Hoarding - Springing Ahead

RadioHorse

catshark88 wrote: »

Does anyone else get that feeling (post a big clear out) of why on Earth didn't I deal with that ages ago?

Absolutely! I did that today - built the last bit of IKEO furniture that was still hanging around, emptied the fridge, and did lots of tidying. Mother's new study/guest bedrroom is currently about 80% ready for guests! I call that a reasonable success. :A

Oh, and we got rid of a huge lot of cardboard and broken plastic shelves to the tip via my brother's car!

I wish we'd have done it yesterday but eh, there's always time next weekend. I see everybody did awesome, this last week. I'll go back and have a read through properly!

Wish us luck, people, if you could. Trying to buy a house so the grandparents can move closer. We put our bid in yesterday, but we've heard nothing. *praying* :eek:

GreyQueen

Good luck with the house you made the offer on, RadioHorse.

Well, I'm looking around at my tidy sitting-room and thinking that I should really live like this more often.............:rotfl:

Seriously, the sofa is clear but for a cushion, the table is clear but for the breakfast bits which will be washed-up soon and its all so soothing.

Yesterday afternoon, I was doing a last tidy around prior to my pals coming over for 5 pm and I had a small molehill of kipple on the table. I'm sure you've seen similar; mixed lot of small misc, papers, etc. Some may be important, some are clearly not, but sorting takes time and time is just what you don't have at that moment.

I quickly grabbed a couple of things out of there and put them away or thru the shredder, boxed the rest (box is about 6 x 8 inches) and popped it onto my bed to keep it away from the guests. Had to bring it thru again after they'd gone (on account of sleeping in the bed, natch) and grabbed another couple of things from it to de-kipple.

This morning, I took a moment to glance thru an official letter in there, realise that I'd dealt with it and it wasn't a keeper, so will shed that. Plus, whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, hauled a kipple pile off the corner of my desk and sorted it into scrap paper (which I keep in a fruit punnet in the cupboard and use constantly) and shreddables. I shall shred at a civilised hour, bit too early yet, might disturb a neighbouring flat.

All of this activity has caused me to have a few Thoughts. Which were probably had a long time ago by the tidy people of the planet;

1. It's easier to deal with papery stuff when you first get it, rather than opening it, parking it, putting mugs on top of it and eventually de-kippling it.

2. Clutter begets clutter, therefore even small pieces sitting on otherwise uncluttered surfaces are important. A flat clear surface is soothing to the eye and a cinch to clean in seconds. A cluttered surface looks terrible and takes forever to deal with. Plus I feel like a slob.

I am really really going to try hard to keep the sofa and the small table clear. It won't be easy as it's running contrariwise to my nature, but life is so much easier when you can use things for the purposes which they were intended, hey? :rotfl:

parsniphead

catshark88 wrote: »

Does anyone else get that feeling (post a big clear out) of why on Earth didn't I deal with that ages ago?

Yes definately catshark88. I've thrown loads lately which feels good but what surprises me is I can't remember what so it must not have been important.

GreyQueen, the paper thing drives me mad. When I started in my cellar months back(still not finished) I found carrier bags full of paper. Most of it flyers, menus and free papers.........why did I not just chuck them straight away? Now a flyer comes through the door and flys straight to the recycling bag.

Shredding I struggle with and it tends to pile up.

I'm going to finish my sewing room today. Yes, yes I know I have been on about it for weeks but I have decided it's time for some me time and this is going to be it. I want somewhere nice, relaxing and well organised to work.

Happygreen

I'm so with you on the paper issue....I think I always had that idea that I would read anything printed and if I don't have the time straight away it went onto a pile. So there are started articles everywhere and particular sections of newspapers I want to get through....we had to move tons of the stuff when DD2 wanted to play a game from the games chest, I was seriously embarrassed, time to do something

GreyQueen

parsniphead wrote: »

GreyQueen, the paper thing drives me mad. When I started in my cellar months back(still not finished) I found carrier bags full of paper. Most of it flyers, menus and free papers.........why did I not just chuck them straight away? Now a flyer comes through the door and flys straight to the recycling bag.

:T Attagirl!

I get flyers for pizza and fliers for religion and flyers for double-glazing (fully double-glazed council block) and flyers to make money delivering flyers. It's a mad mad world. They go straight into the recycling. I spat a phone book out a couple of weeks back so fast it didn't have time to get comfortable.

I sometimes imagine myself as a cartoon defender at the gatehouse of a cartoon castle, trying to keep all this stuff out. Best to treat it like toxic waste and not to let it settle or it'll stick. I've been registered with the mailing preference service for more than a decade, so don't get direct mail, but do get random stuff.

FWIW, fellow leafletting citizens, I don't have a TV and don't want S K Y sub stuff, I don't want to look around your medieval church or take the Alpha Course, or buy pizza or indian takeaways, or earn £500 per week delivering leaflets (yeah, right :cool:) or any of the other of this carp. I am a marketeer's nightmare, me.

Have just made another pass over the desk and have decided that several photos of the Tower of Pisa on a grey day can go. Yes, it is leaning, but there are no shortage of better pix in the world, and the only one with me in the foreground (proving I was indeed there) is a terrible shot and I look awful. So I shredded it.

Have also binned the postage stamp sized post-it pad from the Christmas cracker a coupla years ago and another small post-it pad off a training course which got tea spilt on it and is all wrinkled.

Which was kept because it was a) a post-it pad and b) a freebie.

I did manage to leave a training course in the past 12 months without taking a little rubber humanoid back to the office. We have enough clutter without mini people. They tend to crowd out our dressing-up box if we don't watch it.

Have got a few pix of the allotment floating about, sort of before-during-and-after shots, which I keep to give heart to new plotholders when they are having forty-fits at how nice my plot looks compared to theirs. Very few things look as bad as the before shots.

Mum has promised me a small, handbag style photo album from hers when I mentioned buying one to hold these, so will keep them handy and hope to see her this weekend.

Have also re-album-ed the great-grandparents and a few other bits which were floating around have now floated into the bin.

Trouble is with misc small carp is that we know what it is, and others don't. And so many things which are bits of other things look like the Might Be Important. Which means that no one will ever dare discard them on the off-chance that they are the critical bit of misc which will keep a priceless item in service - in our dreams.

I have also un-procrastinated writing a 2-line business letter, realised the building it's going to is a 3 mins diversion off my walking commute to work, so will spare a stamp and hand-deliver it tomorrow. Which means that the several bits of paperwork related to it can now be filed in A Safe Place.

Never gonna see them again, then..........:p

catshark88

The power of the committed declutterer is as nothing, compared with the chaos making powers of 2 small, happy children....

Catshark's deep thought of the day. ;-)

thriftwizard

Oh dear... I've done it again. Went down to the Tip with a bootload of kipple, and returned with a car full of fabulous 1950s fabric and a small but stylish kitchen table!

I do not need a kitchen table, no matter how stylish or how pretty the formica top. I have a whacking great pine one, and only so much room in my kitchen. I shall have to sell it forthwith, which means bringing something else back from one of the stalls... undoubtedly it will make me money & bring gladness to someone else's heart, but will I ever learn not to bite off more than I can chew?!

Happygreen

After a week or so of having been sidetracked by room disasters I have now taken the plunge into the box and after 3 hours sorting I actually found those crucial papers for the solicitor, phew....On the road for 2 days but I will get back in there to sort more papers out for the fire and folders (I hope I'll make the right choices and not get them mixed up, lol).
Next step is the top of the wardrobe, which houses guitar cases (DD2 needs one soon), the violin which needs a new string fitted. I'll leave it down and maybe start playing again when everyone is out , and the old record player which needs the cables checked if it can be attached to a converter. I'll get it all done eventually!

thriftwizard

Apparently, we did need a small blue formica-topped 1950s kitchen table. It's vanished into DD1's room to be her worktable; it's just the right size & height for a sewing machine/laptop/typewriter & she can keep pens, bobbins etc. in the little drawer. In exchange I have removed a purple ottoman & taken it, along with a Lloyd Loom one, to be refurbished by one of my fellow-traders. I've also dropped off 3 huge pairs of velvet curtains and a big blanket with another trader; they will all be turned into the most adorable cuddly toys. But sad to say, when I took the Lloyd Loom ottoman out of the garage, there were two big bags of gorgeous fabric inside... they've gone into DS1's room. Some will be sold on, but some kept & used. Well, at least there's a bit more space in the garage now. And in my car...

GreyQueen

Nice on with the Formica table. I was mentally seeing one that I used to own - co-incidentally also blue topped but minus a drawer so not the same one. I'm rather partial to Fifties kitchenalia.

Flat continues to be tidy. I had a fast turnaround yesterday between work and archery class, and the floor was peppered with a few bits and needed vacuuming, as it does every couple of days. Normally it wouldn't have been done as the items living on the floor would have made it a tiresome obstacle course.

But, in the new life, the floor was clear, so the vac came out and was whizzed around and put away with plenty of change from 5 mins. Deep joy.

A week ago, I had a catalogue from a shop where I do biz from time to time. I reduced it by half by ripping out the sections related to things I'm not going to be interested in (like childrenswear and pet stuff) and shelved it because there was one thing in there I might buy.....

This morning, I think, beggar it, it can all go. The one thing has its price and brand lodged in my head, if I want it, I can go up to the shop and get it (after checking I can't get it elsewhere at a better price, of course).

Unexpected visitors normally catch me with the sitting-room untidy. Since it's been tidy, I haven't had any visitors. I think I shall have to demand that friend and neighbour SuperGran (major neat freak, bordering on minimalist, motto I can't be doing with clutter ) get herself over here to admire the wide open spaces before I fall off the Tidy Wagon.

Hokay, gotta get to work, laters my lovelies, have a good one. GQ xx