Hoarding...not just on TV

wannabe_sybil

This week I have had a minor cold - but it is the minor cold from heck. I have had sore throats, bad coughs (I hardly ever cough), vomiting - the lot. Just from a minor cold. I got it from OH and now my little boy and my elderly father who lives with us have it. What joy. But I have chipped away here and there.

However there is supposed to be a skip coming tomorrow. The chances of anything extra going into it are very remote. However the wrecked armchair and defunct exercise bike are out of the house, the compost bin that is almost as big as the garden is marked, some bin bags and cardboard boxes at least are out of the house and OH has just taken a tv that has been sitting around for ages to the tip - it completely didn't work. Wish it could have been mended. I will see what happens.

Just managed to keep a glimpse of a programme I was watching (despite little bear's best efforts) - there was a woman who faced going to jail due to hoarding. It was in the USA, and she had in the year previously had all the help and it had just got back. She was blaming everything and anything but herself. Her husband couldn't live with her, and their social services had got involved and when her hoarding spilled over to her son's house, his children were taken away. The children are back now. But the woman wouldn't see anything wrong. It was heartbreaking - for her family. Just so sad.

As for yarn - I swear it creeps in to all sorts of places. And it ought to be so useful because you can knit with it, and use it as string, and craft with it - the magazines even have 'use up the scraps' features and 'stash busters'. I am working on throwing the rubbish stuff just in the bin.

I have to go - impossible with OH and little bear - has taken me 45 mins to type this hugs to all

blossomhill_2

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

I feel like I am on the edge of being overwhelmed by clutter. Been getting worse - interpersed with Fly lady moments. But really getting silly now

Hi there, we have all felt that overhwleming feeling so you aren't alone - and on this thread we are "tough on clutter" but also "tough on the causes of clutter" as we need to change our thinking in order to combat it and stop it slipping over into mental illness and affecting our families or our own health further

If you are able to identify one particular type of clutter that dominates your hoard we can try to help you change your thinking around it - and please believe us, once you get sight of it properly, it all starts to make sense and become easier

There is always the possibility that, actually, trying to clear it is just too much for one person (or often one person and an obstructive, non-supportive "other") but with changed thinking you will get to recognise that and perhaps change direction to being able to clear enough to get help in.

If I do the maths on mine; I am 50, there is actually a couple of decades of clearing to be done (if I continue at the curent pace of considering each item individually) - when I am older I may tire more easily/be less able and actually I don't want to spend my senior years doing this. So I am clearing categories of stuff now, rather than item by item

Let us know how we can help, or if too public, PM one of us and we can start you off

lostinrates

Yep, we all id with overwhelmed i think. I am just taking a break from the kitchen cupboards, and reminding myself how badly designed kitchens are generally. Stuff i knew was there but can rarely reach with my limitations of movement....we are going to have lots of lentils this winter, thats for certain!

Possession

lostinrates wrote: »

Yep, we all id with overwhelmed i think. I am just taking a break from the kitchen cupboards, and reminding myself how badly designed kitchens are generally. Stuff i knew was there but can rarely reach with my limitations of movement....we are going to have lots of lentils this winter, thats for certain!

LIR I went a bit made buying tins of lentils when they were dirt cheap at AF....and I don't even like them! (I feel I may need to confess this on the hoarding thread) I also have a big bag of them in the pantry to scatter some in bolognaise etc. I might be (not) eating them for the rest of my life.

lostinrates

Luckily we love them, but it goes to show how important kitchen planning will be for me eventually. I get very focused on how things look and maximising storage, but deep cupboards are no use to me what so ever, so draws, much though i do not like the way they look, are going to be necessary for me to reach things.

We only have a few ktichen cupboards left to empty now, then the fridge and and table (now a heavy dumping zone) i expect to take another hour and a half or so.

My biggest worry for next week is coping without the washing machine, as i have not been as organised about getting washig done as i wuld have liked, so it will eb grubby jeans and handwashed knickers and tops next week

scaredy_cat

Possession wrote: »

LIR I went a bit made buying tins of lentils when they were dirt cheap at AF....and I don't even like them! (I feel I may need to confess this on the hoarding thread) I also have a big bag of them in the pantry to scatter some in bolognaise etc. I might be (not) eating them for the rest of my life.

add lentils to currys, the red lentil break down almost to mush so you don't really notice them and the puy letils are nice in a butternut squash curry.

beanielou

mollythewestie wrote: »

http://www.skinnysprinkles.co.uk/
They are a weight loss aide, you add it to water to make a strawberry flavour drink. I've not tried them yet, but I need all the help I can get!

Thanks for that.
A bit beyond my price range at the moment though!

blossomhill_2

lostinrates wrote: »

Luckily we love them, but it goes to show how important kitchen planning will be for me eventually. I get very focused on how things look and maximising storage, but deep cupboards are no use to me what so ever, so draws, much though i do not like the way they look, are going to be necessary for me to reach things

LIR, We fitted my parents some metal pull out drawers in the bottom of their existing cupboards when they became less able to reach to the back ... were a godsend, could even be yanked forward with a walking stick to reveal ...all the lurking tins of lentils

Byatt

I too have lentils. :eek::rotfl:

Possession

scaredy_cat wrote: »

add lentils to currys, the red lentil break down almost to mush so you don't really notice them and the puy letils are nice in a butternut squash curry.

I do, but I really don't like them and I can notice them so I don't use more than a handful.