Hoarding...not just on TV

mollythewestie

A big (((HUG))) to all, especially Byatt and JoJo :grouphug:.

Nothing to update today, however we have arranged for DD to go to grandparents tomorrow for a few days. DH and I are going to spend the time emptying and cleaning the "Room of Doom", finish the clearing of all upstairs rooms, sorting through DDs toys and general clear out.
I'm really excited to make a big dent (hopefully) in the hoard.

We were thinking of doing a car boot on monday, however the weather looks awful so might not bother.

SpikyHedgehog

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

Fantastic Progress Whitewing! I'd love to be able to say that!

xx

One day you will!

valk_scot

valk_scot wrote: »

I've also fished a binbag full of general clutter out of the lounge and...wait for this...I have removed one lamp, one footstool, one picture and a small desk from the lounge too and OH has taken them down to the car. I will take them to the furniture recycling warehouse tomorrow, together with a small chest of drawers from DD's room. All of the above came from one or another deceased relatives houses and I was sort of keeping them because they belonged to Mum/SIL/FIL...but we've got too much of this stuff. Hubby agrees, so out they go.

And amazingly the sky has not fallen in....;)

Just like to report that indeed, all the above has gone to the recycling, together with a large wool rug that was basically squatting in DD's room and five pairs of curtains that didn't fit an room in the house but were too good to throw away.

Yeah...:beer:

So today I have started on the horrors of my walk in cupboard. said cupboard is lined with shelves to above head heigh, lovely deep sturdy shelves that can and do hold lots. And lots...well, I've pulled out an immense amount of things already, including the unwanted Tupperware and a deep fat fryer I bought four years ago and not used yet. And a chocolate fountain, several fancy cake tins, all the scruffier duplicates of things like the mop (who needs two mops???), about a dozen outgrown themed kids's lunchboxes and my second pressure cooker. There's undoubtably more but the CS pile in the hall now exceeds the capacity of my estate car boot, even with the back seat down. :eek:

So I'm going to stop at this point and get the CS pile bagged up so that OH and DS can take it down to the car tomorrow and I'll go to the CS first thing Monday. The cupboard is looking better already btw, even though I'm definately going to need to do a second sweep through before I can say it's done. And yes, it needs a dust too.;)

Next week, the airing cupboard. And the bookshelves, argh.

(And I'd like to say thanks once more to all you ladies here. By sharing your stories you've made me realise I have/had gone over the line between keeping things that are definately going to be useful and keeping things that might be useful, maybe, but almost certainly not. It has scared the bejeezus out of me, tbh.)

whitewing

Val that is wonderful amounts of stuff. It is a bank hol on Monday, if you're in England, so CS may not be open?

Now, back to the rest of your post. I am deeply envious of your walk in cupboard.

valk_scot

whitewing wrote: »

Val that is wonderful amounts of stuff. It is a bank hol on Monday, if you're in England, so CS may not be open?

Now, back to the rest of your post. I am deeply envious of your walk in cupboard.

Scottish CS. It will be open and also tomorrow so I might take it then if I have the big car.

littlegreenparrot

I have been following this thread for a long time now, and have been inspired by the progress everyone is making.

Although I wouldn't consider myself a hoarder, I have become increasingly aware of the amount of stuff we have. And it feels oppressive.

I have gradually been working through to reduce it, over the last couple of weeks there has been about a carrier bag a week going to the charity shop.

What has been most true to me is the idea of having aspirational things. I have a large collection of shaped cookie cutters, most of which have never been used, because I like the idea of being a domestic goddess. Even though I a) can't be bothered most of the time, and b) am fat enough already without making biscuits all the time! I have a set of hair straighteners with different attachments, can't even tell you when I last used them.

All this stuff can go, I don't live that life, and should be concentrating on saving to achieve what I do want. Selling some of this carp will help me get there more quickly

whitewing

littlegreenparrot wrote: »

I have a large collection of shaped cookie cutters, most of which have never been used,

So have I!

Welcome, littlegreenparrot.

Gingernutty

I've decided I going to get the council men in with their men and van thing.

The wardrobe and one set of shelves are in pieces, there's another set of bamboo style shelves which I've wrestled down the stairs to the front room in readiness and I've got a kitchen.....

....Some in-laws had a virtually new IKEA kitchen when they decided to upgrade and Brother 1 was asked if he could strip it out.

Brother 1, with the "It's-too-good-to-throw-away" gene decided it would be perfect for me.

So I paid £60 + petrol for someone else's IKEA kitchen complete with built in Whirlpool for IKEA oven, an electric hob and a sink.

And there it's all stayed. For years. The cupboards, hob and sink are in the front room, the oven is perched on on of the two kitchen counters and it annoys me every time I set eyes on it.

My house looks like DIY SOS, Brother 1 and I aren't doing so well (try here if you have the patience), IKEA don't make the units, oven, sink or hob anymore and the kitchen needs more than just new kitchen units - there's some major structural work needed.

The bamboo shelves come from an old flat clearance. Dad kept it in the garden for weeks before he and Brother 1 brought it up to me.

It's a heavy piece of furniture, mouldy, smelly and unstable - it kept falling forwards whenever I tried to put up or take down anything on the top shelves. Useless.

I just want it all gone.

I've found an old electric toothbrush - that's going to the dump with the record player tomorrow.

I've sorted out some picture frames, shoe trees, old shoe laces and a pair of braces for the CS, transferred the contents of a bedside cabinet into one empty drawer of a chest of drawers and replaced it with a small side table, sorted out a load of stuff for the recycling bin and packed the new vacuum bags.

And I've done the laundry. It's drying on racks in the upstairs back bedroom where there's now plenty of space now I've got rid of the shelves and the wardrobe.

Woo hoo! :T

whitewing

Gingernutty, I am most impressed!

Aspirational.... a paper making kit. I used it once.

Have a smallish pile of craft books that I am going to find a worthy home for. As someone else said on the thread, I want (and need) to be doing it, not reading about it. (I have enjoyed looking at the books when I first acquired them).

skipsmum

Aspirational....cookery books (I hate cooking). Kitchen gadgets...I hate cooking. Fancy rices and herbs and spices....I hate cooking.
None of these things impress my friends because they all know I don't cook.
I also have the hair thingy with 5 different ends. And curlers, rollers, spray etc. I have short hair - I never use any of it. And fashion jewelry, which I never wear because I don't feel comfortable in it.

The crochet magazine series....the knitting magazine series....card making, scrapbooking, ukeleleleing, I never have time for any of it. And when I do have time I can't find what I want.

So I'm a bit inspired, I have just got rid of:
the Big Cook Little Cook baking set DS had when he was 2 (hes now 12). Its immaculate so great for DGD.
The Mr Frosty thing - never blimmin worked properly anyway.
The variety of dishwasher rack bits, fridge shelves and icemakers that filled a cupboard. Some of them are from a fridge I got rid of in 1998!
A whole bag of pastry cutters that we didn't use because they actually weren't very good (dinosaur with too thin neck, etc).
Three fondue thingys that we got for our wedding. We've never used any of them.
And what I think was a betterware tomato slicer. I have no idea why.