Hoarding...not just on TV

blossomhill_2

I follow Appreciate Gratitude‏@2thank on Twitter, which tweets positive messages throughout the day, often relevant to what I am trying to achieve with my hoard, for instance;

• The best things in life are not things. (as katep23 is realising)

• It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. (I thought this was good for the aspirational hoarder)

• Enjoy the things that make you happy...let go and leave behind the things that don't

((hugs)) to all, goodnight

esmf73

I am starting afresh today! Well started a bit yesterday by going through the boys clothes and removing the too small ones!! Will continue by starting in our ensuite (smallest room!). Need to do 2 rooms a day tobe ruthless and not delay over little things. Plan to do master room, bathrooms, airing cupboard and the boys sheets and duvets today.

Tomorrow will be hall, dogs room and James Bond! Wednesday will be kitchen diner and sitting room. Then Thursday willbe craft room and shed. Eeek.

whitewing

I am most impressed by anyone posting just after 6am!

Now that we are decluttering, I am enjoying the things we actually have tenfold.

alec_eiffel

Mistral001 wrote: »

I am not sure if this is very relevant, but when I start to get rid of some things, I start from the outside and work in.

What I mean is if I decide that there is too much stuff in the living room, I clean up say a storeroom or outhouse first. I usually find that there are lots of things that I can throw out from the storeroom or garage. Thus I usually end up throwing stuff out from the storerooms as well as the living room and I do not have to worry about having somewhere to keep that object which I want to move from the sitting room but cannot bear to part with it just at the moment. I have found that the extra effort to tidy the storerooms first is well worthwhile.

Yes, I do that too. The stuff that gets used is/was the stuff that was all over the house and the stuff that didn't get used was the stuff that was stored away in the cupboards! This is especially true with clothing I think.

lostinrates

Well, the sun that's trying here has improved my mood a little, as has turning on an electric heater last night. No heating, no bath (dribbly shower on a temporary water pipe) lots of mud every time we take the dogs out...more often because of the puppy.

Any way. I feel a drive to sort but not enough physical strength. I am also going to go and do a second coat of paint instead.....

Feels like a count down to moving onto the rest of the house.

blossomhill_2

Mistral001 wrote: »

What I mean is if I decide that there is too much stuff in the living room, I clean up say a storeroom or outhouse first. I usually find that there are lots of things that I can throw out from the storeroom or garage. Thus I usually end up throwing stuff out from the storerooms as well as the living room and I do not have to worry about having somewhere to keep that object which I want to move from the sitting room but cannot bear to part with it just at the moment

I think this works because the storeroom becomes your "9th Square" (those little cracker games where you move tiles around to make a picture - you often have to move one that is in the right place, to be able to deal with the ones that aren't)

It also helps to see things in a different environment, completely out of context, as they can become embedded in their usual place and we forget to notice them - by moving them out to somewhere unfamiliar they have to earn their keep

My success in the last year has only been possible because I have attacked the hoard by a variety of methods/using different approaches - taking things out to an outhouse and seeing it on a trestle makes me really see it

Thinking back to the idea of having somewhere for things to go before we start, perhaps there would be merit in, instead of deciding to "have a clear out", we decided to "fill 2 bags and take to CS"

I have started telling myself what I am doing (in my head) - yesterday I heard myself "putting the envelope of cash I have withdrawn, into the the drawer where I keep empty purses because it's logical" - No, it wasn't! What was logical was to ditch the envelope and use one of the purses for what it was designed for, holding my cash! :T

Like whitewing, I am thoroughly enjoying the belongings I have chosen to keep (and somehow know I will stay rational and dispose of them when they have had their day)

I am also enjoying vacuuming, because it is less of a "it's now or never" as I do it more often so can, bizarrely, be less thorough, because anything I miss will soon be scooped up next time round

Question; if you have an object that you can't part with, can you imagine it in a CS window - ok, how much would you pay for it? Q2 - would you give it houseroom now?

alec_eiffel

blossomhill wrote: »

Question; if you have an object that you can't part with, can you imagine it in a CS window - ok, how much would you pay for it? Q2 - would you give it houseroom now?

My problem with this form of decision making (I know it's a really successful strategy for lots of people) is that 1. much of my stuff was stuff that had never had monetary value so couldn't go to a CS anyway - lists, napkins etc and 2. if I thought of it in a CS window and the amount I'd pay for it was low I'd think that other people would think that too and decide there was no point to me getting rid of it as it has no value to anyone but me so I might as well keep it!

I had to stop seeing things as things that had value at all, if I started to think about alternative uses, how much something cost or how much it would be worth now it would hold me back. I could only think of things in terms of junk to get rid of and things that I really liked "as a thing", not a representation of memories etc or that I knew I would use and use now, not something that might come in handy one day.

Byatt

The trouble with the 9th square theory is you have to have a 9th square so to speak. I have no outhouse or spare cupboards, so everything from a 3 bed house was forced into a 1 bed cottage and I then added more, thinking in my warped way, as was mentioned, that more storage equalled more space! :eek: I can categorically say, that does not happen. Less stuff equals more space!

LIR, how are you today? How is the puppy? You can forget how much work a puppy is after having older dogs, they are like toddlers!

I'm having another round of tests after dr this morning, he's looking at worst case scenario with the proviso that he will continue looking for a diagnosis until he finds it! :eek: I actually was going down the route of something simple, before I went, but my imagination is now running away with me, and I'm thinking...knowing my luck.

Good news is I've lost weight!! Almost a stone in about 5-6 weeks. :T And no hardship either, I still have chocolate! :rotfl:

whitewing

Wow, fabulous weight loss byatt.

lostinrates

whitewing wrote: »

Wow, fabulous weight loss byatt.

Seconded!

Thanks for asking Byatt. I am ok. I have conceded to myself to have an easy day. Puppy is fine, but absolutely exhausting. . He is doing really well at night, going from ten thirty or eleven through to between 5:30 and six thirty in the morning, which is pretty impressive IMO.

I am considering sleeping down stairs now dh is back at work till Friday, so it's easier to get him out. Haven't decided yet.