The Great Declutter Part 2

bestpud

Ok, I can add some more:

37. Music cassettes (charity)
38. Shoe boxes (recycled)
39. Left over carpet (freecycle - pending)
40. Box of craft items I won't use (womens project)
41. Past it's best craft stuff (recycled or binned)
42. CDroms (charity)
43. Cardboard box (transformed into a wrapping paper container)

:j:j:j

Jolaaled

Hi all.
I am an obsessive hoarder, 'just-in-case-er', lover of car boots and charity shops!

Last year, I had the most major de-clutter from my over-packed home, as I moved abroad and had to rent my house out.

I am about to move back into my empty home (I do still have basic furniture) and the imminent return is making me jump for joy at the prospect of re-cluttering!! How can I resist my urges!!

I seem to actually love the cycle of:
Cluttering with bargains-Decluttering (ebaying etc)-Recluttering once more.

Can I break my cycle..or learn to live with it?!
Should I try to tone down my reclutters...what might be reclutter priorities??!!

HELP!

bestpud

Jolaaled - if you enjoy it, do you need to stop?

I'm getting rid of excess stuff because I find it hugely stressful living amongst it but that doesn't seem to be the case for you?

If you want to cut down, how about having a specific area for stuff you will sell on?

You could also place a limit on the number of items you have at any time - say 20?

If you have 20 then something must go before you can buy anything else?

That would encourage you to freecycle or give away stuff you can't sell on?

Would that work, do you think?

If it's stuff you use then duplicated items would be added to the count.

Jolaaled

yes..great idea putting a limit on the number of items I'm 'allowed' as clutter!...although I'm going to struggle with 20...maybe 200 would be better for me!

and yes..maybe organisation at the outset, is key....it's so hard to organise when you have so much clutter, that you can't see 'wood for trees'. Great idea! thanks.

I'm just trying to work out why I feel such a strong drive to do the 'clutter/declutter' thing, then maybe, once i've got a handle on this, I can learn to deal with it better too!

bestpud

Sorry for a new post but it didn't seem right putting this at the bottom of my reply to jolaaled!

Is anyone else having a spider problem since disturbing piles of stuff? :eek:

We had two huuuge ones yesterday and it's really putting my spider phobia 'treatment' (help from a counsellor) to the test!

I keep telling myself it will be better once there is no piles for them to hide in... :cool:

bestpud

Jolaaled wrote: »

yes..great idea putting a limit on the number of items I'm 'allowed' as clutter!...although I'm going to struggle with 20...maybe 200 would be better for me!

and yes..maybe organisation at the outset, is key....it's so hard to organise when you have so much clutter, that you can't see 'wood for trees'. Great idea! thanks.

I'm just trying to work out why I feel such a strong drive to do the 'clutter/declutter' thing, then maybe, once i've got a handle on this, I can learn to deal with it better too!

I think there is a buzz to selling stuff tbh and I guess you enjoy that part more than you may enjoy having your house full of the stuff?

Or is it that you gain comfort from being surrounded by 'things'?

If the former, how about keeping a financial tally as well? That way the items become more about buying and selling than 'possessions' and you will be less likely to hoard them if you can make room for something more profitable? (This is not good advice if you claim means tested benefits though!)

Before thinking of a number to use as a limit, consider the items you mostly buy - does it tend to be big stuff? 200 chairs for example would be a bit full on lol!

Karmacat

Jolaaled wrote: »

Hi all.
I am an obsessive hoarder, 'just-in-case-er', lover of car boots and charity shops!

Last year, I had the most major de-clutter from my over-packed home, as I moved abroad and had to rent my house out.

I am about to move back into my empty home (I do still have basic furniture) and the imminent return is making me jump for joy at the prospect of re-cluttering!! How can I resist my urges!!

I seem to actually love the cycle of:
Cluttering with bargains-Decluttering (ebaying etc)-Recluttering once more.

Can I break my cycle..or learn to live with it?!
Should I try to tone down my reclutters...what might be reclutter priorities??!!

HELP!

What I'm going to write is certainly about me rather than you, but it might help someone, so here goes: I haven't saved enough to have a good pension - and I'm in my mid 50s - the plans I made to provide for my pension haven't worked out the way I thought they would, and I'm going to be in difficulties.

I'm someone who's been decluttering for ages, and some of it, I paid a lot of money for. Books, a cross trainer, a garden shredder, magazines, optical equipment, clothes, all sorts of things. And thats just the latest declutter, like you, I've done this before. What if I'd put that money into my pension fund - even half of that money? I'd be a lot better off - I'd have more pension to look forward to, I'd have had a more spacious house, I wouldn't now be wasting my time selling it all (yes, its enjoyable in a way, but other things are *lots* more enjoyable than this for me!).

Thats my two pennorth. Hope it helps.

Karmacat

bestpud wrote: »

Sorry for a new post but it didn't seem right putting this at the bottom of my reply to jolaaled!

Is anyone else having a spider problem since disturbing piles of stuff? :eek:

Not at the moment, but I certainly have had :eek::eek::eek:

We had two huuuge ones yesterday and it's really putting my spider phobia 'treatment' (help from a counsellor) to the test!

I keep telling myself it will be better once there is no piles for them to hide in... :cool:

You're right, you're right! I have every sympathy for you, its something I've thought about constantly, tbh - last year I had so many of those (I had a nest inside the house, I was getting 2 or 3 of them a week) I had a vermin control officer in. Best £100 I ever spent!

Karmacat

38. waterproof trousers to charity shop.
39. worn out slippers to bin.

NualaBuala

bestpud wrote: »

Oh yes - that's me too!

But I'm being ruthless this time and tbh it gets easier as you get into it.

It is definitely less work when you end up with less to put back and it feels great! :j

When I hear myself saying I might need an item for something, I remind myself I've said that about the same item at least once or twice and haven't ended up using it!

I've just made up a box of craft items for my local Womens Project as they run craft sessions. I feel it is going to good use and that helps.

Also, if you have stuff that can be used for crafts, your local childrens centre or youth clubs will probably be glad of them?

Great ideas there Bestpud, thank you! :T Hope you're coping ok with spiders - I only have that Daddy Long Legs type of spider (not actual Daddy Long Longs) and I don't mind them. Apparently they eat the others! :eek: It must be so hard for you with a phobia, you should be very proud of yourself for coping.:T

Jolaaled - good luck!

Karmacat - what you said is so true and could apply to me too.

Hope to get rid of some paperwork today and not bring anything else into the house!