Hoarding - A New Start

PudseyDB

I've tackled a corner!!! Ok its only one corner of one room, but now the cross trainer no longer has a load of stuff piled on top of it, so we can actually use it again :j

Now have 3 large charity shop bags ready for my partner to take to the local charity shop tomorrow. Feels good seeing the space - I'm now wondering what area I can tackle next

guinea_pig_girl

Hello, waving shyly from behind the couch. Been reading my way through this thread, and thank you to all of you for your posts and being so honest about the secret horror of the hoard. I wanted to post that I was busy and smug getting rid of thins, only to realise that buying half price baby clothes and hiding them under the bed is hoarding (broody, nae babies here). And had a moment emptying out 4 very out of date spice jars - I still could have used them.....

Argh!

GreyQueen

guinea_pig_girl wrote: »

Hello, waving shyly from behind the couch. Been reading my way through this thread, and thank you to all of you for your posts and being so honest about the secret horror of the hoard. I wanted to post that I was busy and smug getting rid of thins, only to realise that buying half price baby clothes and hiding them under the bed is hoarding (broody, nae babies here). And had a moment emptying out 4 very out of date spice jars - I still could have used them.....

Argh!

:T Welcome in, sidle out from behind that couch now, don't be shy. We'll put a virtual kettle on (once we've found it ) and have some biccies. Good to know there's some things which don't hang around long enough to go out of date, eh? I've done that spice jar shuffle, too.

Memo to self; a bargain-sized tub of spice isn't a good deal if you end up putting 7/8th of it in the bin a decade later. :rotfl:

I'm doing some repurposing as found out my eCOver washing up liquid wasn't really doing the job. Think it had been too long in the cupboard and had lost it's welly. So I used it as shampoo this morning and can report that it works just fine. Will finish up the part-bottle like that and it'll assuage my conscience about wasting the product.

Hi, my username is GQ and my specialist hoarding subjects are jam jars, candles and FB tinned pies. I hope to be slightly-more-normal one day, but I'm not holding my breath........:p;)

This_Year

guinea_pig_girl wrote: »

Hello, waving shyly from behind the couch. Been reading my way through this thread, and thank you to all of you for your posts and being so honest about the secret horror of the hoard. I wanted to post that I was busy and smug getting rid of thins, only to realise that buying half price baby clothes and hiding them under the bed is hoarding (broody, nae babies here). And had a moment emptying out 4 very out of date spice jars - I still could have used them.....

Argh!

Hi Guinea pig girl!

Byatt

sjprmc01 wrote: »

If I didn't have so much stuff it wouldn't be so difficult to keep it tidy/clean etc

If I knew where all my clothes were and they were laundered and hung up correctly I wouldn't think I had 'nothing to wear'

If I didn't feel so bad about being fat I wouldn't need to buy new clothes to attempt to look pretty in, coz of course, I have 'nothing to wear'

So what is the answer? Lose weight? (Clearly not the answer or I wouldn't over-buy for the kids too). Learn to 'love' myself for who I am? (Easier said than done!) whilst I know, realistically I don't need the half of what I own, it doesn't mean that I can bring myself to get rid of it, and,instead.
, rather illogically, keep and add to it!

( bad day/ feeling down has resulted in the purchase (online) of 3 tops, a pair of leggings and a pk of 2 belts) I know they can be cancelled/go back but I also KNOW I won't do this!

Sj, just want to say I do understand how you feel. My shopping was all about getting things for my daughter, so although I looked like a tramp she looked fab! Even when I started buying in CS's I have bought stuff just because I thought this is so cheap...but then never wore them. Of course they are not cheap if you don't use the item.

Can you do one step at a time and maybe cancel this order or return without opening them up? I used to be very averse to cancelling or returning, it seemed such a mountain to climb for some reason, whilst the buying was so easy. I have since realised returning doesn't have to be hard, simply pop in an envelope, stick on the address and off it goes...

Another trick that mostly works for me, is putting things into the shopping basket, then if I don't go through deleting, I walk away from the computer, usually when I come back to it, the emotional urge to buy has gone and I can delete the items without a problem. And if I sleep on it, I often think why did I want that! :eek:

I just want to give you a hug as I know it's hard. Can you also have a treat day in the month, say you will spend £5 if you have gone through the month (or week or day) without buying anything.

The trick is to stop that impulse and if it was easy, we'd all be very smug people, but it isn't. It is however possible to rewire the thought/impulse.

I got myself into a terrible mess years ago, and which I am still paying for, if I can give any help I will, because you don't want to be years down the line wishing you had done things differently.

Hi, Guineapiggirl, broodiness is a hard emotion. I used to go into Mo£hercare and just caress the clothes, plus having a wish list of all the things I would need.

This_Year

I can feel this will be another blitz weekend. We'll be up early as the council are giving away free bushes/trees and want to get our allotted 3 each so we'll be out and back home by 9am lol.

I've found some more black sacks and fully intend to be ruthless. Bedroom is my main target, as the shizzle is now creeping out from under the bed and needs must. I suspect that OH is now using it as a last-ditch hideyhole to not throw things out.

Bin men come Tuesday and I'm anticipating there being a few more bags than normal!

JayneC

Hi Guinea pig girl - welcome aboard.

sjp and This Year - I'm not sure what the answer is to the relentless acquisition of 'stuff'. I've gradually weaned myself off buying more of it over a number of years - mainly in protest at the consumer culture. I started with a 'no new clothes' challenge for a year but bough lots of other tat - handbags, umbrellas (!) underwear.... Then I had 'only buy secondhand' - but then I was in the charity shops/car boot sales buying 'stuff'.
I think we all know that there's something missing in our lives we're looking for meaning. 'Work, eat, buy' doesn't seem to cut it somehow so although we know on an intellectual level that 'stuff' can't make us happy we don;t know what else will so we follow the brainwashing and continue to buy our way to fulfillment...
Not sure what the answer is but I for one now avoid the shops/magazines/TV and try to remember the exploitation that goes on to produce this 'stuff' ' and I don't want to be part of it..

Sorry went all deep and meaningless there. Rant over....

Made a little progress in the bathroom, sawed the wood to size to make shelves in the cupboard and have managed one shelf as the batons were already in place but have lost the chuck key for the drill( it'll be in the understairs cupboard somewhere:o) so will have to wait to put up the other shelves until either I find it or can borrow a drill from somewhere...

Take care all x

sjprmc01

I've ALL BUT stopped the endless purchasing for the girlies now, I realise, as they are mainly in school clothes hardly any of it is getting used, and why should I be buying everyone else's kids clothes? (As I will give away when finished with to local mums) its pointless buying pretty things if they sit at the bottom of an ironing pile/basket/bag/are crumpled In a pile in a cupboard.

The girls have LOTS of stuff. I will buy them 2 outfits each around the summer for their holidays, everything else they can make do with (other than footwear when necessary). Eldest DD does want a lether jacket and she has Christmas money for it but I'm not letting her impulse buy (like me) so if the shop still has it at the end of the month and she still wants it, she can get it.
Me, though I'm not too sure! My clothes never end up organised, I'm last in the order of having stuff laundered and put away, it is true, I don't have TOO much that fits me just now, but I probably still have enough, if not a little more than enough! I do have LOADS that don't fit though and I probably could get rid of half of those, but that is effort and they are packed away tidily!
I don't want to cancel my order, I DO want the stuff, could be doing with it, but am not desperate, however I need to actually get rid of some things in its place which I can't bring myself to do!

As per GQ above, My name is SJ and my things are clothes, toiletries/makeup, stationery and food! Oh, and photos! Although with the digital age that one isn't as bad these days!

blossomhill_2

Hi Guineapig Girl, welcome aboard - I have been known to buy a newborn baby top or two for my DD's teddy (FGS!), when she was in her late teens! Like a lot of items, it may help to realise that they are designed to be cute and irresistable, whatever the emotions behind the purchase (broodiness etc) and to have that in mind when looking at them (before you progress to being able to not look at them)

blossomhill_2

Can I ask how other people bring their shopping home - do you put all the bags onto the table and open them out and say "look what I've bought", try them on there and then etc or do you squirrel it into the house and bring them out at a later date, or not, when you've got your head round the purchase?

I do the latter (did you guess?) and my mum always accused me of being secretive "like my grandad" who did the same, only he brought things into use and tried to claim he'd had them for ages and other people must have just forgotten, whereas I was happy to admit it was something new (but didn't admit to the stuff that I didn't get out, that got stashed in the back of the cupboard still in the carrier bags)

I never liked that my mum would say "is that new" instead of "that looks nice" or "ooooh nice top!"