Hoarding - Springing Ahead

JellyBox

PudseyDB wrote: »

Perhaps the biggest shock was checking out the fridge and freezer in the garage. The drinks in the fridge were dated exp 2003 and 2004 !!!:eek:

Much of your post resonated with clearing out our nana's place, but this particularly struck a chord. She had several items with 1990s BB dates, some where fine (sugar, dated 1995) and some we did not want to even discover, lots of cartons and tins and frozen from then! I think it runs in the family, I remember our family moving in 99 with a tin of rice pudding dated '88!

In terms of stuff without history or context, poor mum found so much in nana's house without any idea of where it was from, that she has since labelled everything personal to her with a snippet of history, just so when we need to go through her stuff in the future, all will be clear!

I've not been about much here recently, done naff all to the flat since my initial burst several weeks ago. Got friends coming round Monday evening though, so we are on a mad tidying spurt, which is bound to result in some stuff being binned. And actually, thinking about it, I removed a whole binbag of carp from my work pile in the corner of doom, and also a tagine (unused) has gone, along with yet more books and DVDs, so maybe not all bad!

Loving the new thread title too, makes me feel all optimistic!

Catriona_P

*creeps into new thread* Sorry all, I've been lurking but not posting lately as been pretty busy.

I noticed a few posters were giving 'updates' towards the end of the last thread on how they were doing. So it seems as good a place as any to do my update.

I'm still doing the 40 bags in 40 days challenge (ends on Sunday) and it's been a really good way to stay in the mentality of doing declutter. I have over 12 bags (big bags!) of baby clothes to go to a sale next month, my sister is coming to help me tag everything up this weekend. I'm still trying to sell our dining table and sideboard, as a lot of the declutter and movement of furniture I want to do depends on them going. But no takers

The house still feels messy but I'm oddly positive about it all. Must be because spring's on the way, the house feels so claustraphobic in winter.

And now I have a confession. Emptied a bedside drawer last night (a really good way to declutter for 15 mins!) which has been full of 'random, but memorable' stuff for ages. Found an xmas card from my husband to me with £40 cash inside! I looked like this - :eek: Judging by the card it's either from xmas 2010 or 2011 (probably 2010), so now I feel so very very stupid. 2011 was such a hard year for me, being on maternity leave for 6 months of it meant I was down to my last pennies for weeks at a time. Now I feel ashamed and a bit emotional about it all.

But onwards and upwards!

pigpen

I need to be here but I just can't face the overwhelming task ahead... I am kind of hoping a lot of the stuff will disappear as the children grow and leave home.. but my landing which was my 1 clear place has gone...

Where do people start?????

My mother has clear sofas but the rest of the house is rammed with sh!te... I don't want my children to feel they can;t visit me because it is a hazard to their children..

save me!

whitewing

£40 what a fabulous surprise!

(You get to choose whether to keep feeling ashamed or to be totally delighted!)

Picklepot

Brighton belle....Was that the one from lake***d? Cant remember whether it was you who originally posted about it but whoever did put the link. Thats when i fell in love with the notion of steam cleaners and have been dreaming of once since. I am concerned that i now have a very fanciful notion of how much they will change my life ( think i may have been watching too much shopping channel:rotfl:!) I really only want it for my floors though...

adonis

PudseyDB wrote: »

Hmmph! Just realised I dont know where the picture hooks are anymore! They used to be kept in a jamjar in the cupboard under the sink - but that was before we had a new kitchen fitted last year.

I'll have to wait till my partner gets back and see if he knows where they are, so the photos I brought back with me yesterday will have to stay packed away for now.

Howsever........I've been trying to keep to the principal of "what comes into the house has to have an equal amount out" sooooooo..............I guess I need to find some stuff today to take to the charity shop on Friday.

I am glad you didn't do what I normally do, go and buy another box of picture hooks from the pound shop, I am up to five boxes so far.:o

Picklepot

Pigpen ..welcome..i recognise your name from another thread cannot remember where /when but you are in the right place..everyone is very supportive. Whether you lurk/delurk fall by the wayside or jump back on.

Belated hugs to woodyrocks too..

I have got nothing done today..partly reason why i have to lurk so much once i get on puter nothings gets done.So am going to walk the dog and get cracking.

pigpen

I am a serial lurker

My bathroom is getting a new bath couple of weeks, my kitchen is half full of charity shop stuff I've not got bagged up and dropped off yet... I am so overwhelmed by everything again... I just have no idea where to starts.. I cleared out under my chair and one corner today and trashed the entire room as a result.. I have found my long lost cheque book though which is a bonus.

I know what needs to be done (everything thrown out and never replaced!!!) but where to start? :eek:

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

pigpen wrote: »

I need to be here but I just can't face the overwhelming task ahead... I am kind of hoping a lot of the stuff will disappear as the children grow and leave home.. but my landing which was my 1 clear place has gone...

Where do people start?????

My mother has clear sofas but the rest of the house is rammed with sh!te... I don't want my children to feel they can;t visit me because it is a hazard to their children..

save me!

PIGGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

How are you?


The thing is that whilst you may have thought the amount of things would decrease as the older ones left, you did add to the child collection by exactly the same quantity




Anyways, first, don't forget about looking after your physical health...no good self destructing, is it?


After that, I'd start with the routes out of the house. So, starting from the front door and working in, filling a binbag at a time, then tying it and putting it outside/putting it in the wheelie bins of the students that have gone home for Easter. I've given the example of asking whether you would make a child of yours stop and pick it up to bring with you in the event of a fire as a pretty brutal way of answering whether it's important or not. If you're feeling unwell, then a carrier bag of things out is better than nothing out at all.

Get to the stairs, then up the stairs and yes, the landing, because that gives a large number of small people (and not so small ones) a safe, easy route out in the event of something horrid happening.

If a little accident needs to befall the interwebs in order to get a taller assistant :whistle:, then so be it ('I'm sorry, I needed to disconnect it just for a moment to move this out, but now I've put the lead/adapter down and I think it's in there [point to a big pile], so if we just do this bit, I'm sure we'll find it again. Here's a binbag, as there's no point moving the stuff around twice')


And come on here to talk about it!

pigpen

My hallway and stairs are cleared.. I can't have stuff on the stairs because the tinies might fall down them. I do have 9 boxes waiting to go in the loft (2 of DD2's bears and 7 of OHs crap)

lol.. I have almost added more to the number than have left.. which bring with it all those huge hideous plastic toys

I have got the bedding down to 2 sets per bed to allow for wetting, AF, and so I can strip and remake each bed and nothave to worry about getting them washed and dried by bed time.

The tiny baby stuff was donated to DS1 and DD1... and some is on its way back.

It is the landing I am finding most distressing.. I just don't know what to do with the stuff.. I could live without it but I'd have to replace it in a couple of years (mostly Tiddles clothes saved for Squeak.. and a box of next christmasses christmas presents.. ) There is a narrow path through but I am struggling to side step some of the stuff now.