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Hoarding...not just on TV

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  • SpikyHedgehog
    SpikyHedgehog Posts: 1,011 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    sjprmc01 wrote: »
    I think she got the stuff in the outlet shop, I'm not sure! And she must have tried it on the respective children also as I think she has taken the tags off. (only had a quick look). My plan is to 'collect' the extra unnecessary school stuff (yes, I know that seems similar to hoarding) and put them by to give to the head who will know someone who will make good use of them!

    The girls are that age ATM that they notice if I give stuff directly to people and comment. That the stuff is theirs (this happened with the school stuff I gave to the wee girl who was starting last week with my youngest. She is bigger than youngest so didn't get her extras but got other extras I had from the other two. Including shoes (which never fitted middle dd and won't fit youngest as she has very narrow feet) middle dd however keeps telling the girl that the shoes are hers :(


    Re 'the DOOM'. I have a kitchen table of doom, a freezer of doom, a cupboard of doom, a bedroom floor of doom and a youngest dds bedroom of doom, lol!

    Oh, that is sad. My boys have grown up with the idea of passing things on, & only comment to say 'Oh, I always liked that jacket' type remarks. I guess with the shoes, you could avoid it by CS' ing them, but that doesn't deal with the mindset. I think I've always talked through with the boys what we're doing, so they've had a chance to think about passing clothes on rather than supporting the clothing industry...

    ((Val)). You're doing the right thing in tackling it in that order. We were talking earlier in the thread about how loss has been a catalyst for many of us in tipping into hoarding. Just deal with it as you are able to & remember what Flylady says about the stuff didn't build up in a day, so it takes more than a day to get it sorted out.

    I'm sitting at the kitchen table, avoiding starting on the house & feeling overwhelmed. I've got to flea spray the house, & though the house isn't as bad as at the beginning of the holidays, there's still stuff everywhere. I've got to scrub the bathroom so I can put the hamsters in there safely, which will be hard in itself as the bathroom is so tiny. Then clear each room enough to spray round the edges of the carpets & under furniture, shut each room up, & go onto the next 1. When I've finished, we'll have to go out for a few hours as advised by the vet, as we've got asthma. & I've just realised I'll have to do the downstairs loo first & then lock the cat in there with a scrubbed out litter tray so I can safely spray the rest of the house.

    And the boys have the 2 massive lego boxes contents over the sitting room floor as they were playing lego yesterday. & DS1 didn't finish the washing up last night, so I had to do another load before I could get my breakfast. & I've got so much washing to do of all the stuff that was piled on floors & probably has flea eggs in.

    I'm nearly at the end of the summer holidays, & don't want to go back to work, I've got so much to do at home, & right now I don't have the emotional energy for preschool as well.

    Better have breakfast & hope I find more energy with food & coffee...
  • The_Dragon
    The_Dragon Posts: 9,749 Forumite
    Desk of Doom, staying clear, Sofa of Doom, ditto! Coffee Table of Doom ... getting there.

    One thing in the house yesterday (Dragon voice recognition software for me :o - typing is increasingly harder), but three Veggie magazines bundled up to be sent to a Veggie friend in The Netherlands (she reads them, gets the recipes she wants copied out, she passes them on to a Veggie friend of hers who does the same and then they go to a local doctors!)

    Cleaners coming today :D
    Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with catsup :D
    NSD 15/20, OS WL 21-6 (4) :(C.R.A.P R.O.L.L.Z #44 Twisted Firestarter, VSP #57 - £39.43
    :p Every Penny's a Prisoner :p
  • GreyQueen
    GreyQueen Posts: 13,008 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    :) Hmmm, know what you mean about needing to be at home rather than work. I wonder if a factor in hoarding is that so many of us are working outside the home as well as in it? When you add in the inevitable slew of health probs (your own and those of loved ones), pets, misc crises etc etc, it's no wonder that we end up skimming over the surface and not getting into the depths.

    Val, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Those collectables can stay forever if they need to be kept for emotional reasons.

    My bijou flatlet (sort of like the slightly-bigger cousin of a bedsit) forces objects into view so it surprised me that a visit to an upper shelf in the kitchen cabinets revealed something not seen for a couple of years at least; a handmade pottery thingy from an evening class. It's OK (but I can do better now) so I am now prepared to release it into c.s. land. I left it on the side for a few days to force myself to consider it's fate and am comfortable letting it go now, whereas I wasn't ready when I stashed it in the cupboard.

    Today, friend and neighbour SuperGran will be running all over the parish in her little ole car collecting stuff for the jumble sale. By pre-arrangement, I mean, she's not tipping up on people's doorsteps to loot their homes. One thing she remarked on was how a lot of stuff being collected from one address was due to that person moving.

    I wonder what the most items are that any of us have turfed out ahead of a move? I'm often astonished at the amount of stuff which gets flytipped in my block when people move out. BTW, I'm not talking about moves which involve dramatic downsizing such as back to family from your own place, or into sheltered or care home type arrangements, but regular everyday planned moves from one address to another.

    And what's the weirdest thing which the move brought to light?
    Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
    John Ruskin
    Veni, vidi, eradici
    (I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
  • Byatt
    Byatt Posts: 3,496 Forumite
    edited 21 August 2012 at 9:51AM
    Spiky, I don't know if you meant you would put the cat in the downstairs loo *after* you sprayed in there or not, but please don't, I think it says on the can not to,(well, not specifically don't put the cat in the loo...:rotfl:) but the smell is quite overpowering and of course breathing it is not good. I've done it a few times in the past, but always just before a holiday so I could spray and run. Even so, after a week I could still smell it, so windows and doors always flung open. I would also try and house the hamsters elsewhere too rather than in the bathroom. But that's just me, being over cautious.

    I gave a can to a friend once, and emphasised that they were not to stay in the room when it was sprayed...what did she do? Spray the bedroom and then try and sleep in it! :eek: Her and her partner felt terrible, no surprise, and left to go the parents in the middle of the night!

    I would suggest you wear a face mask too as you have asthma, when spraying. :o

    Valk, I am sorry about your son's death.

    I am still stuck in the total mess everywhere phase again. And it's very depressing. :(
  • Byatt wrote: »
    Spiky, I don't know if you meant you would put the cat in the downstairs loo *after* you sprayed in there or not, but please don't, I think it says on the can not to,(well, not specifically don't put the cat in the loo...:rotfl:) but the smell is quite overpowering and of course breathing it is not good. I've done it a few times in the past, but always just before a holiday so I could spray and run. Even so, after a week I could still smell it, so windows and doors always flung open. I would also try and house the hamsters elsewhere too rather than in the bathroom. But that's just me, being over cautious.

    I gave a can to a friend once, and emphasised that they were not to stay in the room when it was sprayed...what did she do? Spray the bedroom and then try and sleep in it! :eek: Her and her partner felt terrible, no surprise, and left to go the parents in the middle of the night!

    I would suggest you wear a face mask too as you have asthma, when spraying. :o

    Valk, I am sorry about your son's death.

    I am still stuck in the total mess everywhere phase again. And it's very depressing. :(

    Sorry, Byatt, I didn't think as I typed... I meant, I'd do in there first, leave the door locked so no one will use it, nip in & open the door after the half hour it says but still leave the door shut as long as possible. So then I could hopefully safely shut her in there while doing the rest of the house. Her food & litter tray live in there, so it definitely needs doing.

    Rethinking, & hopefully making this more manageable though I'm sure less effective... Take stuff out of downstairs loo, clean & spray, lock door. Set up litter tray & cat food in bathroom. Put DS2's hamster upstairs, clean & spray kitchen, back lobby & sitting room, as I can separate them from rest of house. Pop to shop to get picnic stuff, as baking is not a priority, & to let the half hour go by. Open windows in treated area, leaving all animals upstairs. Go out.

    Tomorrow, reverse; bring animals downstairs & treat upstairs.

    I've not got a mask, but will get 1.

    Cat doesn't like outside, or I'd just shut her outside while treating.
  • Byatt
    Byatt Posts: 3,496 Forumite
    Spiky, the spray is very effective so I am sure your plan will work.

    I have asthma too, so used to hold my breath when spraying, not that that works too well as the stuff still goes up your nose! :eek:

    I imagine the little blighters, lying on their backs, expiring! the fleas that is. :D

    A friend of mine came home from a 2 week holiday one time and to her horror, on entering the house, her legs were covered by starving fleas :eek::eek: Every time she went away after that she sprayed the house.
  • sjprmc01
    sjprmc01 Posts: 917 Forumite
    They normally don't mind stuff being given out and are fine with it and understand its because it's of no use to them but middle dd just decided to start being funny now
    No more unnecessary toiletries Feb 2014 INS: 24 UU: 13. Mar 2014. INS: lost count, naughty step for me! UU: 8
  • sjprmc01
    sjprmc01 Posts: 917 Forumite
    Gone : 2 x kids dresses and 2 x kids tunic tops and an underwear set none of them will ever use as its not cotton. That will make up for (in space) the stuff I bought yesterday
    No more unnecessary toiletries Feb 2014 INS: 24 UU: 13. Mar 2014. INS: lost count, naughty step for me! UU: 8
  • Gingernutty
    Gingernutty Posts: 3,769 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 21 August 2012 at 8:14PM
    Gone today : Two suitcases, one laptop bag, one pair of mens' trousers all in one of those mahoosive, plasticky, faux tartan, zip up bags that one sometimes see in launderettes stuffed with washing.

    I decided that, once the cases were dry after damp dusting, that they could go to the charity bin in my local supermarket.

    Having dragged it there, I was horrified to discover that the bin had been removed due to vandalism (by the tills in a busy supermarket :eek: ) and they weren't collecting any more stuff until a new bin was delivered.

    So I decided to leave it outside the BHF shop in the local shopping centre.

    One brisk walk down 'to town', through the Wulfrun Centre, through to the Mander Centre and down the stairs to BHF later, I found the shop has closed down to move to bigger premises elsewhere. :doh:

    So on to the PDSA where someone else had already left a small bag of stuff in the shop doorway. :o

    Then on to the bus station to work. I was only ten minutes late for work too. :cool:

    Tomorrow - books for the charity walk lady.

    Phew! :p
    :huh: Don't know what I'm doing, but doing it anyway... :huh:
  • wannabe_sybil
    wannabe_sybil Posts: 2,845 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    edited 22 August 2012 at 9:38AM
    Spiky - after spraying, in the tidy up bit, do try the saucer of water with a drop of washing up liquid under a plug in night light trick. It worked well for us. Though the sprays got the most of them. We don't have much problem with fleas now. Evil cat is now so skinny that there is nothing for a flea to bite.

    Byatt - hugs. If you can't do anything, you can't do anything. But what you can do is consciously ring fence some time off to do nothing/something you like that relaxes you and when you can be free of the oughts and then recharge yourself. After that, if you feel like being active, that is great, but you can't run on empty for ever. And the 'I ought to be doing...' is a really battery drainer.

    Having said that, I ought to be in the dining room.

    But I signed in here to do a lap of honour - I threw out the huge, study box that the massive amount of soap powder came in!!!!! Definitely a woohooo moment. They are so sturdy, so potentially useful, and take up so much space. It is now taking up space in the recycling.

    sjprmc01 - more is trickling out than trickling in and it is checking the mindset, getting different patterns of thought, that can make all the difference. Good luck!

    Edited to add - Gingernutty, I am impressed by your dedication!
    Ankh Morpork Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons - don't let my flame go out!
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