Lost interest in scrapping

I dont feel like looking for scrap, checking CL, or anything. Last TV I had I just took out the yoke and degausing cable. Hell, this is the first time i visited this forum in a few weeks. I dont know, school is being a b@#ch right now. Maybe thats it? People are giving me stuff and i dont feel like taking it apart. Anybody else go through this?

I don't know about anyone else but I'm too desperate for money to slack off too much.

I will admit, though, that sometimes it's hard to get myself motivated. Beating oneself with horsehide whips and bicycle chains seems to help. The additional medical bills tend to wipe out any gains however.

Seriously dryver12... work it out for yourself. Only you know what pace works best for you. Life can be overwhelming sometimes. Give yourself a break... if you need it.

I feel your pain.... Now that the days are shorter and cooler, I am less motivated to be outside.... So most of the work I do is on the weekends now... Plus I am starting to get quite busy at work and worn out at the end of the day..... we sell different wear parts for machines.... but the main thing I do is manufacture snow chains.... and there have been large orders lately... so I am kinda worn out at the end of the day.....

If need be, i do have that "emergency fund" I can cash in... I bought a hand sheer when copper plumeted, so I can cut copper tubing into small pieced and take up less space... I probably have around 60 - 70 pounds... or 2 - 5 gallon pails... my goal is to fill a barrel one size smaller than a 45 gallon drum... with any luck, it will be full by the end of the year. lol

sorry for the long thread steal... lol

Good luck, and I hope you find your mojo to get back into the game

I think its natural. Once, after doing this for 7 days a week for months at a time I got into a big fight with my then helper brother at the time and was so mentally and physically exhausted I threw out some stuff I had picked up and threw my hands up in the air and claimed, ''I'm done!!!!!!! Finished!!!! Never again!!!!!'' After taking a break for a couple days though I started itching I didn't have anything to break down. Like Torker, it was a mental and physical cleaning and I've learned to not let this take over my life completely like it had been doing. I just needed a break and it sounds like thats where you are right now. But school is important so dont let it make you feel guilty if you dont scrap for a while. Maybe at least stockpile stuff if you have the room and its there when you do feel like getting baack to breaking down.

please no one take offence at this: Except for maybe 10 years of my life I hafe been self employed, and have owned several business of many different types. One of the problems with this is that you are your own boss. You must treat each business like you have a boss above you, forcing you to operate like a normal business.

In the case of scrapping this is perticularly important because of the freedom it provides. There are no regular hours required, you can start at 9 in the morning or 2 in the morning. you can work 2 hours a day or 20 hrs a day, one day a week or 8 days a week. this creates several problems. If you dont put in the hours you dont make money. If you put in too many hours you burn out. Also Murphys law effects scrapping more then any other endever. For example you get a niceload and pull into a crappy yard and blow 3 tires, or the truck breaks down or what ever, life just happens. The scrapping life is not for every body, it takes a certain kind of person, it is almost like some are just natural born scrappers. I dosent make you any better or any worse of a person if you make it or not, it just is.

One of the traps I find my self fall into is , I have nothing else to do so, I find myself working untill I can work any more, days and some time weeks on end taking no time off. then find my self losing intrest, it is not loss of intrest it is burn out. I believe if you force your self to keep regular hours, and regular days off reguardless of the work load, you find your self looking forward to going back to work after those days off. Just my .02

^^^Burn out - thats perfect way to describe it and you are correct. Mix regular life in with scrapping and you can burn out rather quickly it is such hard work and love the Murphy's law thoughts olddude because its happened to my a couple times this year and even thats enough to want to get out of the scrap game sometimes but you have to persevere. Nothing wrong with taking a break to recharge.

I remember a time I was repairing appliances to sell from home and lost all motivation.

Having plenty of nonworking inventory would place my adds in the paper, after the first call setting up an appointment would hustle to repair the machine these folks were coming to view. After you been in this business for awhile you recognize the easy fixes, and always managed to meed my commitment.

Even today at 62 years of age I lack that motivation to scour the streets for scrap,

It's been about 6 weeks now that my home built car trailer has been in service, I spent about a week soliciting for scrap cars, the venture has been so successful I now have people coming to me and have clients on my route to the scrap yard to service.

In 6 short weeks I have outgrown the car trailer, from another thread I have going you will note that I have purchased a flat deck truck with a hydraulic crane to fit the needs of my business.

I no longer have to solicit for scrap, what I lack in motivation make up for in personal pride. I've always prided myself in the service I provide to people and it's this pride that keeps me going and my customers happy.

There is so little out there that I have decided to take break. And it's a shame, because the Florida weather is perfect this time of year. It's just one of those times where I don't see anything and people are not calling much. I'm not going to waste 50 bucks in gas to find $75 worth of scrap. I took in 2 1/4 tons of sheet iron yesterday and don't foresee making another one of those runs this year.