Hoarding - Springing Ahead

Mountain_Ash

Just want to say thanks to you all. Read the first 40 odd pages of this thread last night. Today I cleared a bin bag full of crap out of my bathroom cabinet, another bin bag full out of the kitchen cabinets, put the contents of the overflowing paper recycling box in the relevant bin, washed up and later recycled glass recycling, scrubbed the loo, started on the mountains of paperwork in my lounge, and filled in my passport renewal form (old passport expired in 2011). There's a long way to go yet, but I feel much better for having got started!

VJsmum

:o

Think I need to declutter the back of the sofa more

Bluddy DS is in trouble :mad:

lobbyludd

I let all manner of chores lapse that week you (I) can find a prophecy of Armageddon practically every week for procrastination purposes if you (I) really try

i've binned 26 of the children's odd socks. I have swept the house and each laundry bin for possible mates and all socks washed - I'm sure I did this not long ago, but there is the mystery of socks.

they both only have PAIRS of socks now. I don't wear matching socks, so haven't done mine, couldn't give a fig frankly, especially as I am a fan of non-age-appropriate knee high stripy numbers in gaudy colours.

dd could do with a couple extra as santa inexplicably forgot to get some for her (bad [STRIKE]mummy[/STRIKE] santa).

how do organised people "do" the sock-laundry thing? and why, when my parents are the most organised people in existence didn't I learn this stuff?

Mother claims not to have any sort of system that she can explain, socks just stay in pairs like trousers in her house.
father only ever buys black socks of the same type so he's no help
father's wife is swiss, and can't understand my difficulty with any organisation at all .

keep safe Greenbee - and sorry about your break-ins GQ, I think the worse thing is the huge imbalance between the monetary worth of the thing "gained" by those who took vs the effort and energy and time to rectify on top of the loss for those who were simply getting on with life minding their own business.

called away before hitting send - yay mountain ash! and the world under the sofa in our house is connected via wormhole to some sort of landfill site VJ - tis the only explanation for all the carp. If only I could reverse the wormhole so that it drined stuff away rather than brings it in.

GreyQueen

Well done, Mountain Ash. Sounds like a most excellent day's work and more power to your elbow.

I am now about to make the bread rolls I didn't make yestereve -want one of them for my lunch and leave for work at 08.45 so better get a wriggle on.

lobbyludd, washing machines eat socks, this was confirmed to me by a w.m. mechanic. They can somehow get around the back of the drum. Others are stolen by the pixies. If you have a heavy pixy-infestation, all you can do is put them into a mesh bag and hope for the best.

One day, we will be re-united with our lost socks. Well, not one of mine which I lost in New Zealand - think that's gone for good.

beautiful_ravens

I mostly only read this thread, but thought Id drop in to say Ive booked a small skip and its arriving on the 13th - will have a week or so to clear out as much as will fit in it. Very excited! Since we got flooded [and had loads of people in and around our house/garden helping out] I realised the amount of embarrassing junk lying around really needs to go... I just hope I can get rid of more than just the broken rubbish.

In case anyone's interested its a small 2 yard skip and cost £130 to hire for a week [and a bit longer if we need it]. It all gets taken to their depot and recycled where possible.

whitewing

I feel ridiculously cheered up at the thought of your skip, beautiful ravens. I think it's because my decluttering has been slow and over a very long time. It seems to hold so much promise and hope of a better life, and great on you for getting to a stage where you have the confidence to book it.

I am feeling very p'd off with family at the moment. I was genuinely worried about how one family member was managing so texted her on and off over the past 3 days and she hasn't replied. (My DH said that she is probably licking her wounds). However, she has managed to go and see other members of the family. I have tried to remain neutral and support and listen to everybody but they all want to moan, or give the silent treatment, and none of it is anything to do with DH and I. I had hoped that we'd be the link that kept an ongoing relationship for the future when things had calmed down, but they all seem paranoid that we are on somebody else's side.

I am at work today, but it is going to be a long day.

On the plus side, we got beds made, dishwasher unpacked, duvet cover tumble dried and away and a quick vacuum of the living room before we left.

Craft stuff went to nursery. I have used up a lot of random ribbon on the weekend's projects. I have some wider stuff left but I think I am going to relocate that to the wrapping paper box to free up another craft box.

I'm doing everything completely differently than I would have planned but I am pleased with the outcome.

whitewing

lobbyludd wrote: »

.

how do organised people "do" the sock-laundry thing? and why, when my parents are the most organised people in existence didn't I learn this stuff?

If I keep on top of the washing, and if I use one of the circular sock drier things, then I stand a bit of a chance at keeping them in pairs.

I also throw the holey ones after I've washed them as part of the laundering process, can't quite bring myself to throw away unwashed socks- it makes me cringe. (Although I could live in a hoarding house and that didn't make me cringe).

For DS, we buy 5-packs or 10-packs. They may have a stripey sole or coloured heel but are mainly black. I don't mind if he wears odds as long as they are another from the same pack. The less I worry about it, the better he is, as is often the case with teenagers.

noelphobic

beautiful_ravens wrote: »

I mostly only read this thread, but thought Id drop in to say Ive booked a small skip and its arriving on the 13th - will have a week or so to clear out as much as will fit in it. Very excited! Since we got flooded [and had loads of people in and around our house/garden helping out] I realised the amount of embarrassing junk lying around really needs to go... I just hope I can get rid of more than just the broken rubbish.

In case anyone's interested its a small 2 yard skip and cost £130 to hire for a week [and a bit longer if we need it]. It all gets taken to their depot and recycled where possible.

If it is left on the roadside I would make sure you fill it as quickly as possible, otherwise people will sneak things into it. I've had one in the past but had stuff ready to go into it.

Patchwork_Quilt

beautiful ravens, I would agree with Noelphobic. We were just getting up one morning when a random van appeared in the street, some bloke got out and tipped a huge amount of stuff in our neighbour's skip and then drove off. What a cheek!

Just threw another cake in the bin. It was half eaten by MIL and other guests but I know if I'm not careful I will try to declutter it by eating the left overs myself, which is not good. It's sending reproachful vibes at me right now.

Well done, Mountain Ash and everyone else making progress into the mountains of clutter.

lobbyludd

decluttered grey hair for my annual night out