Hoarding - Springing Ahead

GreyQueen

Well, have been at my parents' place (hoarder central) for about 6 hours and we've been busy. Mum volunteered that some clothes which made the cut on the last sort-out are, on reflection, ready to leave now. So I suggested we retrieve them from her bedroom whilst the thought was uppermost.

So we got them from a storage box in her bedroom, and one thing led to another and two big boxes were cleared. Some stuff is back into circulation, several bags of stuff is cleared for donation, one bag for rag-recycling, and a calligraphy kit is on its way to the charity shops via myself.

Found an unread book which she will start next. She's being pretty good with books and putting them aside for donation as soon as they are finished. There's about a dozen piled up ready to go out tomorrow.

Also unearthed was a very very good man's wool cable-knit jumper, bought new and never used, which will be offered to a relative on Sunday as first refusal as he likes cardigans. If not wanted, it will go to c.s. Plus a two piece ensemble brought some time ago and never worn will be worn this Sunday.

If she likes it, it will stay, if it's not quite right, it gets laundered and donated.

Have also had a cull of paperwork inc supermarket vouchers to he used in 2012, Xmas deals, Easter supermarket opening hours, more vouchers expired in 2013 etc etc.

I've taken on board the donations and a small selection of jam-jars as I am planning some preserving of the allotment surplus and only have one un-used jamjar at home.

Have also had some Tesc0 vouchers and will see if I can do the exchange to get some badly-needed trews at the weekend, depending on what they have available and if it suits my needs. And have been given vouchers for the essentials in life like a free four-pinter of milk and cheaper chocolate - result!

I always end up taking stuff back to my city to donate. My reasons are two-fold. As a tax payer, I can register for Gift-Aid and the charity can get back a 25% bonus from the taxman but my parents' are retired and non-taxpayers. And, there is the thought that if I don't supervise it off the premises, it'll still be there weeks or months later.

That's not obsessive bossiness, that's the voice of experience speaking. If I hand it in myself, I know it's definately done.

Keep on with the good work, my lovelies, we can shovel it out faster than it can come in, if we keep at it. GQ xx

pigpen

1 listed am item on ebeast.. just 1.. and posted 2.. So a few bits are leaving slowly.. I have pics on lappy to get stuff listed while we are not home next week, I do need to sort the pics but I will be having the horrid things done! I'll have nothing else to do while I 'm there so I may as well do something that will make money and room!


Must sort my next knitting project too.

savingqueen

Well done to everyone for any de-hoarding done today, big or small, it all counts.

I am pleased with myself, managed to sort out a big bag of too small kids clothes whilst simultaneously packing for our holidays. Also noticed although we are far from being minimalist (VERY far) the house is overall a bit more tidy and organised. Some cupboards and drawers close easily, more things are with their "own kind" rather than being randomly stored and there is a teeny tiny amount of SPACE in some storage areas. Progress and it feels so good

silvasava

OK - Tin hat on & I'm going in! Bed stripped & in washing machine. Off to get rid of books to CS. When I get back (15 mins) I will make a chilli using chillies from my greenhouse - yay!! & then photograph fleabay stuff & CLEAR OUT KITCHEN CUPBOARD to make room for DH's car & bike maintenance books so they're off the worksurface.........I may be a while

pigpen

2 more bits thrown on ebeast.. lots more pics to list but getting through slowly..

pavlovs_dog

I'm almost at the point where the worst of our junk is confined to one room. If I manage no more major progress in the last two weeks of the holiday, I'll be pleased with having reached this far. Lots of the items in the room are parts of ongoing or future DIY jobs, so the junk will subside as projects are completed.

I've filled another bag for the charity shop, and have a load of items to photograph and list on gumtree. I've talked myself out of putting my crutches into the attic 'just in case', and will return them to the hospital next week (given that If I need crutches again, it would be both easier and more logical to go to the hospital than it would be to get into the attic ).

ivyleaf

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

I've talked myself out of putting my crutches into the attic 'just in case', and will return them to the hospital next week (given that If I need crutches again, it would be both easier and more logical to go to the hospital than it would be to get into the attic ).

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

But I do hope you'll never need them again.

DS has loads of stuff that's been in our attic for about 2-3 years, and was heard to remark recently that really he probably might just as well just go up there and throw the whole lot out, as he hasn't needed any of it after all. Mind you, when he actually gets around to doing that is another matter.

Once he's got rid of the stuff that's up there now, he reasons, he can put the stuff that's in his bedroom, into the attic, then there will be space to decorate the room, which has had bare walls for about the last 12 years (he stripped the walls with a friend's help, then somehow there was always too much stuff in the room to sort the walls out....)

GreyQueen

One of the things I've flung out was a plaster cast of my mouth, made by the dentist for a purpose which has now been satisfied. And my mouth isn't exactly the same as it was then since I've had wisdom teeth removed, so even if we needed a plaster cast, it would have to be re-done.

Sooo, not exactly something you'd want on the mantlepiece (not that I have one of those) or something you could give to a charity shop. I mean, it was perfectly white, clean and sanitary but it was my teeth, be a bit creepy having that out in public.

I flung it in the bin. Which presumably means it went into landfill where, if it survived being crushed in the bin lorry, means it may lurk still, to be recovered by some landfill miner/ archaeologist in some future time - ooooh, I'm weirding myself out here.

Have just wrapped a gift in a beautiful wooden box which has been stored for about 4 months against such an eventuality, and that will leave tomorrow. Will be taking some donations back to the city with me, will aim to get them out to the chazzer over the course of the week, probably take several trips on foot. The trick once there is to look neither left nor right and come straight out again and go home without being tempted to get one more thing..............

Bag of novels went out to the charity shop this morning, about a dozen, so that's all good.

I don't know how many of us have had the experience of having to clear out someone's home after their passing? Mostly it comes to us in middle or later life, although some poor souls have it earlier on. But what really gets you about it is the wastefulness of keeping most stuff.

Y'know, those things which weren't used after they were acquired and which sat around in homes and shed etc until Old Father Time had his wicked way with them. And they are reduced to such tatty, worm-eaten, moth-eaten nastiness that the only reasonable thing to do with them is to put them on a bonfire and be rid of them.

Other examples could be popular novels which are decades out of fashion, which were read once and shelved, clothes kept 'for best' and now useless, fancy china which glaze-cracked through lack of use, perfumes which have evaporated, toiletries which are older than King Tut, the list is endless.

And one day, my lovelies, all this may be yours. It's enough to make you want to take a swig of the bottle of 1963 port (unopened) saved from a relative's wedding. It's in the wine rack under Nan's sink - and I am NOT making that up.

skeeter93

So true, GreyQueen... I have been thinking about this a lot lately. So much stuff that we've hung onto is useless now, not even fit for donating because nobody wants it!

whitewing

We got given a new throw and 2 new cushions yesterday to match our green bedroom, so the old tatty light purple throw and brown cushions are in the car on the way to recycling as I type.

I am so pleased with the new stuff that I am still in bed, although I've been up and about since early - done two loads of washing that are on the line to get rained on this morning before it brightens up this afternoon.

Also got a new hairdryer so the old one has gone to recycling.

This is all a minor miracle as normally there is over 24 hour delay between new stuff coming in and old going out.