What do you do with old "stuff"?

P

plasmadrive

Well-known member
I was cleaning out some of the shelves in the shop I found some stuff from when I moved in 20 years ago.. DB25 and DB9 connectors in a parts box with shells.. Lots of different Molex connectors and pins.. Connectors for temp sensors and still more.
OMG.. Methanol for cleaning lasers, and so so much more.. LOL
I have a ton of extra long DB25 cables we used for laser scanners. Some 50' some 100' long..
The amount of dust accumulated was something to behold for sure.
Most of is about to it hit the trash. Kept the Molex.
What do you all do with old stuff you find in your stash spots that you forgot about?
 
Well, your first problem is the cleaning itself. Not supposed to happen. Ever. Stuff is supposed to accumulate until it completely takes over your existence. It's the Rule of Stuff.

Now, because you've cleaned, you have a second problem: what to do with the stuff that you found. This involves decision-making capability, something that the DIY'er is generally not supposed to have. We "try" things. We try this, then we try that, and then we try this again and again until something either fits or seems to work. It's the DIY way. Another basic Rule.

The third problem comes from having encountered problems 1 and 2, and it's now a "where-what" problem, as in "where do I put it" or "what should I do with it?" You can already see how these problems multiply, and they're usually manifested by having broken the original Rule of Stuff. Shame....shame....

I don't have much constructive to offer (obviously!) but what I've tried is taking a photo and posting it as an item for sale. If a sale is eventually successful, then your error of violating the Rule of Stuff has been forgiven as you have shifted the main issue to someone else, and it's now their problem.

See how good this works???
 
Wire goes to be recycled. Plastics as well. In my case, the recycle location is on the next shelf over. I will tend to recycle old IDE based PC cards at the annual recycle drive in town.
 
dirknerkle said:
Well, your first problem is the cleaning itself. Not supposed to happen. Ever. Stuff is supposed to accumulate until it completely takes over your existence. It's the Rule of Stuff.

Now, because you've cleaned, you have a second problem: what to do with the stuff that you found. This involves decision-making capability, something that the DIY'er is generally not supposed to have. We "try" things. We try this, then we try that, and then we try this again and again until something either fits or seems to work. It's the DIY way. Another basic Rule.

The third problem comes from having encountered problems 1 and 2, and it's now a "where-what" problem, as in "where do I put it" or "what should I do with it?" You can already see how these problems multiply, and they're usually manifested by having broken the original Rule of Stuff. Shame....shame....

I don't have much constructive to offer (obviously!) but what I've tried is taking a photo and posting it as an item for sale. If a sale is eventually successful, then your error of violating the Rule of Stuff has been forgiven as you have shifted the main issue to someone else, and it's now their problem.

See how good this works???
Click to expand...
OMG.. how friggin dare I???? I see exactly how that works.. NOW! I had no clue I was going against the rules... you know, after following them unknowingly for so long.. I see I have created my own problems and must now suffer the consequences of my actions..... or.... perhaps fill up the trash bin to hid my transgression and hope no one notices...

Now I must think... I know it's going to hurt.. but again, I understand now how I caused my own issues.

Thank you Dave for pointing all this out to me... I will endeavor to not make this mistake again.. or at least so's no one can see.....
 
I put stuff on Ebay, for cheap. Basically sell for cost of shipping, figure it gets a new home, doesn't go into the landfill and I get it out of my workshop. Bit of work to put it there. I box it, weight it, measure it..then put it up. That way when it sells, its easy to print to shipping label and send it one its way.
 
Utimgr said:
I put stuff on Ebay, for cheap. Basically sell for cost of shipping, figure it gets a new home, doesn't go into the landfill and I get it out of my workshop. Bit of work to put it there. I box it, weight it, measure it..then put it up. That way when it sells, its easy to print to shipping label and send it one its way.
Click to expand...
Yeah.. I got rid of it already.. just wasn't worth the effort..
 
This had me in stiches. I will have to remember Dave's Stuff Rule. I think I do good with it, It's the wife that has a problem with stuff.
All this talk about stuff reminds me of George Carlin's Stuff.
 
I use db9 and db25 for Arduino. Jumper wire fits right in the pins, both male and female. It's nice, because I can have a hornet's nest of wires right at the Arduino or the breadboard, and I can route one nice, pretty snake to the sensor, end device, or ...whatever zany application I have in mind at the time.
 
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