Decluttering

Welcome to Wondercafe2!

A community where we discuss, share, and have some fun together. Join today and become a part of it!

Register Log in
There are shops that cater to collectors of coins and stamps. That is how I sold my Dad's coin collection when doing estate stuff.

When we moved from Alberta to Ontario in 2019, we sold, gave away, or dumped over 10,000 pounds of stuff. We let go of more stuff when we moved from Deep River to East Hawkesbury. Moving provides incentive for decluttering. Unfortunately, the process always includes losing some stuff.
 
KayTheCurler said:
I decluttered some 'family treasures' that my girls wanted more than i did. My childhood collection of glass and china miniatures was grabbed by one kid while the other claimed a marquetry creation of my dad's that incorporates a music box. The items had been stashed away for years and will not be missed.
Click to expand...
Nice that the items were wanted by your daughters. That's wonderful to hear.
KayTheCurler said:
Any suggestions for disposing of a stamp collection (other than burning it?)
Click to expand...
This is a tough one. It's a very niche market but I hear stamp collections are still a thing.

My mom and dad had collections of various items they believed to be quite valuable. Sadly for them, this proved to be not the case when they moved out of their house.
 
JayneWonders said:
Ditto, my parents had no clue how little their "really good" antiques were worth
Click to expand...
With my parents it was collectibles. Figurines, etc. Barbie dolls in boxes. Antique dolls (these are worth money but only if they are in pristine condition.)
LPs and old 78's. Health Kits. Cameras.

The list goes on..
 
Oh yes. Lionel trains and tracks.

With all of this stuff, it's possible to make a few bucks if you sell it an item at a time. But who would want to do that???

We had a few buyers come in and oh my goodness, we got some lowball offers!

The guy who took the Heath Kits was pretty decent. But my dad thought he should have been offered more money for everything. He had saved all the manuals for assembling the kits and expected them to be valuable, too. The buyer told me to toss them in the recycling.
 
I doubt the stamp collection is of much value. There are a few stamps in it that are worth a wee bit. Best items may be First Day Covers - especially the ones from India and Pakistan.

I have a few coins too - one of the younger generation can grab those if they show an interest.
 
KayTheCurler said:
I decluttered some 'family treasures' that my girls wanted more than i did. My childhood collection of glass and china miniatures was grabbed by one kid while the other claimed a marquetry creation of my dad's that incorporates a music box. The items had been stashed away for years and will not be missed.

Any suggestions for disposing of a stamp collection (other than burning it?)
Click to expand...

What volume is it (by volume, I mean, amount/weight/etc.)? My dog walker will have some ideas. He is a philatelist of a very specific type (Canadian stamps with particular cancellations), but I gave him my Dad's collection to look through, and there's an organization that collects used stamps to make up "mystery bags" for collectors. I keep my stamps, and give Jim the ones I think he'll want and my friend Litse the other ones, because she gives to that other organization, whose name I cannot recall.
 
And I don't want to generalize too much but the worst and funniest of these wyrd collections of things, like tickets, or stamps or specific coins, or cards, or obscure live music videos, or... are men. Women seem more prone to collecting excessive amounts of things they'll need, possibly, like yarn, quilting fabric, Italian ground tomatoes, 00 flour, Christmas tins, etc.

Edited to add that I'm looking for a 2023 nickel. Beginning to have a suspicion they minted none in 2023.
 
I did some cleaning up yesterday. Still have the old boxspring and mattress hanging around. It was sitting in the spare room, taking up so much space , I had an excuse not to do my daily exercises. Of course, I can’t go on like that. Spring clean up is not until April 29 th. But- the cat loves it. I put it up against my bedroom wall and it is a scratching and climbing wall for her, she lies on top, completely relaxed and watches what is going on. I see how long I can tolerate that space being taken up. I would have to get junior with the trailer on a Saturday morning to drive it to the dump, and then pay money for it.
 
I thought of that story I read of the man who visited the wise man to complain about his house being too small. He had a wife and kids. The wise man told him: take all you farm animals also into the house for three weeks.
Three weeks later, the man came back to the wise man, thanking him. He told him how it was so crowded and noisy in the house with the animal, and now , after they are all back outside, the house is so quiet and roomy.
 
Mrs.Anteater said:
I thought of that story I read of the man who visited the wise man to complain about his house being too small. He had a wife and kids. The wise man told him: take all you farm animals also into the house for three weeks.
Three weeks later, the man came back to the wise man, thanking him. He told him how it was so crowded and noisy in the house with the animal, and now , after they are all back outside, the house is so quiet and roomy.
Click to expand...

It is all relative like human relations ... limited?
 
BetteTheRed said:
What volume is it (by volume, I mean, amount/weight/etc.)? My dog walker will have some ideas. He is a philatelist of a very specific type (Canadian stamps with particular cancellations), but I gave him my Dad's collection to look through, and there's an organization that collects used stamps to make up "mystery bags" for collectors. I keep my stamps, and give Jim the ones I think he'll want and my friend Litse the other ones, because she gives to that other organization, whose name I cannot recall.
Click to expand...
It consists of several medium size three ring binders. Can't recall how many. Each one would be fairly heavy for shipping.
 
KayTheCurler said:
I have a few coins too - one of the younger generation can grab those if they show an interest.
Click to expand...
I have a few old coins that I find really interesting. But they are all quite worn which makes them worth almost nothing on the market. But I don't care. The value to me is sentimental.
 
My house could use a lot of decluttering....Right now I'm decluttering my freezer...trying not to buy any meat or vegies or bread until I use up what is in the freezer. Then we will clean it out and start all over again!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top