Hoarding - Springing Ahead

ginnyknit

Started as I mean to go on today - picked up 5 notebooks from the bedside cabinet (some from the early 80's) , found a new notebook under the tv and am going to write anything important from the old ones into the new one. no more bedside cabinet tetris every night, all thats on it now is my notebook that lets me see how the de- richarding is going and when its done that one can go in the bin! or a ceremonial burning :j

Gwendolyn

Hello all. I joined today so this is my second post.

I am a hoarder. I love books and photos and antiques and stuff really!

I find it very hard to get rid. It's that mentality of I might need it some day. My mother (now over 70) still has all her old school books. My sister and I grew up with keeping things as being the norm.
Interestingly in her own home now, she instantly discards anything that doesn't fit her minimal style apart from her son's toys and artwork. Clothes are regularly recycled too - this from the girl who always bought it in every size and colour.
So back to me. I started this week with the loft! My children are now 4,5 and 7. I'd like to have another but for medical reasons (they were all prem and I nearly died) I can't really. So the baby clothes - all 10 sacks came out and have been sorted. 30 items to sell, 4 sacks to give away, 4 sacks for fabric recycling - why did I keep those! and I will frecycle the rest.
There is still more up there which my husband will bring down when the Christmas decorations go back up.
The trouble is, I am back to work on Tuesday and have nowhere to put things when sorting through other than my bedroom floor. This is a double edged sword - it spurs me on to get rid of the mess but knowing this, there is a limit to how much I'll get out at one time. I can't physically get up in the loft and my husband hates going up there so I don't know how much more there really is.
I can still tackle the toy mountain though!

Picklepot

De lurking to wish you all a happy new year.

Happy New year to all. I am de lurking to say Happy New Year and thank you for the posts and sharing all your declutter journeys. I cheer you all on quietly from the side lines.

Its taken me a long time but i am starting to have some light bulb moments and making very small progress..

GreyQueen

parsniphead wrote: »

Come back ginger nutty you are cluttering up the lurking cupboard.:p.

That is so funny - hoarding lurkers in the lurking cupboard.

Come out, come out, wherever you are, and welcome in to gwendolyn. Certainly sounds like you have a task to do, especially with a houseful of children and a job to do.

One of the funniest authors on decluttering is a bloke called Don Aslett and all his books should contain a beverege alert; as in watch what you're drinking when you read them or you might just end up spraying tea or cola over your book.

He says that limit decluttering to small blocks of time such as 30 minutes or you loose your effectiveness, as you're calling on your brain to make lots of decisions, some of which will be emotionally-freighted, in a very short space of time.

One of my favourite ways of sorting lots of small stuff is to shoot it out onto a large tray and sit on the sofa, pulling stuff about. It's do-able whilst watching TV and might be a way of having at the smaller stuff when the kiddies are in bed.

Anyroad, however you do it, we can help with tips, encouragements or just cheer you on. Welcome the the madhouse - I couldn't interest you in a couple of yoghurt pots, by any chance?:rotfl:

lobbyludd

thank you to everyone who posts on here, you have helped me tackle some difficult problems and see the connections I have made between emotions and "stuff", and welcome to those who lurk and are making strides or battling with issues

may we all have a wonderful 2014

I've sorted my various sewing baskets into one and got rid of slithers of material and inches of thread that I was keeping for ......?

was not the most pressing job to do, but I could do it sat in the lounge in a reasonable time frame without adding more chaos. DD's wardrobe has had the final coat of paint, so I can line the inside, and put the room-puzzle back together.

DD has got rid of some old toys with very little prompting (go girl!) so her new toys can go up, ds can't be torn from the electronics for long enough to sort his so I'm going in. If you don't hear from me for a couple of days can you direct search and rescue to the 2nd room on the first floor please?

whitewing

By the time I got up this morning, DH had already taken down the Christmas cards from this year (only a hoarder type needs to specify what year Xmas cards are from). I have been chopping the backs off them and will do the gift tagging bit after a family lunch.

I keep finding myself wanting to nip and do other jobs; probably that's why I have found so many things that are 90% finished.

It will be an interesting year of doing less to achieve more.

DH has put away all of the Christmas decorations and inspiration has struck so he is moving the living room furniture around. It's quite fun to make changes like that, and of course it is only achievable when some dehoarding has been done.

He has just picked up the speakers from the hifi and wondered why they were rattling. DD is in trouble now - he has just pulled out 3 Happyland people and a pencil crayon from it.

I gave away a tin of biscuits yesterday to someone who really appreciated it - not that we didn't but we get so much.

Happy New Year to you all. I have drunk a glass of water today so my NY resolution is happening! Hopefully in a few weeks I will be looking younger, lol. I am also having a vitamin pill - that's a knock on benefit that wasn't planned.

Gwendolyn, welcome. I am always really pleased with new people joining.

calicocat

Happy New Year everyone.

Just popping in quickly as really busy, to say that the amount of xmas decs I have is rediculous. I do have a bit of an obsession with baubles (and admit I bought more the other day really cheap), but I probably have enough to do Fenwicks windows for a couple of years..!!!

Then there are all the sets of lights,reams of beads,tinsel..then the box of childhood xmas decs that I wouldn't let mum throw out so I took them. Oh and various wreaths and 'things', and also the table things that candles go in, then the really nice xmas candles that I don't use....because they are 'too nice' to use.

It has taken an hour just to take the baubles off and wrap/box back up (as they are all glass). I have probably taken about 80 down, and probably have another 150 that weren't used this year as only did one tree.

Is this the amount other people have? I do know people that have more as do massive trees, but they are also quite hoarderish too thinking about it.



And I CAN'T make myself throw any out as I never know what i'll want to do next year and may put up 2 trees.

So i'm not entirely sure why i'm posting really...just ranting I think as deep down I know this may be a bit excessive.

GreyQueen

Calicocat, I think the issue with the Christmas decorations is not what the rest of us do, but what you want to do.

Do you have room for the decorations when they're out and when they're stored for the rest of the year? Are you able to keep them contained and safe from damage without inconveniencing your household? If the answer is Yes! then I would say however many you have is the right amount.

I personally have no Xmas decorations, just the cards dotted around the place. My reasoning is that I don't actually spend Xmas in my own flat, and that the place has so little storage that even a small box of decs would be a ruddy nuisance for 11.5 months of the year.

Because of a complicated series of medical tests, I will have to be at the hospital from before 8 am until after 5 pm tomorrow. Because most of the testing involves extracting blood from my person, I not be muchly inconvenienced by the testing but will be cooling my heels in waiting rooms for many hours at a stretch.

I have two hand-sewing clothing repair jobs which will probably take the best part of two hours between them, and all I will need to have by way of tools are sewing needle, thread and scissors. So they, along with some books, will go with me.

It'll be as boring as heck, but at least something productive and necessary will be achieved with the time. I may rack my brains and see if I have anything else of the sorting-out nature which is portable enough to do in a hospital waiting room. I suspect not, but you never know.

Righty, have decided to shut the PC down at 2 pm in order to focus on Getting Stuff Done.

Gwendolyn

Thank you for the welcomes!

Calicocat - I think it doesn't matter what everyone else does. If you have space to store your decorations why not keep them? When my grandmother died, mum inherited all of her collection of decorations too. Many aren't used year on year but mum likes to know they are there - once a year she looks through them all and it brings back so many happy memories. I have about 30 we haven't used but I have kept them - my children may apprecaite them when they leave home. I remember buying decorations for my first tree when I had my first job and remember only getting about 6 as they were so expensive.

Whitewing - I love the idea of moving the furniture around - such a good idea. I shall be trying that when our tree comes down on Saturday.

Greyqueen - I do hope the appointment goes well.

Pitlanepiglet

I agree, if you can store the excess decs and you like them then you might as well keep them. I have managed to bin some old lights that I've been hoarding for years but I have quite a few decorations that don't get used year to year. We've got space for them and as they are nice, I'm happy to keep them for now