Hoarding...not just on TV

Jettycat

Just popping in quickly to report that I have (at long last) finished sorting out my filing cabinet ... 13 bin bags full of paper or shreddings and one dead shredder later!

:j:j:j:j:j

lostinrates

sjprmc01 wrote: »

Oh I meant I was folding the undies etc and not ironing them, lol!

The kids are 5,6 and 7 and its best to do anything necessary in the house during school time as when they are back its mainly a fight to get 3 lots of homework done, dinner sorted etc. (although today I ironed through the homework time, lol!)

I have a 'perfectionism' complex which means that I REALLY cannot bring myself to put away clothes unironed (although I will happily chuck most things on straight out the pile)

I need to streamline the kitchen anyway, too much clutter in there, even if it is mainly food! I'm beginning to realise that actually having a huge stock of things is a complete waste a lot of the time. Stuff ends up going in the bin, months out of date! Especially as I'm not great at planning meals or checking what I have stocked up!

I don't have kids, so feel free to totally ignore (I have been a nanny though and had sole care of my neices when a bit younger than yours). I don't think they are too young to help. I think kids benefit from tasks that contribute, it gives them sense of contribution, pride and order. It lets them help you in a way they can.

Would i start this On a school night near the end of term...no way jose, i am childless but not stupid but on a weekend morning or a Friday after school? I would think of it as installing the habits we need to keep ship shape. Tbh, I think if I did not at least have habits of order instilled froma. Young age we would Be a lot worse than richarders, we would be filfthy public health issues.

GreyQueen

I can remember being made to pair the socks (everybody's socks) when quite small, and helping with other simple laundry tasks when a youngish girl.

Re kids and housework, a family I knew well (both parents working) has a Saturday morning routine with their 2 small children starting when the children were pre-school age. Pick up, vacuum thru, mop the floors. This was a 2 hour slot and after that the grocery shopping was done.

The littlies principally helped with the pick up part intially, getting their toys and books away, rounding up newspapers etc then graduated on to more complex tasks as their development allowed. It was lovely to see the whole family working together to look after their space.

When lying abed this morning I had what could be regarded as a LBM. Well, it's been building for some time but it was light bulb-ish, anyway.:o:p

I've reconciled my lifestyle to my very small one-bedroom flat.

I've lived here for years but I often felt that I was fighting with my (lack of) space. As if there would be a magic moment when I'd find the storage solution which would make sense of it all, or I'd move to a bigger place.

And d'you what? I'm appreciating the smallness of the space, the warmth, the cosiness, the handiness of living in the city centre. I'm not yearning for more domestic acerage. Indeed, I'm so accustomed to what I have, I'd struggle to cope with say a whole bookcase, rather than one 3 foot long shelf on the storage unit. Or space for knick-knacks (dustgathers, I loathe them).

Because my home is titchy, and everyone knows it's titchy, I'm allowed to refuse to own certain things on grounds of space.

I still haven't felt the urge to decorate my bathroom, it's very plain bar a bit of colour from towels and a few toiletry bottles. And I have one-and-a bit shampoo bottles and I've got both of them started but and using one up because I only want to have a single bottle on the go at a time.

And then I shall try something which will be very daring for me; I shall use all that bottle, yes, let it RUN OUT, before I buy the next one.

To people who aren't afflicted with hoarderish instincts, that sentence will seem bonkers, but I feel that the people on this thread will understand what I mean.............:rotfl:

Right, off to check the rest of the OS board. Keep up the good work, my lovelies, we're changing our mindset and the richard and kipple are only physical manifestations of that mindset. Once we've changed, it's hours are numbered, mwah ha ha!

sjprmc01

I'm no good at quoting, but, GQ, running out of things is my WORST FEAR.


The kids do help with stuff, they bring the washing down, they always have to tidy their own mess (toys) anyway and they put away the folded/ironed stuff etc. the youngest sorts the recycling out but I don't want the social services at my door for multiple iron burns lol.

Over the course of the weekends I think it's pretty much safe to say I'm not around (12hr shifts plus 2-2.5hrs travel time) and OH mops, cleans the fish out, hoovers and does all dishes during that time (he never leaves me any dishes for a Mon morn, I always leave him stacks!)

I WILL NOT let him touch the laundry/ironing though.

Today I have an ill middle dd so will be forced into staying in and getting stuff done even if I'd have been tempted not to!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

sjprmc01 wrote: »

I'm no good at quoting, but, GQ, running out of things is my WORST FEAR.

What great disaster will happen if they had to use baked beans instead of spaghetti hoops? Or star drops instead of fairy liquid? Or brush their teeth later?

alec_eiffel

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

What great disaster will happen if they had to use baked beans instead of spaghetti hoops? Or star drops instead of fairy liquid? Or brush their teeth later?

I agree with you Jojo. Nothing will really happen, you might be a bit hungry or a bit less primped than usual but everything will be ok if it's just for a day or so. If you live near someone you know you can invite yourself round for a shower or a bowl of soup and it's not an issue. It's one of those things that's only stressful in the mind imo when you're in a situation where something has run out you just get on with it.

sjprmc01

Well, I know realistically, nothing will happen, no major disaster if I run out of spaghetti hoops, lol!

I guess it's more a fear of having to be needy or a fear of having to rely on someone else for something ?

I wouldn't ever consciously let things I use every day completely run pout before going for some. I COULD wind down my stock of deodorant/shower gel for example but as far as I'd go would be buying a new one when the last one is still 1/4 full

I'm not consciously scared of letting foodstuffs run down in fact, I WISH they would! Lol!

whitewing

DD is at aunty's for the day so I will wrap the remaining Christmas presents.

She folded her pyjamas today for the first time, by herself and did a good job. (She's a toddler).

Also have lots of work to do so I need to get cracking. I will watch that storage hoarders programme though. I tend to find that sort of thing now encourages dehoarding with me, rather than keeping stuff in case it's valuable. I haven't seen that programme before.

lostinrates

alec_eiffel wrote: »

I agree with you Jojo. Nothing will really happen, you might be a bit hungry or a bit less primped than usual but everything will be ok if it's just for a day or so. If you live near someone you know you can invite yourself round for a shower or a bowl of soup and it's not an issue. It's one of those things that's only stressful in the mind imo when you're in a situation where something has run out you just get on with it.

Hmm.

I am in a different situation, although I am not as isolated as I was, I am still rural, and coupled with I'll health IMO it makes senses for those of us who might have trouble 'getting' out due to conditions ( whether its health, geography, weather or workload' to keep well stocked up.

Well stocked stores are different IMO, to me hanging on to rusty baking tins, A clear difference.

alec_eiffel

lostinrates wrote: »

Hmm.

I am in a different situation, although I am not as isolated as I was, I am still rural, and coupled with I'll health IMO it makes senses for those of us who might have trouble 'getting' out due to conditions ( whether its health, geography, weather or workload' to keep well stocked up.

Well stocked stores are different IMO, to me hanging on to rusty baking tins, A clear difference.

Hence why I said if just for a day or so.