Oh, The Things People Keep
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (28553)
October 18, 2021 10:47pm CST
So, my adult children left some tubs of stuff in my garage. I am tired of looking at them, and they never want to go thru them, so today I did two of them. Old clothes from whenever and wherever, some tennis shoes, one tub of papers my son kept from college years and his master thesis, and the list goes on. I plan on dropping the items off sometime in the future when I visit, surprise! Here is your stuff! I'm sure they will be thrilled.
One thing I found, 3 flip phones. Does anyone even use these anymore? I remember having one or two back in the day when that's just what was available. I forgot just how tiny those screens were. And how long it took to text. These phones are really little, I had forgotten that, too.
I don't miss them. 
8 people like this
8 responses
@arunima25 (85328)
• Bangalore, India
19 Oct 21
I remember having one and we enjoyed it at that time. And somehow we were comfortable with those small screens and not so convenient typing. Recent smartphones have spoilt us
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (28553)
•
19 Oct 21
I agree on what you said about being spoiled, most of us are. I am glad that the screens got bigger over the years. A lot easier to read. Those tiny screens, I am surprised people didn't go blind! LOL
2 people like this
@arunima25 (85328)
• Bangalore, India
19 Oct 21
@MarieCoyle Even when the screen is bigger now, I am still not comfortable using phone much. I do most of my work online on laptop.
After some time on smartphone, my eyes get tired and I feel that I need a break.Or else I will go blind soon
After some time on smartphone, my eyes get tired and I feel that I need a break.Or else I will go blind soon2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (28553)
•
19 Oct 21
@arunima25
I have a laptop and a tablet. Phone is for when I am not at home. I prefer the laptop, too. Easier on the eyes when working online, for sure.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
19 Oct 21
People can't use those phones anymore. They're 1G, so couldn't find a tower, even if they were charged.
When people tell me they've still got old cell phones at home I usually suggest checking to see if they still charge and show that they can find a tower. If they can and do, do a factory reset on them and take them to the local police station. Ask the police to drop them off at a local women's shelter... (By law, as long as a cell phone can hold a charge and find a tower, they must be able to call 911.)
A lot of the time, women in the shelters are there because they are running from an abusive situation. Even if she doesn't have any money, carrying around one of these phones means she can contact the police if her abusive ex-partner shows up and tries to do something... untoward.
When people tell me they've still got old cell phones at home I usually suggest checking to see if they still charge and show that they can find a tower. If they can and do, do a factory reset on them and take them to the local police station. Ask the police to drop them off at a local women's shelter... (By law, as long as a cell phone can hold a charge and find a tower, they must be able to call 911.)
A lot of the time, women in the shelters are there because they are running from an abusive situation. Even if she doesn't have any money, carrying around one of these phones means she can contact the police if her abusive ex-partner shows up and tries to do something... untoward.2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
19 Oct 21
@MarieCoyle No, they definitely won't work.
I'm glad you already knew you could donate old phones. Most people don't think about it.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
20 Oct 21
@MarieCoyle Pretty takes my old phones. I buy a new one every 2 1/2 years. (She doesn't want a phone to make phone calls. She uses them to run apps she can make money from.)
By the time Pretty is done with a phone it can't be used for anything anymore.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (28553)
•
19 Oct 21
Yes, I have donated several older phones by passing them on to the police station here.. But as you said, these are super old, I don't think they would work when we now run on 5g here.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (71666)
• United States
19 Oct 21
My daughters friend uses a flip phone. They are very low income so I’m guessing that’s all he could afford. Kind of made me sad to see. All my kids have smart phones that were only about $100. I buy them brand new but older models. We don’t need the latest and greatest.
1 person likes this
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
19 Oct 21
I likely have a couple of them stashed somewhere in some corner of stuff that has just sort of gotten toted along on moves and never actually dealt with. I'd feel guilty about never fully unpacking, but I looked up the average time for people to fully unpack and, according to Realtor.com, it's 182 days. That makes me feel a bit less guilty.
1 person likes this
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
20 Oct 21
@MarieCoyle Yep. So, it ends up getting shuttled along to the next place.
Since we're planning to move again, I'm trying to tackle at least some of this before we relocate. I've donated a bit of stuff, but there is a lot of stuff that I haven't found the strength to deal with yet.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (28553)
•
20 Oct 21
@wilsongoddard
Boy, do I ever know how that is. You just get tired of dealing with it. I have donated more stuff this past year than I ever have. If I don't need it or use it or if it isn't special, it's going.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (28553)
•
20 Oct 21
And it's easy to not unpack stuff you don't use often until you need it, because a person gets super tired of unpacking.
1 person likes this
@zhangxueying (2945)
• China
19 Oct 21
Those screens are really small and push-button
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (28553)
•
19 Oct 21
I had a Nokia phone back in the 90's. Haven't since. No one seems to use them anymore.
