Hoarding...not just on TV

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Well, if The Stuff has been building up over time, you wouldn't necessarily have any idea of how long it should take to do household tasks, as your concept is going to be conflated with picking stuff up, finding a route to the cupboard, getting into the cupboard under the sink, looking for the washing up liquid that was on special offer, finding the sink under the washing up, finding the bowl, reaching the taps................

Instead of 'bung plate, cup and cutlery in DW. Bung tablet in dispenser, shut door and switch on.'

Jettycat

Byatt wrote: »

A kind of insight. I am house sitting as I've previously said and tomorrow the cleaner is coming in. The house is tidy although I was stressing about the little things I needed to do, load the dishwasher (bliss) and such, and in my mind it seemed horrendous and I became panicky thinking I didn't have time to do it all (truly, there's been hardly anything to do), as I was building it out of all proportion. I realised I do that all the time, anticipating what needs to be done, thinking about it so it becomes a huge thing and then panicking that I won't finish.
I tried to calm myself down and then later pottered and finished tidying the kitchen. It wasn't hard and it was done quickly. So does anyone else do this even for normal everyday stuff.

I do this all the time ... I make endless lists of things to do, think about how to do them, how long they will take, what I need before I can start and (you're right) build them up out of all proportion. That together with the perfectionism (I can't start until I'm sure the end result will be perfect) means I just keep putting things off.

This thread is really helping me realise how silly that is and that I need to just do things - not doing them is far worse than not doing them as well as I'd like. :T

On a positive note, all the talk about paper clutter has encourage me to attack the filing cabinets (2.5 of them - 10 drawers in all) and paper piles (lots and lots all around the house). I have moved a lot of the piles to the office (not all ... not yet!) and have sorted them out for filing, then I started on the first filing cabinet, the one that has the "important" papers in, ie, the ones I think I need to keep and I realised that some of it just isn't needed, a lot is so old I don't need it any more (some of the dates on bills, statements, etc have year 19xx :o). I have thrown out or shredded (or put in the shredding pile - the shredder keeps overheating!) at least 50% of the things in that cabinet - and this is the "important" papers one. I'm beginning to think I may be able to release a cabinet when I have finished this :eek::eek::eek:

Thanks, ((hugs)) and "keep at it" to all. x

suzitiger

Hello I have just found you guys on here, I am a mild hoarder trying to change my ways so I have subscribed to this thread in the hope that you will welcome me and we can support one another :T

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

suzitiger wrote: »

Hello I have just found you guys on here, I am a mild hoarder trying to change my ways so I have subscribed to this thread in the hope that you will welcome me and we can support one another :T

Yup. You're welcome, suzi!


Afraid I'm off to my bed now, as I have this wretched cold to shake off. But welcome nonetheless!

SpikyHedgehog

GreyQueen wrote: »

Wow, some great stories of personal progress on this thread. Loved your post, Picklepot. I look forward to the day when I can have my pal SuperGran over without jokingly-apologising for the mess in my sitting room.

I haven't been feeling 100% on these past days (go off on annual leave and get ill seems to be my pattern) but have told myself that pecking away at the edges still counts as decluttering.

Accordingly, two bags went to the c.s. yesterday and the third is being added-to during today. Plus I have been busy shredding things and have re-oranised 3 drawers and recycled some kipple relating to appliances which are either themselves gone like the dead mobile I replaced last month or are past their warrantly period.

Anyone else driven nutso by the exhortation that we should keep the original packaging from stuff we buy? I know that most people's homes would probably be bigger than mine, but does anyone have the room to keep box after box after box?

Surely it'd be a fire-hazard if you did?

Bloomin' boxes! Errant husband loves his boxes, which I think I might have mentioned as being in my loft... Most of then are for things we/he doesn't have anymore, what is still owned is out of warranty, & some of them had been shoved up there with vital components in... But what wasn't up there, was the box the fan came in - but I need to store that over winter!

Anyway, as I have a loft, I do have some boxes in it, but each time DS1 & I go up there, we check & chuck.

Byatt wrote: »

A kind of insight. I am house sitting as I've previously said and tomorrow the cleaner is coming in. The house is tidy although I was stressing about the little things I needed to do, load the dishwasher (bliss) and such, and in my mind it seemed horrendous and I became panicky thinking I didn't have time to do it all (truly, there's been hardly anything to do), as I was building it out of all proportion. I realised I do that all the time, anticipating what needs to be done, thinking about it so it becomes a huge thing and then panicking that I won't finish.
I tried to calm myself down and then later pottered and finished tidying the kitchen. It wasn't hard and it was done quickly. So does anyone else do this even for normal everyday stuff.

I really struggle with this... I find the fly lady trick of setting a timer for 15 minutes helps - I can make myself do something for that amount of time.

suzitiger wrote: »

Hello I have just found you guys on here, I am a mild hoarder trying to change my ways so I have subscribed to this thread in the hope that you will welcome me and we can support one another :T

Welcome, suzitiger!

VJsmum

I have thrown away a box of tea bags that are a blend of greena nd black tea. I bought it years ago and it is minging. I have been drinking the odd cup occasionally to get the stash down, but it really is revolting.

Yesterday I admitted it had been a mistake to buy them and they went.

Not a huge amount to declutter but quite a big hurdle jumped

Thank you.

valk_scot

Byatt wrote: »

A kind of insight. I am house sitting as I've previously said and tomorrow the cleaner is coming in. The house is tidy although I was stressing about the little things I needed to do, load the dishwasher (bliss) and such, and in my mind it seemed horrendous and I became panicky thinking I didn't have time to do it all (truly, there's been hardly anything to do), as I was building it out of all proportion. I realised I do that all the time, anticipating what needs to be done, thinking about it so it becomes a huge thing and then panicking that I won't finish.
I tried to calm myself down and then later pottered and finished tidying the kitchen. It wasn't hard and it was done quickly. So does anyone else do this even for normal everyday stuff.

I do that. I have The List of Things That Need Done running in my head constantly and I fiddle around with it mentally, trying to see where I can dovetail tasks and save time. Up to a point this is a good thing but because it's so neverending it does get overwhelming sometimes. Especially when extra tasks get flung in at the last minute and I can't fit them in neatly or quickly.

Also I've got a tendency to assign equal difficulty/time to all of them, so stacking the dishwasher (two minutes) takes on the same degree of effort in my mind as cleaning the bathroom (20 minutes) or washing the windows (a morning).

I'm better though since I became aware of this wobble, also I've packaged quite a few of the small tasks into the Daily Session. That covers dishwasher, quick tidy of kitchen, hanging up any laundry, making beds, fast walk through pick-up of the house for plates/cups/dirty laundry, scoop or change cat tray, sort out laundry basket. This takes me a good hour, I'm not fast at it but if I can get this done and know what I'm making for dinner I can relax, the rest of the day is pretty well optional if I'm not feeling up to it. The world won't end if I don't wash out the fridge today after all and I can get the kids to do catch up hoovering at the weekend. But I can mentally cope with the Daily S stuff, I know it's not too much and I don't feel overwhelmed.


On a dericharding front I have done some unexpected clearing. You'll remember that for me the big wobble is going to be the Playmobil collection? Well as well as the attic I have a storage area down here in the study, there's a platform bed at one end and under it is what used to be fitted wardrobes but which we took the doors off years ago and shelved for storage space for OH's work papers. One section is mine and yes, there's Playmobil in there but also a long run of magazine file boxes which hold things like back catalogues, assembly instructions, promo literature etc mixed in with gawd knows what else. I've got an absolute mind block about all this, it just seemed too big a pile to even want to start sorting it.

Except today Mad Kitten was exploring the study and got up behind the files. That would have been okay because he's skinny but our not very bright adult Ginger Cat decided to try to squeeze in after him and the files all came popping off the shelf, all ten of them. Hundreds of bits of paper all over the floor! Anyway it seemed a bit silly just to put them all back so I started triaging them. Now I have two just magazine file boxes full of vital assembly instructions and a complete set of back catalogues (I'll need them for when I sort out the attic collection) and five shopping bags of waste paper for recycling. And it only took me half an hour, lol. A job I've been ignoring for years, now.

Still got to do the Daily Session though. 'Scuse me.....

Jo_anne_2

Jettycat wrote: »

I do this all the time ... I make endless lists of things to do, think about how to do them, how long they will take, what I need before I can start and (you're right) build them up out of all proportion. That together with the perfectionism (I can't start until I'm sure the end result will be perfect) means I just keep putting things off.

I think you've hit the nail on the head for me there. I've been thinking part of my trouble is if I can't do something properly I can't do it at all. A bit of perfectionism combined with OCD perhaps?

I threw out some utility bills from 2005 last night. Go me! :rotfl:

Jo_anne_2

suzitiger wrote: »

Hello I have just found you guys on here, I am a mild hoarder trying to change my ways so I have subscribed to this thread in the hope that you will welcome me and we can support one another :T

Welcome! I'm fairly new to this thread too.

VJsmum

Jo_anne wrote: »

I threw out some utility bills from 2005 last night. Go me! :rotfl:

I've just been through some household files and pension / endowment annual statements. Surely I only need to keep the latest of these? I don't really need to be reminded that our endowments have had a shortfall since 2003? Same with household insurance - only this years is relevant?