OK folks have you ever paused and thought about the amount of unnecessary

[malaise]

shopping you’ve done over the years.
In my case it’s not just me shopping, but siblings and others bringing stuff for me.
I have bedspreads and blankets that I have never used, bath mat and shower curtain sets that I have never used and will never use, yards and yards of beautiful cloth that I will never use. I stopped sewing years ago.
I met a young couple who moved into our neighborhood recently. They were at another neighbor’s BBQ.
I’m going to offer them some of this unopened household stuff.
The rest I’ll share with the folks who pick up our garbage and then I’ll leave some in bags at a bus stop nearby. I don’t trust most of the charities because of tales from friends who are donors.
It’s way past time to give away more stuff..

[True Dough]

1. Oh, malaise

My wife and I have moved several times. On each occasion, we purge and say, "Wow! How did we collect so much stuff?"

Then we continue to accumulate once again. It's bonkers (and don't tell my wife I said this, but I'm only responsible for about 15-20% of what comes through the door).

Anyway, nice of you to help out others with things that are no longer useful to you.

[malaise]

5. I believe you

😀

[Skittles]

2. nope

I have always HATED shopping and keep everything as long as I can.....I have clothes that are DECADES old. Older than a lot of the people I talk to!

[malaise]

3. And the truth is that I love most of my very old stuff

much more than the new stuff.

[Skittles]

6. YES!

the quality is MUCH better

I still have the T-shirt I wore in basic training 50 years ago and it was MADE IN THE USA. Still fits, too!

[malaise]

15. So true

Much better quality back in the day.

[littlemissmartypants]

24. Same!

[Lifeafter70]

8. Same here

I had to shop for a dress for my nieces wedding last month and cringed at what it cost.

[Skittles]

33. right??

total ripoff

[Lifeafter70]

38. I paid more for a dress I will probably never wear again

Than what I spent in the last two years on my entire wardrobe.

[leftieNanner]

42. Our daughter got married a few years ago

And I found my MOB dress at JC Penney!

[Lifeafter70]

43. Believe me I spent a lot of time looking for a dress

It had to match the suit that hubby already purchased. I looked a all the stores in the mall including Penny's. This was a country club affair. So dress was semi formal. Penny's was just as expensive as the smaller dress shops. I prefer simple lines and that was hard to find.

[cksmithy]

46. I got mine at Chico's

on sale.

[Susan Calvin]

10. I'm the same about old stuff.

I never get rid of anything if it continues to serve the purpose for which I bought it. And in my mind I don't buy much new stuff, and I actually think I don't buy much new stuff compared to the majority of people. Nevertheless, little by little it accumulates.

[Figarosmom]

39. Me too. I still wear flannel shirts I bought in the late 70s

I still wear my Dad's football jersey. This year my daughter got me 2 flannel nightgowns from LL Bean to replace my old ones because the old ones had so many patches that they weren't holding anymore and would just tear at the seams.

When I have to buy something dressy , I usually go to St. Vincent's. Can find designer stuff there from the rich Italians in town.

I absolutely hate shopping for anything. But I do have a lot of stuff I inherited from friends and family when they died. Cedar chests, a tea pot collection and so much more. I have the trunk my grandma brought when she immigrated from Italy. And her souvenirs from the New York World's Fair. Stuff I can't give away and I have no clue what my daughter will do with them when I'm gone.

[Skittles]

40. a neighbor does that "FB Marketplace" thing

it is AMAZING the amount of junk people stop by to pick up

[malaise]

57. During my Christmas cleaning, I finally threw away he last gift mum bought me

way back in 1993 - a lovely robe- it was almost in tatters.

[Figarosmom]

59. Yeah. Don't you hate letting go?

One of my tattered flannel night gowns was one I bought my mom for her last Xmas. I really hated throwing it out but the fabric had gotten so thin it kept ripping. And patches just weren't holding up.

[malaise]

60. Indeed

I get it.

[Be The Light]

4. Give it to goodwill

they will also give you a IRS form so you can use it as a tax write off if you so choose.

[Ziggysmom]

7. I don't care for goodwill. Their CEO makes over 750 grand a year. I donate to the Capuchin run

homeless shelter & food program in Milwaukee. Unlike some other non-profit thrift stores , donated items are not re-sold. They go directly to those who need them most.

[Lifeafter70]

9. And they treat their employees badly

With low pay and long hours.

[Deuxcents]

11. I don't shop much at all anymore..only necessary items but a good rule I try to follow is..one new, two to go

Either to someone I know that could use it or to a little one room church closer to town that seems to need everything! It’s crazy how much we accumulate without even realizing it so let’s recycle ♻️

[malaise]

14. Same here

Last edited Sat Mar 14, 2026, 05:30 PM - Edit history (1)

I only replace stuff than finally dies - like my coffee maker which was eons old. Word is that none of the new ones will last as long as tge last one.

[fierywoman]

32. Try a hand pour pour-over? Never breaks, cheap as it comes, you'll never drink old coffee again!

As for give-aways: Think of the joy your stuff can give someone! Do you have somewhere that supports women who've left abusive relationships? ... or political refugees?

Re the fabric: you mean you don't have the coffee mug that says: "She who dies with the most fabric wins" ?

[Skittles]

34. and nothing is made to be fixed

just replaced by more easily breakable stuff

[cksmithy]

47. Get a percolator, they last forever. You have to adjust the coffee amount and still use a filter,

with a small hole you cut in the center, but the coffee tastes sp good, better than Mr. Coffee machines. My MILs always had a peculator. It's very old school but it is well worth it.

[Goonch]

12. ;-{)......

[malaise]

13. Bwaaaah for the home sweet hoard😂

Still seriously I’m thinking about hoarding emergency food with these lunatics in charge.

[Marthe48]

19. How'd you get a picture of my house!?

[malaise]

26. Haha

Looks like one of my BIL’s garage😀

[littlemissmartypants]

27. Hahaha! Are these masterpieces your creations, Goonch? ❤️👋

[Katinfl]

16. Good for you. They will probably be so thankful.

We really downsized when we moved a year ago. Fortunately, I have always purged stuff I did not want/need so I did not have too much of a problem. i donate things I don’t need and i always shop the thrift stores. I know a few friends that cannot, or will not, part with things. I have been to too many estate sales to see where your “treasures” end up. People pawing through your “stuff” and it would be humiliating to me. Rule of thumb…….something comes in, something goes out. works for me.

[peppertree]

17. Brings to mind certain (low-budget) cinematic imagery...

Hey. When it comes to '80s cheese - it's the cheesiest.

[malaise]

20. You win the thread - Bwaaaah for an arm and a leg

[peppertree]

25. Why, thank you malaise.

Fun fact: While the movie and the mall it was filmed in (the Sherman Oaks Galleria) is widely identified with the Reagan years, it was actually built during the "malaise" days of Jimmy Carter (opened in 1980).

Another fun fact? The movie was released 40 years ago today.

Time flies!

[malaise]

28. Amazing fun facts

😀

[peppertree]

31. Thanks!

The mall scene in Schwarzenegger's Commando (where he lifts a phone booth - with the villain in it - off the ground) was also filmed there.

Sadly, they remodeled that mall in the late '90s. I'd visit sometimes during my L.A. days in the 2000s.

I miss California.

[AverageOldGuy]

18. Quilters

My wife (83) is a lifelong hand quilter, having learned the art from age 6 when she went to church quilters with her mother and grandmother.

Every stitch goes in by hand. None of this sewing machine or long-arm quilting machine.

Quilters say the one who dies with the most fabric wins. She’s somewhere in the top ten nationwide.

[malaise]

22. My oldest sibling is a quilter

I know e at Lyon what you mean.
She had more cloth than Joann Fabrics and she’s still in business.😀

[littlemissmartypants]

29. Respect!!🪡🧵🏆

[Goonch]

21. ;-{) WAR PREPPING

[malaise]

23. Hehehe

😂

[littlemissmartypants]

30. I take things to the road in front of the farm. I have a sign that says "free" and magically they disappear.

One day I watched a woman loading up her trunk with blankets and space heaters. She never saw me.

[malaise]

35. For years I used to leave stuff outside a family owned supermarket

An old lady told me years later that she and her co-workers across the street used to look out for me and a few other folks during the Christmas holidays because we didn’t give away rubbish.

[littlemissmartypants]

41. Know exactly what you mean. I try to make sure that they're things people would need. I'm also dealing with the ...

Things that belonged to my deceased parents. Definitely no junk there. I haven't even started on the two barns on the farm. That's on my list for this summer. ❤️

[malaise]

44. I gave a niece something mum gave me

Last edited Sat Mar 14, 2026, 07:02 PM - Edit history (1)

and told her to pass it on when she reached my age. She was delighted. A nephew called me since and said he wants my two paintings that mum did after dad died. I was delighted. They don’t want the cutlery and that kind of stuff but there are things they want like recipes and paintings.

[littlemissmartypants]

48. Great ideas! Thanks, malaise.❤️

[BurnDoubt]

36. As I'm sending this...

I am procrasterbating instead of digging out of my own hoard of construction odds-and-ends I set aside to do “projects” in my reclining years.
The years are here, but the passion has fled. My mission now is to get rid of it all so my Lovely Wife doesn’t inherit my trove.
I’ll keep the guitars, though. That’s the hill on which I would now prefer to die.

“If i’m late, don’t wait.
Go on without me.
I may tarry awhile.
I mean to know, before I go,
How come the Devil does smile.”
Jesse Winchester

[Niagara]

37. I know that we all have stuff

Sometimes I feel like I might be a low level hoarder.


I'm making small steps and I recently donated pottery teapot, creamer and sugar serving set several weeks ago. Along with some other items.







I just donated some clothing to Hearts for the Homeless. It was a small bag but..... I did it! I have much more clothing to go.


The Salvation Army thrift stores have closed three of their buildings in my area. I read that The Salvation Army is facing significant financial difficulties mainly from rising operational costs, declined grant funding and declining donations.


It's too bad because they provide food pantries and shelters for those who need it. I hope that they survive this crisis.

[malaise]

45. I am a serial hoarder of pottery

particularly teapots and other designs by indigenous folks in our region
The tops of my cupboards are full of them. It doesn’t help that one of my sisters has also been making teapots for decades.
As we say here “dawg nyam mi suppa”when the big earthquake comes because they sure will be crashing down.

[Niagara]

52. I'm a serial hoarder of vintage cake stands and Indiana Glass

I actually garbage picked this teapot set last fall that I just donated.

I was scanning stuff that I could easily part with and the teapot set was the selected item. I'm still hoping that I saved it from the landfill as this set is still at Goodwill and ready for a forever home.

I know how difficult it is to declutter sentimental items.

I hope that you enjoy your teapots for many more years without the big earthquake making them crash down.

[malaise]

53. LOL

Indeed - parting with sentimental stuff is not such sweet sorrow😀

[rickford66]

49. Leaving tings at a bus stop might invite a visit from the bomb squad.

[malaise]

55. Not where I live

😀

[rickford66]

66. Why ?

Packages left like that are usually treated as suspicions. Just saying.

[Cirsium]

50. I wish

Working on the farm for $16,000 a year there wasn't any discretionary spending happening. That was 10 years ago, but since income in the county for over half of the households is under $35,000 today, and most households have at least 2 people working, I don't think it has changed much since I retired. We do have an increasing number of remote tech workers doing whatever it is they do for their 6 figure salaries pushing rents up.

[SheltieLover]

51. I've never been one to shop much.

Great idea to clear clutter by gifting to others!

[vapor2]

54. HA ! Had a Waterford comforter that was a steal and never opened

for about 2 yrs so gave to my brother in law who loves it!

[malaise]

62. Love it

Pass it on

[CrispyQ]

56. I found a local group of families who lost their homes in a wildfire.

The gratitude was heart wrenching but so satisfying.

[malaise]

63. Everyone in my circle gave stuff to hurricane victims

but many haven’t replaced their homes yet so giving them stuff like this doesn’t make sense at this time.

[Bayard]

58. Its taken me years to clean out the garage

I had two big rental garages in Calif. that were packed. Moved it all here after we built a big new garage. There's still a lot in there I just don't know what to do with....like huge family photo albums my mother had. I have no idea who most of the people in these old black and white photos are. My brother ended up with just as many, and his kids have no interest in them.

I also have a really hard time letting go of anything my family gave me when they were alive....parents, two sisters, and a brother. I realized the other day when I pulled on a sweater my sister had given me after she tired of it that it had to be more than 40 years old. Still in good shape, still pretty.

I did give away a ton of stuff to a guy that used to do odd jobs for us--clothes, furniture, bedspreads, etc.--even the wedding dress and hat from my first marriage! He has several daughters. I gave that dress away with no hesitation, but have hung on to my sister's maid-of-honor dress.

There has been a problem in our area with items being donated to charities ending up in yard sales.

[malaise]

61. They should keep the family photos

My grand nieces and nephews love them.
I’m so glad we were able to identify who was who over the years.
Dad’s youngest sister and her best friend were great. And mum’s uncle was very close to us.

[BeneteauBum]

64. I live in a boating community

A lot of families appear to be near the poverty line, especially the ones with kids. We have a ‘free table’ where anyone can leave items to be reused. Most items rarely last more than a couple of hours. A particular mom was seen wearing my castoff red, green, black, and gold hoodie this winter…..just kind of lit me up inside.

We are one large family here and most of us try to get along and help those in need. There are a few exceptions however……and they seem to be extremely unhappy individuals.

Peace ☮️

[malaise]

65. To borrow from anotherDUer

You made me smile😀