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"It might be worth something, someday!"


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Do you save things because they, "may be worth something someday?"  

  1. 1. Do you save things because they, "may be worth something someday?"

    • Absolutely! It just MAY be worth something, someday.
      3
    • Nope. It's either useful or clutter.
      73
    • It would have to be REALLY worth it for me to save something for an extended period of time.
      45
    • Requisite other.
      1


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Are you (or your s/o) one of those people who saves boxes, wrapping, or just doesn't open things at all because, "it might be worth something, someday?"

 

I'm just curious how many are out there and whether or not this is a popular mindset.

 

 

 

~DH and DS just come home from a baseball game with a giveaway figure. DS opened it and DH quickly said, "Keep the box and Styrofoam. It'll be worth something someday." That's pretty much his motto and he tends to say it about everything. :001_rolleyes: I'm much more the practical minimalist who wants you to recycle the box before you even get home. I can't stand clutter and, to me, knick knacks, tchotchkes, and definitely BOXES are clutter. What says the hive? Which group do you fit into?

Edited by contessa20
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I used to be like that but finally broke out of that way of thinking. It was hard!! But boxes were coming out of every storage area and it just took the fun out of it (trying to save things and keep things nice, etc). It was almost liberating to start throwing away the boxes, it really did feel like weight off my shoulders and our closets look amazing! LOL

 

It is so hard to change when that is you are, especially the older you get. But I have slowly been breaking my save everything habits and I feel like it has been good for my sanity.

 

Most of the time you aren't going to resell the item "someday" and, if you do, it won't be the big windfall that would be worth the hassle of boxes and junk everywhere!! :001_smile:

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No. My mother was like that. I can't begin to tell you how much junk we cleaned out of her house when she passed. Much of it was supposed to be "worth something someday".

 

My grandmother was the same way. She had an enormous attic filled with "collectible" plates, commemorative spoons, fancy dolls, and ceramic figurines. The estate's appraiser said she saw that in the homes of so many older people, and that the things were usually close to valueless.

 

If my grandmother had thought the plates beautiful and displayed them, they would have been worth something, at least to her. But she never even opened the boxes.

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Ugg--I hate figurines, etc. I have a couple from my mom; they remind me of my childhood home, and are therefore sweet to me, but I don't want anything else.

 

My mom just gave my dd about 30 "bird plates." (Dd says she wants to be a wildlife biologist and loves birds, so Mom jumped on that with an "Aha! I know who will appreciate these!) She wants us to display them in OUR home until dd can in HER home...:glare: They are pretty, but, really?? I want to look them up and sell some of them...

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I cringe when I hear that. I have family that says that about everything, yet when it is worth something they don't want to let go of it. They have some valuable things that are ruined because of borderline hoarding. So now they're worth nothing.

 

I want to enjoy something. Even if it will be valuable in the future, I want to enjoy it now, kwim. We do have some things we collect, but with severe limitations and we utilize what we collect. If I can't display or care for something properly I don't want to keep it.

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I told my husband that he is not to go near any of my Radko Christmas ornaments. None of them! I save all of the packaging, labels, etc. because someday I just know they'll be worth big bucks. Well, anyway, that's my excuse for buying Radko ornaments.

 

 

 

Everything else, forget it.

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I have to say that I find it a bit distressing that it seems as though every time there's a thread about whether or not to save something, people begin to assume there may be some sort of hoarding disorder involved. :glare:

 

Personally, I wish the show, Hoarders, had never been put on television. I know there are some real, bona fide hoarders out there, but I seriously doubt that the majority of people who have trouble throwing away every last box or item that they haven't used in a few years, would qualify as being a potential hoarder.

 

Sorry to rant.

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I have to say that I find it a bit distressing that it seems as though every time there's a thread about whether or not to save something, people begin to assume there may be some sort of hoarding disorder involved. :glare:

 

Personally, I wish the show, Hoarders, had never been put on television. I know there are some real, bona fide hoarders out there, but I seriously doubt that the majority of people who have trouble throwing away every last box or item that they haven't used in a few years, would qualify as being a potential hoarder.

 

Sorry to rant.

 

Oh I agree, but I grew up around that mentality and that particular phrase is the trigger for me to get a bit twitchy. I've seen it first hand, the spiral out of control. Yes, it's more than just keeping a box or deciding to not use something that might someday have more value than what you paid for it.

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Oh I agree, but I grew up around that mentality and that particular phrase is the trigger for me to get a bit twitchy.

 

Me, too, and I saw my DH's grandmother's house at the end of her life:sad: It took sooooooooo long for the family to clear stuff out. So when I see similar tendencies in my DH, I start to worry a little. Interestingly, it seems to have skipped a generation; DH's mother is a minimalist (without being extreme, but still....)

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I'm the "Other." :tongue_smilie: My dh has that tendency, but I've tried to get him to change his habits some. We don't have the room for all of it! I hate clutter. Hate. It. But you wouldn't know it looking at my house. My MiL is the one with the real problem She has tons of things that all "might be worth something someday." She's about to move from SC to Maine, and I'm going to help her pack all of her "valuables." I don't mind helping at all, but it's so. much. junk. And of course it's all teeny tiny pieces that have to be individually wrapped. I'll be there for a week. :glare: Sorry to hijack. Carry on!

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my grandmother came through the depression, and saved e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. It was ingrained in me to save things -until one day as I was going through all the garbage I asked myself why? I started throwing things out. I won't buy something if I'm not going to use it. I won't save a gift I'll never use - and "maybe someday" is the same as "maybe never". I'd rather have the space. (and even then, I need to do some serious decluttering of my house.)

 

eta: my grandmother wasn't a hoarder (until very old age when she started storing magazines in her bathtub. ummm?).

Edited by gardenmom5
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