HARD RUBBISH

Hard rubbish, the stuff that can’t go into your normal rubbish bins. Our local council has a rainbow of different lids indicating what rubbish can go where, the hard rubbish is once per year. Some councils have more collections able to be booked, some have Tip tokens. It’s a mad whirl when hard rubbish season is coming around. 

There is even a Facebook group dedicated to the hard rubbish scavengers. I don’t mean this as a derogatory term. My grandparents, my parents, my family, we all bear the impact of The Great Depression, when nothing was thrown out in case it might one day be useful. Our children are far enough removed from the era – actually the Depression was nearly 100 years ago (beginning 1929, ending 1935/36) and the many cheap imports that abound, mean they are far more willing to throw things out immediately they are no longer useful. The hard rubbish scavengers will find the gems, and pass on news of a good collection.

Hard Rubbish and Letting Go

Hard rubbish when you are selling after a number of years is a time of letting go. Acknowledge that you won’t be using it and putting it out on the nature strip. This year our children have been more involved in clearing out the house. We, or more likely me, have a philosophy of ‘keep it if you want to just pack it and label it. Our daughter is ruthless, our son not so much. She has moved interstate a couple of times and has learned to live with less. Our son has moved a few times, had things in storage. Both have been appreciative of having free storage at mum and dads. But the time has come for decisions. 

Hard rubbish is when we also get rid of the things we have held onto that belonged to our parents or grandparents. This can be particularly difficult. Mum, pre dementia, was an avid historian, she interviewed local people, her notes were in shorthand which none of us can read. I had the idea mid week of photographing some pages of her notes, and putting them through Ai. The results were amazing, her stories coming to life. Very glad that these notes were not thrown out. I can take them to the Historical Society, knowing that something positive can be done with them. 

Hard Rubbish, It’s a Subjective Thing

Throwing out things you think are useless is subjective, if you don’t care about them then you don’t care if they are thrown out. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure though. My belief that you NEVER throw out anything that doesn’t belong to you remains strong as we go through mum’s things. This job has really fallen mostly on one siblings shoulders as mum lived in the flat downstairs in my siblings house, and my other sibling and I don’t have access. We are reliant on one sibling to go through things. This is not ideal for any of us, thus I caution families to sort the rules out BEFORE the clean up begins. 

Old photos can be a moment in time. They can demonstrate a change that happened and are very useful to local historical societies. Condolence cards, reflect on who attended a funeral, who was also in a person’s life that as children we were unaware of the connection. I have a box of my dads condolence cards. My plan is to gather the photos used during his service, his memory booklet distributed at his funeral, and other bits and pieces and create a Jim Hogan Memory Book. It won’t happen immediately but it will happen. He passed away in 2007 and there is no rush. His life was important, and I want future generations to know his story. I also have the house sign of our family home that he hand carved. It represented our names, “Jacaranda”. House names were important when we moved to Mt Dandenong. We were known as Hogan Mt Dandenong, or Hogan, “Jacaranda” Mt Dandenong before street numbers were issued. That sign will come with me when we move. 

Hard Rubbish, it’s a Sentimental Process

Sentimental? Absolutely. I see a devastating volume of things put out on hard rubbish when people are clearing out their homes pre going onto the market, or before settlement, and some of those things would have meant a great deal to the residents. When you are downsizing there is a limit to what you can take. Our daughter (oh wise one), kept saying “What you don’t throw out, you have to pack” 

Hard rubbish starts March 9 in my pocket of Olinda. We have the long weekend to add to it. Some bits have already gone, which is great. Yet to go are some larger furniture items, and I may get more ruthless as March 9 draws closer. Books are hard for me to get rid of therefore we have ALOT. My partner is not a reader and thinks it’s crazy. He also wants to get rid of some of our bookcases. No way is that happening. When we find our new home and move in, I want to unpack EVERYTHING. Books will go straight into bookcases. If we have excess belongings once we are in and settled, then, and only then, will the remnants reach our new hard rubbish collection. 

Hard Rubbish, the Lessons Learned So Far

Lessons learned. 

• Belongings of relatives no longer with us should not fall on the shoulders of one sibling to dispose of. We are all different and have different thoughts of important vs disposable
• Photos must be kept, particularly if they show a building or people. If you know where they are and don’t want the photo, ask the historical society closest to where the photo was taken. Your photo may fill in a blank or support a theory. 
• If it’s not yours then it’s not yours to throw out. Take a photo, send it to the owner, and ask.
• If it belongs to someone who is deceased,  such as a grandparent, then cousins may want it – again, take a photo and ask. 
• Books, personal photos, and artwork, ask the person who originally gifted the book, photos, artwork. Don’t assume that they won’t want it. It’s not your decision. If you don’t know then as above, take a photo, and ask
• We have a family Facebook group. I recommend setting one up and sharing photos, life events etc. It keeps the family connection going which is harder once a layer of family dies out. 

I am sure there will be many lessons left to learn before we are moved and unpacked, and mum’s things are finalised. It’s not fun. 

Just getting started on your home buying and home selling journey? Make a time (it’s easier than playing phone tag) and let’s chat about strategy.