Hoarding - Springing Ahead

parsniphead

Evening all

I have just emerged from the cellar after 20 mins with one bin bag of rubbish to throw away and some old cd towers, two old 60's coffee tables which I thought about selling but I know I will never get around too and some empty paint tins. All of these will be going to the tip on Monday morning. I have decided that each Saturday night I will do this for an hour and by the end of the year I should have a nice clear cellar.

I would have stayed down longer but I ran out of bin bags. Off to buy some more tomorrow.

I have also decided to have a real cull on my books, a lot of which are novels and I can get from the library should I want to read them again. To be honest they have been sitting on use shelves for years so it's time to go. They will be going to the charity shop on Monday and hopefully do someone else some good.

I WANT TO THROW STUFF OUT (TOO MUCH I THINK):eek:

pigpen

31 binbags of stuff has left my house this month.


It is so depressing.. you can't even tell... nowhere in my house is any different.

lobbyludd

it will be different pigpen, the remainders can overwhelm our senses when we're feeling down and tired, and you must be exhausted: sleep lovely, and maybe tomorrow, if at all possible, make a little clear bright space just for you to look at and be near and breathe in, even if it means just shoving stuff somewhere else in the house.

parsniphead

Don't be so hard on yourself pigpen. I'm always amazed how much you do with all the children about and a newborn. I struggle to get anything done with one toddler on his own.

You should be proud of what you achieve.:T

GreyQueen

pigpen wrote: »

31 binbags of stuff has left my house this month.


It is so depressing.. you can't even tell... nowhere in my house is any different.

:eek: My goodness, was that 31 bin bags of decluttering, or did some of it include the household waste? That's awesome. Be sure to get enough rest, though.

Just run the ISBNs of a couple of charity shop books thru the web to see what they go for second hand. Kid Bruv is an online bookseller so I like to give him first dibs on anything which can make a few pounds, but one is widely available at 61p (I paid 50p for my copy last week) and the other goes for about £10 so one to Bruv and one into the donations bag.

Will be going to the allotment after lunch and decluttering some couch grass and will aim to spend a few mins the the Shed from Hell, rounding up some stuff into tidier piles and perhaps even (whisper it who dares) getting rid of some stuff, too.

Pecking away at the piles, little and often.

I also decided to use my initiative with a few recipes on Friday. Rather than running to the shop for jars of this and that when I just needed a spoonful of whatever, and made a substitution or two.

I couldn't notice, the guests didn't riot and the cupboards are staying a little less cluttered than they were before.

Anyone else refused to make a recipe because it required buying an ingredient or three which you had no other use for and which would loiter around forever?

whitewing

Oh wow, pigpen, 31 bags that is so brilliant.

I found with decluttering that you can get rid of loads and not feel any different, then get rid of 1 thing and all of a sudden everywhere looks better.

Got given a whole load of unused assorted Christmas cards. Some are lovely. Some are homemade and well made but not my kind of design. The hm ones are going to a relative, who will be delighted. I will add silver or gold lettering to the big ones and use them as family cards for next year. (This year's family cards are already bought, written and given - not opened yet, of course, we are not that sad). I am pleased as it will save me a fortune. My family do like their 'sister', 'aunt' etc cards. Pride of place on the mantelpiece.

House is tidy as we were out all day yesterday, so dd has been at granny's for the past two nights. Housework wise, I just have some washing to do today.

Workwise though, I have a lot to do. It will be very busy for the next two weeks, with meetings and things every day. This means I have some reports to do this afternoon. I have some deadlines that can't be shifted.

GreyQueen

Afternoon all.

Well, went up to the lottie and found that I lacked the mojo to wrassle with the feral strawberry/ couch grass combo, so settled in to the shed for a bit of rearrangement and decluttering.

I moved the small meat safe which I got from Nan's washhouse when she was chucking it out a few years ago, and put it in another place, which enabled long-handled tools like hoes and rakes to be stored more sensibly. I also rounded up all the seeds, mainly from the meat safe where they live, but some which had fallen down and were here, there and everywhere.

Suspect lots of them are empty packets rather than loaded, but will have a good sort out in the next few days and rationalise, get rid, re-bag and list, so I know what I have and what I will need to buy in the Spring. Will keep a list to make sure I don't let it get out of control again - it is 1.5 big bags for life scale problemo.

Didn't actually throw anything out of the shed but it was amazing how the stuff sort of shuffled up and there's much more room inside.

Had a hoarderish moment when washing up and refilling my vinegar bottle from the bigger bottle in the cupboard. There was a teeny bit left in the bigger bottle, about 2mm in the bottom (this is HASDA's cheapest malt vinegar btw) and I swithered about putting it back, then gave myself a stern talking-to.

Bottle rinsed, dried and outside in the recycling bin already. And I told myself in Tosspots this afternoon that I didn't need to replace it within the hour, I could relax and replace it when next doing a big shop.

Retraining myself one baby-step at a time........

whitewing

Recycling has gone out this morning. It was at the stage that it was falling out as you open the cupboard door.

Sorted out some paperwork and scrapped the envelopes etc. Small jobs, but make a difference if you keep on top of them.

Have been out this afternoon. What should have been a couple of hours turned into 5. I am a bit cross about it as I have some stuff to do at home and I feel shattered and unenthusiastic before I start.

Normally I put the Xmas decorations up around the beginning of Dec but we won't do that yet as we simply don't have time.

Never mind, we're having many more good days than bad so I shall stop grumbling before I infect you all.

Keep at it you good people, we have an air freshener candle burning at the moment so lovely citrus smells in the house.

Byatt

Pigpen, I found for a long time, although a lot went out, not a lot changed. I realised it was because I had too much stuff to start with, and it was literally filling the house, and of course it would still look cluttered until the bulk was removed and I was left with, well just normal clutter, which was a nuisance, but the effects were being seen.

I'm currently decluttering stuff my parents wrote to each other, it's very hard...there's no-one to pass it on to, no-one who would want it, but it's like extinguishing the last of the existence.

MrsAtobe

Byatt wrote: »

Pigpen,

I'm currently decluttering stuff my parents wrote to each other, it's very hard...there's no-one to pass it on to, no-one who would want it, but it's like extinguishing the last of the existence.

Byatt, could you scan them, would that help you feel better about it? I appreciate that there may be no-one you think would want it, but how much room do a couple of CD's/ DVD's take up. Just a thought x