Hoarding - Springing Ahead

Lucy5781

I cleared a lot of stuff out last summer after a a bit of a personal trauma, have a relatively small flat so don't own a lot anyway but in about five months I'll be moving in with my boyfriend, and he has space for me, but right now it's full of his older carp....

He knows it needs sorting but it's so hard not to nag or even just do it myself.... I've been sorting his laundry as he's always cooking for us. I'm hoping my general organised-ness rubs off, to be fair he sorted out his own desk etc after I went to bed lol.

Saver-upper

Today have done little bits here and there.
I am pleased with how the house is looking,though I know I still have alot of "hidden" stuff to sort through,particularly paper in boxes around the house and loft,my clothes in wardrobes, and all sorts of other stuff in the loft :eek:.
Am enjoying going through drawers of stuff at the moment,especially kitchen drawers:I had had a big declutter of these last Jan,it was definitely time to do again-plastic bags,dead batteries,packs of tealight candles my partner does insist on buying far too many of,odd markers,odd chargers,cameras,etc.So since last week I have now decluttered and cleaned 4 out of 6 kitchen drawers.Opened up the "junk drawer" and decided I couldn't face that today,with paper-clips,string,pins,elastic bands,sticky-tape,blue-tac....

Today I also decluttered 5yo's chest of drawers.Drawer by drawer,everything emptied out,outgrown clothes set aside for donation,purpose of each drawer re-enforced,drawers dusted and polished.
Also decluttered the other drawer in the Welsh dresser (did one yesterday.)Threw out 3 bottles of Clarkes shoe polish that hadn't been used for at least 10 years ,and hundreds and hundreds of those vouchers you get from supermarkets to get "computers for schools","sports for schools",etc.Some of them expired 5 years ago:eek:.The drawer still contains about 5 bottles of suncream (won't be buying anymore of that this summer),and about 9 pairs of swimming goggles!

When I was out and about with children I finally dropped of a HUGE bag of plastic bags to supermarket for recycling.I had been driving it around in the back of the car since about Nov-Dec last year :eek:.

GreyQueen

Evening all.

I've been working and gardening a lot so not much dejunking has been happening. Have finished one of the mini-bottles of shampoo and am halfway thru a mini bottle of conditioner, so one off the windowsill and another on the way out. Rinsed and have bottle ready to recycle.

Have managed to put a silver/ gold cake board into the recycling without too many qualms and will be getting some of those moulded plastic trays from chilled meals off the premises this weekend on a special recycling run. And some underpinnings, too.

Have almost run out of scratch paper, so must have another turf out of the files to see if I can generate any more of the stuff. I was chuffed to get an A4 flyer with one blank side from an estate agency firm today; it was quartered very quickly to write upon.:p

Have kept up with the list of the freezer contents and have given a bunch of flowers to one friend and a gift and a card to another for their birthday so it's all stuff thinning out. Plus another gift will leave this weekend and that's a bagful of stuff on its own.

Keeping pecking away at it, lovely peeps.

caitybabes

We've got two of our closest friends staying at the moment and when they arrived today I was so happy that they noticed a massive difference in the house. They are very tidy clutter free people so I have always envied their home but today I felt really proud to welcome them into our spacious, airy home as it has now become. What a transformation, it was so satisfying to have them notice too. They said "where's all the stuff gone?" - hurrah!

whitewing

Ordered a relative's birthday present from amazon, and ordered some cheap books and bits and bobs too for presents through the year. Most arrived today so the packaging is already in recycling and all the various presents are wrapped up and tagged.

DS brought the washing in earlier so I put that away as soon as I got in.

1 read book has gone to a relative.
1 cardboard tube from wrapping paper is in recycling.
3 received cards have been gift tagged now a suitable time has elapsed, and the 2 Easter cards we have received are on display.
I'm sure I've done more decluttery things than this as I have been nodding along to the posts.

caitybabes, I wish you had before and after pictures. It sounds a wonderful transformation.

Fredula

I'm not a hoarder, but we do have a lot of clutter.

I'm going to try and tempt hubby into helping me declutter before we try and move. Don't want to take it all with us.

Happygreen

Hello - I only just discovered this thread, so I'm new on here .
My kids think I'm a hoarder and I think OH is one , I just don't get around sorting all the stuff that accumulated when the kids were little. a lot of it is work related (read later...) and OH is possibly just awfully untidy....
Today I was looking for something but despaired as I had no idea in which of the 5 boxes to look for it. It is time to do something! I have already joined the no more books, dvds and toiletries threads, which I find very encouraging. I always have a bag going for the charity shop.

Saver-upper

Well,I thought I might have got abit more done than I did today,but I did do one big job,and the rest of the house is maintained,so on balance the house looks even better than when I went to bed last night.
Today I took on the sideboard in older kid's room.It is all my daughter's stuff (told son we might work on his stuff tomorrow.As you can imagine,he was thrilled with this ).
So,daughter who last week blitzed her half of the room,is away for this week.I took the opportunity to clear everything off her sideboard,which consists of the "board" part of it,plus a shelf along the top.Oooh,the dust!! So,sideboard cleared of books,papers,notebooks,diaries,photos,notes,drawing pads,ornaments,jewellery boxes,nik-naks.All dusted and polished.Then everything replaced in an order,rather than randomly chucked:collection of books by favourite author standing up straight and dusted,boxes of nik-naks straightened up,loose pens and markers put together in one of her many empty pen tins :eek:.
I opened a couple of the 6 drawers in sideboard,and they all seem to have a defined purpose,so I left them.When I get a chance I will sort out the floor under sideboard.
Then I moved across to the top of her chest of drawers,which wasn't really too bad.But it still looks better,having been cleared,dusted and polished,all hair-clips put together rather than sitting loose.
Also cleared off and polished windowsill that sideboard backs onto,and is used as an overflow :eek:.Decluttered a plant that has been dead for about 6 months,dusted ornaments and put them back where they can't really be seen.
It is funny how much comes into this house that I don't even really know where from.Found alot of ornaments and nail-polishes and toiletries that I guess grandma gives her each week when OH and kids visit.
When I'd finished (took about 1.5 hours)room looked alot better.Must start nagging son though,to reap the full benefit :rotfl::rotfl:

softpad

Well done everybody and keep it up as I love reading all of your posts. I really think that this clutter and hoarding is part of a greater problem (for me at least and I don't know if anyone can relate). I have been very overweight (for me), depressed, totally unmotivated and this has led to more mess, more eating, more clutter, less cleaning and it is a vicious cycle.

HOWEVER

My washing up ethic is brilliant. There is never a dirty pot in the kitchen as I wash everything immediately. I got rid of my washing up bowl as I just fill it. So, I just have the sink in which I wash up. That washing up bowl was a very bad thing. Don't you just fill them up and wait till you have a full bowl to wash up?? They also get full of rancid smelly water as you leave things to 'soak' when really you are just procrastinating about washing things. Another happy thing about all this washing up is that I have realised I have far too much. When you don't do the washing up, you use all the pots, glasses, cups until you don't have any clean ones and then wash them in a major session (I am sure some of you can relate). Now, I have decided to get rid of a lot of my glasses and cups. I just don't need 30 glasses when there are two of us, even different ones ie wine glasses. So, I have had a massive cull of stuff and have lots more room which is then easier to keep clean!! I really have been brutal. After all, I am not storing things to keep till I die and if I don't use them, they go. Simple as that and really freeing. I can go and make a cup of tea, prepare food, make bread, and everything is clean and there for me to do it.

As a result I am eating better and feeling better. I have started a vitamin supplement regime to make me feel better and am taking Pharmaton and have had Metatone tonic (vit B complex, minerals and iron as I was deficient). This has really made a HUGE difference as I have energy now to do things and am not literally dragging myself around all day. They were expensive but by golly it was worth it.

I see things for what they are now, with a different perspective.

by 730 this morning I had fed all the pets, unblocked and cleaned an outside drain, put a load of washing on, made my hubby's lunch and sent him off to work and hoovered. I feel SO much better, I hope some of my hints help somebody. xx

GreyQueen

caitybabes wrote: »

We've got two of our closest friends staying at the moment and when they arrived today I was so happy that they noticed a massive difference in the house. They are very tidy clutter free people so I have always envied their home but today I felt really proud to welcome them into our spacious, airy home as it has now become. What a transformation, it was so satisfying to have them notice too. They said "where's all the stuff gone?" - hurrah!

:T Oh what a glorious compliment, I bet you were made up. The joy of being released from CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome).

And well done everyone else, there's some inspiring progress here. Isn't it amazing how decluttering is like a snowball and once you start rolling it, it picks up speed and almost happens automatically.

Re having too many drinking glasses, pots and pans, mugs etc. I helped a friend move flat and she had 30+ (mismatched) dinnerplates. For one person who didn't have a home big enough to entertain more than another 5 people at a pinch. And over 50 mugs and a similar amount of drinking glasses. By gum, I got to hate crockery and stuff as I packed the contents of her kitchen and then (tried to) unpack it into the new kitchen at the other home. These things must breed in kitchens, that's the only possible explanation.

I have 8 glasses, only 2 of which match each other, but will be thinning the herd through natural attrition. It's so right, it there's another clean item there, you will tend to reach for it rather than do the dishes, and that's how you end up with your kitchen awash with dirtied items and your soul sinking through your boots.

I have 2 c.s. bags waiting to go but these will now have to wait until after the Bank Holiday weekend as my travels in the next few days aren't taking me in that direction at all and I don't have time to spare to make a special journey. Will aim to get them gone next week, though.

Will be taking a book back to my brother after reading it and getting the gift (which is a bagful itself) out today. Have mostly made a clean sweep in the kitchen before work so will finish up in there before I head out the door.

Plus I ironed. Give the girl a putty medal. Keep up the momentum, one and all, now matter how modest, out is out. GQ xx