History When is it time to get rid of all your stuff?

Keep your stuff if it makes you happy. I will bet if you got rid of it you would kick yourself in the **** because you did. Tell your wife that whether she sells it or gives it away it is hers to do with what she wants. Maybe a real good friend should be the recipient of an item he likes, ebay is way of getting top dollar for an item as opposed to garage sale or CraigsList. In no time she will be able to sell it and move to Hawaii. I wish you a long healthy life. By the way I am 71 and love all my stuff, I told the wife it will be hers and do with it as she pleases whether it is selling or giving away.

 

A longtime friend just p***ed leaving his wife -who does not drive - a new tesla model s, an '84 Aston Martin convertible, an '85 land rover (restored), a '49 ford woodie, a'59 Peugeot cabriolet with parts car, and a paid off house in Mexico she is too paranoid to even visit. I am doing what I can to advise her on how best to administer the disposition of these ***ets, but she's not in the right state of mind to deal with the cars presently. I'll wait and see how she grapples with these issues. But it's going to be tough for her to let go of his things, although ironically she pestered her husband for years to start unloading his cars.


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After losing a longtime hot rod buddy and then my father in the course of a month, I began pondering this very issue. That's been two years ago and I have ac***ulated even more stuff. I have the room now, since the ex carted most everything else off. Haha

That being said, I am looking at getting rid of things that really don't interest me or just don't click for some reason. My dad had so many unfinished and even unstarted litle projects in his shop, that it has been a bit depressing to see what never came to be. I'm trying to finish a few in his memory. I figure i've got a few years left, the good Lord willing, to get the hot rod I really want and enjoy it while I'm not room temperature. Then my son will take over. I am fortunate to have a son who really digs old cars and I know that he will cherish what I leave when I go to the great gig in the sky.

 

I have a very good friend that is and has been a collector of anything automotive,he has a bunch of hot rods and some other cars,signs,memorabilia,he is a obsessed vintage gun and ammo collector,he has probably 100 vintage Buddy L toy trucks,not to mention Keystone and Smith Miller toys also,more peddle cars than any one man should own and he also collects hand made knives and Griswold cast iron and God knows what else.

His wife has said for years that when he dies the funeral will be at 11AM...the yard sale start's at 1 PM.

I have told her numerous times don't call me to be a pall bearer at his funeral,,I'm gonna be a early bird at the yard sale.

Face facts,,women live longer. HRP

 

that is not problem "stuff". a problem is having two overseas containers full, an outdoor stash and a 4500 sgft barn full.
when is a good question.

 

At 62, I have started to confront this issue. My children aren't interested in my stuff, grand children are too young to be involved. I don't have a lot of high dollar items, mostly just oddball stuff I might build something out of someday. (4 Triumph GT-6 bodies, etc) I've told my wife that because my stuff is not real valuable or easily saleable, just call the s**** yard and make a deal to clean it up. Tools I would like to have p***ed on to whoever in the family can use them.

 

I am 72, and have been getting rid of things for the last 10 years. I have more stuff now than I did 10 years ago! My problem is that my kids (2 daughters) and grand kids have no interest in this stuff. I am doing 2 things. I am drawing up a codicil to my will to leave my cars to some of my younger friends who I know will take care of and appreciate them. Secondly, whenever I am in the shop, I tag a bunch of parts. I bought a bunch of the reinforced manilla tags with wires on them. On each tag, I put a short description of the part and since I don't know what the market will be when I go, I put my own "value code" on each tag. I have a master code sheet, and put the codes on the back of about 1 in 10 tags. My codes are :

1 - common
2 - hard to find
3 - re-popped
4 - rare
5 - expensive
6 - rare and expensive

Pretty subjective, but a lot better than nothing.

Oh yeah, some of my "younger friends" will be very surprised when I finally go.

 

I would say if you are asking the question then the time has come to get rid of some of the stuff.
I have been slowly getting rid of parts the last couple of years that I realized I would never use. And some of the cars I had stored that I realized I would never get around to.
Still have some more I need to get serious about letting go and just keep the nice stuff.
Those signs and other memorabilia would not be much of a headache to sell if you p***. Its the old parts and oddball things that only you know what if fits that you need to take personally responsibility to unload while you can. Just don't sell anything you really love to own, you will regret it. Remember, some of that stuff will be worth more in the future than it is now.

 

I'm 60 years old and earlier this year was diagnosed with cancer. All is good now, but, it was a real "wake up call" to what my wife would have to face if I hadn't survived. From your pictures it looks like you have some pretty neat stuff and finished cars, while all my stuff is junk (accept to me) and projects. I've become a little more realistic about my longevity on this earth and now know I will never have enough time finish half of the projects I've started. I recently began to liquidate stock, first to my 2 sons and son in law and now to friends. I have trimmed down to three projects, however, my sons think I should trade my 65 Corvette project for some thing already finished since it has been apart the longest. Tough decisions for all of us that are "addicted" to cars.

 

Bring some stuff to a swap meet or Craiglist....youse guys are thinking way too much

 

I can see the wisdom in letting go of some of your stuff before the end of our time here on earth, and also the wisdom and benefit of making it easier on those we leave behind.
I see the other side of it however having met some very sad older people who have lost or let go of everything they loved and spent their last years in sadness wandering around feeling lost remembering what they had or loved.

I tend to think that as long as I am able to, that I want to keep and enjoy the things that are dear to me.
I'll try to list what I have and the values of it all to ***ist in finding it new homes.

Having just turned 60 and being in good health (after a couple of scares) I hope to be around for a number of years yet. My Father is 82 and my mother is 83 and still going strong.

I kind of like the way the gun lovers think of it ( I have a good ***ortment of those too ).
You can have my guns when you pry them from my cold dead fingers

You can have my hot rod when you have to do the same

 

I obviously struck a cord! Never had such a fast response to a Thread before. HRP I will meet you at the yard sale. See I do still buy stuff.
tb33anda3rd Great Vid. You do not have to worry about your stuff, if I don't take piece by piece the Government will want it since you have more than they do!

 

Since my wife and I just had a conversation on this subject I'll weigh in. At 65 I am tired of the cold Winters here in Central Oregon and we will start scouting out our snow-bird, and possibly permanent, location. But what to do with everything? I have been busy for years working on others projects and have little to show for on mine so, like some others, I have projects that will never fetch big money at any kind of sale but yet still have value (at least to me...) Yup, gotta thin out the shop. How many EarlyHemi engines does one guy really need anyway...?
Trouble is, as has also been noted, if I check out tomorrow then my wife is stuck. One daughter and one grand-daughter and no interest. Over 30 nephews/grand nephews and not a gear head in the lot.

The spreadsheet is an idea, but the bag-n-tag is maybe better since my wife really doesn't know a block from a tire jack; just was never her thing.
Some cars and parts are just cars and parts; nothing special. But the challenge is to find a home for the 'good' stuff.

...maybe I'll start taking applications for adult children that I can adopt....

.

 

X2. good advice.

 

Make sure you have the family set up well enough so after you die they don't need the money from all your stuff. Then the selling of things is less stressful.

When I sell stuff its usually things worth money that I don't need right now or I could find again fairly easily if I do need it later. If you sell now at fair market value, you can always buy it back.

 

I'm retired and just turned 70, with 2 finished hot rods and 5 more projects in various stages. Last summer I decided to swap meet some of my parts that I knew I would never use (Jalopy Showdown and York NSRA) and was pleased with the results.

A couple months ago, my younger brother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and a cousin my age was diagnosed with ALS. The 3 of us spent a lot of time together growing up and this news really smacked me with a dose of my own mortality. Since then, I'm on a mission to get all my projects to at least a mock up roller stage rather than leave them as ****tered piles of parts, with nobody knowing what parts belong to what project. I think a roller will be much easier for my heirs to sell than baskets full of parts, simply because a roller looks like something. I'll be back at the same swap meets again this summer unloading more of the excess and maybe I'll even do Hershey.

I hadn't considered my hobby as a potential burden on my loved ones but this thread really opened my eyes.

 

Put me in line 73RR. I'm only 27 and my old lady allready tells me I better make a list because she's gonna give it all away if something happens luckily I have a 3 year old who loves hotrods even more than me so he will get all my unfinished stuff when I go if he's still interested . I think selling off the stuff that's harder to identify by anyone but yourself or stuff you can live without and treating yourself or your wife to something you've always wanted is a good idea. I just hope my wife sells it for what it's worth not what I told her I paid for it lol. And talk to your wife about it mine pretends to hate ALL my junk but I went to sell my one truck and she gave my a tongue lashing so there might be a few items she wouldn't want gone

 

To start with Kudos to the OP for thinking about his other half.

Personally I think the absolute best time to get rid of your stuff is when you realize that you are not using it or that you are never going to use it.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my mortality, chances are that I won't even finish typing this post and if I do that was a gift (to me not to you). Life like a cheap watch does not come with a guarantee. you breath in you breath out, maybe you will breath in again and maybe you won't.

Well I got lucky and breathed in again, better hit post reply before I breath out again.

 

I'm a younger guy at 36. My father is a guitar and amp guy and I am not. I respect his stuff and understand it's value but I don't live and breathe it like I do with cars. His stuff makes him happy and I fully expect to have to deal with it some day, which is fine. I don't see a need for him to sell things that make him happy. He told me which drawer to look in for the spreadsheet a long time ago and he understands that I will get value out of what I don't keep when the time comes. I hope my sons will have a similar outlook in 30-40 years (as long as my luck holds.) If I'm really lucky, they'll dig on cars and guitars...

 

I'm thinking about this myself.. I'm not quite 60 and in good health. I just rearranged my whole garage in order to have a place for my '59 Ford. I tossed a bunch of ****, gave some away as well. I still have a ship-load of tools, parts and machine shop supplies (I was buying and selling on eBay a while back). Not to mention model car kits and accessories...

My plan is to use what I have for my Ford first. Then evaluate the leftovers and find new homes for it. I will be relocating somewhere warmer within the next 5 years. So a lot of it has to go.

My wife p***ed away in June and she didn't leave me with really anything to have to deal with. Just a big mortgage, the bills and a houseful of memories.

 

A really interesting thread.
A good friend if mine p***ed away suddenly from a heart attack in 2003. He was only 48 so you never know when that time will come. He was single with no kids and his estranged ex had no contact in 20 + years. He had a large garage and a barn full of stuff that his sister asked me and another friend to help I.D. put a rough appraisal on for an estate auction.
A fair amount of people showed up for the auction but I don't think the auctioneers put much effort in advertising to an automotive crowd. His stuff all sold highest bidder naturally (no reserve) but brought pennies on the dollar...I really didn't need any more stuff than I already had myself and couldn't bear to watch it so I left....Oh well, I guess he got his enjoyment from it all and that's what matters....Also maybe helped complete other people's projects a little cheaper. He would have dug that !!

 

I smell the makings of a new morbid reality show.....R.I.P. Pickers

"Tune in to this weeks episode as 3wLarry travels to Bridgewater Ct. to check out ct1932ford's awesome collection".

did I just say that outloud?

 

too late Larry. I left yesterday for Bridgewater.

 

I'm 65 and after seeing what a pain in the **** for someone to have to deal with parts/projects/vehicles after their owner dies, I've started selling some of my stash.

I picked my top 4 projects and I'll sell anything else I have if I get the right offer on them. The money from the sales goes back into the projects I'm keeping.

Hopefully, I can get things pruned down to where it will only take a medium sized truck instead of a large one to hall my stuff to the s**** yard when I'm gone.

 

After reading all the posts here...I have only one thing to add.....for those of you who are 'young(er)' and recommend keeping everything and letting close friends, relatives, etc., deal with it.....obviously you have never done that job yourself. If you had, you would better understand there is more than just time involved, though there is plenty of that required if you do the job correctly.

There is a lot of stress related to the responsibilities placed on them, legalities that exceed what you might expect and so on. "walk a mile in another man's moccasins" before being so quick to advise to "just place the burden on others". Unless that 'someone' is an auction company.

Ray

 

I have LOTS of stuff but no plans to unload it. I label all vintage parts so if I do ***ume room temperature my kids can list it on ebay with an accurate description. I friend in his 90's just sold me a car since he is thinning the herd. I don't know if I want to get to point were I'm mentally counting down and not looking forward to new things. Maybe keep going and having fun and when I croak they can make some money.

 

To me it depends on how well off she would be (my pension, my life insurance and whatever is left). If all goes well then she can sell of the cars, some of the more pricey parts (and equipment) and then she can give away the rest to needy younger hot rodders. You've got to keep this thing going.

 

I've worried about enough things over the years. When I'm dead someone else can worry about selling my stuff and spending my money. Having said that, if I have some imminent advance warning I intend to give my stuff to friends who will enjoy it after I'm gone. Cheers, and may you live as long as you want to and want to as long as you live.

 

ct1932ford, with your collection i don't think it would be much of a problem for your wife to sell if you p***ed, and it would give her the option to keep some items that she might find dear to her and reminds her of yourself or sell items as she required an extra bonus some weeks. I also think if you where to sell off everything you would find yourself dying inside after all isn't part of your collection and hobby what drives you to get out of bed everyday, at least that is what part drives myself.
But on the other side of things, when you do sell items it opens a lot of doors to meet more people in the hotrod community which in turn gets the mind working harder to tell stories of the past and relive stories of where you might of come across your treasures and so on, either way hope your health holds up for another 30+ years. Take care from across the pond. Lee