Disposing of decades of work paraphernalia (move, marriage, vacation, friend)
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As many have indicated these books are horribly out of date. Although the info in the text books may still be accurate my career took a path away from calculating formulas and I would have no idea how even to start solving some problems.
25 years ago I guest lectured in an advanced 6th grade math class. I showed the students how to determine square roots by hand, and showed them an old Differential Equations exam that fell out of an old reference book. Even then, I couldn't recognize any of the problems to be solved let alone remember how to solve them.
Last year we had a new water heater installed. I had discovered I had two Ductilators in a box of old books so I offered one to the furnace/water heater installers, thinking it might help them when sizing furnace ducts in retrofit installations. They had no idea what it was or how to use it!
Ancient memories that are only important to me. I will keep a few books but not many.
I came upon this thread by chance and am nowhere near retirement, but: why would anyone want to get rid of books/paraphernalia that helped them through decades earn their daily bread or finance a nice life? Personally, would never want to get rid of things like my old uniforms. I covered many thousands of miles in those uniforms, and there are so many memories connected with them. If it hurts you to get rid of something, then how about just not?
I kept my set of blues - Air Force. Still in the closet.
Think i have a set of camo
One thing i will never get rid of is my basic training belt. Boy was i thin then. Sheesh!
As a retiring teacher I had 30 years of files. My youngest daughter is also a teacher so she went with to glean she could use. The issue was my personal items. As I had been off on sick leave for several months I wasn't there to keep an eye on things.
While I was off my colleagues had gone in and cleaned me out. I lost all my fossils and artifacts (some I collected when I was in Boy Scouts), mementos from previous students, a couple keepsakes from my time in the Navy, various plaques and awards I'd won. Things like that. All gone. Taken by "professionals".
My retirement "gift" was an acrylic paperweight. I'd bought a case of them a couple years earlier as giveaways to school visitors like a Middle States team.
I have a 1996 NEC Handbook, 3-ring hard cover, fully tabbed! What do I do with this? I haven't needed it or used it since 1999.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ysr_racer
Trash can?
It's useless.
Planned Parenthood. You never know what trash might be treasure to someone else. Over the years we have donated at least 5000 books to PP. 3k of those came from my mother after she died. She was a voracious reader of all subjects. The rest were from us. Also voracious readers.
As my wife is wont to say, "We were both born with a book in one hand and a deck of cards in the other."
I'm certain we made many readers happy with the donations as well as PP.
As a retiring teacher I had 30 years of files. My youngest daughter is also a teacher so she went with to glean she could use. The issue was my personal items. As I had been off on sick leave for several months I wasn't there to keep an eye on things.
While I was off my colleagues had gone in and cleaned me out. I lost all my fossils and artifacts (some I collected when I was in Boy Scouts), mementos from previous students, a couple keepsakes from my time in the Navy, various plaques and awards I'd won. Things like that. All gone. Taken by "professionals".
My retirement "gift" was an acrylic paperweight. I'd bought a case of them a couple years earlier as giveaways to school visitors like a Middle States team.
I developed a habit of gleefully tossing all my school work in the trash when the final bell rang - so there you go! LOL
Ha! In college I sold my books back as soon as the semester ended, generating some cash to spend for books for the subsequent semester. I kept a couple of my term papers when I was in B-school but I did not keep text books beyond graduation. I eventually got rid of the term papers too. None of the books were going to be used again and they contained no special memories or associations for me and they would have just sat in a box somewhere.
Ha! In college I sold my books back as soon as the semester ended, generating some cash to spend for books for the subsequent semester. I kept a couple of my term papers when I was in B-school but I did not keep text books beyond graduation. I eventually got rid of the term papers too. None of the books were going to be used again and they contained no special memories or associations for me and they would have just sat in a box somewhere.
They give you nothing nowadays for used books!
My first go round at the college wars was in the 70s. You could do okay selling books back then
I matriculated for fun in the 90s and 2005 or so. Most books also had an online version and you just could not get anything for that.
*sigh* Having a corporate business means that some files never get thrown out, in case of an IRS audit (which can happen at any time and is not as limited as a personal tax audit). However, they can molder away in a shed with a leaky roof... "Why yes, I have that right here <cough, wheeze> Oops! Sorry that it just fell apart."
The friends of the library bookstore gets some of my stuff, but the problem is that when I go to donate I see books for sale I want. What I find frightening is that at some point I might want to buy a book that I donated.
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"Why yes, I have that right here <cough, wheeze> Oops! Sorry that it just fell apart."
What I find frightening is that at some point I might want to buy a book that I donated.
