Hoarding - A New Start

suzitiger

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Well, I'm really doing it. We're digging boxes out of the shed, some of which are my childhood boxes that have been around for years.
Still got loads to do but it feels like I've made significant steps. So well done me :T

Yes this is really excellent news, well done! Thinning it all down and having it somewhere more accessable than the shed will help, because then you will appreciate what you do have more too :j

savingqueen wrote: »

Hello everyone,
What do you all do to get motivated? Did you start big or small?
sq:)

whitewing wrote: »

Or a bathroom cull can be easy and visually pleasing. If you have a half used bottle that you haven't touched in a year, chuck it. Yes, it is a waste if times are desperate, but it isn't if times are tough because it will make you think before you make your next purchase.

Another good tactic is to start to gather like with like and get rid of excess. Get a box and gather your toiletries.

Good point about motivation, I find it really helps to give myself a deadline, so inviting someone over means I have to tidy for them. Then I usually end up with boxes of things to sort (which can sometimes be counter-productive if I then don't have time to sort them) which stops me "churning" things.
I've just had a big clear out for a lady I've met through freecycle. She has come for quite a few of my bits recently, and as I am now in the process of moving house I have loads to get rid of. I find it easier when I know I am really going to help someone. This lady is currently seeking asylum and has no money, no benefits or help or anything and she cannot work until her status is confirmed. She is a very nice, kind and polite lady and she has a 3month old baby too. So I KNOW she needs everything she can get and it has helped me clear out loads of toiletries and food bits that i know she can use. Happy days for me and my new friend :T
Just can't believe I've been on a bit of a roll tonight and its now 2am!!! :eek: I always was more productive late at night :rotfl:

blossomhill_2

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

I had a bit of a wobble with letters - letters from ex's that I can't bring myself to read for various reasons - they are going back in the box for now until I feel a bit more able to deal with them when the bulk of the hoarded stuff is gone

good strategy, they will definitely be easier to deal with then.

It may help you if you can identify what they signify to you (I did this recently) - proof that someone loved you? A reminder of a certain period of your life? A time when you were carefree? If you can do this then you can reduce their significance by thinking "well I know that people still love me, as evidenced by ..." or "I have photos that capture that era far better" or "if I can reduce the hoard I will be heading for carefree again". Good luck anyway

I think tomorrow will be harder, somewhere there will be the rest of the childhood boxes from before my Mum died when I was 12. Most of this is my only link to her and I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get rid of

You don't have to get rid of any, do you? You should however store them properly, damp-proof etc. You may think when you see the contents that actually they are just objects, or they may well up all sorts of feelings, but if they are worth keeping then please keep them well.

Does everybody know that metal causes photos to deteriorate? So no tins, and no file boxes with metal hinges,not stored with anything with staples, better to have them in a stiff brown envelope than any of those

Any laminating is the worst of all, the combination of glue and heat - no no no!

tibawo

Off to start the chores in a minute and my late breakfast. We did not go to church as we have had such a busy week that for once I wanted a lie in. Girls still in bed!

One thing that I have not started but need to is my audio cassettes, VHS ones and player and CDs that I've not touched since .... I can't remember. I think the 'I paid such and such for that' makes me hoard them yet these are the same things that contributed to my debts!

I'm thinking eBay for them as I could use the cash but does anyone know of other places I could sell. Not car boot as it will be at least a month before I do one and if I don't strike now I'll wobble!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Cassettes and videos have quite a limited value these days. They tend to deteriorate due to a chemical reaction we have no control over, and even if kept in good conditions, there's a good chance they will be unplayable. Where I live, charity shops refused to take them anymore about eight years ago.

CDs don't sell brilliantly, but you could try Music Magpie and see whether the amount they would pay is worth the effort spent in spending hours typing out barcodes and packaging them up.

After all, getting say, a tenner would sound good until you realise it had taken you seventeen hours to list it all, plus packing, taking to the post office, cost a fortune to pack up and post. And the buyer files a dispute because there's a scratch on one (or there isn't and they're just trying their luck) and you don't get paid at all.

Pitlanepiglet

suzitiger wrote: »

Yes this is really excellent news, well done! Thinning it all down and having it somewhere more accessable than the shed will help, because then you will appreciate what you do have more too :j

Thanks, you're exactly right, we can now appreciate what we've got which is really nice and is a huge motivator. We've got so many nice things tucked away that we never see.

for those starting out, I started with the easy things only - the obvious surface rubbish that didn't require any debate about whether it was a keeper or not. I didn't make much attempt to get things tidy and I didn't really deal with any of the difficult things.

Then I went through the floordrobe and other clothes piles and put everything away - even though this meant ramming it all in drawers and on the hanging rails - plus boxing clothes where there wasn't enough space to fit them in. Then I went through the wardrobe and clothes and cleared out what I didn't want, leaving me with SPACE (!) for the first time since we've been here.

Even with this limited approach I cleared so much space in the bedroom that it suddenly started to feel nice again and I could see the benefit of all the hard work and that gave me an incentive to keep going. It is so much nicer when I can see the clothes that I've got and they aren't all screwed up in a pile. It takes me less time to put things away than to worry about the fact that I'm in a mess.

We've got a long long way to go but it is already so much nicer to be in our bedroom and I can visualise the point where we aren't buried in clutter so can find things and use the lovely things that we have.

If you're starting out, just do something - make a start with the easy stuff until you clear enough space that you can see the difference and from then the benefit starts to become clear

DundeeDoll

whitewing love your post re motivating. I have been flinging 13 (cos it's 2013) items a day (suggested by doolally on decluttering thread. This is working well for me as it's not too many when when i've had a long day and feel CBA sneaking up on me. I think also its the longest ive stuck to a NYR so maybe posting my 13 has helped.
A friend suggested emptyinga room then only putting things back i want. This is too large for me but i have been doing it for small areas with success. I empty eg a shelf then sort into 3 piles keep ditch not sure. The keep are then put away, the ditch sorted into RC, CS, give (or return) to someone else, RC and bin are then done, CS into carrier bags onto DS's bed (he's away at uni) for DD to take in as and when. Returns are done asap by jotting in diary when i'll next see that person (and of course puttingreturns in sensible place) Then the process is repeated with dont knows, this time into keep and dont keep. This activity takes time so is restricted to weekends or office clearout. If i tried it at home in the vening i know i would fail, get demotivated and give up.

DundeeDoll

suzytiger totally agree with the good feeling that our clutter is helping someone else. I regifted a coupleof items and recipients thrilled. Spare biscuits have gone to church.
blossomhill thanks for reminding us about best storage for photos. I think i will scan them, backing them up on dvd twice sone backup can be offsite (probs at mums) which will be much better than now
.pitlanepiglet yes the added space is wonderful isnt it? Andthe saving in time looking for hings. I now know exactly where the scissors and sello are, my visa bill, my library books. Slowly but surely everyingis getting a home.

nightsong

savingqueen wrote: »

whitewing - love this!

"I am now starting to view 'things' as equipment to help me through a particular (sometimes tiny) part of my life. I am the important one, the stuff is there to help me be me. Therefore I can pass it on to help someone else or bin it. I want to be able to bounce through life."

Brilliant :T

I am now very good at not buying anything unnecessary - having a tight budget and savings goals have helped hugely. What I am not so good at is getting rid of what I already have. sq:)

Me too, absolutely - well put. I have finally had the LBM that not bringing the new stuff in really is half the battle. Even if the old junk is leaving the house slowly, overall there's a net exodus of stuff and normality will eventually be reached.

This is a lot less difficult a method for me than actively decluttering, as bits and pieces can be disposed of quite painlessly when I'm in the mood - or ready to do some ebay listing. Though I do admire all the tales on here of wholescale sorting and chucking

TudorRose

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Cassettes and videos have quite a limited value these days. They tend to deteriorate due to a chemical reaction we have no control over, and even if kept in good conditions, there's a good chance they will be unplayable. Where I live, charity shops refused to take them anymore about eight years ago.

Thank you for this bit of info. I found some music tapes the other day & chucked some & kept a few because I thought they might have a value. Having read this they are now going into the bin.

I have been making progress chucking a few things a day & using stuff from my food stash. The house isn't too untidy but I so need to get rid of all the surplus trash in my life.
Reading here certainly helps to inspire me to get rid. Thank You.

blossomhill_2

I am now starting to view 'things' as equipment to help me through a particular (sometimes tiny) part of my life

whitewing; This works for me too - probably the most enabling sentiment I've seen on here, so many thanks ww.

I know I am still clutching irrelevant equipment but will picture myself wearing goggles, scuba mask and flippers while trying to move on to the next stage of my life, and hopefully bin the OOD equipment

If scanning photos I would still keep the printed ones as a backup in case we lose the format of the e-copies (but thoroughly approve of scanning, as it "stops the clock" on ageing photos)