Music used to be a huge part of my life and being the ‘band guy’ was my identity. But as the cliche goes, now that I’m in my 40s, I don’t really play anymore. I still own a biggish guitar amp I used to play out with. But I can’t really imagine a scenario, realistically, where I ever use it again.
With life moving forward there’s a need to clear out space in my home, but it’s tough to let go of the possibility I may need it someday. Symbolically, selling it is essential divorcing myself from my musical past. This is something I struggle with.
Do you guys hang on to stuff like this even though it’s basically useless? Maybe letting it go is necessary to move on and grow.
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I’m OK with getting rid of stuff once I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll never use it again. However….
I find it very difficult to come to that conclusion. I could lose my right leg in an accident and I’ll still hang on to a pair of running shoes because they might fit my prosthetic leg!
I spent my 20s behind a drum kit. I remember seeing them in the corner one day and realizing they had been in their cases for 2 years. I sold them. And yes, it was hard to admit to myself that part of me had died. Partially because I realized how much time had passed and partially because I much preferred that chapter of my life to the desk-jockey lifestyle I lead now.
But on the other hand, whatever. It’s a drum set. If I decide I ever want to play again, I’ll just go get another. They’re everywhere. Maybe a 70s Ludwig keystone badge. That’d be sick.
I used to have a hard time. Then we started watching “Hoarders”. Now we toss out old stuff.
I highly recommend looking into Konmari. Its helped me in different stages of life.
Ive had some life events that forced me to downside and eventually move on. Moving, deaths, and more.
In the end you can’t take anything with you. Its gotten easier through life for me because of a few times it’s occurred; but I know I’m a stronger man for myself and able to be there for others when they experience those times. The hardest part is accepting, I feel, that if you were to pass any moment — is how would your survivors handle everything? Life has hooted me hard but I feel I hit that balance of what brings me joy, what won’t any longer, and its ok to part and remember if its that time.
Just recently I combed through the family storage unit to clear some old things out. One of the hardest things was finally passing my artwork. From high school to college I finally disposed a ton of my old projects. Some things I photographed and out on the cloud; so I can revisit them. Memories, luckily, can take very little space — especially in the digital age.
Stuff is stuff. Its ok to have things that bring you comfort that emotionally are hard to separate.
Wishing you best, brother.
I’ve definitely struggled with that. One thing that’s helped has been taking picture of things that only have sentimental value. After all, I’m not likely to ever do anything with them than take them out and reminisce, and I can do that with photos that don’t take up any space.
Also I clean up when I’m angry about something. Easier to get rid of stuff that way.
Look into Swedish death cleaning. It sounds grim but it’s helped me put a positive spin on clearing out a lot of my stuff.
i strive to be minimalistic. I currently do not own anything over 2 years of age. limited set of cloths and belongings. cheap android phones. I do own old servers for because i need them for professional development. personally , i dont hold onto anything at all. everything is replaceable.
Oh for sure. I’m a total pack-rat!
I recon I’d be able to cut my crap-collection in half if I had the guts to sell/donate/throw away things I don’t use/need anymore. But a lot of those are totally usable and I’ve already paid a lot of money for them, so you know. Plus I don’t like throwing away things that are in working condition. So I just try to use them up first.
Oh sure, I have lots of things shoved in the back of my closet… A guitar (I never got past basic chords), some clothes I probably haven’t worn since high school, uncomfortable shoes I’ll never wear again… A girlfriend when I was a teen made me a cross stitch — I kept it into my late 30s, finally tossed it in a move. Plus there’s the knick knacks, like a vial of volcanic ash from Mt St. Helens when I went there in the 80s — still got it.
Heck, I have an extra kitchen table… It’s sitting disassembled in the basement right now.
I moved around a lot and my family really didn’t GAF about sentimentality so even though there’s a few things I wish I could have kept all the way back to my childhood, through all kinds of circumstances beyond my control I was unable to do so. As a consequence of this I think I’ve gotten weirdly attached to some some stuff that’s a little out of left field.
I too have an amp the size of a person in spite of having not used it in a significant way in over a decade (I still compose music but I’ve *always* recorded DI, especially bass, so why do I have a 1000W half stack if I’m not gigging?). I’m getting a medical device put in soon and when my doctor told me that I’d have to get rid of the amp because it would interfere with my device I legit started grieving. Like I was losing a friend almost. It really is very nearly, with the exception of a few DVDs and CDs, the only thing I’ve owned for as long as I’ve owned it. I used my very first “serious” job to buy it. It was exactly what I wanted and it made me feel so proud and professional that no matter what a potential guitar player was packing, the bass would not get lost in the mix. And to add insult to injury it’s not a very sought after amp so I wouldn’t even get what I paid for it if I sold it today which, adjusted for inflation, is like a $1K loss. It honestly felt a little disrespectful to sell it knowing that. I started asking relatives to find out whose kids were interested in playing bass so that at least it would go to a good home like it was a goddamn cat I had to give away.
Thankfully I was able to speak to the device’s manufacturer who told me that the particular device I’m getting isn’t nearly as reactive to magnets as they used to be so I’m actually able to keep it after all. There was a part of me that, like yourself, wondered if maybe keeping it is escaping some kind of necessary growth but I don’t know. Being forced to with only ~2 weeks notice was a lot. I wondered for a minute if I was just channeling my concerns about the actual implantation into this frivolous thing to distract me but I genuinely don’t think I was. I think the thing itself is symbolic of a lot of stuff I still have unresolved issues surrounding. The sacrifices I made to make the band thing work for as long as I did, the sense of agency that having it gave me, the fact that it’s been present for more of my life than anyone still living like some kind of monolithic silent sentinel bearing witness to a slow motion tragedy. And honestly I had just been considering picking up a 12 string bass and getting back into the scene and it’s still the only amp in my price range that I think could run a 12 without it sounding like mud. The truth is, at least in my case, those kinds of possessions, the ones that feel like they truly complimented you in some way at some point in time, are simply more complicated psychologically than mere things.
Keep it, sell it, only you know what makes sense. Do you still enjoy playing? Do you want to just jam with some dudes on the weekends? Does a band have to have ambitions or can it be like a D&D game; just an ongoing thing you do for fun when you can? If you absolutely have to gig I cannot tell you how many people used to come through my old studio with a single instrument and either a laptop or some kind of sampler/looper for backing tracks. There are ways is what I’m saying. Hang it up if you want to, that part of your life may genuinely be behind you and that’s equally valid, but if that urge is coming from the wrong place there are other options.