Hoarding - A New Start

olibrofiz

Just stumbled across this thread while browsing. I need to de-clutter. I moved to a smaller house 5 years ago and have too much stuff, a lot of it is stashed away under beds or in wardrobes I just don't know what to do with it, and when I take it out to sort through it defeats me and I just stash it back where it came from

On my kitchen worktop I have an old soup tureen filled with 'stuff' that might come in handy (not to mention shoe boxes containing similar things)

Suppose I could start going through that - a little at a time. After all, when I want any of those things I invariably don't know where they are!!

Gingernutty

OoooH! A shiny new thread! Thanks JoJo!

vikki_louise wrote: »

Thanks for explaining the terms, I hadn't seen richarding before but my dad calls me mr trebus sometimes (does anyone remember him from the program life of grime?)

I remember and the poor council works supervisor who chased after him around the hoard "Mr TreeeBuus!"

I've got a lot of unfinished cross stitch projects and a load of DIY to do.

It's not so much a hoard/clutter thing anymore - it's more of a procrastination thing.

I really need to stay off the 'pooter. It stops being useful after a while.......:(

whitewing

Proud moment - we have nothing stashed under any of our beds since I joined the dehoarders thread.

DH is all agreed to get rid of two big pieces of furniture this year (probably I will give them to my brother), and replace with a third that we already have, once that is cleared out.

DH is in my good books. He packed away the xmas stuff and vacuumed while I was still in bed this morning, so I came out to a lovely clear house.

I've put 3 skirts and a small pile of books, and an old printer out for recycling.

A tub recycling facility sound wonderful to me. I wonder if our supermarkets do that.

We have a small list of decluttering we want to do in January that will enhance our lives.

GreyQueen

olibrofiz wrote: »

Just stumbled across this thread while browsing. I need to de-clutter. I moved to a smaller house 5 years ago and have too much stuff, a lot of it is stashed away under beds or in wardrobes I just don't know what to do with it, and when I take it out to sort through it defeats me and I just stash it back where it came from

On my kitchen worktop I have an old soup tureen filled with 'stuff' that might come in handy (not to mention shoe boxes containing similar things)

Suppose I could start going through that - a little at a time. After all, when I want any of those things I invariably don't know where they are!!

I have 6 shoeboxes which sit on the shelves of a very small and narrow cupboard. They're labelled and corral small fiddly stuff by type. It makes it easy for me to put my hands on stuff in seconds. Mine are Electical (batteries, timer switches, electrical tape etc) Travel Stuff (self explanatory, really) Paintbrushes, Candles & Matches.

Sorting stuff by type is a valid part of decluttering but if it's still at the point where you can't find the floor, or the kitchen counter, the first sort-throughs have to be of the nature of rough-cuts. You can refine the sorting later.

Of course, you'll need to establish if what you're sorting is worth keeping at all, or could be binned/ recycled/ donated/ gifted/whatever.

Fine-sorting is a good thing to do with what I call Halfwit Time, those moments when you're tired and a bit poorly and not up to wrestling with the big stuff but could just about handle tipping out a trinket box onto a tray and seeing what's lurking inside.

I have just liberated 2 bottles for the recycling. And am about to examine the Jam Jar Stash to see what else I could bear to part with. Cover me, peeps, I'm going in.

ETA The tub recycling was a Sainsbugs, they even wanted yoghurt pots.

whitewing

Halfwit time....fantabulous!

GreyQueen

whitewing wrote: »

Halfwit time....fantabulous!

I have ME and a fair amount of mental processing power is lost into Halfwit Time. The trick is recognising it and not trying to reorganise your finances when in the throes, but that it's good enough to sort your sock drawer. Or sew on buttons or take out the recycling.

I just adore the recycling bins......always was a wee bit odd.

Goldiegirl

nearlyrich wrote: »

I think many of us ( I am very early 50's) are products of parents, particularly mothers who were brought up in the war and consequently hanging onto stuff was a way of life because you couldn't buy things even if you had money. My mum was a real hoarder and some of the stuff she kept was worthless but might come in handy ( 120 Flora tubs anyone?) The problem is when the junk gets in the way of living a peaceful life, when you can't sit down without moving something, can't make a brew without climbing over washing baskets etc. I have areas that need decluttering and I am on it but I have inherited the tendancy to collect junk although my home is nowhere near as bad as mum's was.

I'm the same age as you, and I think what you say about our parents is very true.

Although I visited my parents every few weeks, it wasn't until my dad died and my mum had to go into a home (she had Alzheimer's), I realised the full extent of their hoarding tendencies. When I was clearing the house, it dawned on me that nothing had been got rid of since I left home in 1981, and a whole lot more stuff had found it's way into the cupboards and drawers. The Flora tubs definitely ring bells, along with ice cream tubs!

I've been able to part with a lot of my parents stuff, but there is more work to be done. Some of the most difficult things are personal paperwork. I don't really need my mum's Christmas present lists from the 50's and 60's, it's VERY difficult to part with them.

GreyQueen

Hi Goldiegirl, I wonder if a tip I got from one of Don Aslett's decluttering books might be of help to you regarding those lists? I agree that it's very hard to part with stuff written by hand by your relatives.

He didn't want to keep piles of cards and notes but wanted to enjoy the warm emotions that the words engendered so what he did was to cut out the bits which were written on and laminate them to use as bookmarks. That way, he'd come across them at random and re-read them and enjoy the warm emotions all over again.

Or perhaps you might think about scanning them, so that they could be viewed but wouldn't take up physical space? HTH.

nearlyrich

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Some of the most difficult things are personal paperwork. I don't really need my mum's Christmas present lists from the 50's and 60's, it's VERY difficult to part with them.

That rings a huge bell with me, I brought all the paperwork from my mum's and some of it is never ever going to be relevant to my life but it is hard to throw it away. I am into family history so I know the value of useful paperwork but there are pictures of people from years ago and I have no idea who they are and no chance of finding out who they are so why am I keeping them?

lostinrates

GreyQueen wrote: »

I have ME and a fair amount of mental processing power is lost into Halfwit Time. The trick is recognising it and not trying to reorganise your finances when in the throes, but that it's good enough to sort your sock drawer. Or sew on buttons or take out the recycling.

I just adore the recycling bins......always was a wee bit odd.

The illness that saw me fail at my plan of world domination os also neurological. It's why my typing is sometimes.....odd, and I get words confused,

When I started using MSE my typing was often illegible and just typing away here was more fun and less isolating than the stuff I was given to do by the doctors and support staff.

Sometimes I can even spell correctly now, not all the time though

Any way, what I am getting too is I have a disproportionate amount of half wit time, but even sorting might challenge me. . I will however try. I get extreme exhaustion not unlike an me sufferer too, so I often feel very 'in tune' with people with me, because I know what that dulled thinking and exhaustion feels like.