kixs wrote:

I only wanted the builds that I once had or wanted. The rest would be in the boxes. Some years later I don't have any complete system that I once had or wanted but have tons of stuff in boxes 😉 When I go search for something I'm almost always amazed what's in the boxes.

I noticed that once I satrted buying second hand movies, I bought a movie, took it home, was about to put it along my humble collection of movies and only then noticing that I already had that movie...oh well, at least they are 2 slightly different versions 😵

From time to time I'll open up a box of parts and say to myself "Wow, I didn't even know I had this! 😁", I feel like Forrest Gumb from time to time.

You really don't want to see my study - it has so much stuff in it, all piled on top of each other.

Rhuwyn has great points; the important question isn't how much equipment you have, it's 'what is it stopping you doing?'. One of the answers to this can be 'being happy, because I don't like being surrounded by clutter'.

My house was (is-ish) terribly messy for various life reasons and concentrating too much on some things, and not enough on tidying. Do not let your living space get into that state, as it takes a vast amount of work to fix it, but also it is never too late.

I do like computers, retro hardware, and gaming, but to be perfectly honest I don't do that much of it. I spend more time going out, doing non computing activities, and general faffing on the Internet.

I'm downsizing *and* organising. I decided that my smallest bedroom (bookcases, lots of DVDs, clutter) should swap with my medium bedroom (current study, stuffed with computers) so that I can have a guest bedroom for friends, and a tidy project room. I like books, but if they're read infrequently is it worth keeping them, especially if they can be re-bought electronically and read on a Kindle. I've got rid of a bookcase, and a bookcase and a half worth of books is allocated to friends/charity shops.

Personally I do not mind being surrounded by equipment, and things will be *very* cosy in the small bedroom. It'll be tidy and organised, though, and that makes the difference to me. Your personality may be different - you may need space and minimalism. Work out what you want, and if your psyche needs the clear space, or if a nicely organised set of shelves/cupboards/other furniture is also sufficient.

jesolo wrote:

Up to about 5 years ago, I only had a couple of retro PC's, which I either kept or were given to me.
But, I soon realised that, what if my retro PC's starts failing after 10 years? Do I have backup parts?

Haha! So true so true. We know how hard it was to get the stuff we have already, so we are afraid of how much harder it will be in 5-10 years.

I had no choice but to build a two story workshop last year to keep up with my hobbies. The lower half is for wood working, and a little machining. Upper half is for retro work, electronics, and gun smithing ( and maybe reloading in the near future). Still building storage for all the retro computers and consoles.

Working on new primary PC over the next month or two and my current one will become the heart of my MAME cabinet. By summer, I might start work on a PinMAME machine. I have way too many hobbies to deal with right now and for the next decade. I'm afraid one day I'll be found dead and buried under a ton of hobby gear, but I can think of worse ways to go.

Kodai wrote:

I had no choice but to build a two story workshop last year to keep up with my hobbies. The lower half is for wood working, and a little machining. Upper half is for retro work, electronics, and gun smithing ( and maybe reloading in the near future). Still building storage for all the retro computers and consoles.

Wheres the pics!! 😁

One way I cut down on getting too much clutter is due to my early choice of only collecting standard PC stuff, so no IBMs, no proprietary stuff that will need tons of room or a separate collection to keep them running, everything has to be flexible.

It's why I only got standard AT and standard ATX tower cases, and a couple kinda-standard cases BUT those can be fitted with ordinary motherboards anyway.

This used to be my garage a few years ago:

(And this is just the visible tip of the iceberg.) When the clutter got out of hand I started feeling overwhelmed and knew I had to do something - I sold, gave away or recycled most of it, and it took me months to do so. In the process I unfortunately got rid of stuff I really regret like my old PC games 🙁

Now I'm still buying old junk from time to time, but I try to be very organized by keeping it tidy and neatly stored in boxes, preferably out of sight.

So from my own experience I would say:

- Don't let clutter accumulate - once it gets too much it will be very difficult to manage.
- Know how to separate the treasure from the trash, don't get rid of stuff that you're really attached to because you will miss it someday, but don't try to keep everything because you can't. Take a photo of the stuff you get rid of.
- Have your stuff stored out of sight and don't let it invade your working / living space as this will impair your focus.