Sometimes I long for the 70's and 80's when you just binned stuff you didn't want without a second thought about the environment.

[LimitIsUp]

Ugh. Perhaps some of you can relate to this problem.

Lots of clutter - yes its in the spare room and in the garage and loft so its not in my face, but I still feel burdened by it

So much stuff

A lot of it is good quality bits and pieces that could be used by others and shouldn't be tipped, but we simply no longer need it or require it. I just don't feel able to send it to landfill (the guilt!)

I probably could, if so inclined, make money from selling it but we don't need the money and I don't need the hassle.

What I really want is it all gone - in a none time intensive and hassle free way - but I don't want it simple disposed of when its not broken or tat. I absolutely don't want to spend time on sorting it (so no ebay, no garage sales, no car boot sales and probably no charity shop trips either because of the volume of stuff) but hiring a skip . refuse tip wouldn't be good either

What do I do? Other than procrastinate

I’ve done a huge amount of decluttering recently by offering stuff for free on FB.

I can never be bothered to sell stuff so just take it to the charity shop. If you're in London, it's quite common to leave stuff outside your home and people will take it. Not sure if this happens in other areas.

I get a skip every few years. They claim to divert 95% of what they collect away from landfill.

No No No

Maybe the 80s was like that but the 70s wasn't. You didn't have loads of stuff to chuck out because you didn't have loads of stuff.

We collected milk bottle tops (from the glass bottles everyone used) to raise money for guide dogs. Bikes were almost always second hand etc.

We've approached the whole recycling thing from the wrong angle, we need to use and accumulate less rather than worrying about how to dispose of it.

The 80s was the start of conspicuous consumption, and I think those who were young adults in that decade and just after are the anomalous ones who continued profligate and wasteful (by the standards of those who came just before them and those now)

@AlizarinRed

Well everything gets binned eventually even if it passes through 3 owners before being binned, unless it's biodegradable then I suppose you could put wooden things outside and they would eventually rot away. So I'd bin if it's stressing you too much - passing it on postpones the inevitable but could mean some other item isn't purchased new, if someon'es now got your old one to use. It's not buying in the first place which is the main thing.

That is a very good point. Some stuff will be properly broken down and recycled. I always ensure material, wood, electric and metal items are taken to the "recycling centre" but many other things especially toys, old kitchen wear, chipped ornaments etc are destined for landfill, regardless of how long its uses or how many hands they pass through. Landfill is there final home.

Even a lot of cloth and old towels will be used as rags, then become soiled and sent to landfill.

So the guilt needs to start in the shop before purchase. Once its bought the damage is done. It cluttering up your house is delaying the inevitable.

Take photos put the stuff on FB and let people collect. What doesn't go ask charity shop if they want it / take to the tip / recycle centre.

Growing up in the 1970s -
Lots of stuff went to jumble sales. There was always a jumble sale somewhere. Other stuff got sold via the small ads in the local paper or a postcard in the paper shop.
Newspapers and magazines went to Friends of the Earth for recycling.
The stuff that now comes in plastic bottles, came in glass bottles that were returned, reused or recycled. I remember bottle banks from about 1980.
There was less stuff!!!! A lot less stuff!!!! Fast fashion didn’t exist, new clothes were a treat, not something you threw in the trolley with the backed bins in the supermarket. My mum had 3 pairs of shoes, for all occasions - not because we were poor or unfashionable, but because the “more more more” consumerist society didn’t really exist. My siblings and I had about 3 outfits, party clothes and school uniform. That seems a very small wardrobe compared to what my dc have now. We repaired clothes, darned socks, patched knees as the norm.
They were very few gadgets and digital electronics. What there was was expensive and repairable. I have a drawer of broken laptops, old MP3 players radios etc. That just wouldn’t have existed until 15 or so years ago. My dad fixed the toaster on a regular basis. There was never any question of a new one. We had one TV, in the living room.

I’m not saying we didn’t have new stuff, we did, but purchases were carefully considered investments. There was just less stuff. And it was recycled, reused and repaired!

@TeacupDrama

in the 70's and 80's most broken stuff was repairable ( irons, kettles toasters) so it was only fit for bin if above didn't work

most people had fewer clothes and wore them until worn out or outgrown
furniture, most soft furnishings, china and cutlery was expected to last a life time people didn't really get rid of these big ticket items they maybe painted or wall papered to change things

kids only got toys at christmas and birthdays again would be past on

you got money back on glass bottles and milk bottles were washed and refilled

so there simply wasn't that much to throw away

but you are right people would just chuck tin cans newspapers tea bags etc all into one bin for collection but I think in general less stuff was thrown away

You're right here. My mum is only onto her second set of saucepans in a fifty year marriage, they still have plates and mugs they used when I was living at home and their tea-towels are 20-odd years old and then get relegated to floor cloths. Stuff only gets replaced when it's broken or damaged beyond repair. The key is to stop buying stuff that you don't need. Stop shopping for fun. Think to yourself "Do I NEED this, or would I rather have the space it takes up?".

DM had one pram and one pushchair for 4 children, born 1962-74. She then passed the stroller on to my aunt. That stripey Maclaren is in every family get together photo for about 20 years! The man who ran the local toy shop did pram and buggy repairs as required. I think most of the local parks etc were like the proverbial grandfather’s axe. Ie: none of the original parts left!

Think to yourself "Do I NEED this, or would I rather have the space it takes up?".

That is exactly what I say to myself. I don't understand all the people who say they miss shopping and couldn't wait to get to the shops. OK it's Christmas but apart from that I only go to a shop if I actually need something. We take things no longer needed, but still good, to a charity shop, other unusable stuff goes to the tip where it is separated into type. Our council is quite good on recycling and our Blue bin is always full but there isn't much in the Black bin. The main thing in there is plastic packaging which we're trying to reduce.

Not my experience of the 70's and 80's. It was very much make do and mend. Hole in a sock, your mum sewed it. Something broke, your dad fixed it. Or maybe we were just poor?

"My mum is only onto her second set of saucepans in a fifty year marriage"

People replace their saucepans more regularly than that now? I've had one set in 30 years. It's never occured to me to change them

@BikeRunSki

DM had one pram and one pushchair for 4 children, born 1962-74. She then passed the stroller on to my aunt. That stripey Maclaren is in every family get together photo for about 20 years! The man who ran the local toy shop did pram and buggy repairs as required. I think most of the local parks etc were like the proverbial grandfather’s axe. Ie: none of the original parts left!

These threads make me feel so old. My DC are only 19 & 17. We had one pram, which was passed on from SIL and then a double buggy which I gave to my childminder and has been used for countless children.

Why would you need/want any more?

@HallFloor, I had 2 buggies break irreparably on me, 8-10 years ago. Both big names. I tried to get both fixed, no one could do it, including the manufacturer’s approved repairers. The problems are poorer build quality and very specific parts that were no longer available.

@HallFloor

"My mum is only onto her second set of saucepans in a fifty year marriage"

People replace their saucepans more regularly than that now? I've had one set in 30 years. It's never occured to me to change them

I think it depends on the pots, non-stick eventually comes off therefore pots need replaced. And people buy cheap and cheerful, that just doesn't last.

Newspapers weren't binned.

They were collected as a fundraiser for recycling by primary schools, scout groups and they like. Ditto used silver paper

Plus of course the annual clear out for the Blue Peter appeals - they also did rags/damaged textiles one year. Over the years they also did used stamps, old keys and other scrap metal, silver paper, toys, wool, watch straps, buttons, buckles, books, socks, pillow cases and pre-decimal coins

[quote BikeRunSki]@HallFloor, I had 2 buggies break irreparably on me, 8-10 years ago. Both big names. I tried to get both fixed, no one could do it, including the manufacturer’s approved repairers. The problems are poorer build quality and very specific parts that were no longer available.[/quote]
I think that sums up the issue for lots of things. Things are built cheaply, moulded plastic parts, not designed to be repaired.
It sort of suits the manufacturing industry not to repair stuff....therefore they sell more.
Also replacement parts are can be really expensive that renders it uneconomic to repair.

It sort of suits the manufacturing industry not to repair stuff....therefore they sell more

I came across this when I needed to have a cafetière repaired - the handle had been damaged and all it needed was a new one to be screwed into place - a very easy job. Contacted manufacturers to buy a replacement handle, to be told 'we only sell the products, never the parts'

I have not bought that brand again. If I can't repair, then I'm going to get the cheapest (supermarket own brands) not the brand that is made in ways that could be repaired, if only the manufacturer would sell the sodding parts

We have a local domestic appliance repair man, who has fixed our white goods countless times over the last 20 years. He says that some spares for some appliances are becoming harder to get - we had to get used parts recently for a 12 year old appliance. I suspect that when he retires (within the next 5 years I imagine), his skills will die out.

With prams and buggies too (maybe not do much washing machines), I think there is much more desire to have the latest model/trend/colour. Small domestic appliances too - we have friends who redecorate a room every year (!) and always get new toaster/kettle/towels/cushions/bedding etc to match.

I hear you. We have a small 2 bed terrace and our loft is full, as is every storage unit, shelf, drawer in the house. We have twins who are 4 now - both disabled and we have bought so many things over the last 4 years to try get them engaged. Also all the clothes they’ve outgrown, never have time to sort them properly so they go into bags and into the loft. I also ran a business before they were born so I’ve got loads of frames and stuff up there. Now they’re at school I’m on a mission to sort it all so we can move.

Last time we moved house, I had a room full of stuff after a couple of relatives had died and it was stuff I couldn’t stand to dispose of at the time. Sold almost everything on eBay while pregnant, made almost £3k in a few months but kept some obviously. Nothing overly valuable in itself, just a lot of it.

Things are built cheaply, moulded plastic parts, not designed to be repaired.
It's called built in obsolescence - and I'm pretty sure I first heard that term in the 70s so they knew it was coming. Buy cheap - then buy another one, again and again until we are smothered with scrap.

The rise of fucking plastic is to blame. Back in the 70's there just wasn't the amount of plastic packaging there is now.

Interesting read. I do think the PP who said we are tackling the issue from the wrong angle and should be focusing on buying less is spot on. I’ve just taken a whole boot full to the charity shop. Mainly clothes my children have outgrown but even then I looked and wondered why they had so many clothes in the first place. I remember jumble sales when I was primary age in 80s and a lot more was passed on and reused that way. I wore my brothers old tracksuit as it was still in good condition, my little cousins got some of my party clothing. No one batted an eyelid. Things were repaired. Old clothes were used for dusters and paint/craft coverups. Household items were used. There wasn’t new bedding and towels and cushions every year only when needed. Take Christmas for example - same decorations out year on year. No one thought to update annual or colour theme. Consumerism is a major issue. Stuff is so cheap competitively that is does become “throw away” why would I take time to darn a sock or patch a hole in joggers when I can just buy new for a few pounds? Lazy and bad attitude but that’s where we are sadly. The other issue as PPs have addresses is that things are designed not to last anymore. I’d love to have the same set of pots and pans and kitchenwear for years but sadly I’m in the second set in 6 years. This is because when buying originally I could only afford to buy lower end range stuff (mid range maybe they were Ikea and sainburys) not expensive ones. This is a false economy I’m aware but if you don’t have the money for pricey pots and pans you buy the ones you can afford. And actually as I type this I’m wondering if the expensive ones even do last longer? It’s like everything is designed to be thrown away. Then there is the problem of people wanting the “latest” rather than accepting that what they have currently still works perfectly well (thinking TVs phones etc etc).

To answer the OP question though - I don’t think people binned stuff more or more stuff was binned. To be bogged down with clutter is a terrible strain on mental health though so sometimes a line needs to be drawn. Get rid of everything you don’t want in your home or garage. Ideally get it to a charity shop but if genuinely too overwhelming do bin it. BUT promise yourself that once’s it’s Gone it will never be replaced by more stuff. Be a much more aware consumer (I am trying hard to do this myself and it is difficult but I’m trying to remember the anxiety the clutter causes me).

@SparklingDinosaurs

Interesting read. I do think the PP who said we are tackling the issue from the wrong angle and should be focusing on buying less is spot on. I’ve just taken a whole boot full to the charity shop. Mainly clothes my children have outgrown but even then I looked and wondered why they had so many clothes in the first place. I remember jumble sales when I was primary age in 80s and a lot more was passed on and reused that way. I wore my brothers old tracksuit as it was still in good condition, my little cousins got some of my party clothing. No one batted an eyelid. Things were repaired. Old clothes were used for dusters and paint/craft coverups. Household items were used. There wasn’t new bedding and towels and cushions every year only when needed. Take Christmas for example - same decorations out year on year. No one thought to update annual or colour theme. Consumerism is a major issue. Stuff is so cheap competitively that is does become “throw away” why would I take time to darn a sock or patch a hole in joggers when I can just buy new for a few pounds? Lazy and bad attitude but that’s where we are sadly. The other issue as PPs have addresses is that things are designed not to last anymore. I’d love to have the same set of pots and pans and kitchenwear for years but sadly I’m in the second set in 6 years. This is because when buying originally I could only afford to buy lower end range stuff (mid range maybe they were Ikea and sainburys) not expensive ones. This is a false economy I’m aware but if you don’t have the money for pricey pots and pans you buy the ones you can afford. And actually as I type this I’m wondering if the expensive ones even do last longer? It’s like everything is designed to be thrown away. Then there is the problem of people wanting the “latest” rather than accepting that what they have currently still works perfectly well (thinking TVs phones etc etc).

To answer the OP question though - I don’t think people binned stuff more or more stuff was binned. To be bogged down with clutter is a terrible strain on mental health though so sometimes a line needs to be drawn. Get rid of everything you don’t want in your home or garage. Ideally get it to a charity shop but if genuinely too overwhelming do bin it. BUT promise yourself that once’s it’s Gone it will never be replaced by more stuff. Be a much more aware consumer (I am trying hard to do this myself and it is difficult but I’m trying to remember the anxiety the clutter causes me).

Yes! My mum wouldn't dream of buying a floor cloth or a duster. She won't even buy bin bags or freezer bags. Everything is reused to avoid buying "disposable" items.