Hoarding - Springing Ahead

MrsAtobe

Saver-upper wrote: »

Another thing I should start sorting is paperwork.I actually have quite a good filing cabinet/system for stuff that needs keeping:my partner is amazed when I can produce some documents within about 90 seconds of him wondering where they are.......:rotfl:.

Please share your system with us, it's something that I really struggle with.

Saver-upper

MrsAtobe wrote: »

Please share your system with us, it's something that I really struggle with.

Hi,MrsAtobe.
My system is very simple.I used to have a huge,ugly metal4-5drawer filing cabinet(from Freecycle),but what was happening is I was filing my papers in 1 or 2 of the drawers,and OH was filling the rest with his hobby stuff,tools,books,anything he wanted to hide when I asked him to tidy up :eek:.
So got rid of the filing cabinet,Now I have one of these:
http://www.staples.co.uk/storage-archiving/plastic-storage-boxes/64-litre-storage-box-pack-2 (you actually get two,but only one is being used.The other one is,ssshhhh,in the loft :eek:)
Because they are nice and low,it is kept on the floor with my children's shoe storage unit(2 square ottomans fitting perfectly) ontop,so saving floor space,and bringing said shoe boxes up to good height for kids to reach into.
Within the box,I have everything filed alphabetically,in hanging suspension files:Gas,Water,Electricity,school reports for each of the children,children's Child trust fund papers,recipes,books to read one day,mortgage papers,papers re the house extension we (unsuccessfully) applied for 2 years ago-these are the papers my Oh was most recently amazed I could find...
And that is all.

Of course,I still have the problem of short-term storage:what to do with papers while deciding what to keep,or until they need to be handed back in at school,etc.Hence my kitchen carp corner,which I have spent about an hour sorting through this afternoon:lots of paper out for recycling,and others put into piles for filing and some others left in a pile because I haven't decided what to do with them yet .

TheGladSatsuma_2

Hi all, I'm new to this forum, but not new to hoarding unfortunately. I've been trying to clear out our spare room so that my parents can come to stay next weekend. It had got so bad in there that you could literally only get in the doorway and close the door behind you. I am studying for a distance learning degree and have been unable to use my desk in there for about a year I think. The last few times my parents have visited they've had to stay in a nearby hotel
Soo, today and yesterday I've been having a bit of clearout, we took two bin liners of our old clothes (mainly mine) which we'd slimmed out of. Shoes also, to a clothes bank. I've thrown a lot of stuff away actually, as I have no idea what to do with it, I'd been keeping it just in case for years.
Is it normal to feel guilty when getting rid of stuff like this?
I've got bags of stuff ready to go to the charity shops on my day off on Wednesday too. The spare room still isn't clear, but I can at last walk in there now. THe stuff that is on the bed is easily moved, and is just bed sheets and blankets which need washing before storing in the new ottoman I have ordered, which should come on Wednesday. I could probably do with ordering another one to keep in the spare room.
The spare room was the worst of the rooms, but we are both as bad as each other, letting things pile up everywhere in the house. I hate getting rid of anything incase I can use it. We can't have anyone round to the house as it is such a mess all of the time and I'm embarrassed to let anyone see. I know this isn't normal. I love going to other peoples houses and wonder where they put everything.
Sorry this is quite a rambling post but I needed to let it all out....

GreyQueen

Hello and welcome in, TheGladSatsuma. Good to have you posting.

Yes, it's perfectly normal to struggle with parting with Stuff. We know those emotions.

Because........I might need it one day when all my other clothing has fallen apart and I am too skint to buy any more even secondhand and what if they bring back clothes rationing..............?

I replaced this pan because it was too small/ big/ kept burning stuff but it still basically works and what if............?

But Auntie gave me that set of notelets with the pink envelopes which has been here so long that they've lost their gum. I don't use notelets but if I gave them away Auntie would find out. OK, she died a few years ago, but someone would find out and they'd know I was a Bad Person.

Because it's a cuddly and it has eyes and it's looking at me and must have emotions, mustn't it? You can't give cuddlies away, you'd hurt their feelings, they're almost like kittens, if you think about it............

I might shrink or expand back to that size again and then I'd be soooo annoyed I'd discarded all my big/ small clothes.

OK, they hurt my feet and I can't walk in them but they're really really pretty, aren't they? Perhaps I could put them on a shelf and just admire them? Or would that be a bit pervy.............?

Because I've hung onto the kids' stuff for so long in the loft that they're nearly young adults and I could keep them a wee bit longer for the grandchildren.............

I could plant petunias in that old WC/ those holey wellies/ that cracked old sink. It would be ironical and clever, wouldn't it? Ummmm.....

There are as many reasons as there are people and things. Mostly, I think it comes down to Fear.

Fear of loss; loss of affection if it was a gift, loss of money if it might be 'valuable', loss of comfort, loss of status, loss of security.............

The trick is to examine whatever's blocking your disposal of Stuff and try to work out if it's a rational or irrational Fear.

For example, something made of fun fur and polyeser wadding doesn't really have emotions, does it? But it's cute and think of how much a little kid might love to have that toy and really get some mileage out of it.

Morganarla

Can I tentatively join? I'm useless at posting on MSE atm, but read an awful lot.

I desperately need to declutter my home. I have hung on to so much STUFF in my life, I am carrying round paperwork from a potential house purchase when I first joined MSE... 5 years ago!:( I am carrying round knick knacks in strong carrier bags from house move to house move, because my mother says that I like knick knacks... I don't!:( I am carting around clothes that haven't fitted for nearly 9 years, because I'm going to adjust them one day, so I can wear my ACDC, Motley Crue, ZZ Top, The Eagles tour t-shirts again... I have a broken hoover stuck in the loft, because I can't get to the tip to get rid of it.

I am SO stressed out by it all. But I'm finding it so hard to clear it all out. I don't drive, and cannot get to C/shops as there are none in the village. There are no local collections, and there's only a clothes bank in the local mini Tesco's. So I'm having to bin it all. And I feel really bad, for being wasteful etc.

Going to subscribe and read all your inspirational stories when they all come through to my phone just after midnight each night xx

nearlyrich

I have a decluttering week I got rid of all the clothes I no longer wear, today I have been decluttering my office got rid of loads of books and bits of paper that I really don't need, Guide to B & B s in Ireland from 1993? Why do I still have this ? ..I don't now..

Knit_Witch

Morganarla wrote: »

I have a broken hoover stuck in the loft, because I can't get to the tip to get rid of it.

Check you local authority, some will take broken electricals once a month, you just have to let them know and they will tell you what day to put it out for collection

GreyQueen

((((((((morganarla))))))))) and breathe, my lovely. Have you got all my band tee-shirts from the 1980s? I'd wondered where they'd gone......

Have you thought about dismantling stuff? Like the hoover? I don't have my own transport bar a pushbike and the tip is a mile away. It's amazing what can be reduced to smaller pieces with nothing more than a kitchen knife and a screwdriver. Sometimes a hammer, too.

And have you thought about possibly offering stuff on Freecycle/ Freegle? I advertised an old non-working printer as a non-working printer and people were biting my hands off to get it. There are a fair few backyard fixer-uppers who might like the challenge of sorting the vacuum out. Or you could have a play yourself - it it's already broken there's nothing to lose by trying to fix it, is there?

Most Stuff is comprised of components. Some of these can be separated out and sold/ given away/ recycled. Which is an antidote to feelings of guilt about wastefulness.

And about the ornaments, I get that completely. I don't like ornaments myself. Nor do I like makeup, jewellery, perfume and fancy clothes. You may not be able to stop people giving you stuff not to your taste but you can't be forced to keep it against your will.

Morganarla

Not from the 80's GQ, more like the 00's I have actually made a firm decision on the tees though, they are staying. They are so small (goddamn you, 19 year old slim Morg, damn you!), that between them they take up about an eighth of a drawer. My time would be better spent in chucking the ripped, torn, bleached, paint spattered, too small stuff that I save in case I do more painting in the next rental...

Where I'm at just now, the local give away sites and FB pages are rather up market, shall we say.. Sadly, no-one is going to take my v old battered hoover with a big burnt hole in the pipe, that you can no longer get spares for... Ho hum. If I took it apart, think I'd just create more mess! But then maybe it could go in the bin easier.... Or I can call the council, in case they do local pickups.

I love my mum, I really do. But her house is SO full of stuff, knick knacks. Not tv hoarder style, but still crammed with tiny things. Thing is, she remembers what she gives me and questions about where they are when she visits.. Argh!

GreyQueen

I'm astonished at the longevity of those 1980s bands. And have to hide a smile when I see Young People in G & R tee shirts. With the exact same design as they had back when I was a yoof.

I was at the first ever G &R appeareance in the UK (Donington - people died that year) and have been panicky in crowds ever since.

I used to be skinny, too. Mind you, I'm turning 50 later this year, so I'm allowed to be a bit broad in the beam, lol.