Hoarding...not just on TV

katep23

PipneyJane wrote: »

There must be a college somewhere that trains people to repair pianos, who'd take it off your hands for free (or, alternatively, repair it for you cheaply). Google turned up Lincoln College, but there must be others if that's too far away from you. You can always phone Lincoln and ask (their faculty would know if there is anywhere closer to you, since it's such a specialised course).

Thank you, that's a brilliant idea :T

katep23

thriftwizard wrote: »

The garage is emptying out fast; now I need to sort the conservatory (some of which can go into the newly-created space in the garage!) and last but not least, reduce the stuff in my shed just the really worthwhile stuff; things which will sell quickly, and things which will genuinely be used up quickly in my work. I reckon I've probably passed the halfway mark, but also that I've picked the low-hanging fruit; the next bits will be harder because I'll have to be totally ruthless...

Sounds like you're doing really brilliantly, well done for keeping going.

Mayflower10cat

PipneyJane wrote: »

There must be a college somewhere that trains people to repair pianos, who'd take it off your hands for free (or, alternatively, repair it for you cheaply). Google turned up Lincoln College, but there must be others if that's too far away from you. You can always phone Lincoln and ask (their faculty would know if there is anywhere closer to you, since it's such a specialised course).

That's a really good idea. We were (almost!) forced into accepting a piano from my husbands parents - it belonged to my MiL's mum. Neither of us play but we had room (and they didn't) for it so we reluctantly said OK we'll have it. The poor piano sat there for 4 years, untouched, until we moved to a much smaller property. A older friend of mine who'd always fancied learning to play said she'd take it off our hands (Bless her!) she had it progressively tuned over a period of several months and various bits repaired, she played it a little but very sadly her not great health deteriorated and she died. Her husband used to play double bass and played jazz at home with friends and at the new, local Arts Centre - there was a happy ending as the newly refurbed Piano was relocated to the Arts Centre for others to learn on or to just practice. The Director told us that these older pianos do have a much better tone than a new model, but they do need looking after.

GreyQueen

I had freind and neighbour SuperGran around here at tea time and she was telling me about a terrible hoarded house which she's just come across (she knows the hoarder). She was wide-eyed with distress.

So I pulled up hoardingwoes&you and one or two others on my pooter and we goggled in awe, horror and pity. It's going on everywhere, among people of all ages and varieties.

I've stalled a bit on decluttering as I have to get a few items brought down from the shed off the premises first via Freecycle but it's going well. Acres of room in that little shed now, but not completely there yet (and still no sign of the scissors, bet the spiders are guarding them).

Tomorrow, I have some time off work and propose to knuckle-down to some overdue personal admin. I want to eliminate a bank account by consolidating it into another one and various other bits and bobs which will involve shredding etc.

Is it me, or is hoarding becoming more and more acknowledged in general conversation? Lots of people seem to be possessed by their possessions, IYSWIM.

I stood over the bin holding 3 of those plastic lids from Pringle tubes (I know ) and struggled to throw them away. Quite what I'll do with them I don't know. They went into the plastic container cupboard............help.

greenbee

put the lids in the bin NOW GQ, and stop buying pringles to avoid the problem recurring...

alec_eiffel

wannabe_sybil wrote: »

Log in working intermittently. Suspect our computer is sulking.

Anyone else think that one sign of hoarding is the belief that better storage will be the solution?

Also, compost bin allegedly going tomorrow - just found out that it is full of ants. That will be fun.

I think it's a common idea when people are chronically disorganised. Since storage became something that was attractive and cute it's become a "solution" when it's just a mask for things we don't want to look through. Generally stuff that gets used is all over the place and stuff that doesn't get used is tucked away in storage.

I talk about chronic disorganisation kind of separately to hoarding because being disorganised can lead to piles of stuff, having a full, untidy or dirty house but when it comes to dealing with it it's a matter of not much more than setting up some systems to deal with it. Hoarding isn't that. But I think a lot of people say they're a hoarder when they really have a ton of stuff they keep rather than dealing with. There's no deep psychological thing behind it. JMO.

Being organised is one aspect of dealing with hoarding but really it's the least important - it's the easy bit when you've broken through the mental blocks that lead to the stuff accumulating in the first place. It's 8 years since I started dealing with my stuff and now it's easier to deal with things but that's because it's easier to deal with life now I'm not bound by the past.

imataloss

Hello all, do you mind if I join you. I have now realised that my problem is not decluttering but hoarding. Every cupboard and drawer in the house is full to overflowing. That`s without mentioning the loft and the garage.
My DH finished decorating the bedroom yesterday (which looks lovely) and needed to move the bed. It has four storage drawers. My two are full of handbags and books. He couldn`t believe the amount of bags and books that were in there. He put the books in the drawer a couple of years ago and I have to admit I haven`t read any of them since they have been in there.
We also have a corner storage unit which is full of fabric, wool, cosmetics and I haven`t got a clue what else. I`m frightened to look. My wardrobe, cupboard above the bed and drawers are full of clothes that don`t fit/need throwing out.
I have bags full of unfinished knitting, cross stitch etc.
I have made a start this morning and emptied two drawers. Only managed to throw out one carrier bag of rubbish though. Everything else in there is used on a regular basis or needs to be found a proper home.
Now that room is looking lovely I really want to keep it that way. I was ashamed of the dust and dirt in there when we cleaned it yesterday. The only thing that needs to be done now is serious decluttering and doing something with the books.

M.E.

I watched the programme last night and found it very interesting. We have far too much stuff, but realize I am not actually a hoarder, in the medical sense. Our house looks like the houses AFTER the clear-up. Cluttered but acceptable.
The twenty-second time limit for a decision on an object seems a good one... if you have someone else to time you. The mental decision (or indecision!) is the hardest to deal with.

Oliver14

wannabe_sybil wrote: »

Anyone else think that one sign of hoarding is the belief that better storage will be the solution?

That's a really interesting comment. The amount of times i've said that is worrying. I think maybe I need to look at my mindset.

short_bird

New post from Hoarding Woes about the danger of not taking care of business while dealing with someone else's hoard.

http://hoardingwoes.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/hoardings-neglect-quotient-beyond-the-stuff/

:wave:Jojo, hope all is well.