Hoarding - Springing Ahead

Bennifred

I'll tell you what - going on holiday to a rental house (so tidy and clutter-free!) doesn't half spur you on to shift some of the junk when you get home! Well - for a few days at least.................

GreyQueen

AlexLK wrote: »

May I join? I'm not a "proper" hoarder, as in no room is filled floor to ceiling with "stuff". However, I have a lot of "things" in and around the house and am starting to declutter the spare room.

Welcome to the thread.

I wouldn't class myself as a "proper hoarder" either if the qualifying criteria were to be having the minimum of one room rammed floor to ceiling.

Howsomever, I think the issue is identifying that you have an issue with keeping stuff past is usableness, or in quantities which have detrimental effects on the enjoyment of your home and the safety and harmony of its occupants.

Pull up a box and dig in.

Mumof2_2

Hi, just had a quick look at the last couple of pages and this seems just the right place for me so do you mind if I join in too please? I'm not a hoarder but my husband is and I think some of his bad ways are rubbing off on me! I've got to leave his stuff alone (found that out the hard way when he tipped the wheelie bin all over the front garden when I decluttered some of his stuff and proceeded to take it all back in the house ) BUT I know he's more motivated to sort out if I am too so here goes! Oh, got 2 kids who have their Dad's hoarding tendencies too so got my work cut out ....

whitewing

Clocks go back tonight. 'Spring forward, fall back' sounds a bit like dehoarding to me.

I need to get rid of

a poster tube
half a sack of spuds
an airer
a pair of shoes/Tupperware box
a bag of confidential waste
recycling stuff

Target: Mon morning for all that

Mumof2_2

I've had a good 24 hours. Got rid of a whole black bin bag of stuff that was on the kitchen shelves (out of date packets/boxes etc). Also getting a bag sorted for the CS with DS's outgrown football boots (4 pairs!), a couple of old games and outgrown clothes - haven't taken it round yet as still more to go. Then finally got a black bag and filled it with odd socks/towels/clothing not good enough to go to the CS which will go out with the recycling on Monday. Not a bad start!!

whitewing

That's an excellent start, mumof2

Just2Ashamed

Sorry I've been a bit absent, but there has been progress in the house, albeit slow and often uncovering new issues :rotfl: The room of doom, henceforth to be known as the 'nursery' is now almost entirely empty (still needs the bed to be collected by the council, a few bits taking to the charity shop or rehoming and a good hoover and dusting). In tidying that room however I have ended up with 14 bin bags of clothes / curtains / bedding which all needs to be sorted through, washed and either put away or donated :eek: I did manage to get 2 full car loads to the tip though, so there is definite progress on the decluttering front.

We have also discovered the source of the mice who have been troubling us (and outsmarting the humane traps :rotfl:) which appears to be a hole in the skirting board behind the fridge - this leads into next door's very overgrown garden, so I'm going to have to block it up and then have a word with them, which is a little scary. The actual tenant is a lovely ladies in her late 80s who the housing association are more than happy to help with her garden as she's much too frail to keep on top of it. The problem is that her son stays there (not sure if he's officially living there, or just using it as a drug pit for him and his mates) and he is an aggressive junkie who refuses access to HA workers and often also his mother's carers. I've tried letting social services know what's happening, but apparently there's not a lot more they can do because she doesn't want the police to be involved and won't kick him out - it's all very sad.

DH and I have way too many books for our tiny home, so we've agreed to get each other Kindles and Amazon vouchers for our birthdays (both in November) and to start offloading as many as we can face. Along with our big DVD and xbox games clear out, this should help to keep the lounge a bit more manageable and hopefully prevent things reaching this stage again. I've also resolved that anything currently in my eBay / carboot pile that's still around in 3 weeks will be making a one-way trip to the car boot - the space and sanity is worth more to me than the few quid we'd get for it at this stage.

ginnyknit

2ashamed, pop a brillo pad or some wire wool in the hole before you fill it or the mice will return. they are creatures of habit and just dig the filler out otherwise. Hope this helps.

I feel the need to join you all. My hoard is fabric, yarn and crafty stuff which I use continually to make things for charity, family, friends and hopefully a craft stall this Christmas - have one booked. Im mainly housebound with Hubby and have to keep busy but things are getting silly now. I started this morning and have made a chart of stuff going in and out so I can see how I am doing.

Have taken pics of 20 items for fleabay and sent off 2 parcels this week. Also emptying the freezers so I can pack them more neatly only with meat and prepared meals. I have a long way to go but seeing how much you have all acheived will spur me on.

blossomhill_2

Hi (and hello to old friends)
I am just popping back in for some inspiration, after a good run last year the house is suddenly worse than ever, luckily the storm didn't cause a power cut here as I have to wade through packages at the moment
I had a strategy last year of having someone round on a regular basis so that shamed me into having somewhere ok for them to sit but they've moved so i'm getting lazy again
I am using wool at a rate of knots but this involves bringing it in to, as the stash always seems to need a color or type I don't have - suspect i'm buying your stash on eby ginnyknit!

greenbee

Decluttered a spare corded phone yesterday to a neighbour who didn't have one and couldn't make phone calls during the power cut. So I'm quite pleased that I'd delayed my CS run