Hoarding...not just on TV

Gingernutty

:eek: Look what I managed to do to myself on Thursday night! That's my left bingo wing, btw.

I've advertised the kitchen on the Intranet sales forum and received a reply almost immediately.

He said he wanted it and that he'd pick it up on Friday evening. But he wanted pictures.

So frantically rearranging everything in the front room to photograph the stuff, I realised the electric oven in the kitchen needed to be there too.

So I picked up the oven and managed to jam it and myself in the kitchen doorway.

I had to drop it as gently as I could and it landed on my foot. Which, ironically, doesn't have a scratch. :huh:

I got a luggage trolley and brought the oven (For IKEA from Whirlpool Model No 50065616) into the front room to photograph it.

I uploaded the photos, sent them to myself at work via email and then sent them to the 'interested' guy at work.

And what did he say?

Thanks but it's not what he was looking for and he was no longer interested

:mad: :mad:

Still, I've got other interested parties who have also received the photo loaded emails AND I've started the ball rolling to get the council to collect it. :cool:

I rang them yesterday, they'll get back to me in three working days, they'll then arrange a visit to price up the work and THEN they'll arrange with me a date and time to collect it all. :mad:



I hope it's soon. It would be nice to see the floor again

Byatt

Awwweee Ginger, poor you! Do you have any witch hazel? Or Arnica to rub in?

You won't know yourself when all that is cleared...how exciting for you. Will the bins go as well? I hope someone wants your kitchen parts, and they collect soon.

It sounds a long haul with the council, but it's a step forward. It's so annoying though when you are all ready for it to be gone, and it isn't gone. That's the trap I've fallen into again regarding boot selling what I have left...:(

I think I have one of "those" spiders in my bathroom, it's currently munching its way through the wood louse colony! :eek:

eta I like your bamboo shelving.

SpikyHedgehog

Downsizing__for_sanity wrote: »

Hello back all :wave::wave:

I am in the position of having 2 DDs in a fairly average sized 4 bed house ( modern build hence small rooms ) However, my parents have a largish 4 bed bungalow - 1930's so very large rooms - and have almost filled it to the rafters! What annoys me a bit is that we spent much of our childhood/teenage years being told off for being untidy - and now my parents (on their own) have a full/untidy house and I have an organised, tidy house!

They are on the normal spectrum of hoarding - eg the garage etc is full of tat but the house is relatively clear (so far). However, what has spurred me on to post recently is the revelation that I am to be their executor if and when anything happens to my parents. Partly, I'm flattered because I am the eldest, grown-up one with a great husband and 2 children of my own, and my siblings, as much as I love them, do not live yet in the real world of budgeting and looking after anything more than a pot plant. However, I'm a bit annoyed/overwhelmed with the possible responsibility - I have 2 small children, a husband in the military so often out of the country, and am trying to finish my medical degree. As well as having a long term (manageable) medical condition (SLE).

I'm sorely tempted to look into how one refuses to be an executor as it will cause sibling strife if it's only me, whilst being annoyed a bit that it will end up being me that has to wade through knee-deep in Readers' Digest mags et al to find wills, paperwork etc. "If you want something done, ask a busy woman" they say. Well, this busy woman has quite enough to be going on with. How do I broach it with el parentes?

Ellie x (DFS)

Food for thought for me, Ellie. Mum has told me who she & dad want as executors, but I don't know where anything might be in writing. Or how much they've actually thought about what they want done with stuff.

whitewing wrote: »

My relative had a 'lot' sold at auction and the fees came to more than the amount raised. But they said they would waive the debit value (a couple of quid). Not sure how that happens? Presumably it is a way of them just monitoring their own costs so that they can choose to decline a customer if they continually bring stuff in that is low value?

DS is back from his dad's. We'd shoved a load of stuff in his room, but didn't get round to sorting it (out of sight, out of mind) so that is sitting on the table now. I shall have to start tackling that this weekend. It's about 5 boxes, but some hard decisions.

Ellie, can you draw up a document with your mum that covers every type of thing in the house, not just the 'valuable' stuff. So I mean, if for example there are a lot of plastic ice cream containers have that as a bullet point, if there are bank statements have 'bank statements prior to xxxx year' - shredded, bank statements within 6 years - keep by executor and so on. And I really do mean list everything - rusty bikes and other random large metal pieces - take to scrapyard and donate profit to RSPCA (or whatever).

Because if you do this, they don't have to get rid now, but you will have clear guidelines, you can also start looking into it if stuff crops up that you haven't thought about, even if you aren't executor some of this may fall to you. They may also be more inclined to throw out some now if they can see it gets dumped anyway. But it will also reassure them.

Check if they have any letters written to each other from years ago. Everyone of that generation I know has, and wants them burnt without being read by anyone else. So they may burn them themselves, but it would be good for them to know if they haven't been burnt yet that you will honour that.

I like this idea, & will be using it with my parents.

Got rid off candles & books for the raffle at scouts, the people who won them were pleased. I won a voucher for a fish pedicure (which I'll give to baby sis for her birthday next week) & a family swim at the local swimming pool. Also brought home veggie sausages & burgers, so that's dinner sorted, & a load of cakes, which we'll eat... & the tea towels for washing, but I've got a key to the hut, so they'll go back as soon as washed & dried.

Another bag of stuff went to the CS yesterday, & DS1's winter duvet went for a wash & dry at the launderette: this will result in a tidier house, as I can then put it away, instead of keeping it out waiting to be washed. Vacuum cleaner to go tomorrow.

Byatt

valk_scot wrote: »

I am back in the "I want to go to the Charity Shops" dilemma. I've just found out that a friend of mine has a stall at one of the craft markets today, in a very posh part of town. I usually go and see her when she does this, have a chat, look round the other stalls (can't afford to buy in craft fairs but I like to look) and then go for a wander round the ten or so really excellent CSs there ending up with a side trip into Waitrose.

Now I don't mind the Waitrose bit, I need milk and spuds and they sell rennet which I can't get other places easily. I'm very good at resisting expensive food buys at Waitrose tbh! And I'd like to see my pal, it's a nice wee trip tbh especially as I'm free today because the kids are at camp. But I said already I was going to try to avoid charity shops, yes? Do you think I can manage this? They are really excellent charity shops, full of the kind of aspirational vintage tat I love best. (Drool...)

Hope you managed to avoid the CS's Valk... :cool:

valk_scot

Byatt wrote: »

Hope you managed to avoid the CS's Valk... :cool:

I went to two in the end, the ones between Waitrose and the craft fair. The first one often has good crafting items that I do actually use so I went in, looked just at that bit, bought nothing and scurried out. I bought a book in the second one for my DS, it's his birthday next week and though he says he just wants money (teenager!!) I know he'll miss not having any parcels to open at all so I've got him a couple of really inexpensive things and this book of rather silly bar jokes.

Given that there are so many good CS in the area |I count that a sucess to only go to two and end up with just one item.. Also why I was at the craft fair my friend offered me a couple of items off her stall for nothing, if I could use them? They were lovely but in all honesty I wouldn't have used them for quite a while so I declined as nicely as I could. She's a good pal so I don't think her feelings were hurt, I hope not anyway.

Also I got the rennet I wanted at Waitrose, which saved me quite a bit on ordering it by mail.

And then...failure, I bought an aspirational craft magazine, lol. Just when I was doing so well! But I could have come home with a couple of carrier bags of unnecessary bits tbh so I think I didn't do too badly coming home with a book, a magazine, a bottle of rennet, six eggs and a bag of spuds, not really!

Brighton_belle

I think you did very well Valk:T.

I had my birthday this week and specifically asked friends not to buy me presents on the basis of 'I've spent 2 years decluttering and I don't want more stuff'. I just asked for their company for tea and cake. It was a lovely time and no stuff just a lovely memory and a couple of fun photos of us all.

Good luck Jo-jo with the injections - how fab you got passed for them quickly:T. I know someone on twice the dose I'm on with absolutely no side effects,yay. Can't say the same for me at the mo but everyone is differnt and the alternative is worse.

Tomorrow I must stop pretending that I am having 'horders' trouble getting the pile of things to the cs...that have sat there for 3-4 weeks. They.must.go.

Picklepot

Thanks all for the welcomes

Kat 44 Oh my life i could have written your post about tidy on the surface but everything is out of sight. For me every cupboard and drawer, loft. double garage spare room has stuff to sort. AND the wage slips, me too!!! I feel like i am living a double life!!

Byatt My tortie cat is not so lovely. She was a recue with lots of issues but after 5 years is getting better. After a life time of having rescues she has been one of the biggest challenges.

Valk_Scot I have never had trouble walking past charity shops and rarely buy from them UNTIL i started clearing the clutter. After reading this thread avidly for weeks i took two bags to the CS that had been churning their way around my house for months. As i went in i held the door for a lady who was donating some far nicer things than the old tat in my donated bags (however it was not old tat when i was making the decision to part with it !! )The lady was donating a lovely glass bowl which i immediately felt i must have..it was almost obsessive!!I Anyhow i declined but thought about it all the way home. I have never been like that before, i wonder whether making the decision to let things go makes you initially feel the need to fill the void???

I cannot make my quote button work am i being dozy??

Brighton_belle

Picklepot wrote: »

I cannot make my quote button work am i being dozy??

I think it is because you are a newbie - you have to have a minimum number or posts before you can quote?
Anyway, another welcome form me and other newbies popping up:T

lostinrates

Cannot keep up..but, dericharded an oil tank to a friend who needs one, and parent gave same friend (and ebay seller) a camara he had in the 80sand a separate lens for the same to sell. Not a huge thing but a thing.

wannabe_sybil

Valk - loads out, small amount in, sounds like a win to me.

Brighton Belle - since darling father moved in with us I have started drinking alcohol, so between that and chocolates and bubble bath, it's all presents that are consumable. I now request something around 20% proof. I am still recovering from the Sambuca. I actively work to give presents now that do not need dusting magazine subscriptions are usually good as well.

Also, just logged in to let people know if they didn't already that Clarks take used children's shoes and any proceeds go to Unicef. Buying new school shoes for little bear was less of an ordeal than expected.

:o:o Noticed that there was a thread about using up 2l pop bottles of which we have an abundance. I am trying to get them swiftly out of the house but am about to drop into the thread to have a little look. Just in case.