Hoarding - A New Start

Jo_anne_2

JayneC wrote: »

Hello all.
Have cleared out my cards and gift wrap/bits of ribbon and tags box. Most of it gone now - scraps of gift paper that might be useful for those very small gifts you know???...:o

I know I have those too but am gradually binning them. I'm struggling with what to do with my collection of pretty gift bags though. You know, the ones that gift bottles of wine arrived in and that could be used again...but rarely are?

whitewing

Jo_anne wrote: »

I know I have those too but am gradually binning them. I'm struggling with what to do with my collection of pretty gift bags though. You know, the ones that gift bottles of wine arrived in and that could be used again...but rarely are?

Maybe see if an old folks' home would like them? I have no idea if they would but I assume they would buy some gifts either for their elderly folks or sometimes have fundraiser events that they could use them, or have elderly folks that want to give gifts to their own family.

blossomhill_2

Ah looks like Stelios is already taken, judging by his twitter-exchange
Funny thing is, he's not my type at all (unless he's Greek, in which case he is definitely my type) but the mix of his being gently supportive, evidently intelligent and showing mild disbelief is very alluring ...
Anyway, i'll let him have the last word on the subject, from one of his tweets
"clutter" from the Middle English word "clotter,"which means to coagulate and that's about as stuck as you can get"

Another matter; JayneC - I hope you don't think I'm pouncing on you if I mention that you say you've cleared gift wrap etc from your bedroom - I was thinking today that I actually have little idea of which room is appropriate to keep what in, as I've been cluttered for so long, and a lot of my last few days has involved a system of "it goes in the right area even if it doesn't fit, then i have to reduce it" - but where would other people keep things like
Tens machines, blood pressure monitors, neck braces
spare curtains/linings out of season
cat & dog paraphenalia
vases when not in use
hair stylers

"

whitewing

Yes, he's Greek.

Vases, I keep in the kitchen cupboard on the basis that I fill 'em with water. I don't have posh enough to display ones, mine are nice but functional.

Curtains etc in the 'airing' cupboard.

Medical things I keep in the kitchen due to space and height, but would more naturally go in the bathroom, except that I'd probably actually do blood pressure monitoring in the bedroom.

I keep my deodorant in the bedroom as that's where I always get dressed but DH puts it in the bathroom if he spies it.

Hairdrier is kept in my underwear drawer but we only use it iccasionally and that's for DD.

mcculloch29

Just sometimes I'm glad I procrastinate a little.
I was thinking of the best home for some audiobooks I have on CD, but forgot to ask if the library would take them when I dropped off the new-ish books last week. On Saturday, chatting to my friend who has dyslexia and finds reading difficult, she mentioned that she's started to enjoy audiobooks.
Sorted.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

The ones I picked are very young, measure about 12mm long and are almost invisible in the aquarium. Oh, and move at roughly the speed of light. They're tough little fish and about the only things that will be happy and healthy in my little aquarium, as they stay so small. After a while, if they are thriving and the water tests remain good, I may be able/willing to add a few more (they're a shoaling species, so are happiest in groups), but not too many.

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Finding Homes For Things You Do Genuinely Need


I have my medical related stuff, medications, mini sharps bin, TENS, etc, in the lockable kitchen wall cabinet (that is never locked). The cytotoxic spill kit that came with the syringe drugs lives at the back of the cupboard under the sink with all the other cleaning equipment and the large sharps bin is awaiting collection with the next delivery.

Oh, other than the strong painkillers - I only have a small quantity of them, but they are locked in a steel cashbox upstairs in the mini filing cabinet that I use as a bedside table.


And the aircasts are in the wardrobe. I don't put medical things in either of the bathrooms, as often the last thing you need is for those things to come into contact with moisture.



Spare curtains & suchlike go in the airing cupboard if you have one (bearing in mind that it's such a faff changing curtains - and physically demanding - you may not need as many pairs as you originally thought).



Cat/bird (feeding the wild ones)/fish paraphenalia goes in the kitchen cupboard where I keep their food. Oh, and the pet insurance documents, flea spot ons, etc, are all in a box at the back of it, so if there is an emergency, I can just grab and go. The carrier lives in the shed under the bench, so again, easy to grab, and there's always a blanket of some kind (or two) on the sofa, so there's always something to wrap an ailing animal in, even if the bath towels are in the washing machine at the time.



I will admit that the vases are currently living on the patio in the rain, waiting my attentions (having been on the greenhouse staging), except for the two identical ones like storm lanterns, which contain metal/plastic utensils in one, wooden spoons in the other and sit on the tiny bit of counter to the right of the hob.


They were originally on the windowsill, but having that clearer, so it has the soap, a bamboo pot of chopsticks, an old mortar that holds whatever needs to ripen and a Heuchera (Plum Pudding) grown from a root cutting looks more peaceful to the eye. And it means I can easily see the bird table, so long as the cat isn't strutting around up there getting in the way and chattering at the poor things.



I also bundled out some things from the understairs cupboard today - one little table and a few miscellaneous bits and pieces. It means there is space for both the cat litter sack and the vacuum cleaner in there, with tons of room for the mop & bucket and anything else that seems to need it. And sorting a few bits and pieces, eg, jars of flour, around in another kitchen cupboard meant that I had room to fit all the gadgets I am ever likely to use in one - so there's less on show.


Just little bits, but it made it possible to thoroughly clean the whole area with far less disturbance as there was no having to clean around or pick up and put down stuff - it was just get cloth, get bleach/soap, clean, wipe, done.


*****************



That's something that isn't really mentioned much - it's an ongoing job - it's not 'when x and y is done, everything will be perfect', it's 'I need to do a, b and c. They're done. Now d & e. [time passes] Oh, I need to deal with f..........' all the way through the alphabet, and probably through every other one you can think of, too. If I were to show off, I'd probably use the Greek one



Other than that, I've spent the evening watching various movies - tonight was the turn of The Green Lantern and The Amazing Spiderman.


I really must get to bed soon, though, as I've got 8 tetrapaks of cat food that the troublesome twosome don't like, so want to take that round to the PDSA first thing. And then I could do with getting a couple of bits of shopping, so I don't have to worry about them later.


Anyhow, see you all later!

blossomhill_2

JayneC wrote: »

I now have quite a bit of SPACE in my cupboard. Now this is a revelation - I never have space in my cupboards and so this means my worktops and the floor become home for the stuff that won't fit. It has now dawned on me that if my cupboards are not full of fantasy stuff I might actually have room to put away the stuff I actually use. I realise now that this is how 'normal' people manage to not have 'stuff' all over their kitchen and the 'solution' to my 'stuff' problem is not to build a pantry;)

Brilliant!
Just like how I can now stop fantasizing about

• automatic opening/closing curtains because I can now reach them to pull them easily
• installing an entryphone camera so I don't have to open the front door

I do feel quite protective of the bits of space I am freeing up and wonder how I would cope if like some of you I had a hoarder OH (again) ready to fill the space with their own hoard - I think I'd want to make clear perspex cubes the size of the space created, to "bags" it for me :rotfl:- this is MY new space, I want to be able to contemplate the wallpaper

JoJo &ww- thanks for the "what goes where ideas" - I will now consider putting cat food into a food storage cupboard, and litter under the stairs. Carriers are already all neatly lined up hanging from the shed roof to grab one for each mog each in case of emergency mass evacuations :eek:. May put hair things in bedroom drawer ... radical

My idea of leaving the wardrobe door open to wake up to worked - saw loads of business clothes in there, and I am no longer a formal businesswoman, so they all went, which also led to the realisation that I no longer use a briefcase ...

Byatt - I wonder how your little housemate slept ?

Byatt

BH, well he got me up, herded me downstairs and then legged it back up there! :rotfl:

He did really well, was understandably nervous, but did cuddle on the bed, he got up a few times, then would meow and I called him and he bounded up the stairs again! I've noticed he "kneads" things when worried, but he's rubbing his chin and neck on everything including me!

His name is Polo, he came with the name but I like it, so have kept it, he seems very intelligent.

I will post pics later. Proud mummy time.

Jo-Jo, forgot to say Happy Birthday!!! I know 40 may seem "old" but believe me it isn't, hopefully you will enjoy it. I am 60 this year and when my counsellor kept saying the "60 year old Byatt" I thought who is she talking about!

I had minnows when I had my tank, they are very entertaining It was having the large goldfish that was problematic as they need a lot of room and also make the tank very dirty. I agree about being able to afford pets, I know I gave up my fish tank earlier last year, but fortunately things have improved financially with the pet business. Anyway Polo is my birthday present to me albeit early.

short_bird

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

I have 5 little cloud mountain minnows that joined the family yesterday.

They have names.

Sheldon.
Leonard.
Howard.
Penny.
Raj.

Oh yes :rotfl:

Brighton_belle

blossomhill wrote: »

but where would other people keep things like
Tens machines, blood pressure monitors, neck braces
spare curtains/linings out of season
cat & dog paraphenalia
vases when not in use
hair stylers

"

Love the stelios quote.

Re wherethings are homed,I try and work on a policy of 'point of use' otherwise if the home isn't were I might use it, it will just get dumped on a clear surface when initial enthusiam has worn off.
I own 2 vases as I don't feel I need more than that - one small and one large. The small one lives in the large one until use and the large one sits on my kitchen windowsill as I like the look of it and I find I much prefere a minimalist undersink cupboard so I know what is in there and it actually gets used.
Hairdyer hangs on a hook I fitted to linen basket next to my bed where I dry my hair.
Like whitewing, I get dressed in the bedroom so that is where I keep my deoderant.
Medical stuff (and one round of spare toiletries max) I keep sealed in the lidded bathroom stool.
My inflatable bathchair lift, during the period I don't need it is in a crate in the hall cupboard becasue it is too big for thr bathroon cupboard. I need to recharge the charger for that fairly often so it needs to be handy even though I don't need to use it currently.
Current meds live in nice lidded seagrass basket on bedroom shelf. Sharps bin, next to spare toilet rolls in boiler cupboard so I inject in the bathroom.
Spare curtains/linings I confess is a completely foreign concept to me so I don't have any:).
Wrapping paper, I have one roll of brown paper and some twine. They live on top of a bookcase with a decorative lintel so it can't be seen. I have trained myself to chuck all other stuff immediately into recyle bin. Unless I get a very fine bag (rarely) in which case argghhh.

JayneC wrote: »

... It has now dawned on me that if my cupboards are not full of fantasy stuff I might actually have room to put away the stuff I actually use. I realise now that this is how 'normal' people manage to not have 'stuff' all over their kitchen and the 'solution' to my 'stuff' problem is not to build a pantry;)

Genius!:D:T
So often, we don't need extra storage, we just need less stuff.
When I had professional declutter help me sort my attic a few years ago, she said, don't buy any extra storage before I come, as you will find you can probaly use what you already have got. To my suprise she was right...and we also got rid of some of that storage as surplus to needs.