Hoarding - Springing Ahead

whitewing

Wish I could have the rocking horse. pigpen, I would imagine that December is a tremendously busy time for you and your brood so don't beat yourself up for progress not made. New Year, small steps!

I cannot bring myself to get rid of the Emma Bridgewater catalogue that arrived today.

calicocat, I just skim read your message as no smell left in any of the 6 knickers that went in the bin. I am glad I reread it!

lobbyludd

LOL!

calico - I've found I've got rid of so many pairs of "religious" pants that I had a very panicky moment on Wednesday when it looked like I might have to go to work (ahem) commando. I found a not-very-comfy pair buried at the back of the drawer and suffered through the day. I have ordered new ones from t*sc* along with some new school polo-shirts for ds (another casualty of the fling and not think strategy!).

ds has agreed which piece of furniture from his bedroom can go so lump hammer ahoy tomorrow (it won't stand a dismantle in reusable form), a tip run and his room can go back together, with a desk and a rug I've found in the loft that goes with the room.

I managed to hoover the floor in my bedroom today and the chaise - this is a miracle.

GreyQueen

:j I have hit paydirt! Or at least found the table-top and cleaned it.

To celebrate this unusual set of circumstances, I will use it. Going to get the seeds out of their bag, list what I have so I don't accidentally buy any more duplicates this spring, and get them back up to the lottie. That'll be one large carrier bag out of the living room.

I have decluttered several small things inc a pair of unmentionables. Realised that they were a bit "religious" and worn almost see-through when I was dressing this morning so decided to be rash and turn them into a rag for the lottie.

As per domestic policy, the elastic and the gusset have been removed and discarded. Don't want a repeat of the time my parents sold a car with a pair of Mum's unmentionables (long since demoted to ragdom, I hasten to add) still under the seat. Sold to a work colleague, not a stranger, just to add to the embarrassment.

I also found the stray satsuma on the sofa. I knew there was one in one of the bags on there somewhere and had been a bit wary in case I squashed it (been there since 2nd). Found it, uninjured, and have eaten it.

Gosh, yesterday stray currency and today stray fruit, the excitement of decluttering never ceases. Forward!

ETA; seeds inventoried and I now realise I shouldn't need to buy anything more than the seed potatoes for the coming growing season (have already got the onion sets). This decluttering malarkey can be money-saving, too.

procrastinator

Hello again, haven't posted for a few months...Sept I think. Still struggling with the letting go. Had work done in house and had to hide loads of stuff in bags and cupboards, but have been slowly moving them out as I need to get to other stuff. Result is bedroom mayhem. Downstairs was fairly reasonable for xmas but now looking bad again. Found a box yesterday of old paperwork that can go, need to get the shredder working. I'll report back when done, hopefully before easter!

GreyQueen

(((((procrastinator))))) it's not a competition or a race, just mutual support. You take care, y'hear?

I can't take my eyes off my newly-cleared tabletop. It's a very small table, only 21 x 35 inches, which is as big as will fit in my tiny home, so it quickly disappears under misc carp.

I shall have lunch AT MY TABLE. Then, clear it off and, later today have my supper AT MY TABLE. And get the sewing machine out later for a stray sewing job which has been cluttering up the living room because the only place to use the machine is - yup, you guessed it. :rotfl:

The table is the key to my life; I see it clearly now (pun intended). Table clear and available for use = all is well. Table obstructed = all sorts of knock-on problems and clutter back-log.

I've just had a big LBM!

whitewing

It's a bit like Flylady and her shiny sink. Sounds trite but works exceptionally well.

I have pulled all the receipts out of DH's drawer to sort through. We have a receipt box in my cupboard but they seem to have to go via his drawer first.

Shredded a small pile of out of date letters, leaflets and lists.

Second load of washing is in.

Some emails deleted.

A few outstanding payments made (declutters my list!).

Need to strip my bed - that's slightly overdue a wash. It's grey here so I never feel like washing as much as in the sunshine, even though the sheets will probably be tumbledried anyway.

Also need to wrap a CD that forms part of DH's birthday present.

Picklepot

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Thank you and well done Picklepot, it really does start with babysteps doesn't it? In the early days in the house (not the hoarded stash in the shed) I would just go over a shelf or a pile picking out the obvious rubbish and nothing else.

You'll make progress if you keep plodding away, don't feel bad about what others do, I've carried some of my boxes around like a millstone around my neck for 25 years....sometimes it takes a while to get going...

Hi

Sorry for big long post ahead but we are starting to make progress here!!

I am a bit behind with the posts so apologies if i miss anyone out. Thank you for the welcomes and enouragement especially ginnyknit lobbyludd and piglet.

I am still doing my one item a day declutter so i know i will not be able to post big lists of whats gone out...However i have noticed since my light bulb moment a real change in my mindset which i wanted to share particularly if there are people on the sidelines lurking as i have done for so long and just cannot get stared.
I have been lurking on this site for over a year now and although i have read and enjoyed the postings and all your progress i have been unable to make big strides into changing anything. At times i have begun to think that maybe i have a bigger issue than i thought.Particularly one day when DH took me shopping and on the way took a box of garage rubbish to the skip i felt in mild panic in case there was anything in there. I wanted to be able to check it but it had gone, for a few days i kept thinking about it and realised i had to to something, either get to grips with the stuff or accept that the family would. At the beginning of december i read about getting rid of one things a day and my first thought was 'one! i'll need at least 10 to make any difference to this place!!' but then i realised that was my problem i was just making things too big and difficult creating a gaol i couldnt manage and crashing and burning as i always do
.So i started my one thing a day and something wierd started to happen .. i started to see items that could be tomorrows item and often they were, then i stared to remember some of the valuable nougats of information on here.

Going through my undies drawer i was tempted to keep a couple of 'tatty just in case' ones and thought what if i was in hospital and DH brought these in i would be horrified! ...chuck!

Trying to throw a skirt and top away that fitted me but never suited me. I paid good money for them so i should keep them and then i thought responses from here would be 'if your house burned down and you had to replace your stuff would these be on your list? no chuck!

A plastic pastry cutter free with a magazine has been in my cutlery drawer for years every time i see it i think i must clear this drawer out and i never do. The other day i though just chuck the pastry cutter the decision about everything else will come in its own good time and what happened the next day whilst the kettle was boiling? i started rootling through that drawer and chucking other stuff (erm to confess a 12th birthday candle and 18th birthday balloons DS' now 18 and 19:eek: i even considered keeping the 12 candle to reveres for the future 21 birthday .. i know that is really bad:eek::eek:

I have also realised because i never finish anything i leave a trail of destruction behind me! I think its a throwback from being a mum and having to multitask. I am trying very hard now that in order to make progress going forward i do not leave more destruction behind me!!!

This is all so new to me and such a relief.. i am not making big strides but as piglet said do something! and i think finally i am, only baby steps but its a relief.

Sorry to ramble but i don't really discuss all this with the family because they are all born organised and cannot understand me.They have been incredibly patient and occasionally frustrated over the years.

Just to end and sorry if this is a daft question but what is the difference between the card boxes that you recycle your christmas cards into in shops like W*smith and cardboard recycling at home??

noelphobic

Didn't get my to do list done yesterday unfortunately. A friend of mine is moving house. I offered to help her earlier in the week but I wasn't well and would have felt bad not helping her yesterday. I say 'helping' but I did 99% of it myself! She managed to make me look organised, which takes some doing!


Hardly any of the stuff was boxed up and anything that was boxed was in small boxes. The rest had to be put in carrier bags as she had no other boxes. If I'd known the day before it would have given me an extra incentive to sort out some of my boxes and got rid of some of the contents. At the very least I would have condensed the contents into fewer boxes and she could have had the empties for her move -win win.


I was tired and my back was aching when I got home. I feel asleep on the sofa and woke up very cold, even though the heating was on. I went to bed very early but couldn't get to sleep. So, today will be my 2nd attempt to clear a path to the airing cupboard, sort the contents out and put my pile of clean towels and bed linen in there. I did make a feeble start yesterday and put umpteen odd socks in the bin. There was so many of them that there may well have been some pairs in there but I figure if they've lived on the bedroom floor for that long I really don't need them.


Hopefully, today will be more productive!

whitewing

I was making a list of potential presents for this year when I had a mini LBM. We are going to paint some crockery from DD. I got inspired and designed my own mug for DD to give me on Mother's Day. Then I was thinking that it would be too nice to use. And that was my LBM! No, it won't be too nice, it'll be perfect to use and if it does accidentally get broken then we will at some point get a replacement that will be different but will give me just as much pleasure. And both would give me much more pleasure as part of my daily life than just being stuck in a cupboard.

I have got some stationery bits and bibs that have been unused in my cupboard for a whole year. They're going.

I have also dumped a small box of kibble in the bin. That was another 'moment' as hardly anything nowadays goes in the actual bin - most gets recycled or passed on as I am getting rid of it when it has outgrown its purpose for me but there is still life in it. Which means that most of the stuff that we have at home isn't tatty so it gets better taken care of and lasts longer. So we can afford better versions when we go to replace it.

Wow, these thoughts are coming thick and fast today.

Still have too much on the surfaces of the dining bit of the living room. Need to sort that out after I've put the bed clothes in. Time also for a glass of water.

Hollyberry

That's lots of progress! :j

Don't fret about the speed of sorting. It's a journey, and every step is one nearer to being free and decluttered, and able to find things we need, and not buying things for a second time as we couldn't find version one. Yes, I've been there.

Today's been full of visible progress, although much of the work was done in previous weeks. The final 17 bags of books went to the book bank, two bags of papers to recycling, and six bin bags full of clothing to the clothing bank. The back hall downstairs and the first floor landing are now clear, and I have a pile of accessories that is small enough to walk to the charity shop at some point this week (no parking nearby). I came back home after the second car load feeling physically lighter...a very strange sensation.

Picklepot, both you and I now have no fear of random selections from our undies drawer. I too have no idea about the specific Christmas card recycling - ours went straight into the normal card recycling box...

GQ Great LBM on the table. I hope to be joining you in a few weeks, as I can see we could really find a table useful. We have one dining table that is currently colonised by four sewing machines that were my mum's. In the next few weeks I need to sort out the most basic and keep it, then sell or donate the other three. There is no room to put up our second dining table until I have wombled a large ugly chair and a pretty settle to the charity shop, then I am thinking it will go in the big bay window where we can use it regularly.