Hoarding...not just on TV

365days

I love reading all your posts. I have been making progress and slowly moving things either out of the house, or into the 9th square (which is now clear enough to receive this stuff if that makes sense)

It's definatelt been a bit of a shift all round, I'm trying to eat healthier, actually planning at least a couple of days in advance food wise, and taking stuff out of the cupboards for work rather than grabbing a manky overpriced sandwich from the corner shop. I've been reading loads about feng shui, something I always thought frankly was a load of carp, and it seems to tie in very well with the hole clearing mood.

I am also in the sw (the very east of the sw!) but i'm not your mum either! I read a tip the other day which was called the hula hoop. Basically you throw down a hula hoop(or similar I guess) and deal with the things in the hoop. Someone may find that helpful.

Well done for getting rid of the boots. I must get rid of a pair i bought on ebay, they have a split sole and I just couldnt be bothered with disputing the sale. The stare at me every time i open the shoe chest, mocking me, saying, Ha Ha you were ripped off.......they need to go.I think I just keep them to spite them. Ridiculous.

Another thing I have been doing which is helping is taking photos of some of the things i've got rid of. Then I almost get a second chance to 'hold on' to it. Or it can finally be 'deleted' from my life altogether. Less and less photos are being taken now as I know I just don't need them.

Hope that makes some kind of sense!!

idristhedragon

Morning all! Well done on the boots Kate
I have a hideous pair of adidas trainers I bought on eBay that are very unusual so I'm CONVINCED they're worth something. They are clearly not as I paid about £3 for them on eBay myself....
By the end of the day I will have decided their fate, inspired by Kate

I am off for a run after dropping kids. Then a 5km dog walk with friend. I was going to go to the gym but I think fresh air and company will be way more beneficial this week. Also had a bit of a red wine moment with my friend after work last night. It was brilliant fun but I know about it now!
My sons tooth is on the mend and he was happy with his £3 from the tooth fairy
Now.......can I get at least 20 things on eBay today?

lostinrates

365 days...

I moved east within the sw two and a half years ago. I often feel 'duplictous' saying sw, even though it is, because London is easier than say....Taunton or Exeter. I like where I am, I have two lovely cities roughly north of me, where friends are, and a lovely one roughly south of me, we are nearer dh's university town where many of our friends still live, and we are nearer london, where dh works and the rest of our uk social life is centred (or was til people started having babies and moving out of london, usually in the 'wrong' direction. I have benefits of not being totally isolated and yet I do not live in a town or village.

alec_eiffel

Patchwork_Quilt wrote: »

I love the bobbly update! Made me smile. And I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the phrase 'actual people'. It's just that so few of the people featured on tv have wonky noses or bad hair or wheelchairs.

Only a little progress here. Decluttered an orchid to a neighbour who will put it with all her other orchids and care for it tenderly instead of putting it on the landing windowsill, smiling at it occasionally and feeding it cups of cold, black tea. Also passing on a scarf to a colleague who admired it. I have heaps of scarves. You will be pleased to know that DH stomped out of the house muttering that he was sick of the kettle leaking, bought another one in the local supermarket AND put the old one in the bin outside on his return. Lastly, I threw some food in the bin that was nearly stale, resisting the temptation to either keep it one more day or eat it to try to get rid of it.

Am so enjoying everyone else's posts. Thank you.

Not offended at all I just thought it was interesting how the idea of people not being "actual people" cropped up here. It just seems like it's somehow linked to the aspirational living - something that can be bought but can never be fully created and become real in our lives, as though we're not worth it or something.

Anyone can have a Kartel lamp or an Eames lounger, shops will sell them to anyone as long as you have a way of paying for it! I struggled for a very long time with buying nice things rather than just something that would "do". But then DH spoke about how I didn't mind dribbing and drabbing thousands of pounds away on cheap rubbish that would do the job but then changed my mind a hundred times about the George Nelson clock I'd wanted for years. It's crazy how we rationale think our way into habits. And yes a £2 clock would tell the time just as well as a more expensive one, and yes it's not something that means anything in the great scheme of things - but what is? If we stripped everything down to whether we needed it for survival or not we'd not do anything.

thriftwizard

Morning all! Idris, although I am also in the E of the SW I'm fairly sure I'm not your mother, though with my brood, assorted "attachments" & trainee in-laws I'm beginning to lose track a bit & believe anything is possible. But what I need to know is, where are these 12 pillows? - I'd have 'em in a flash! I spent half of Sunday hunting frantically for just one spare pillow, and ended up bundling a spare sleeping bag into a pillowcase instead. Pillows have a life-expectancy of about 6 months here, I'm afraid.

Although I still have spare "stock" from the shop to dispose of gainfully (6 perfectly good spinning wheels, anyone?) I'll probably go quiet on the de-cluttering front for a while as I have a massive flooring job to do, now I can see the floor upstairs. Though as I'll have to empty the two large bookcases, it might be another opportunity to divest myself of things that have become "cumber"...

blossomhill_2

365 days - if I threw a hoop anywhere it would capture a cat or two! ((cats eyeing me nervously))

I am likely to be on here less nowadays as I an starting to live my life instead of decluttering to make room for my life - I used to pop on several times a day to give me a break between bouts of decluttering, but life is catching up with me as I am doing my interests and hobbies, friends are popping in or asking me out more now I am more releaxed

There is a saying "how you spend your days is, in fact, how you spend your life" - I was damned sure I wasn't going to be decluttering into my old age so have had a mantra in my head "this is not my life"

So if you notice a lack of blossom, don't worry about me, just be aware that you have all helped me an awful lot, probably more than you can ever realise; your therapy is working!

A bit like the "guilt" rack at the supermarket aisle, I rewarded myself with a quick post after tedious clearing

The one holy grail I have always looked for at boot sales etc is the one perfect thing that allows me to throw several substandard things out, so I do subscribe to your view, alec, on having what you really want. We have set a very low limit on Christmas gifts this year, to ensure a lot more thought and much less spending/parcels

I am being strict with broken or badly mended things - they go out or get mended/improved immediately - I soon work out whether they are worthy of my time/effort. I've got some nice covered veg dishes but one had a mended lid - I've now thrown the lid out and am relieved that I will no longer think "what a shame it's not perfect" every time I use it

PS - you southwesterners, how about organising a SW meet - there's a thread on the OS board called OS Meet Up where you organise it between you - I went to London one and enjoyed it a lot (plus we treated it as a handy swap-meet)

alec_eiffel

It will be a fantastic reason for seeing less of you blossomhill but your words of wisdom and insight are very much appreciated. I am still peeling the layers of the hoarding onion after the fact so it's all useful stuff.

There is a saying somewhere about books being wonderful but being no substitute for real life and I agree with that. Daydreaming about being able to have friends over, or to make a quilt, or get a degree or whatever is no match for the day where you can open your door and start to make that life real.

idristhedragon

Morning all. Thriftwizard if your serious about pillows and close enough to a large SW city with a famous bridge and graffiti artist then please do PM and we'll arrange it. Poor old mum is breaking her heart about what to do with these blinking pillows! they are currently on the bed on (one of) her spare rooms.

I just did my run feeling very virtuous, very sweaty and very thirsty. Friend about to turn up for dog walk which Im slightly dreading after 4.21km run/walk this morning!

We have turned a corner with youngest madams behaviour I am pleased to annouce Half term seemed to break the back of it and she missed her friends/routine and every day so far she has got dressed, had her inhalers, and this morning I was even allowed to french plait her hair (school photos lol) she is obsessed with rapunzel and because of this is rather anti hair cuts and has bum length hair! she is tiny- shes 4 but will quite happily fit into a 12-18months skirt yet has this MASSIVE hair.
I am really looking forward to this afteroons de-richarding/ebaying. I need some cash (who doesnt) and am so sick of not being able to see the floor in bedroom- Im actually embarrassed now and inspired to fix that. And it will be a lovely surprise for husband creature when he gets home

Byatt

BH, please don't go completely, as Alec says, your words of wisdom, humour and candidness are so welcome and enjoyed. :A

I am confused now about the east of the south west. :cool:

Is there another SW I don't know about as London has been mentioned?

lostinrates

Byatt wrote: »

BH, please don't go completely, as Alec says, your words of wisdom, humour and candidness are so welcome and enjoyed. :A

I am confused now about the east of the south west. :cool:

Is there another SW I don't know about as London has been mentioned?

South central.......so Wiltshire rather than Cornwall, where east meets west but the south east is still 'different'.