# Hoarders--Lodge edition



## cacarter (Apr 11, 2011)

Our lodge had a clean up this past weekend getting ready for the Grand Master's Conference on April 23.  And digging through all the rooms we have I found an assortment of items including 3 old--and I do mean old--vacuums, 3 typewriters of varying ages, projectors, chairs, and other items left over from a lodge that consolidated with us 7 years ago.  I don't think most, if not any, of it has been used in years.  And yet, we don't part with it, saying "Oh we might need it someday."

Is it a common occurrence for lodges to just keep anything and everything that comes into its doors?


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## Beathard (Apr 11, 2011)

Simple answer: Yes


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## Bro. Stewart P.M. (Apr 12, 2011)

Yes. From what I have observed, all of the Lodges that I belong to are guilty of keeping things longer than really needed.


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## RTidwell (Apr 12, 2011)

No it's not hoarding it's collecting antiques. Yes even the 10 year old can of beans every lodge has but doesn't know where it came from.  Hey 01 was a great year for ranch style beans.


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## S.Courtemanche (Apr 12, 2011)

I would say, yes. I myself went through all of our closets with a few brothers and we have stuff that is ancient but we still keep them.


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## Tony Siciliano (Apr 12, 2011)

ROFL.

Want to take about horders?  I just went through the SR degrees a couple of weekends ago... In my goody bag I got a "History of Your Temple" book.  From 1967.  I also got some Rite Care pamphletef from 1982-ish.  

I think it comes down to cost.  We paid for it... so that's one less thing we have to buy later.


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## JTM (Apr 12, 2011)

just go up to the lodge and make some of that stuff disappear.  anything with no value (sentimental or otherwise) doesn't need to be taking up space.


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## S.Courtemanche (Apr 12, 2011)

JTM, I agree 100% its convincing others to agree and getting the appended bodies to come in and say toss this keep that )o; Trust me I tried.


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## MikeMay (Apr 12, 2011)

RTidwell said:


> Hey 01 was a great year for ranch style beans.



Why yes it was...extra potent...  ;-)


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## David Duke (Apr 12, 2011)

JTM said:


> just go up to the lodge and make some of that stuff disappear. anything with no value (sentimental or otherwise) doesn't need to be taking up space.



Been there done that!!


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## brandon.prewitt (Apr 13, 2011)

Garage sale fundraiser?  Add BBQ plates and baked goods and you have yourself a good time.


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## Benton (Apr 15, 2011)

If the typewriters etc are in good condition, and really are *that* old, you might be able to sell them to a museum or private collector somewhere. Seriously. Some of that stuff might be worth appraising.

Trash the rest.


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## cambridgemason (Apr 19, 2011)

Before you start throwing things away, check first to see what it is.  Here in Massachusetts, we have over the years had many a Lodge merger, and building clean out.  Some items we throw away, purely by accident.  Of course some items such as broken fans, vaccums, computers can be removed, but other items that perhaps you have no idea what it is, ask first.  It is always good to clean house, you never know what you may find.


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## Beathard (Apr 19, 2011)

We had 37 folding chairs in a closet that had not been used in over 20 years. Sold them for $450.


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## robert leachman (Apr 19, 2011)

Got rid of the ashtrays!!!!


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## RTidwell (Apr 19, 2011)

robert leachman said:
			
		

> Got rid of the ashtrays!!!!



I hope they weren't Masonic ashtrays.  Those are getting hard to find.  I managed to find one that was ment for cigars and  had to pay a little more than I wanted but it's worth it.


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## robert leachman (Apr 19, 2011)

no just regular ones


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## HKTidwell (Apr 22, 2011)

We had this discussion a couple weeks ago at our lodge, seems we have collected quite a few things over the years.  Part of it we are planning on keeping for historical reason but have decided we will be going through everything in the near future to determine what should be kept or not.  One of the problems you potentially encounter is that Brother X passed away and donated an item 20 years ago.  The new brethren do not know about this history and can upset a older brother.  I would caution others when proceeding with this laudable undertaking to do so in a manner that everybody is aware of and has a chance to say where something came from.   

I think guys in particular tend to be hoarders of certain items because we think hey I can use this later for XYZ.  We never get around to doing XYZ but we always think we will.  At least in regards to my shop I do this.


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## jwhoff (Apr 22, 2011)

I *really* hate to bring this up. But ... but ... well ... has anyone taken a look in the refrigerator lately?

I told you I hated to bring it up.


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## HKTidwell (Apr 22, 2011)

I'll have you know that our fridge is in good shape now the freezer I'm scared to venture into.  Pretty sure it has been used as a catch all.


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## MikeMay (Apr 22, 2011)

robert leachman said:


> no just regular ones


 
I would hope they were "regular"...can't have "irregular" ones in a regular lodge...  ;-)


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## jwhoff (Apr 23, 2011)

We can't see in our freezer for the ice.  That's why we keep adding more.


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## cacarter (Mar 25, 2015)

Cleaned out our closets at the lodge last night. Found a bunch of old Texas Mason magazines, and all sorts of decades old paper goods that were not records.  I thought we had agreed to save them. Next thing I know we are putting them back in the closet "Yeah, we're going to decide what to do with them later." And this is part of the reason nothing ever gets thrown away in a lodge.


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## Companion Joe (Mar 25, 2015)

A lot of that has to do with the older generation of people who might have lived during the Depression or WWII. They can't let anything go. My wife and I were just laughing this afternoon because my dad has four, rusty, broken down push mower decks out behind our shop. I keep telling him to clean that crap up, but he says, "We might need them for something." The oldest one has been there since I was a kid (and I'm 43 now).

As for the lodge, if it's old and Masonic, keep it. If it's a broken Dust Devil vacuum from 1992, toss it.


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## Bill Lins (Mar 25, 2015)

Bro. Stewart P.M. said:


> Yes. From what I have observed, all of the Lodges that I belong to are guilty of keeping things longer than really needed.


Including PMs?


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## cacarter (Mar 26, 2015)

I would save anything that has to do with the lodge masonically, including ledgers, minutes, etc.  But I am against saving the Spring 1972 edition of the Texas Mason Magazine or the state wide roster of masons in Texas from 1965.  Asking the Grand Lodge library if they want them for their records would be a possibility before dumping them, but dang, I don't see a purpose.


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## jwhoff (Mar 31, 2015)

Agreed!  I think it should be a hard and fast rule to, at least, stick to the current century.


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## Companion Joe (Mar 31, 2015)

Mmmmmm, yeaaaah ... you should be careful using those types of references. I was having a conversation with some young guys at the lodge the other day about something, and one of them threw out a "not since the turn of the century" reference. I said we can't verify that. He said he was pretty sure. It escalated until he pointed out that in 2015, turn of the century meant 1999-2000, not, as my brain's default setting thinks, 1899-1900. 

I told him to shut up.


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## jwhoff (Apr 2, 2015)

Brother Joe, you'll find very few default settings in my brain.  

It can get quite lonely in here!  

But I follow you thought ...  somewhat.


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