Weighing up throwing vs mending something

[Jimbob1988]

Morning all,

Just doing a big clear-out and I am coming across items that I could repair but we have enough of them currently.

Is it selfish to dispose of them to make space if time is limited to mend them?

I mean, they haven't been touched for over two years...

 

[LyndaR]

For me:
In theory, if they haven't been used in 2 years then they can be thrown out.
In practice, I am a hoarder so rarely throw anything out, just in case it is needed. Hence the amount of junk in my prep room!

 

[St Caths Crew]

I had a major purge when I started, people had to lock things away if they wanted to keep stuff which didn't work or was no longer curriculum related. It used to be you opened a cupboard and everything came to say hi!

So my theory is if you haven't used it for several years and you have others, chuck em.

 

[Nick Mitchener]

I didn't throw anything out until I had been there two years, but have thrown nothing significant out apart from ionising sources. When the new GCSE spec and GCE A spec came out I got to put sonometers and prism spectrometers back in when they had not been used for 20-30 years.

I made loads of mini spirit burners for the old chemistry spec and they are now being used for heating as we can't use bunsens.

 

[Purple Cat]

I tend to find 5 minutes after you've thrown the whatsit in the bin after not using it for several years that it's required again!

 

[Seahorse]

I wouldn't throw them out, always handy to have spares. Shove them in a box out of the way (try not to forget them and buy more in 5 years time!)

 

[WMC_Ste]

I wouldn't throw them out, always handy to have spares. Shove them in a box out of the way (try not to forget them and buy more in 5 years time!)

The forgetting about it and buying new is why I opt to throw them out, unless they are really pricey keep 5ish spares and sling the rest.

 

[Technician Q]

It depends on the time to mend vs the cost of item. Cheap things get binned or stripped for parts. More expensive things get mended. But we’re lucky enough to have a healthy budget so don’t really need to worry about if we’ll be able to replace.

 

[Phil_C]

I once worked with someone who would say "If in doubt, chuck it out". I'm a hoarder at heart so always try to hear him in my head when I'm sorting.

 

[unclejoe]

Just price up your hourly rate against the cost of the new items. If the replacements are like for like then chuck them. If the old ones are better in some way, old enough to have historic value or have some deep sentimental attachment then repair!

 

[Julie Delaney]

Morning all,

Just doing a big clear-out and I am coming across items that I could repair but we have enough of them currently.

Is it selfish to dispose of them to make space if time is limited to mend them?

I mean, they haven't been touched for over two years...

I would give the stuff the order of the foxtrot Oscar ad file it under B.

 

[Paul]

I once worked with someone who would say "If in doubt, chuck it out". I'm a hoarder at heart so always try to hear him in my head when I'm sorting.

I just threw stuff that has not moved since I last tidied the cupboard.

 

[Peter Dale]

I will always try to repair something, time permitting, unless it has never been asked for in my entire time here. Whether it gets chucked depends on how much of a pain it is/how successful the repair job is. If I feel it's becoming too finickey or taking too much of my time, I call time of death and bury it in the bottom of the bin.