value of a junk pile

[randyt]

My granddad and dad were junk pile collector's. Granddad was a organized junk piler, he kept his goodies well organized. my dad was more scattered and disorganized. I think the difference was that my dad worked outside the home where as my granddad relied on the junk pile for a living. Those junk piles came in handy, you just never knew what would be pulled out next for a project. There was all kinds of "raw" materials in those piles. I remember going to the salvage yard as a kid and we would be looking for just that right part to finish a project. I don't mean a auto salvage yard, it was a yard that had everything. I use the term junk pile but really it means a large amount of used materials kept for later use, not necessarily a big pile. It boiled down to they rarely threw anything away and kept it for later reuse. I reckon they were recycling before recycling was cool.

Do ya reckon that is a skill of sorts?

[welderguy]

That is either a really good trait or a very serious OCD...

[Justin Case]

I had a jusk yard of sorts,, my neighbors that could see it would complain,,, BUT,, My house was ALWAYS their first stop before the hardware store ,, lol

[randyt]

I read a article about a place in alaska that had a few junk piles. some tourists came along and complained that it needed too be cleaned up. the locals were appalled. those piles were their hardware store.

[Camp10]

I'm trying to thin out the stuff I've collected. It is nice to have stuff on hand but it can get out of control. I dont think I ever hit that level..I didnt have any piles outside but if I have no use for it now and dont expect to have a use for it in the next year than it is gone!

The guys at the dump love it when I show up! I tossed a set of rams horn manifolds I've been sitting on along with a few skidoo motors and some fenders for a 70's firebird that have been in the garage for 10 years or so. I still need to go through the shed...

[Ken]

You wanna' see a junk pile?

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[2dumb2kwit]

Do ya reckon that is a skill of sorts?

Yes. And it is a skill set that less and less people have, in this age of convenience.

Like has already been said......the trick is to not get too carried away, with it. LOL

[2dumb2kwit]

That is either a really good trait or a very serious OCD...

There is a very fine line, between the two.

[hunter63]

I'm trying to thin out the stuff I've collected. It is nice to have stuff on hand but it can get out of control. I dont think I ever hit that level..I didnt have any piles outside but if I have no use for it now and dont expect to have a use for it in the next year than it is gone!

The guys at the dump love it when I show up! I tossed a set of rams horn manifolds I've been sitting on along with a few skidoo motors and some fenders for a 70's firebird that have been in the garage for 10 years or so. I still need to go through the shed...

LOL, It is widely know that the most sure way to "need" something, is to throw something out that you have saved "just in case"................
You will need "It" next week, "It" will be hard to find, and expensive!
Thus.........
I confess to saving stuff, for the "preventive reason", if I have one, I won't need "It". (sounds good anyway)

The question becomes, when doing any project, is the mind set, "What do I have that will work?".........
As opposed to,..... "This is what I want to do, lets buy a plan, make a list, buy all the stuff on the list, as well as "the proper tools for the job", then do the project."

I done major projects in the "Buy plan, Make list, buy(rent tools) Do project", way, but for a lot of things the method "What do I have that will work?, seems to be that most popular way.

Example, Working in garden, needing to repair small "Dog fence", needed some joist hangers, (had 3,can't find them, so needed 9) and some lumber.

I have a "wood pie" (as SIL calls it ?, 'course he's a red neck), wood pile.

Picked out enough lumber from the wood pie, except one long piece, needed a10 footer, had a 9'-8" piece. (even notice that the long ones are always on the bottom of the wood pie?)
So had to buy one piece, too bad, as it looks new, and doesn't match, the weathered look of the rest.

Anyway, I do try to keep it orderly, and if complating add stuff to the collection, try to have a home for it, before bringing it home.
This method is lost on the female part of this family...................

[LowKey]

I'm a pack rat too. And I work at a place where it is hard not to fill the pickup every night with 'junk' from the various dumpsters. Still kicking myself for not grabbing a palette of de-installed plate glass going into the recycle dumpster last fall. It occurred to me last winter that a glass greenhouse would last longer than a polygal or sheet plastic one would. Anyway, while we save most cutoffs at work, twice a year the boss goes on a cleaning binge and everything from lumber to flooring to recycled hardware gets put out for the taking.

I have rack storage at the top of the garage for lumber and shelving out there for various odds and ends. It's the buckets that get interesting. Really odd assortment of home project leftovers in those.

[shelterfarmlady]

my children call it "hoarding", lol, until they need something they threaten to send me to "free stuff anonymous", a 12 step program for people that can't leave free stuff where they find it!

[Winnie]

It's not hoarding, it's being prepared for any eventuality! I think it's a valid survival skill

[2dumb2kwit]

Anybody else watching the TV series called "Pickers"?

Sometimes. The other night, I got to watch one of my old favorites.....Junkyard wars. It was on the military channel.

[BENESSE]

Anybody else watching the TV series called "Pickers"?

I LOVE pickers!!!!
It's amazing they could actually part with some of they treasures they come across. What self control!
I would so like to come along on one of their adventures.

[Rick]

My whole garage is a junk pile. My wife used to harp at me and I kept saying but I'll use that wizobumpgizmo one of these days. Now, she just leaves me alone.

I think the other thing we forget about is most things today are not made to be repaired. It's far cheaper to manufacturer an item to a finite life span and to throw it away. When my dad and his dad were around things were made of metal. That's all they had to make stuff out of. It might have been cast iron or pot metal but it was still metal. Today, plastics rule.

[hunter63]

Anybody else watching the TV series called "Pickers"?

Yes, but I won't admit it, LOL...........