Hoarding...not just on TV

whitewing

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229298/Hoarder-rescued-home-falling-living-room-floor-collapsed-weight-belongings.html

Gingernutty

Slight issue with the table.

I took the table apart and put all the wooden pieces in a rubble sack and put them all in the bin.

Come bin day (yesterday), the little table legs fell out of the bag and went into the bin lorry, but the table top wedged itself diagonally inside the bin and refused to come out without a good tug.

Which the bin men, in a hurry, aren't going to do. Obviously.

So it's sitting on the bin, bag and all, waiting for me to put it on top of the bin bag next time.

The Snoopy picture, embroidery, zebra rug, the clip frame and a selection of stationery, dvds and books went to the CS today.

I forgot the little Sunshine Buddy but he can keep for now. Although his card is marked.......



Seriously, I paid to have this framed.......

sjprmc01

Hey strangers I have been away for a bit! I am as bad as ever with the hoarding . And I just sit in the house and ignore it instead of doing stuff about it. More and more seems to be coming into the house and its mostly all ME atm, not the mother in law who is bringing it all in . The worst thing is that I don't even bring in stuff we need its just pretty things I like, I'm like a magpie or have some mad feeling inside that makes me 'need' all this stuff I don't really

thriftwizard

The worst thing is that I don't even bring in stuff we need its just pretty things I like, I'm like a magpie or have some mad feeling inside that makes me 'need' all this stuff I don't really

You and me both! In my case it's stuff I think I might be able to use or sell, but on some level I do know that I DO NOT NEED ANY MORE STUFF! I'm trying to be really strict with myself & bring back less, much less, than I'm disposing of.

Today's tally: a boot load of broken china, dead lighbulbs, fabric offcuts too small for anyone to do anything with & paint-stained rags taken to the Tip. One small vintage wind-up travel alarm clock brought back. If it doesn't work, the insides get gets turned into steampunk jewellery. If it does (and so far, it does, perfectly well) it gets sold on as is. Also - a fairly massive box of clothes, mostly mine, and some other bits n' bobs have gone off with the jumble collectors. The trick will be not buying any of it back... it hurt to part with some of the clothes, but they hadn't been worn, or even looked at, at all for at least a year.

blossomhill_2

thriftwizard wrote: »

One small vintage wind-up travel alarm clock brought back. If it doesn't work, the insides get gets turned into steampunk jewellery. If it does (and so far, it does, perfectly well) it gets sold on as is

Noooooooo! Don't tell me these have a purpose - I found a drawerful on Monday, inherited from late dad, and seriously thought they were so obsolete since we now have mobile phone alarms, I could soon ditch them (not quite brave enough yet though)

Oh well, I have a local artist buying old watch faces from me at £1 a go, I would never have thought to offer her these if you hadn't mentioned it!

Also found that the horrible old leather belt I sent to clothes recycling was in fact a vinatge barber's shaving strop and they sell for £20+ on ebay ... oh well ! ... at least I still have the box of cutthroat razors

thriftwizard

blossomhill wrote: »

Also found that the horrible old leather belt I sent to clothes recycling was in fact a vinatge barber's shaving strop and they sell for £20+ on ebay ... oh well ! ... at least I still have the box of cutthroat razors

But you'll never be able to sharpen them!:D

decogecko

Hi all

For those struggling to get rid of things, my late OH was a terrible hoarder, liked the minimalist look but the loft, garage and built in cupboards were packed to the rafters. Full of things that may come in handy one day, things that he could sell on eb*y, things that he had no use for but couldn't get rid of for reasons only known to him. He had a hard time of letting things go and even brought replacement things because he couldn't find the original item in one of the various places he liked to hoard.

When he moved in with me I had an uphill battle to get him to part with things, I got rid of a lot of my things. He boarded the roof in the garage so things could be put up there as well as packing the bottom of the garage full of things.

One weekend he felt ill and 5 months later he passed away. All the things remained. I used to go to the garage and found it overwhelming as I didn't know where to begin to make a start at sorting the things. After he passed his family came to collect his things (we weren't married and with no will, all his property belonged to his children from a previous relationship) they took a lorry and half worth of things away.

I have called the items things as I can't even remember what he had in there, there was nothing of great worth but a great burden. The things had never been sold that 'could have been worth something' and 'that one day' that other things could have 'come in handy' never came.

When I sold the house that me and late OH lived in I managed to get rid of 30 black sacks full of my things to CS as I knew I was downsizing. I have slipped somewhat in the last 18 months since moving into my house but I am pleased I am dealing with it and not resorted to putting things in my loft, which I'm very happy to say is empty bar one box full of a few personal items that were late OH's. But I may thin that out as I have the memories and don't need to look at the things.

Sorry for the long rambling post.

whitewing

I really love this thread - so many stories and insights.

I have realised that I am not posting so many updates now because much of it is being done as a normal part of daily life so I'm not having to make difficult decisions so regularly. And yet we are not buying or storing anything differently than we used to. So it's the thinking patterns that have changed.

alec_eiffel

whitewing wrote: »

I really love this thread - so many stories and insights.

I have realised that I am not posting so many updates now because much of it is being done as a normal part of daily life so I'm not having to make difficult decisions so regularly. And yet we are not buying or storing anything differently than we used to. So it's the thinking patterns that have changed.

What a breakthrough, well done :j

blossomhill_2

Ah deckogecko, your circumstances are intriguing, as hoarding is so often linked to loss, but your loss led to what could perhaps, with respect, be called an enforced decluttering and you managed to continue with it and move on. I am glad to know that you were able to keep separate your feelings for your late OH from his things and not attach undue significance to them, in fact I envy you slightly in that aspect as it is something I struggle to do with people I have lost.

I think your insight will serve you well in dealing with your slight hoarding urge at the moment, so thanks for sharing

I do worry about the people who aren't posting at the moment those we know of and the lurkers ...