Hoarding...not just on TV

GreyQueen

IHateBinBags (love the username btw) I work for a council. Ring up their customer services and double-check that the outfit running the tip is the same one as you're talking to, and then ask to speak to a senior. You should be able to explain that you're helping to resolve a longstanding chronic hoarding problem, not running a house-clearance business, and some consideration at the tip, rather than harrassment, would be appreciated.

Out local tip used to be decidedly awkward. Someone I know well was having a clear out of home and garage clutter. Perfectly normal stuff, mainly knackered kiddie-clutter. This household had one small hatchback and one big van used in a self-employed business and clearly lettered with the business name. Without giving real-world identifiers, suffice it to say that the particular business had nothing whatsoever to do with hauling old tatt about.

So, you have a very small car and a large van and you need to get a lot of stuff to the tip, so what do you do? Exactly. They were rejected as "trade waste" even though it was clearly household stuff, nothing different to the stuff coming out of the backs of other people's cars. Grrrrrr!!!!!!!!!

I haven't decluttered anything today but I have 3 little drawers under my new-to-me sofa where the predecessor had none, and I haven't found anything to put in them yet. It's been weeks. I have empty space and can't quite believe it.:p

LiR on the subject of getting lovely drinking glasses, I would struggle with that one. I've often pondered on the craziness of fancy glass and fancy china, and that whole slew of stuff which is too good to be used because we might break it. Kind of insane how we take a utilitarian item like a glass or a plate then make such a refined version of it that it makes us nervous and has to sit in a cabinet away from the lumps and bumps.

If it was me, I would say no to the gift it it would be something that I would be expected to keep unused forever in a cabinet. If I could take it on the understanding that I would use it, and some would inevitably be broken over time, so be it, then I would take it and enjoy it.

My own glassware is an eclectic selection of very ordinary glasses in shapes which appeal to me. It's a working collection which sits in a glass cabinet in the sitting-room (no space in kitchen) and is attractively positioned. No two glasses match, none of them cost more than 20p each, and this liberates me from stress and worry about breaking up a set and having destroyed something valuable. It works for me, anyway. But each to their own, say I.

Righty, think one of my wineglasses needs an outing. I shall have a different one to last night as I wouldn't want to show favouritism............:rotfl:

lostinrates

GreyQueen wrote: »

IHateBinBags (love the username btw) I work for a council. Ring up their customer services and double-check that the outfit running the tip is the same one as you're talking to, and then ask to speak to a senior. You should be able to explain that you're helping to resolve a longstanding chronic hoarding problem, not running a house-clearance business, and some consideration at the tip, rather than harrassment, would be appreciated.

Out local tip used to be decidedly awkward. Someone I know well was having a clear out of home and garage clutter. Perfectly normal stuff, mainly knackered kiddie-clutter. This household had one small hatchback and one big van used in a self-employed business and clearly lettered with the business name. Without giving real-world identifiers, suffice it to say that the particular business had nothing whatsoever to do with hauling old tatt about.

So, you have a very small car and a large van and you need to get a lot of stuff to the tip, so what do you do? Exactly. They were rejected as "trade waste" even though it was clearly household stuff, nothing different to the stuff coming out of the backs of other people's cars. Grrrrrr!!!!!!!!!

I haven't decluttered anything today but I have 3 little drawers under my new-to-me sofa where the predecessor had none, and I haven't found anything to put in them yet. It's been weeks. I have empty space and can't quite believe it.:p

LiR on the subject of getting lovely drinking glasses, I would struggle with that one. I've often pondered on the craziness of fancy glass and fancy china, and that whole slew of stuff which is too good to be used because we might break it. Kind of insane how we take a utilitarian item like a glass or a plate then make such a refined version of it that it makes us nervous and has to sit in a cabinet away from the lumps and bumps.

If it was me, I would say no to the gift it it would be something that I would be expected to keep unused forever in a cabinet. If I could take it on the understanding that I would use it, and some would inevitably be broken over time, so be it, then I would take it and enjoy it.

My own glassware is an eclectic selection of very ordinary glasses in shapes which appeal to me. It's a working collection which sits in a glass cabinet in the sitting-room (no space in kitchen) and is attractively positioned. No two glasses match, none of them cost more than 20p each, and this liberates me from stress and worry about breaking up a set and having destroyed something valuable. It works for me, anyway. But each to their own, say I.

Righty, think one of my wineglasses needs an outing. I shall have a different one to last night as I wouldn't want to show favouritism............:rotfl:

Upuntil recently all our stuff was mismatched too, and i love that. Thesej things in groups are the result of deaths and divorces.

GreyQueen

LiR, if you want to wander across the web to 356lessthings you'll find the two or three most recent posts deal with exactly this issue. HTH.

Byatt

lostinrates wrote: »

I have had an idea. Tomorrow i am going to take pics of the inside of my diningroom cabinets and you can all help me at least store it better, and see if in pictures its true that the junk is easier to see.

I think that's a good idea. I love glass, but don't have a great deal, some lovely cut glasses I would use but not likely to happen here as more than 2 people in my room and it's crowded.

I have some Portmeirion, which I have decided to use instead of store.

lostinrates

GreyQueen wrote: »

LiR, if you want to wander across the web to 356lessthings you'll find the two or three most recent posts deal with exactly this issue. HTH.

Well i will, but only under duress, because surely it should be 365 FEWER things.

lostinrates

Byatt wrote: »

I think that's a good idea. I love glass, but don't have a great deal, some lovely cut glasses I would use but not likely to happen here as more than 2 people in my room and it's crowded.

I have some Portmeirion, which I have decided to use instead of store.

In my favour, we do, or did entertain and plan to again on a bigger scale once we have a slightly more workable kitchen (swearing and the sound of woman kicking kitchen units is never relaxing for guests!). In fact, ina. Few weeks some of my oldest mse chums are coming to visit me. :j:j. They are all driving though, so i doubt we will be getting the champagne glasses out!

GreyQueen

lostinrates wrote: »

Well i will, but only under duress, because surely it should be 365 FEWER things.

LMAO, they had that one out on their comments board and chewed it over conclusively earlier this year. It's a lovely blog with a super international following of commentors (inc me!) and there is so much of value there. I really cannot recommend it highly enough.

The blog title doesn't bother me but I nearly go into one whenever I see a supermarket sign saying five items or less which I think should qualify the perpetrator for a day in the stocks and as much rotten produce as they can eat. And the numpty sign-maker in Tosco who put Cereal's above the aisle deserves to be beaten to death with a dictionary.........

MMLS

I lurk on a couple of OS threads but this time I'm taking the plunge and joining in ... if that's okay with everyone?

I live with my dad. OH works abroad and a few years ago I moved back to Wales to take care of my parents (OH and I spend as much time together as we can but it's hard living so far apart). My darling mum died very recently so it's just dad and I rattling around a large house - a house full of stuff. My DS is here too but starts uni in September and is away most of the summer until then. We're in the middle of decorating at the moment and I can't wait to get it over and done with so I can start to get rid of my clutter but the house'll still be a tip as dad has always found it difficult to bin anything. You would think that losing mum would make it harder than ever for him to declutter but he's keen to do it. Trouble is one man's rubbish is another man's treasure and all that. I'm currently trying to convince him that he doesn't need 2 laptops, 3 desk tops, 3 spare keyboards, 2 spare monitors, numerous speakers and a partridge in a pear tree to play FreeCell. :eek:
And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

My stuff has been dragging me down. It exhausts me and I feel I can't move on with anything while it's there. Half finished craft projects stop me from trying anything new. For instance, I have a patchwork quilt that's been sitting in a bin bag in a cupboard for over 20 years. The patchwork bit, all hand sewn, is complete but the lining, backing and quilting seems like a task too far for someone who can't use a sewing machine (I have 2) so it sits there stopping me making something else. I don't even like it any more so I've decided it's the first thing that's got to go. It'll be a relief. My books will be difficult but I aim to be ruthless. Like someone else on this thread said, I don't mind it all going as long as it goes to a good home. There's no way I could bring myself to just dump it. It's all good stuff....really it is. Well to me at least So after the quilt and the books I'll move on to the stationary (I love, love, love stationary in all it's many and varied forms), all my papercraft and card making stuff, and my pretty boxes and baskets. And note books. Loads of them, almost all blank except for a few lists at the start of each. A new project needs a new list written in a new notebook. I follow 365lessthings too GQ. I started a new notebook to keep a record of what I'd declutter every day :

So this'll be phase 1.

Theoretically at least.

GreyQueen

MMLS, welcome.

Wow, that's a helluva lot of stuff to deal with. To think I get the wobblies about sorting out my allotment shed. Mark you, I know the size of the s p i d e r s in there.:eek:

Unfinished craft projects are a kicker and it's something I have stuggled with myself in the past. Starting them in a blaze of enthusisam, hitting the middle part where it seems nothing but a slog, but not getting to the downward slope where you pick up speed again because the end is in sight.

I'm more wary about what I start now, but one strategy I found for managing already existing unfinished craft projects was to mentally wave my magic wand and imagine it completed in a trice and then ask myself DO I WANT THIS THING?

If the answer is a categorical No or even a Maybe Not, I would say that my time is more valuable on something else. I can't abide disposing of good stuff in wasteful ways either but even part-finished craft projects can be Freecycled, charity-shopped, car booted. If it's something very specific, you could try approaching a club whose members make such things. It might take a little time to find the right home, but be assured that it is out there.

If something is in kit form and you're giving it away, please be sure it has all its bits with it. My Mum bought a 3/4 completed wool rug from a c.s. with bags of what looked to be the remaining yarn from the kit. Weeks later when she went to use it, she discovered that the wool didn't belong to that project but some other one and didn't match, so back into her cupboard it went.

Both Mum and I are very experienced rug-makers and I knew this darned thing was plaguing her whenever she thought of if, so I offered to take it on. I moved some of the pattern around and managed to make good the missing from my yarn stash and returned the completed rug to her. It went straight down in the living room and you have to look very closely to see that it has been finessed as I term it.

Best of luck with your project. GQ x

wannabe_sybil

GreyQueen - love what you did with the rug.

I have a part finished patchwork quilt. It was started by my grandmother, continued by my mother, and I am seriously considering donating it to a museum as there is no way on this planet I am finishing it, but some of the stuff is seriously vintage. However I don't know where it is at the moment, so I am not stressing about that particular item.

I am not sure if anyone else is like this but I hate finishing things off. I have a sweater that has been half sewn up for over two years - I haven't finished it. I have so many half finished projects it isn't funny. But it seems to spread all over. A few weeks ago we came back from holiday and I unpacked and washed and ironed - all except one bag. That bag is still there. The other day when I was trying to be really good and unpack a grocery delivery straight away, it was really, really hard for me to sort out the last bag, it was as if I had hit resistance. Finishing things off depresses me. If I am at nearly at the bottom of the ironing pile it is almost impossible for me to finish to get the job done.

Now I have spotted it, I really need to break this. Any ideas?