Hoarding - A New Start

carolbee

JayneC wrote: »

My daughter knew a lad that was called Ben Dover. I kid you not!

I knew the actor who played the role above, be careful who is around when you google him .....adult

blossomhill_2

I knew a boy, surname Spong, initial R ... hmm ... innocent parents, sweet boy, school life hell, unwanted mental image when he asked me out ... said no.

Anyways ... minimoneyme, yes you are right, it IS exhausting, that is why you need to put strategies in place like

• Ikea catalogues/Yellow Pages etc go straight in bin on arrival as its all online anyway
• When next month's glossy mag arrives, last month's is binned without flicking thru
• When new 3pack socks arrive 3 oldest pairs go straight out even if "not too bad" - (if old ones aren't too bad learn not to buy new ones)
• When new mobile/laptop etc is unpacked all surplus leads are given a label saying what they belong to (and chargers are given a label saying which/whose phone they belong to)
• One week into summer hols, all school letters from last term are checked/goWhen paint colour is decided upon all tester pots go on freecycle
• When new wallpaper goes up, all spare half rolls of old one goes
• When you have laminate installed all carpet patches go
• When new car arrives, all spares/carmats etc of old one go out

The strategies acknowledge that new stuff will arrive (easier than deciding not to buy anything) but that it should herald an "in with the new, out with the old" way of working

Which should prevent the situation I am in, 3 doormats by back door because the cat likes them (managed ok at front, when I got new internal the old was relegated to outside and the
former-outside-mat went in bin) and a "spare" stainless-lidded bin because it wasn't actually suited to a bathroom as water drips mark the top but it's really too small for elsewhere ... will probably "rescue" the interior bucket (for what?) and bin the bin:(

VJsmum

My OH used to work with someone called "Cliff Edge".

One of our former students had the surname [EMAIL="W@nkhade"]W@nkhade[/EMAIL] :eek:

Goldiegirl

I worked in a big high street bank for many years, and our customers names were a cause of entertainment to us on many occasions

We had a Mr W@nklyn, although he pronounced it Ranklyn.

My personal favourite was a Chinese person called Tin F u k Yau.

minimoneyme I so agree that the whole decluttering process is exhausting and takes a long time. When you consider how long it took to gather all the stuff, in most cases years, it's near impossible to get rid of the surplus in a matter of days.

I've been decluttering for the last two to three years, and I'm still finding things that need doing - and I'm not an extreme case of hoarding.

It's a long term process, and I keep plugging away at it, and I'm determined to see it through.

guinea_pig_girl

It really is tiring getting rid of stuff, not just the physical lugging things about.

The emotional internal dialogue takes it out of you....
Sachet of mulled cider spices in fabric bag in plastic tub, now over 4 years old, moved it into the flat.
Hmm, might use it, will keep it. Not used it - should bin.
Can't bin, smells nice, might use it, can't put fabric bag in bin. Could buy apple juice to mull it. When would we drink it?
Bin it, no! might use it!
Take the plastic box and add to tupperware collective. Phew.
Ooh, could keep bag, wash it and reuse.
Print on bag, including BBE 2010.

SCREAM!!!!!!! NOOO!!!!

Right. Bin it, just do it woman!!!!!! run to bin, throw in sachet, fling in bag. Close lid, run away.

Sit down in heap and recover.

Meep

blossomhill_2

guinea pig girl - so right in your description - I seem only to be able to get rid of many things if I strip them down into their component parts

I had a lbm the other day when I was using up air fresheners because I didn't like the smell - you don't like this, just bin it! Why would you want your home smelling of it? bin it! But it's still half full ..
Then one I do like leaked water all over everything - the nice ones (space sprays) that I love don't do that, so I'm sticking to them now

I was chatting to an older friend about how hard it is inheriting all this stuff and being the guardian of it and treasuring it all too much - she agreed, then as I was leaving pressed two things into my hand that had been her grandmother's and she'd really like me to have them - sigh! I think the only bit she'd selectively heard was me saying how much I valued old stuff and feel responsible for it ...

The_Dragon

Finally got rid of some broken crutches! So that is another small amount of space cleared :beer:

Moorhen

Just popping on to say how much I admire all the contributers to this thread.

Oh, and I once taught a boy called Russell Sprout!

tattycath

Managed to post some stuff sold on ebay. just waiting for payments for a few more items.

Byatt

Guineapig, you are spot on with your description, and as Minimoneyme said, it's exhausting. I took ages to throw away an empty roasted peanut tub, from Xmas. I thought, this is such a useful shape, I could use it...for something, but oh it smells of peanuts so better wash it. Washed it, , and it still smelled of peanuts...I just couldn't throw it in the bin, for weeks, until I decided to recycle it as it was foil lined, thinking if they don't take it then I don't need to feel guilty for not recycling. They took it. Phew...

I have a wooden bathroom thingy that goes on the floor so when you get out of the bath, you stand on that not the floor. I haven't used it properly for a couple of years, it's a bit slippy, so it's propped against the wall until I can find the wherewithal to get rid of it. I had thought of burning it, but don't know if rubber wood is safe. Then I think, it might be useful...for something.