Clutter and hoarding - help!

weatherwax_2

What a brilliant thread and boy do I empathise with every post! The trouble is, I could'nt stop reading so I've just worked my way through the entire thread and now have a stiff neck. :eek:

Now if I can just locate the entrance to the tunnel I excavated through my clutter I might find the Deep Heat........:D

Savvy_Sue

Sofa, you need the Ebay song, which has a link from this thread.

And maybe you need to ask your DH to look after your credit card during the day? to stop you buying any more stuff until you've got space for it?

Sofa_Sogood

Savvy_Sue wrote:

Sofa, you need the Ebay song, which has a link from this thread.

And maybe you need to ask your DH to look after your credit card during the day? to stop you buying any more stuff until you've got space for it?

I still haven't got my sound back after a spillage on the keyboard but I've heard the eBay song

Not sure giving the CC to Mr S would work either. I'm sure I memorised the number, yet I've never been able to memorise any of my mobile no's

Most of the stores have my details anyway Sue; M&S, (two of ), Harrods, (honest!), even Boots I think, and what's easier than Paypal?

I'm just a spendaholic. Bit of a miserable one at the moment, but still working through my clear out, albeit it slowly

I'm sure the bulk of it's packaging, and I thought I was clever buying and wrapping this year's Christmas presents up in February. Someone did point out that it probably wasn't the best of ideas, and they were right. Unfortunately.

Oh well, when I'm skint and bored I'll unwrap them all and start again (Wrapping that is - not buying!)

Curry_Queen

Sofa_Sogood wrote:

Not sure giving the CC to Mr S would work either. I'm sure I memorised the number, yet I've never been able to memorise any of my mobile no's

:rotfl: ... you're as bad as me!!!! I know my debit card details by heart but still learning my new credit card ... no idea what my mobile phone number is though

Sofa_Sogood

Curry_Queen wrote:

:rotfl: ... you're as bad as me!!!! I know my debit card details by heart but still learning my new credit card ... no idea what my mobile phone number is though

And the "Autofill" option's a bit too handy too

Glad i'm not alone - now all I need is a gold number for the mobile

catznine

Savvy_Sue wrote:

Sofa, you need the Ebay song, which has a link from this thread.

And maybe you need to ask your DH to look after your credit card during the day? to stop you buying any more stuff until you've got space for it?

Thank you Savvy! I needed that am crying with laughter now and can't get song out of my head! :rotfl:

And yes I too spend far too much time shopping!

bonnie_2

ive done 3 bootfairs now and made 160 pound doing another one in 2 weeks,also sent 4 bags of clothing to africa.the less in your house the easier it is to clean in theory.i clean once a week and hoover if anyone comes round.which just leaves washing,dishes and rubbish to do every night the ironing once a week.i sell stuff to get new things i want.

dag_2

Wow! This thread has seriously mushroomed!

It's been a while since I posted to it. Or looked at it. Why? Because I was embarrassed about it.

I'm pleased that it's been so busy - it proves I'm not alone. Thanks, good people. (I've also just been through the thread and thanked some of the posts with specific info about other sources of help)

And I hope things work out okay for CurryQueen, we're rooting for you.

As for me - the issue of clutter is sort of coming to a head. I'm moving in a week's time, from a furnished studio flat to a one-bedroom unfurnished flat. With a garage. And a lift. I've rented a car.

And I've realised that I'll need furniture, and that the car I've rented won't be big enough to fit flat-packs from Ikea. So I'll have to get them to deliver anyway. Wish I'd rented a van now. Still - I'll get a van next time I move.

And I've got all this clutter that I don't need. Clutter is stacked up in folding crates against the wall, and the furniture is pushed back against it, making the clutter completely inaccessible unless I move the furniture.

Why have I arranged it like this? Because it's the top floor of a Victorian house, therefore the ceilings slope with the roof, and I have a wardrobe that's too tall to be pushed all the way into one corner. So the boxes of clutter are lined up behind it.

The wardrobe is the landlord's, by the way - not my own.

But the new flat is in a purpose built block, so the corners should all be square.

Oh - and that's not all. There's also piles of half-consumed food packets strewn over my kitchen surfaces, and piles of paper over all my tables. I have managed to empty four folding crates - there's only another 25-odd of them.

Of course - I could just throw all my stuff into boxes, and cart it all over to the new flat. Might take several car journeys, but that wouldn't be a problem. Far far too ashamed of my clutter to have anyone else help me, even though friends have offered.

So I'd prefer not to do that. I want to clear out as much as possible beforehand.

Aaargh! :eek:

I've read some of the articles about clutter at http://www.fastfengshui.com and they seem to make a lot of sense. And I'm very interested in that clutter free forever home coaching programme, for US$49. I tried using Google Local to look for feng shui clutter consultancy services in the South London area - they do exist - but they cost upward of £100 per hour. That's way too much for me.

The cognitive behavioural therapist that I was seeing as an NHS outpatient has now discharged me. Yes I have made lots of progress, but her speciality is drugs, not clutter. I feel like I've been able to talk about practically everything with her, apart from clutter - and I feel that unresolved clutter problems is the thing that's most likely to cause relapse - especially now, since I'm moving.

Then again, she can't really continue to see me because I'll be out of the catchment area. So if I want help with clutter on the NHS, I guess I'll have to register with a new GP after I've moved, and then try to get him to refer me to someone.

But I don't really rate my chances of getting specialist clutter help on the NHS. To say that I'm likely to take a drug overdose if I don't sort my clutter out very soon would be exaggerating it somewhat - however, I do want to sort the problem out before it gets that bad.

So I'm interested in freecycle, squalor survivors, and maybe getting a Tenancy Support Worker. I don't think there's a risk of me becoming emotionally dependent on a support group, if such a thing exists, because I've made friends at work and in the church, and I still get on fairly well with my relatives.

Right now I'm sipping camomile tea, trying to nurse a headache and a feeling of slight dizziness which I think might be caused by stress or anxiety. I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I'm unlikely to have a major declutter before moving.

I've cancelled absolutely all of my social arrangements, and am wondering whether I'll end up taking time off work sick. I've already booked a week off as holiday so that I can move myself and my clutter.

Wish me luck.

dag_2

Here's a thought ....

Clearing away clutter is one of the most powerful, transformative aspects of Feng Shui. It is my experience that eliminating clutter and disorganization is the first step in creating good Feng Shui and energy flow. Without that step, all the bells and whistles, fountains and crystals are just adding to the confusion, rather than bringing in fresh Ch'i. This is the "entry level" into the beneficial results of Feng Shui and must not be skipped or ignored.

The basic principle here is that all things are alive with Ch'I or vital energy. Our clothes are alive, our books, furniture, artwork, clutter, dishes, everything is alive and talking to us. We want to surround ourselves with things (and people) who have a positive message for us. Often our clutter (those things we no longer need, want, love or use) has a negative message for us. For example, clothes that no longer fit seem to say, "You're too fat, you're too thin, you're not right." That's not a very empoweringmessage. Our aim is to surround ourselves with only those things we love, need, care for, have a home for, and hopefully empower us.

Wow - never thought of it that way before. But it makes sense. If something makes you stronger - keep it. If it doesn't, lose it. "Oh but it might come in handy one day" isn't good enough. And "but Aunt Mabel will be offended if I bin her gift" isn't good enough either. Only keep the things that do actually make your life better.

Course, saying it is one thing, but actually doing it is another. I know people talk of recycling things, donating things to charity shops, and selling things on Ebay or at carboots - but I think you mustn't get too carried away with that. Don't hang onto something on the offchance that you might be able to sell it on Ebay, if it's too hard for you to actually do it.

And don't hang onto something on the offchance that you might be able to recycle it if you don't have a car, and if it's too much to carry to the municipal recycling facilities.

The reason you've been hanging on to the stuff is because you believe that parting with it will be painful. So it's best to get the pain over as quickly as possible. Trying to recycle things sometimes only prolongs the pain. If you can recycle stuff - great - but if you can't, don't beat yourself up about it.

My headache is easing slightly.

pink_fairy_7

There is a clutter clearer in East Midlands area who only charges £40ph If anyone wants the email address just PM me.

I am currently clearing all my own clutter and I suddenly realise where all the debt has come from

Getting it in your head that you do not these all these posessions is the first step to saving money in the long run.

Pink Fairy x