Hoarding...not just on TV

Byatt

I do envy you your fabric/scrap hoards, I love material but can't sew or make anything.

Thrift, I went through the first 8000 carefully as had to put them in folders for business etc, but the personal emails (which I am half way regretting now) I deleted en masse. I've not read them and didn't intend to read them as they were during a difficult period so didn't want to rehash stuff. Total now about 25,000 emails. I can't believe there were that many. But I feel I little uneasy now they've gone.

Jo-Jo, how are you? And puss cat?

whitewing

Well done byatt..I think you did great to delete that lot. That's spectacular. I'm very impressed indeed.

Byatt

Thanks WW, it's strange as they didn't take up room physically, but I still had/have the anxiety that goes with making space. It feels very empty right now. The what if's, what if I accidentally deleted an email that was the answer to the universe!

blossomhill_2

Byatt
Well done - what if your computer had crashed and you lost them through no choice of your own? You have exercised free will in deleting them and will not become a victim of technology!

That's part of the reason we got rid of some gold recently - the thought that it could be taken from us from some smug bandit made us decide to dispose of it ourselves in our own way, and to spend the cash on intangibles such as training courses

alec_eiffel

I did the same thing earlier this week Byatt! Deleted all the folders with saved emails, didn't look through any of them, the most recent was 2008, most a lot earlier and I know I'm never going to read them so why keep them. It took 10 seconds and made me smile!

short_bird

I wonder if this link, published for the American Black Friday, might prove thought provoking?
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/29/opinion/20121124opart.html?hp

And congratulations to Byatt on the email deletion, especially if it was emotionally charged stuff. However it was labelled when stored, it may well have nudged you to think about those events simply because it was still there.

Blossom: Part of my call to action was the thought of getting flooded by the upstairs neighbours in our block of flats. We had a flood where hot water was running though one kitchen light fitting and cold through the other. (rolls eyes) That was sort of OK as things in the kitchen were rescue-able (well, apart from the ageing vinyl flooring) whereas in other rooms, they weren't.

Byatt

Thanks for all the encouragment about the emails. And well done Alec...

and yes, lots of emotionally charged stuff, a few from 2005 to 2007, and then the bulk 2008 onwards...

Misreable day here, lots and lots of rain.

Brighton_belle

A cause close to our hearts in this weeks Guardian 'problem sloved page'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/nov/24/problem-solved-annalisa-barbieri-bereavement

and good advice offered (as per found on this thread:D)

I'm missing wannabe sybil - hope you are doing ok if you are reading this WBS:). You were not very well when you last posted...

Some great posts as ever this last week.
My 76 books were picked up by a very good cause/local 2nd hand book shop this week and I have found I have coped well and not thought much about them.
A bin bag of clothes have gone too and i have suffered over one item, but Ifind my mind/body does that - fixates over one item, but I do forgte the rest and in time the anxiety fades.

We need to go to the dump tomorrow - stuff is piling up. I also need to get furntiture into the attic (new lodger has some of their own so need to get the surplus upstairs). I've brought down a few bits and pieces from up there to dump.

I could do with a servant, that I could point at stuff up there and say, please get that out of the house now...I'd get rid of much more much quickly:o

imataloss

Hello all from a long time lurker and occassional poster. Yet again the state of our house has caused a row between me and OH. Our DD left home nearly 4 years ago and her room (our spare room) has become a dumping ground. There are still things in there that she left behind. Our DS only has a small room and it`s full of stuff. This has resulted in the overspill going into the spare room. Plus I have lots of books in there (no room for a bookcase) anywhere in the house. OH went to try to move some things from spare room into the loft and that`s when the problem started.
The loft is full of stuff (what I don`t know as I never venture in there). He found that the roof has been leaking and that the boarding in the loft is damp (my fault because I should have called the roofer years ago).
The garage is also overflowing, we are storing stuff for DH`s sister and our DD. Plus we had to demolish the garden shed and haven`t got round to getting another one.
We had a leak on the boiler a few weeks ago which has resulted in the vinyl flooring in the kitchen lifting/bubbling. It now needs to be ripped up and the concrete floor dried out as it`s starting to smell. DH said we should make a claim on insurance for this, I will investigate whether we can tomorrow.
I really don`t know where to start. DH said I`ve got to leave it to him and his way of dealing with it is to throw everything into black bags and take them to the tip.
I have drawers, cupboards, wardrobes full of stuff. I work from home and have a desk full of stuff. The magazine rack is overflowing. I have so much to do and never enough time.
Feel like crying and screaming I`m so frustrated by it all.
I would just like a nice, clean, clutter free home in good repair.
Where do I start?

short_bird

imataloss:
ooh. OK. Let's break it down a bit. I'm going to suggest getting prepared for tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow, you said you need to talk to the insurers about the leak from the boiler. Do you have the paperwork for that and their opening times? How does that fit around your working day?

How much preparation is needed for tomorrow to get your own day sorted and DH and DS out of the house? Packed lunches? Ironing? Get that out of the way. Worst comes to the worst, just iron what is needed and hang it on the door frame:D

Working from home: what do you need on a daily basis? What do you need to keep and for how long? Do you have a shredder and/or recycling collection?:D 'Cos I'd be going through items on the desk and doing a keep/bin/shred/recycle session on the desk. With the aim of clearing items and giving a nice place to work in as well as a place for everything.

HTH. (Long term aim would be getting the people with stored stuff to sort it out...)