Hoarding - Springing Ahead

pigpen

Bed and mattress decamped to DS1.

5 more bits thrown in chazzer bag.
10 items on ebeast today.
binbag filled and binned.

The downstairs is definitely getting emptier.. the rest of the house isn't though.. yet..

I found myself looking at a loft conversion I can't afford earlier with a wistful thought about more space for mess and people.. I'd put the 2 boys up there.. like bats!

sugarpuss27

Started de-cluttering the loft a few weeks ago so we could insulate over the rafters as the draught fair wipes through the hatch and down the stairs. DH had said that there was defo no more room for the empty boxes that I insist on keeping in case something needs to be returned! I begged to differ! well on stealing myself to go into the loft, hate heights and steps come down over the stairwell.... Feeling giddy just thinking about it. I saw what he meant. we only have a small terraced house with small loft space but along with loads of other carp were boxes upon boxes! I had even saved the enormous box that the petrol lawnmower had come in some 3 yrs ago. I can hear my self saying it...... It may come in handy if we need a box!!!!! Well we filled that and the back of the car with flattened boxes. Then retired to broach again this week. DH is really looking forward to that.

Happygreen

sugarpuss27, I'm definitely with you on the boxes front. I write a date on them for how long the warranty is, after that box gets used to store other stuff or like just yesterday to help DD1 move to Uni.....
The car was filled to the top but does my house look any less cluttered??? Most of her stuff obviously came out of her room but she took some cooking items from the kitchen. At least I'm no longer doubled up on pots and pans, some mugs I hate found a new home in the communal kitchens, yippieh.

pavlovs_dog

shredded my way through a pile of paper as I caught up with the thread. Glad to head everyone is making progress.

I'm back to school now so major decluttering is on hold for the next seven weeks. Instead I'm in maintenance mode, trying to keep on top of what comes into the house. School related paper is a big source of potential clutter, with digital clutter just one step behind. I'm trying to operate a 'touch once' policy and keep on top of things.

My gumtree items are shifting slowly. I'll be glad to see the back of them when the rest go.

Need to arrange for FIL to come round and do some DIY bits, as that will clear a few 'project in waiting' hotspots.

Buffythedebtslayer

Hello.


I am Buffythedebtslayer and I am a hoarder.


Or I am really lazy. But I suspect it is a hoarding thing.


I need help!


I have so many plans. But never finish anything. And I am back at work now so have no time.


I am so afraid I am really going mad here with all this mess and rubbish in plastic boxes of all colours. Things I am going to sell but never do. And just stuff. lots and lots of stuff.


It isn't normal. at all.


so any advice?

pigpen

My advice.. pick up the boxes of stuff you put by to never sell .. put them in the car and drop them at the charity shop.. OR ... put them all in one downstairs room, ring the chazzer and have them collect.. don't look at it, don't procrastinate over it.. just let it go, set it free to its new life with someone who loves and appreciates it. It is so very hard the first few times but in the end it is easy.. promise!!

parsniphead

Buffy

I kept stuff for years to sell but never managed to do it. In the end I just had to bite the bullet and donate or throw away the stuff which was rubbish. I feel OK about getting rid of it as it was just a weight on my shoulders.

I think it's just finding a way which is acceptable for you. Good luck in getting started with sorting everything.

I need to get the stairs cleared today....again and give the upstairs a good polish and vacuum.

GreyQueen

Hi Buffy, welcome to the thread.

I'd concur with the others; if you haven't managed to sell it and it's driving you spare, let it go. If it helps, imagine what it'd go for, minus your costs in getting it sold/ posted, and work out how much you'd 'make' from its sale.

£1 an hour for your time? Or 20p? Could even be a negative value. Oftentimes, we're heartsick at money wasted on stuff we don't want, probably shouldn't have bought in the first place. We've all been there and done that.

What you need to do, in order to move past this, is to forgive yourself for errors of judgement. Money spent isn't coming back and all you're achieving by having the stuff underfoot is practical inconvenience and emotional distress. Let it free into the wild and eventually the memories will fade and you'll stop tormenting yourself.

Regarding lack of time, how about setting yourself a 15-30 minute daily session? Program it into your evening. One thing my Dad told me about life was Just because you can't do it all, doesn't mean you can't do something.

He was talking in the context of allotment gardening, but it carries over for all walks of life and habits. Can you spare a few mins for a decluttering task? Or piece a bigger task into few-minutes-a-day sessions? 30 mins a day is 3.5 hours a week, after all. I bet you can and you'll feel much better in yourself if you do something rather than succumb to overwhelm and be paralysed with the impossibility of it all.

Good luck!

topbargainhunter

Coming out of lurkdom to say, you don't need to keep the boxes for things just in case they stop working. If the item is under warranty you can still take it back without the packaging. Retailers only expect it back in it's original packaging if you want to return it for a refund (usually within 28 days of purchase). This is so they can re-sell it. I always keep my receipt for electricals etc, but chuck the box as soon as I've made sure it's working and that I definitely want to keep it.

MyHappinessProject

GreyQueen wrote: »

Hi Buffy, welcome to the thread.

I'd concur with the others; if you haven't managed to sell it and it's driving you spare, let it go. If it helps, imagine what it'd go for, minus your costs in getting it sold/ posted, and work out how much you'd 'make' from its sale.

£1 an hour for your time? Or 20p? Could even be a negative value. Oftentimes, we're heartsick at money wasted on stuff we don't want, probably shouldn't have bought in the first place. We've all been there and done that.

What you need to do, in order to move past this, is to forgive yourself for errors of judgement. Money spent isn't coming back and all you're achieving by having the stuff underfoot is practical inconvenience and emotional distress. Let it free into the wild and eventually the memories will fade and you'll stop tormenting yourself.

Regarding lack of time, how about setting yourself a 15-30 minute daily session? Program it into your evening. One thing my Dad told me about life was Just because you can't do it all, doesn't mean you can't do something.

He was talking in the context of allotment gardening, but it carries over for all walks of life and habits. Can you spare a few mins for a decluttering task? Or piece a bigger task into few-minutes-a-day sessions? 30 mins a day is 3.5 hours a week, after all. I bet you can and you'll feel much better in yourself if you do something rather than succumb to overwhelm and be paralysed with the impossibility of it all.

Good luck!

Thanks GreyQueen , that is fab advice for me...about loads of areas in my life.
I am always making lists of 'things to do'. Then I feel overwhelmed and don't get any of it done.
Recently I have been aiming to do seven small things a week -One thing a day. That way I achieve everything I have set myself to do that week and anything else I get done is BONUS...Positive result helps me feel positive....It definitely works! rather than feeling a failure every day/week, I am a SUCCESS!!