Hoarding...not just on TV

elona

I have been stocking up on offers and need to sort out the tins into a proper order. Hoping if I rearrange it then DH won't notice how much there is!:o

AF have an offer of 50kgs delivery for a fiver just now - they also have tins of chopped tomatoes with garlic at less than half price - and good offers on stock cubes- stir fry sauces - batter mix cheaper than plain flour- cereal bars. Oh dear! I seem to have ordered loads of stuff. It will all get used and it is a third of the RRP etc. Can you tell I am practising my excuses?

If delivery is middle of next week then I should have time to sort out the shelves in garage. Going to give myself a stern talking to and get stuff organised so I can find and use it easily. It is not a bargain if you can't find it to use it.

Boy am I going to be sorted for tinned tomatoes in the winter!!!;)

wannabe_sybil

Washing up - I was given a tip for washing up liquid - you buy the concentrated version, decant half into an emptied bottle and top up with one quarter water and one quarter white vinegar. I am tempted to do this and I have a gallon thingy of washing up liquid from Makro. But I have found some washing up liquid that I really, really like the smell of, lime and ginger, Morrisons, and I am tempted to be shallow enough for that.

I am not sure that a gallon thingy of washing up liquid from Makro is very much cheaper, but it is good stuff (speaking as a Fairy fan) and having a stash makes me feel secure.

Jojo - I have thought about that, but about 75% of the ironing was generated in the last fortnight :o:o As I said up thread, lots and lots of shirts. I just need to get on with it. And while I iron, I can sort. I got rid of kilos and kilos of stuff in my last big push, so fingers crossed that I can get a bit further. Another issue is I finally have somewhere to put the blankets that are piled up there (blanket box is capacious) so I can finally have some room. If I get ahead of the ironing, then put the ironing board down, I can get a lot of stuff thrown/donated/sold etc and start to get a bit more rhythm.

Penguin - I have found (and I have been working on this for a few years) that just starting in the middle is sometimes the only way. My suggestion (and it is just a suggestion) is to be careful not to overwhelm yourself. Though the bedroom sounds a good place to start. But good luck, let us know how it goes - you can come on here to vent, celebrate, confess and get ideas.

I hope no-one thinks me presumptuous, but I think we are all at different stages, and all have different triggers, but I think the sharing of experiences is great. Like those of us who have just brought stuff in (thirty books just landed from the book people) and those of us who are triumphantly getting things out.

Jojo - thank you again for starting this thread.

Little bear had a busy night with nightmares etc, so I am a bit tired, but we will see what happens. The dry run to the martial arts centre is definitely cancelled. However I have checked maps and routes, and I am feeling fairly confident, so that is not too bad.

Hugs and good luck to all!

skipsmum

I have achieved a small but important step this week - my purse!
I have always carted round this hulking great purse filled with points cards, membership cards, plasters and wetwipes in case the ones in my giant handbag disappear, those little poem cards people buy to remind me i am their friend....
My mum had a giant purse, it is a really memorable part of growing up. It had a peculiar smell. So that is prbably where I got the idea that mothers need huge purses. I think she kept bills and family allowance books in it.
So I went out and bought myself a little card-sized purse from Claires Accessories. I chose one I liked so that I will actually want to use it. I went through my big purse and took out the bare essentials - bank card, change, coop points card. And a credit card in case I can't pay for something on my debit card (oh, the shame still scares me now). Its definitely all to do with not having something when I need it.
I threw away the waterstones card (used once), the Mr T card (refuse to shop at Mr T), a sheaf of out of date vouchers and reciepts. Things I might still need are in the big purse in the drawer.
And then, I went food shopping with my tiny purse. And nothing happened!:j

blossomhill_2

:hello: everyone

penguin83 wrote: »

I feel so on edge and I am not a good sleeper and I am sure it is all linked in.

Hello and welcome, yes it is all linked in but you are in a chicken andegg situation here, it may be the clutter stopping you sleeping, or it may bethe lack of proper sleep stopping you from making sensible and clear decisions during the day - either way, doing something will be an improvement so goodluck and I hope we can continue to help in some way

penguin83 wrote: »

I am not a naturally tidy person which doesn't help

If that's the case then try thinking of the phrase "a place for everything and everything in its place" but just try to achieve the first for now, a place for everything. If you picture a clear sofa with 3 cushions, the cushions can fall on the floor but if you need to tidy in a hurry it’s easy to throw them into the right place; that's what you want to achieve with everything.

I am very untidy but after weeks of slogging away at de-cluttering I now almost have a place for almost everything even if the items aren't in their place - my home isn't tidy by a long chalk but today when I got a call from someone saying they needed to come over I was able, instead of my former-self's panic,stalling and putting them off, to say "why not come now" and thought “everything in its place – now” and ran round like Mary Poppins throwing things where I know they belong. There was the inevitable stash of things on the worktop that I am mid-sort but I grabbed a small crate and put them in and into a cupboard. Previously that would have been all sorts of mismash but today it was just assorted glasses, so now I just have a stash of glasses hidden away

GreyQueen wrote: »

I find it very helpful to establish order on some flat surfaces

Oh yes,this helps me a lot GQ, I keep windowsills absolutely clear - at least one place where cats can’t create an avalanche

Brightonbelle wrote: »

Well, can't believe this, woke up this morning and thought, I'm getting rid of the the shoes I don't feel good in, even if ther is nothing wrong with them

Thank you for this BB - you helped me throw 3 pairs yesterday!

Jojothe_Tightfisted wrote: »

I worked in travel insurance for a while. Since then,I never pack more than one small bag, as people lose thousands of pounds worth of stuff when cases go missing

I flew the day the travel chaos/liquid restrictions came in - decided I would probably lose my suitcase so left it at home and repacked "only things I could bear to lose" - quite life-changing

katep23 wrote: »

Having an emotional time of it at the moment and it really shows how my hoarding is linked to my emotions - I have just had delivery of 12kg of pasta from Amazon

Sorry to hear that katep, do you tend to reach for carbs (comfort food?) when emotional? I find carbs inhibit me de-cluttering so only allow myself veg and protein on de-cluttering days and save carbs for the evening

skipsmum - I recently did the purse thing too! Great isn't it - I now have a one compartment purse with just what I need, instead of my former multicompartment-stamp-card-notes-photo album-plasters-safety pins-string-coupon-coin-keeper

elona

Went to tesco as the sale was on and got a long summer dress for £7. Daughters will probably insist I only wear it in the garden!:o

Got lots of value shower gel and foam bath to use as handwash and also shampoo for DH at a third the price of Head and shoulders. A couple of books (er three) may just have leapt into my shopping basket as well - blush!

Came home and went straight to shelves in garage - checked dates on things and threw out lots that were really out of date and also things dds hate. Rearranged all the shelves and now have room for AF order next week and can see where everything is. DH was complaining how full the kitchen cabinets were so rearranged these as well and can now find things at a glance.

Youngest is trying out my steam mop so I am going to wash my hair and get changed before turning gammon, potatoes and onions into a cheesy bake for tonight.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Decluttered the job application form into the letterbox.


:eek: :eek: :eek:






Had the happy moment of hearing the bin men take all the jars and bottles that have been annoying me away this morning. It was just a pity that they decided to do it at ten to six in the morning. My fault for living half a mile from their depot, I suppose



Have been thinking about the prospect of The Animal Hospital Job. Now, I know that the odds on getting it are rather minimal - especially now the Jobcentres have got hold of the vacancy, so will be telling gazillions of applicants they have to go for it - but I am thinking logically;

I have admin experience, I have medical admin experience, I've worked in loads of different places with angry relatives, offenders, bereaved and the intoxicated. I've worked in Insurance and handled complaints.

So I can deal with telephone calls, computers, filing and fancy latin names and medications. I can deal with very angry convicted sex offenders and so called 'difficult' families who are going into meltdown because their kid/nan/mum is sick and they don't understand what is going on because the medical staff are talking down to them. I don't have a problem under pressure preparing for a gig at short notice or making a complete twit of myself onstage.

Add to that I live 634 yards from the premises, can do any shift and won't have a problem with out of hours emergency stuff.


And I really like animals.


I have to think I've got a good chance. Assuming they don't pay any attention to my having rubbishy jobs when bringing up the girls and up until I got sick.


So - if I were to get The Job, what changes would I have to implement to ensure I don't get disorganised and the clutter starts piling up?

1. An undercounter freezer would help to reduce the time I go shopping. Frozen veg, joints of meat cut up into portions, frozen fruit in individual portions, nothing that's 'just a bargain'. The current countertop freezer would have to go, but it doesn't really hold much more than two bags of ice cubes, some strawberries, herbs and a bag of peas at the moment, so won't be missed.

I REFUSE to have any food storage upstairs. That's how She started, by sticking a second freezer in my old room. And we've all seen how That ended up twenty years later.


2. I'll have a uniform to wear every day. That's pretty new, I've never had to do that before.

But as the washing basket is empty and the washing machine is only ever filled when it's about to be switched on (I know some people fill the machine up as they go, then can't do a darks wash because they've got lights in it, for example, and leave dirty washing on the kitchen floor to trip over), that's easy.

I would have to buy a new iron to replace the one I broke, though.

Once it's washed, there is no problem drying it, as I have a coat rack above the kitchen radiator for emergency drying of small quantities (where the tumble dryer isn't warranted), and I can hang it straight back up there as I can get changed in the downstairs shower room when I come in.

3. I'll have days off. One can be allocated to pure cleaning, the others can just be normal tidying as needed, trying to keep anything from building up.


4. I'll need a haircut, as it's a bit of a state at the moment, it needs to be wash and wear, as I'll have to have a shower every morning in order to loosen up enough to be able to walk in the first place. Already got a full length mirror on the wall by the front door and space on the telephone shelf for a lip gloss & mascara beside the hairbrush.

So it should be manageable. I should be able to cope.


I really want to.



But now I've got to put it out of my mind, as it's out of my control and there's no guarantees.


ARggggghhh!!!!!!

katep23

blossomhill wrote: »

Sorry to hear that katep, do you tend to reach for carbs (comfort food?) when emotional? I find carbs inhibit me de-cluttering so only allow myself veg and protein on de-cluttering days and save carbs for the evening

I'm definitely not low-carb - I love pasta any time, whatever my emotional state!

It is my go-to dish though so I tend to eat more when feeling low just because it's quick and easy - when I feel down I am much more likely not to eat or just to have a bowl of pasta or couscous as anything more seems like too much effort.

Gingernutty

Good luck JoJo! The job sounds perfect and you sound perfect for the job.

You sound as if you've had a broad, varied and 'unsheltered' life! Experience still counts for a lot.

I'd love to know what a 12kg bag of pasta actually looks like IRL. Think of all that pesto.....

More decluttering - my late uncle's old portable music centre, some blank cassette tapes (still quite useful), some old cassette boxes and an old cd box - gone to the charity walk lady.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Gingernutty wrote: »

Good luck JoJo! The job sounds perfect and you sound perfect for the job.

You sound as if you've had a broad, varied and 'unsheltered' life! Experience still counts for a lot.

I'd love to know what a 12kg bag of pasta actually looks like IRL. Think of all that pesto.....

More decluttering - my late uncle's old portable music centre, some blank cassette tapes (still quite useful), some old cassette boxes and an old cd box - gone to the charity walk lady.

:rotfl: at thought of having led an unsheltered life instead of lurching from one chaotic crisis to another - the wonders of language!

SpikyHedgehog

skipsmum wrote: »

I have achieved a small but important step this week - my purse!
I have always carted round this hulking great purse filled with points cards, membership cards, plasters and wetwipes in case the ones in my giant handbag disappear, those little poem cards people buy to remind me i am their friend....
My mum had a giant purse, it is a really memorable part of growing up. It had a peculiar smell. So that is prbably where I got the idea that mothers need huge purses. I think she kept bills and family allowance books in it.
So I went out and bought myself a little card-sized purse from Claires Accessories. I chose one I liked so that I will actually want to use it. I went through my big purse and took out the bare essentials - bank card, change, coop points card. And a credit card in case I can't pay for something on my debit card (oh, the shame still scares me now). Its definitely all to do with not having something when I need it.
I threw away the waterstones card (used once), the Mr T card (refuse to shop at Mr T), a sheaf of out of date vouchers and reciepts. Things I might still need are in the big purse in the drawer.
And then, I went food shopping with my tiny purse. And nothing happened!:j

I've cleared out my big handbag, but I'm not quite ready to trade it in for a smaller bag yet, & you've helped me realise the purse is 1 reason why not - its big so needs a big bag. But if I changed it for a smaller purse, I could also have a smaller handbag! It is a strange feeling, walking round with this light bag on my shoulder...

Not done much today - had doctors this morning to get rid of my coil as that's not needed, got new sewing machine needles which were needed, & resisted all the reduced yarn & fabric remnants. DS1 painted the fences, so we've nearly finished the autumn gold paint to get rid of the empty tub. Threw away cheap sewing thread I got the other day but is just rubbish & unwound the bobbins in the sewing machine drawer & binned the thread from them.

I vacuumed & mopped the kitchen floor the other day & am determined not to have the ladder & ironing board back in the kitchen - this does force me to sort the lobby, but the kitchen looks much better without them.

Best friend came round earlier& said the sitting room looked bigger even with the storage units than before with the big sofa & many dvd etc shelving units.