Hoarding - Springing Ahead

Softstuff

As GQ knows, I'm more of a minimalist for belongings than a hoarder, but am also quite frugal with some things, and as such can be quite bad for hanging onto stuff that is certainly past its best. Such as t-shirts, that become sleep shirts but would make better sieves.... or underwear that if you had it on and were knocked down would make you crawl home rather than be seen in it.

I had a bit of a turnaround with this mentally, using the question "if you saw it in a very cheap charity shop, for a good price, and you were looking for one, would you buy it in that condition?". Quite often when that question is asked, the answer is no and it's time for a new one (at least new to me) and for the old to be binned or donated as rags. Not sure if that helps anyone, but was just putting it out there.

silvasava

I can identify with the frugal/declutter syndrome. Even though I'm getting fairly good at getting rid of the kipple my own hoarding stems from being a single mum with 2 tots in the late 60's. I think that anyone who has struggled financially NEVER loses that lurking sense that it could happen again and although I'm in a good place now recent times have made me reprise all my old habits to save the pennies. This thread has helped me sort the wheat from the chaff and as you all say - baby steps

GreyQueen

jk0 wrote: »

Hmm. Isn't getting rid of 'just in case' items the opposite of 'preparedness for when SHTF':)

I have a whole bedroom full of shelves of just in case items. Mostly electrical bits & bobs I have collected since I was about 10.

Many times something in that collection has got me out of a jam when a tenant phones to say something or other isn't working.

I'd hate not to have my 'hoard'.

There's many a time that I have been wryly amused by my presence as regular both on the Hoarders and the SHTF threads - the irony has not been missed, believe you me.

But, as the other have so ably pointed out, all stuff which is hoarded isn't going to be the things which will save the day in a crisis. You have your electrical bits and bobs, I have only few such items, contained in one shoebox along with my batteries and time switches. The reason for the difference in size of supplies is that you are a home-owner, plus you maintain your own rental properties, and you have the knowledge to do so.

I am a tenant who is forbidden to fiddle with the electics so having more than spare fuses for my appliance plugs, spare lightbulbs and bits of electrical tape would be a touch redundant and clutter in my personal circumstances.

But gawdelpyer if you tried to pry my jamjars of screws and nails, tacks, staples etc, from my allotment shed. I do use those regularly, as I do the bradawl, the hammer, the screwdrivers, the pliers and the saw which live up there.

Horses for courses, you see.

I have a chazzer donation bag sitting beside me now, which was assembled over the past few days and will leave later today. It contains the following;

1. A large format paperback crime novel, which I've read.
2. A small tray-like basket, made redundant from a cupboard sort out.
3. A fake-wood jewellery-type box.
4. A flattish plastic food storage container about 1.5 inches deep.
5. A set of measuring spoons for cooking, which I don't use.

I'm wracking my brains to think what I could do with these items in a crisis. The novel is re-readable, of course, and both it and the willow basket are burnable (although I have no fireplace). I could use the pages from the novel as t.p. substitite in the outhouse I don't have, I suppose.

But, looked at objectively, those items aren't serving any purpose here, although they will serve someone else, I'm sure. It they were carp I would be looking to recycle them not donate them.

What they are doing is complicating my life in a flat which is only 242 sq feet big and detracting a minute bit from my happiness. In the event where I had to move, they would have to be handled, bagged, boxed, loaded onto a van, contributing to the amount of fossil fuel being burned to move them, be unloaded, unbagged or unboxed and found a home for. I can feel the moving day fatigue already.

All of which would contribute to stress, aggravation and expense, such as me taking 2 trips across town when I moved from the last flat into this one, instead of just one.

In the worst-case scenario of my dying unexpectedly, my elderly parents would have to clear this rented flat in under a month and either dispose of everything or absorb it into their own small and very cluttery house. Not a fair risk to expose people in their seventies to, IMO.

I sold a laminator I wasn't using earlier this week, getting back 50% of the purchase price after nearly 5 years' ownership. That has freed up three-quarters of a shelf in a cupboard and has prevented a good item potentially dying in storage. The person who bought it was going to buy a new one, before a chance conversation revealed that I had one I didn't want, so this one being re-purposed has saved more raw materials being used to restock the laminator shop after they'd bought their new one.

Being a prepper, I am buying two one-ounce silver coins with the proceeds...............:rotfl:They're pretty, they take up very little space, they're highly-portable and may well appreciate in value over time.

catshark88

3 carrier bags went to the CS today and an unworn jacket went to a friend. Didn't really tackle a proper area though, so will need to do more this weekend...

calleyw

I am not sure if it's classed as hoarding.

But I did a stock take of my toiletries :eek:

I have two plastic storage boxes and buy things and just shove them in.

Well I have 33 razors as well as a lady shave (yes I know), 10 body puffs and too much other to mention. So I need to stop buying, Have to anyway as just about to go in to my third week with no work from the agency. So I have plenty of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner etc etc for a while.

And better not get started on face creams LOL!!!

I have written it all down what I have and what I need. So will mark things off the list as they are used up.

Need to look in my food cupboard and see what is lurking in there that I can use up or give away.

Yours

Calley

thriftwizard

TDiL and her saintly Mum have sorted out TDiL & Ds2's room; not an easy task, and not helped by DS2 who just basically tried to pretend it wasn't happening! There's a HUGE pile of bags to go to the CS. Go them! But unfortunately there's still quite a lot of their stuff elsewhere. And mine, and everyone else's...

Have had the day from h*ll (involving traffic mayhem here, a lone & vulnerable Offspring stuck on her own for hours at a big London station - her first solo jaunt up to Town, quite possibly also her last - and a mobile-phone-refusing spouse marooned on the disintegrating M25) and not got any further forward, really. A few things sorted out to Freecycle and an outstanding project just about finished, is all. But have decided that feeling downcast about lack of progress isn't going to help. Onwards & upwards...

thriftwizard

(((One thing possibly not helpful in a hoarding context - the project done & dusted today used up scraps left over from something else. Something I'm quite proud of, that I hope will be used & treasured for many years, made from bits that many would have rejected... sometimes things do come in useful! But they only became scraps 2 days ago...)))

GreyQueen

I'm sure toiletries breed behind closed doors, you never seem to buy as many as are in your bathroom, so they must be sneaking in and setting up camp when no one's looking.

I'm using up the sachets of shampoo, the amount in there is sufficient for two hairwashes (have very short hair atm). I bought these thinking they would be ideal for travel but have found them less so as I can't rip the beggars open without scissors, and taking the sachet, and scissors, into a strange shower is less convenient than just decanting some of my regular shampoo into a small bottle. So I'll use them up and call that a lesson learned.

Took my donation bag to Hoxfam and browsed onwards and found a great pair of unworn shoes, black leather with leather soles, for £4. Pretty chuffed about that, have started wearing them about the flat to acclimitise my feet to them before I hit the streets.

Managed to leave everything else which tempted me at the charity shop, though, I'm getting more discriminating in my old age..........

I have spent a bit of chilling time unpicking a load of tiny seed beads from a damaged item, so that they are now packaged in a tiny ziploc type bag to add into the next donation bag, perhaps some crafter would pay a little for them.

Well, better get offline and sort out that kitchen before bedtime, have a good one, everybody. GQ xx

thriftwizard, hugs to your family members stuck in Lunnon Town and on the M25. I detest The Smoke with a passion, so would be feeling a bit woeful if was up there myself. Hope all the strays soon come home to you.

calleyw

GreyQueen wrote: »

I'm sure toiletries breed behind closed doors, you never seem to buy as many as are in your bathroom, so they must be sneaking in and setting up camp when no one's looking.

I think you are right LOL!!!!:rotfl:

Yours

Calley

jk0

I'm always concerned that charity shops might turn their noses up at my cast offs.

Anyone else similarly concerned, or do they take everything, then chuck it away once you've left the shop?