“ Kids school work or artwork? DD is only 20 and says she wouldn't want it down the road. but she might think differently later when she's a little older..??”

How often had you had the need to see your own schoolwork or childhood art?

If she says she doesn’t want it you should feel free to toss it. Or hand it to her to store or toss. If you really feel guilty, take pictures of the masterpieces before tossing.

Don't use it? Don't keep it.

Clutter attracts rodents. Rat poop can make you ill. Wear some type of mask when cleaning it up. A good idea to wash down contacted areas with a bleach/water solution.

Have it drywalled and keep it clean. It's worth doing. The other thing necessary is to keep the door closed. If you're open to your neighbor's space, you'll never get rid of the rodents.

You could politely talk to your neighbor about the rats. Perhaps drop a hint at an exterminator? Set rat traps on your side. We keep cars in the garage. I did not spend that kind of money on vehicles to let them sit outdoors and get weather-beaten or to have to scrape ice and snow off my windows and paint. Items we store are in the house in closets. There isn't much. I am more inclined to keep a photo of events, not mementos.

I am in the same place as you. I offer anything related to them to my kids to them once, and only once. There is very little that they want. Both have told me separately that all their good memories are in their minds, along with a a few photos. I read something once that said to look at things, take a mental snapshot, and if it is important to you, you will remember it. So far so good. I am discovering the the joy of being unburdened by "stuff" is real and palbable.

I still have my sons special blanket in the attic. He is 50. I am sure he doesn’t even remember it. Take pictures of them and then toss. I have too much stuff in my garage, too.

We built a new barn, and we call it a garage, but we don't keep vehicles in it. We have the riding mower in there, and I keep some antique/vintage cupboards in there, waiting on us to build a house. The cat food, dog food, bird seed and rat blocks for the squirrels. Tools, a small counter top size fridge for cold drinks and a small chest type freezer. We just moved here about 18 months ago, so I don't have a lot of excess stuff in there.

Retiring to a new, downsized house is what got me to clean out our basement. For years, we had space but no time. Finally we had time to go through stuff, but not much future storage. So toss, toss, toss :-)

If you don't have that stimulus, maybe think of what you'd use any freed up space for, and focus on attaining that goal. Make it a goal to park in your garage?

In clearing out my parents' house, I'm finding old schoolwork of mine and my siblings that's kind of fun to see. And some interesting notes from their teachers to our parents that shed a lot of light on some things for me, even 50+ years on. But, on the other hand, I found my brother's baby doll (it looked so much like him!) But when I picked it up, the face was MELTING. Gack!

This whole experience is really making me rethink my own propensity to hold on to things. Well, I've rethought it for years but still have to much memoribilia.

Btw, I wouldn't necessarily blame the neighbor. Rats are rats.

As each kid bought their first home I showed up with all their "stuff"! My DD was upset saying what was she going to do with all this stuff. Hers was a lot of college and medical school books. Every time she came home I would tell her to go thru stuff in the basement. Nope! So I delivered!!!

Told the kids it was not my decision to toss their stuff.

Go thru your totes and get rid of your stuff, save for DD her stuff. She may want it later.

"Garaged vehicles last longer and cost less to insure since they are less likely to be stolen or damaged."

My cars are kept in a garage but my insurance company (State Farm) has never asked where they're parked. Going on 30 years with the same company. Maybe I should inquire or maybe this doesn't make a difference as you suggest? Easy enough to ask.

I get rid of unneeded items that are in garage only when I move. A lot of my gardening stuff and winter things were gotten rid of when we moved from Illinois to Florida.

I told SO that if anything happens to him, my first call would be to 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Rats will go where rats will go. Finding rat poop if it was actually rat poop only means that at one time rats found a way to enter. Since it is a rented property take it up with your landlord. Moving your stuff will do nothing other than clean out an area unless methods are taken to prevent rats and other things from entering.

Good luck with the cleaning. Check with your landlord if you can have a dumpster delivered. If not it will take much longer to remove the stuff you do not want.

Doesn't always own the condo?

Rats don't go where there's no open passageway.

I've been here 18 years and never used the garage although I'd like to. the single car garage is so tight that that your passenger needs to get out before pulling in, that is one of the main reasons I never used it. With small kids at the time, it wasn't going to work. Besides being a tight squeeze inside, you have to really have to get the angle of your car just right to be able to pull in evenly. I'm a good driver but not sure I have the patience for that every time pulling in and out of the garage. The outside parking spot has made it so convenient when you come and go several times a day. But whether I end up parking my car in there or not, I don't want to store a bunch of stuff...and I'd like to get it sealed up to help with the rat issue.

Maifleur: It's not a rental and not so much stuff that I would need a dumpster. I did clear out stuff that I put up for Free on Facebook Marketplace. I think I will be ok getting rid of some stuff finally.

I'd keep things that document family and historical events and toss the rest. Keep the yearbooks and class photos, and toss most school work and most 'art'. Keep only the momentous school work like a term paper (if good) or an exceptional design. Look at the art with a jaundiced eye. If you spy a good piece, or something that could be the start of a new trend, you might keep that piece - toss the rest. Toss the blankie and other articles of clothing. If the clothing is useful, donate those to a shelter or Good Will. Mothers in the past kept the first pair of baby shoes that their young wore. That's okay if you have only one or two kids, but no one kept old shoes in a family of 10 kids. I kept the design drawings that I made of a gear reduction box because it was displayed by the Prof and served for job interviews. Most of my class notes were tossed. I only kept items that I might need to solve some knotty engineering problems.

One rule of thumb you could use is "if you do not have a near term use for it, toss it".

My sister would have thrown out all of that stuff. I would at least keep the yearbooks - I do enjoy looking at them through the years.

I stored quite a few things in my garage here that I was able to use in our second house, but they were mostly furniture.

No one in this neighborhood parks in their garage, but all houses do have garages, built circa 1950. In Cathedral City, we have a spacious two-car garage where we can park both of our vehicles and still have room for tools, cabinets (for paint, etc) and bicycles.

For me it's the minute I realize that I don't want it anymore. Well not exactly the minute I don't want it anymore but fairly close. I am a master procrastinator sometimes but this is something I've made a rule of. Get rid of it the minute I'm tired of it. Otherwise it hangs around too long.

Sometimes though I need a partner. Luckily DH loves throwing obstacles and junk out.

Find if you can a co-conspirator it makes the job go more quickly and you have somebody to blame if the children turn on you. :-)

There's no reason to keep paper - scan it or photograph it and then get rid of it. Non-paper items I've photographed (digital, no clutter) before putting them in consignment or donating them. If the item doesn't qualify for those categories then why are you keeping it?

Another possible goal for cleared out garage space: an exercise area, an indoor gardening area, or simply nicer shelves for more organized storage of less stuff.

???? You store stuff in a garage but you wouldn't park a car unless you dry wall?? You know the rats live outside and can get into your car as it sits whenever they want?? Garages are for cars. If you can't get your car in the garage it means you have STUFF that needs to get passed on. ANYTHING you have not wanted/touched/used in over a year, or have not unpacked since you put it in it's box in the garage, has no reason to be there, and needs to be removed FOREVER. Most of us need to live knowing our homes are FULL and nothing should be added to them unless something is removed.

I'll pick one thing, the kids' artwork. I picked through and chose the pieces I really loved and tossed the rest. There are so few, they fit into a folder that is on a bookshelf. Except my three favorite drawings, and they adorn my work spaces. You don't have to toss it all, but it's easier to toss the majority when you pick the favorites.

There's no reason to keep paper - scan it or photograph it and then get rid of it.

For most things this is true, but for, say, family letters and documents, hold on to the originals. First of all, reading something written in ink on paper is a whole different experience than reading it on a screen or in a photocopy. And more practically, digitized things can disappear, or become unreadable as technology changes. Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. ;-)

My motto is, "When in doubt, throw it out." I learned a long time ago that space is often more valuable than the stuff that occupies it. Open space is valuable even if it is empty, for the visual calm that it provides. Let your kids accumulate their own stuff. Don't burden them with stuff you've collected. And if the stuff is useable but you aren't using it, it's kind of selfish to stockpile it in your garage. Donate it.

What? ? ? ?

You're supposed to throw stuff out? ? ? ? ?

Who knew!

Rusty

I personally try to find uses for some of that stuff. I gave away the newborn blankets when my next door neighbor asked if she could have them 16 years ago. She wanted them for cleaning something because they didn't leave a lint trail. Gone and I was happy about it. I kept other baby and toddler blankets because I felt they were too used to donate, but still too good to throw away. My pets use those so somebody I love is still using those. I go through the old papers every few years. I have tossed most everything. I keep the artwork and profound statements. The rest goes.

You need a friend or the kids to come help you. Basically they hold something up and you make a decision to keep, donate or give away. You can have a maybe pile. I think you will start discarding from the maybe pile once it starts getting too big.

Interesting although I used the wrong term, landlord, many condos do have a board of some type that does things like hiring exterminators and other services which can affect the whole property.

It was really hard for me to just let go of items I had stored in the garage. In fact, I couldn't do it. Two of my granddaughters came over and put everything out for people to pick up if they wanted. Had a neighbor to call the city and told them I was having a garage sale without a permit. The city immediately came out to ticket me. When the inspector realized what was going on and that nothing was for sale, he apologized to me. Of course, while at the door talking to him, I could see people loading up the items which made it even harder for me.

But, it is great being able to park a car in the garage if I want to do so.

"many condos do have a board of some type that does things like hiring exterminators and other services which can affect the whole property."

I think it's fair to say that every real estate interest in a circumstance where there's common, undivided ownership of structures or land, or private roads, or community rec areas (pools) will have a Board or other contractual provisions (for small membership numbers) to oversee the common areas. Where units are free standing and unattached, I suspect HOAs do not do anything about pest exterminators and leave it to the individual property owners to do or not do. That's how it is for my two free standing, unattached properties in HOA areas. What my neighbors do or don't do can affect my situation but we're all on our own.

From always1's description, her property is attached in part to others, at least the garage is.

Walnut,

You need to get a permit to have a garage sale? That is one of the strangest things I’ve heard.

HamiltonGardener - some areas have deed restrictions do require a permit or completely ban yard sales.

Interesting. I guess I’ve never lived in one of those areas.

On the topic of “stuff” though, I’m surprised at the number of storage facilities popping up everywhere. There are even advertisements running about how people need to get storage units to hold all their old “stuff” and encouraging them to buy new “stuff”.

Long gone are they days when you would wear out your belongings first, then throw them out to make room for new things.

"Long gone are they days when you would wear out your belongings first, then throw them out to make room for new things."

"Use it up, wear it out. Make it do, or do without." was one of my mother's favorite sayings, it was really drilled into me when I was growing up.

Rusty

Hamilton, I work for a property mgmt company and we also have several mini storages....I don't get it either. People pay for years and years and years!!

I have things I wish I could get rid of but must wait. Specifically, my paternal grandmothers large boring and ugly China set. I did not like that woman. At all. And I do not like her China and would never ever have chosen it to enter my home. Its so.....dull. My father insisted that I said I wanted it. Not true at all. Fact is, my parent do not need a storage building. When they have something that they don't want in their house, but do not want to throw it out, they guilt one of us kids into keeping it in ours or tell us that at one point we said we wanted it. It is only out of a grudging respect for my father,who is still living, that I haven't used that China for target practice yet. Its in a tote in a closet. There it will stay until I can dispose of it without hurting anyone's feelings.

We need permits for garage sales, but it’s not a big deal. It mainly has to do with parking. But, there are plenty of FB ”garage sale” and market groups, that don’t necessarily go through the FB Marketplace App; they are locally administrated.

I confess, I got a storage locker after my father died. There were things we needed to remove from the house to get it ready to sell, but my brothers weren’t ready to receive them. One lives abroad, and the travel restrictions of the past year have meant he is unable to come back to curate things with me. For the most part, though, it isn’t “stuff” but “memorabilia”.

you could frame some of the artwork and hang it. someone posted about that. or insert into a photo type album. and / or take photos of them and put those in an album on a shelf. I have lots of stuff and am so sick of it all. slowly going thru it, some just to trash, some to GW, some things in a bin for the kids. my son will be here next summer and he can go thru anything his.

We have to apply to our small town hall for a permit for a garage sale. I believe it does have to do with parking issues. We live on a beach road. There are no sidewalks in our town. My DH threw a surprise birthday party for me (an "important" birthday) and thought to get a permit for people to park along our street and side streets. You need a sticker to park at our bay beach at the end of our road, and surrounding ponds - tickets are issued and are expensive. $50 each time whether you are a resident or not.

seagrass

Always1stepbehind,

I think it’s a hoarding issue and consumerism issue combined. Many people cannot bear to throw out even the insignificant things let alone perfectly functional items, and they are privileged enough for “retail therapy” to allow a constant inflow of goods into their home.

You know, there are a lot of refugees, single parents, etc out there to see if any of them want these items. Too bad they sit in storage units.

Are they rats, or mice? I guarantee you that they are in more than just your garage or your neighbor's. Both rodents can chew through many things, including walls, and they can squeeze in through the smallest of openings, even the corners of the garage door. If you see poop, you have rodents and your neighbors have rodents, too, if your houses are joined like that. You should put some traps out. Use the kind that clamp down and kill the rodent. Those sticky traps are much more cruel than just snapping its neck. And poison may kill more that just the rodents in your garage. Rodents dont just go away on their own. Rodents should be taken seriously. They get into things and leave pee and poop that can be ripe with disease.

Get rid of all that stuff and welcome to the world of declutting!

You will face many decisions as to your stuff and each makes a personal decision.

Sometimes, things do survive to still make a statement decades later.

My MIL had put into my husband's baby book a large picture that he drew of himself when he was five. Now that he is 70, that picture is priceless! I have saved a few things like that from my own kids.

The objective is to only keep a small and organized number of things that will be accessible to be viewed and appreciated. That means shedding most of it.

You need to cull and edit and organize.

For paper things I highly recommend using 12'x12" binders that have the D rings that snap open so that the pages can be easily manipulated. Those small ones that use the screw posts are not really that easy to work with.

Amylou,. that china has become an albatross around the necks of the younger generation, along with the china cabinets that it often gets stored in. So many inherit it and so many are trying to get rid of it. My sister was the lucky one who got the old "collectible" glassware and dinner ware. She is trying to find someone who wants it. She has a wide variety of different things from pre mid century. There is only so much of it that you can find a use for. Sure, you could use it as everyday, but why do that when the more modern stuff is so much easier to use?

My daughter saved everything from the remains of an old airplane ticket to giggle notes written to her friends. It was all mixed up in a couple of big tubs in the attic where it sat for over a dozen years, forgotten. I did not even ask her about it because I know that she will still save everything just like that. I culled, edited and organized what seemed to be a generous sampling of things and trashed the rest. She has forgotten all about all of it so she will find this edited version of it when I am gone.

We can't easily park our car in the garage, either. It is a single family house but the garage is the smallest it can possibly be. You can barely open the door to get into the car in the garage, I find better use for it as a utility place to do projects and to keep the garden equipment, bike, and an extra fridge for summer produce. It is much more useful to me as a utility room. that is just off the kitchen. I guarantee that it is NOT full of storage bins and I am working on paring down tools, unused garden things and the such.

Welcome to the liberation that comes from ridding your life of excess baggage!!!!

Anyone who has cleaned out the house of a parent will have some ideas about the pain and turmoil of doing that. I hope to NOT do that to my kids.

I've always used the garage to park cars, store lawn equipment and a trash can. I've never had a reason to store anything else in there.

I've found most garages are poorly designed for parking. We have a four car tandem parking garage. It is basically a garage where you can comfortably park one car. Our minivan will only fit in the single space if we pull the mirrors in and park perfectly. The tandem space is off center and not designed for pulling in and out daily. The two spaces next to each other only work if your passenger gets out before you pull in. My garage is more spacious than most. Some of my neighbors can't park in their garages at all.

If you have not even attempted to use in in over a year get rid of it. You won't be needed the children's things anymore, if its sentimental take a picture of it and free up some valuable space. Or you can give it to family member if they want it.

I did pretty good getting rid of stuff stuff...like small pet carrier, beach chairs, weight bench, portable fire pit...that type of stuff. Stuff that is still good and usable. I dont have a problem throwing away stuff that is no use to anyone anymore. But I'd like to filter out the plastic storage bins. I know I will end up with some stuff but I think I can thin it out what I have.

Wednesday: yes, definitely rats in the garage. Big poops vs small mouse poops so I know it's rats. My garage is attached to neighbors garage but our garages are NOT attached to our condos. I can say in the 18 years I have been in my condo I have NEVER (knocking on wood) seen evidence of mice or roaches!! Silverfish, yes. Lizards, yes.