Getting rid of it all...how?

[John T Barker]

I've finally come to terms with the body being gone and that it is time to get rid of the shop. Coincidentally the guy I rent from has told me he needs me out because he is going to redo the roof and needs to move stuff into my space. I'll be putting notice up for my machines in a variety of places and hoping for the best but what about everything else. Every screw and bolt that Home Depot sells. Pieces of scrap for every use from clamp pad to future project. I worked in a couple of retail furniture stores so I've got a few table tops, cabinet sides (replacements sent by the manufacturer) and just more this and that than I can describe. I've got cabinets I built for one thing or another that now support my mortiser, chop saw and one that never found a purpose. Like any woodworker/hoarder I can't bear to throw it out. Do you sell a great set of sawhorses? Live in an apartment so I'm struggling to hang on to the hand tools.

WHAT DOES ONE DO WITH CRAP THAT HAS A PURPOSE?

[Zachary Hoyt]

Sometimes the best way to get rid of it "all" is to have an in-person auction. You have less control over the selling prices of things but a good auctioneer will clean out pretty well for you.

[Wes Grass]

It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it, and I'm gonna have to deal with it... hopefully *before* I'm gone so my SO doesn't have too ...

My investment ... in toys... are worth whatever the first person who shows up with cash offers ...

:-(

Not that I care... but compared to my retirement account she'll get .. 'a drop in the bucket' ...

It ain't the money, it's more the headache she has to deal with.

So, how to determine when we're 'done', past my prime ...

[Maurice Mcmurry]

This is too sad. There is a helpful Peanuts cartoon that was shared between my dad and his peers recently. I will try to find that.

I helped with a Hybrid auction recently. They are in person and live on the web simultaneously. It is still a crap shoot regarding outcome. If you have esoteric stuff the online aspect gives folks who are hunting for specialty items a week to find your auction.

I accumulate too much stuff. I am giving a lot away little by little. Occasionally I get to make someones day by having an obsolete part. Our Habitat For Humanity Re-Store is a great resource for recycling and re-purposing. Our community has a growing group of young people who are re-discovering thrift. Several of them are woodworkers and do neat things with wood scraps.

[John T Barker]

Sometimes the best way to get rid of it "all" is to have an in-person auction. You have less control over the selling prices of things but a good auctioneer will clean out pretty well for you.

Thanks but i was talking about getting rid of wood, wood scraps, screws, nuts and bolts, steel wool, utility shelves and cabinets that hold up my chop saw or mortiser. I'm going to put my machines up on facebook, here, craigslist and the like. If I'm not successful I'll try an auction place. I'm the type of guy who puts a ton of crap on the table saw, the bench, the shaper, the back up bench...so it's hard to photograph them well until I get rid of the crap.

[David Dockstader]

Contact the local woodworking club. They are hidden around, but they have lots of experience with this. Our club actually has a position called "Community Support" who helps with sales, classified ads on the web site, pricing for family unfamiliar with what things are worth, etc. We have 2 large clubs in our area and they both do something similar.

[Ole Anderson]

I'm 76, hope to be around a good number of years. I have two grown boys still in the area, neither really woodworkers, but who knows what their interests will turn to when they retire. They both grew up in my shop when we ran a barefoot ski boom business out of the basement. Still living in a house on the water they grew up in. Hoping one will choose to move back. In any event they get to decide what to do with all of my tools.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks but i was talking about getting rid of wood, wood scraps, screws, nuts and bolts, steel wool, utility shelves and cabinets that hold up my chop saw or mortiser. I'm going to put my machines up on facebook, here, craigslist and the like. If I'm not successful I'll try an auction place. I'm the type of guy who puts a ton of crap on the table saw, the bench, the shaper, the back up bench...so it's hard to photograph them well until I get rid of the crap.

ReStore will take hardware, storage items, etc, no question. The donation is also tax deductable if you itemize, but otherwise, it helps a good organization. So if things don't sell, that's a way to off-load much of the items you mention.

[George Yetka]

List the big stuff and throw up a couple pictures of your shop and setup a meetup for SMK guys to come and pick through. If someone comes to pick up a tool let them look through the drawers and make offers for stuff. It wont be easy letting it all go and unfortunately you will never get your money back. But you can get something.

Another option would be to sell misc as $10-20 per box. Fill boxes with like items

[Jack Frederick]

I think you need to determine how much time you are willing to spend on this. Carefully organized inventory so you can look at it and value it. A lot that has value will not move and you have to decide how to go about disposal. I hadd a friend who rented a shop for 30+ yrs. He hired an auctioneer and the guy took him to the cleaners imho. An auction that people are not aware of is of little value. He took a paltry sum out of it, but it was gone. Find out how the auctioneer markets your material to get a good turn-out. Perhaps you want to take a run at the high value items on your own to maximize return and then let someone else handle it from there. Selling it all gets old in a hurry, as do we Good luck closing it out.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Here is Snoopy's insight that encouraged my Dad. I hope it is not too dark. It helps us remember to enjoy every day.
Have a good day! -Maurice

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[Rod Sheridan]

It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it, and I'm gonna have to deal with it... hopefully *before* I'm gone so my SO doesn't have too ...

My investment ... in toys... are worth whatever the first person who shows up with cash offers ...

:-(

Not that I care... but compared to my retirement account she'll get .. 'a drop in the bucket' ...

It ain't the money, it's more the headache she has to deal with.

So, how to determine when we're 'done', past my prime ...

It’s a tough decision, yet one that’s well worth planning for.

In my case, a much younger friend has agreed legally to clean out my shop and wood stock when asked.

He gets everything in exchange for doing the work, my lawyer drew up the contract, my friend paid $1 to me as per the contract to purchase and remove all shop contents.

Regards, Rod.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Sell it on Facebook Marketplace.

[Bill Howatt]

Jack Frederick's point is a good one - you have to determine how much time you want to spend doing this. I've talked to a lot of people, not necessarily WWers, that the time spent getting items ready for various types of sales really wasn't worth it for what they got. Of course, it is easier to get something meaningful out of larger, popular items.
I like the approach, " You got to use/enjoy it so don't make a big deal out of trying to get every last dollar selling it". Passing it on to someone who can use it and appreciate it has its own reward.

[Derek Meyer]

I had to deal with this last year when my mom passed away. My brothers and I were left with the house and all the stuff in it. We decided that we would each keep what we wanted of their possesions, sell what we could, and let a local service come in and clean the house out, removing the rest. My middle brother didn't want anything. My oldest brother and I agreed easily on what we would take, and we each took a trailer to the house and loaded it up. It was more difficult in that I lived the closest to her but was still 420 miles away. We made a deal with the couple who did the yard work for my mom to sell them the riding lawn mowers and whatever tools out of the shop they wanted. His son-in-law bought the golf cart. The rest was cleaned up by a crew hired by the real estate broker we hired to sell the house. We didn't want to sit on the house for several months, so she arranged to make some repairs (paint, carpet, and a few minor things) and got the property listed within 30 days. It sold at full listing price to a cash buyer in less than 3 weeks, so we were estatic. I am glad that we did not have to deal with cleaning the house out ourselves - it would have taken weeks, and we couldn't be away from home/work for that kind of time. And the travel distance made it not feasible to go there and work on weekends.

One of the groups that came and got stuff out of the house was affiliated with the local senior citizen's center. The other was a non-profit. Together, they cleaned out all of the furniture, clothing and sundries that we left. Before they came, our family went through and removed all the valuables and personal items we wanted. Now I have a bunch of that stuff in my basement that I will have to decide whether to keep or sell.