Hoarding...not just on TV

calicocat

RAS....what an open and honest post , good for you for telling your story.
I have become aware that when I am doing this I have to keep popping in and posting here , I feel quite hyper when doing the major stuff , not sure if that is elation that I have got rid of rubbish , or anxiety I felt at the time so need to share that......or both !

I am sitting now looking at cat-flap pile in lounge and have no desire to put it back at all......am looking forward to it being gone.
When I was under the bed doing the boxes there I have put back 15 bikinis.......!......hello ... I am 46 and never going to wear them again and if I did I should be arrested ! I sat there thinking about holidays etc annd just folded it all back up again and put it back. That is pretty stupid now I am thinking and reading posts. To be honest I could probably get rid of 70% of my clothes. I am going under the bed again tomorrow and getting them all out and putting in cat-flap pile. The clothes will actually be fairly easy once my head is round it , it's other stuff I may flounder on, like books for a main one , lamps (have a few that don't work in a cupboard)....actually will stop thinking about all that and fix on one thing at a time.

Out of interest how long does the average normal person keep bills paid,bank statements,work correspondance,hospital letters etc ??. I will have years of this ( neatly filed) and not because I want it ,just seemed easier at time to file rather than go through it all and waste time......except now of course I probably need double the time to sort what needs chucking......once you start this it is a long road isn't it ?......do have to say that I am on this road though however.

Keep going all.

lostinrates

PixieDust wrote: »

pssst...what's "de-richarding"?

richard was the name of the first hoarder programme i saw, that i think set off the trend for this sort of show. He was a nice man who came across less badly than some of his rather petty neighbours, despite his problem. Dh and i have used the term 'de richarding' for riding junk and referted to junk as 'richard' ever since.

I.e. ' are these richard darling?' ' no sweetheart those are my first edition books' but those magazines over there, they are richard'

Then the richard gets de' richareded and we feel better. . Inventing an old style term has been a proud moment for me.:o:D

short_bird

PixieDust wrote: »

pssst...what's "de-richarding"?

It's named after Richard Wallace who was on a Channel 4 documentary. His hoard was so tightly packed in his house and so close to the ceiling it scared firemen._pale_
Looks like there's going to be a follow up programme:D

RAS

For tax and other purposes - 6 years is a good idea for accounts stuff.

In practice it rather depends. If you are claiming things like Working Tax credit or paying CSA, I would keep stuff that long so you can prove that what you claim is correct. They seem to have this horrid habit of deciding you owe money years later.

If you are SE and billing expenses then I am told it is better to shred things like diaries at the end of the year. That way you do not spend months arguing with HMRC because you claimed for 167 miles on July 6 2012 when you were at home. They will not quite get the fact that you made the same journey on July 5 2012.

Hospital letters bin as soon as you are well again?

calicocat

PixieDust wrote: »

pssst...what's "de-richarding"?

One of the people on the hoarders programme , I think the first , a poster devised the term due to him , and a few have now grabbed the term. Has a nicer ring to it than other words for the same thing I think.:)

Brighton_belle

calicocat wrote: »

Out of interest how long does the average normal person keep bills paid,bank statements,work correspondance,hospital letters etc ?

Bank statement - do you bank online? You can access all copies there and not keep any hard copies. Accounts relevant to tax returns should be kept 7 years I believe, but as long as you have acess online.
It is possible to go very paperless I believe with bills a so much is online but I am not qute there yet. Partly as I find it easier to read paper rather than online.
I keep one year of utility bills only, just so I can quickly compare with last year, but again, increasingly I think these can be accessible online.
Hospital stuff - well I keep all records but weed out routine app letters (for on going problems)
work - keep all pension related stuff. Keep anything that refered to contracts dates etc for CV's.

I am in the process of consolidating various bank accounts so I just bank with one bank rather than several, for simplicity.

PixieDust

Thank you both And well done Lostinrates - a proud moment indeed! I remember the prog - I so hope there's a follow up

Brighton_belle

lostinrates wrote: »

Inventing an old style term has been a proud moment for me.:o:D

It's like being inducted into the walk of fame isn't it with your own star

beanielou

Hello there.
Think I might join in if that's ok?
Havent read the full thread ~ just the start and the end~ but good to see some familiar faces~RAS~thank you for sharing your story~& the very lovely Bb :wave:

blossomhill_2

GreyQueen wrote: »

How wonderful is the decay of organic materials, shrinking away within days and becoming compost in a year. Reducing the piles by the hour, all without human intervention.

Oh how I agree - love compost - hope you composted the shredded letter afterwards ...

GreyQueen wrote: »

Compare and contrast this with the unsightly piles of non-degradable carp which we humans produce.............

What, like plastic Daleks - I have to confess I hoard them! I have 8, no 9 (neighbour put one out this week with a "take me" sign on, so I did)
There is no hope for me, is there (!)

RAS - your story is so sad yet fascinating, truly fascinating ... my family were in India and had to be rescued by Army welfare, I often think it was the root of quite a lot of our outcomes. Sad about the looting after bombing too, so much for the "we're all in this together" wartime spirit!