of them were what I would describe as being " within normal conditions " BUT some were absolutely scary, in terms of the fire danger, or the very real chance of a collapse of the interior.

My partner and I were sent to a non emergency medical call at old house in the Cabbagetown area of the city. The elderly female occupant was at least 85 years old, lived alone, and had an estimated TWENTY cats in a tiny cottage style house. The Toronto Humane Society workers had managed to trap and cage the cats, so our job was to convince this woman to go to hospital, due to her terrible physical condition and illness.

She was lucid, and oriented as to place date and time, but she refused to acknowledge to squalor that she was living in. Conversation with her revealed that she had no living relatives . Eventually she was persuaded to go to the hospital for treatment and later she was placed in special city run home.

Her cottage was deemed "uninhabitable " by the Toronto Health Department, and it was demolished. She died and the city auctioned off the property to the public to cover the back property taxes that were owed on the house and land. JIM>
 
I got a new shower curtain. The old one had a small tear, which I covered with tape. I haven't thrown it out yet, it's sitting on my dryer. Ya know I might need 6 foot X 6 foot piece of plastic liner for something.
And you know the second the trash truck drives away with it, I'll need one.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I got a new shower curtain. The old one had a small tear, which I covered with tape. I haven't thrown it out yet, it's sitting on my dryer. Ya know I might need 6 foot X 6 foot piece of plastic liner for something.
And you know the second the trash truck drives away with it, I'll need one.
Click to expand...
A drop cloth for painting. Old sheets are great for that too.

We have three bins full of possible drop cloths and plan to never paint again. But what if we get the inspiration.
 
I was guilty in my sewing room ……no where else in my home ….i sew ..embroider with my 25 year old sewing machine~ if I feel like it ….make small projects …. …however a couple of months ago I did a big purge …bought a huge bag at reject shop ..we call them ….candy striped bags ….filled it with fabric / wadding ( used as a padding in projects )
backing fabrics ….completed projects …..threads my machine didn’t approve of ……patterns/ sewing books I’d had since my kids where small …youngest is now 50 ….

I’ve dwindled 3 big plastic boxes with clip on lids …. Got rid of heals of stuff on top shelf ……fabric now down to one small box in the built in wardrobe in that 4th bedroom I use for my sewing room ….

I also made approx 200 masks during the height of covid…for family and friends so I had heaps of extras I’d bought for masks like elastic / waterproof lining for the masks / lots of that went to op shop as well ….


IMG_0276.jpegCoffee cup mug rugs
 
Last edited:
My entire storeroom has been filled with building supplies. That project ended today and most of it was used. There is still a bit more lumber, etc., in there which will be kept in case something needs repair.

The other evening, with open walls outside, it threatened rain. I stapled tarps up over the open wall to protect it. There was one small area that the large tarps didn't cover. And there on the bottom of the bin marked "tarps", was an old shower curtain. Perfect!
 
Neither Ron nor I are packrats. Neither of us like clutter.

I have a rule for myself; if I think I MIGHT need it or have a use for it as some point in the future, and it would cost less than $20 to replace, I just get rid of it.

Occasionally I’ve needed to re-buy something, but those instances are few and far between and absolutely worth the money! I’d rather spend the occasional $20 to avoid the nuisance and clutter of storing things I might possibly need at some point in the future.
 
I'm a paper packrat. Back in the days when you got a bill in the mail, and sent a check back, I couldn't throw out a bill. In 1990, I moved into my present home, and didn't have that much storage space. It was traumatic that I had to toss out my 1972 telephone bills. There could be a phone number I might need. And what if I wanted to know what my electric bill was for Sept.1973, I could tell you. But now, that's all gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top