Hoarding - Springing Ahead

pigpen

I really need a broom strategically placing.. I've barely shifted anything.. the 5 binbags and box are still on the landing and the 2 bags for DD1 in the front room. I have 2 ebeast sale to post though

thriftwizard

Oh dear...

Our lovely neighbours have sold their house, before it even went on the market, & will be moving shortly. But they need to offload some stuff which they'd taken on from me when I downsized my stall at the Emporium; their daughter was going to "do it up" and sell it on. Which hasn't happened...

I will call in another neighbour who does actually renovate furniture & see whether she can take on some of it, but the rest, I'm afraid, will just be going down to the dump. Sad days...:(

greenbee

There isn't a small wardrobe in amongst that collection is there thriftwizard? or a small chest of drawers? or small bookshelves...

noelphobic

RadioHorse wrote: »

My mother isn't a conventional hoarder - we already have one of those in the family who thankfully does not live with us - her stuff has simply ballooned in quantity thanks to her clearing out the hoarder (who promptly reacquires more stuff *angry face*) and then a combination of ill health and IDEK. Every room is turning into a storage room.

She wants it gone but has no idea how to see it gone. I'd love to be the one to fix it, but I live over five hours away, and can't be here every day for a week to get it gone. Hence why I was thinking professionals.

In my area there is a free declutter service so possibly in other areas also. Where does your mother live?

Gingernutty

thriftwizard wrote: »

Oh dear...

I will call in another neighbour who does actually renovate furniture & see whether she can take on some of it, but the rest, I'm afraid, will just be going down to the dump. Sad days...:(

Why the dump? Can't it go to a CS?

Another item - a beautiful velvet devor! scarf. It's black, scarlet and duck egg blue and it's stunning.

It also hates me.

When I wrap it around my neck, the velvet fibres 'lock' like teeth on a ratchet and either work the scarf off my shoulders or tighten as if trying to choke me.

It's too narrow to use as a runner and, frankly, it's a piece of clothing not an ornament.

thriftwizard

Gingernutty, no, this is stuff in need of renovation; round here they'll only take stuff in tip-top condition & buyers will need cold hard cash to buy it. Said neighbour has just paid a mere £260 for a suite from one of them; not the kind of money I take on a trip to the charity shop! If I had the space & could keep it dry, I could Freegle the stuff. Sadly, though, I don't... but they can keep it dry at the Tip & some of my fellow-traders will probably pick it up there.

But I did shift 4 old garden parasols, two cast-iron bases and an extremely large box of old silk flowers onwards today. I'll be re-united with them at the summer fairs; I was asked to Womble some for our marquee if I saw them, which I duly did. They've been in our garage & porch ever since, but they're now with She Who Organises these things & I have a small amount of space back!

Gingernutty

I'm upset.

I bought a Per Una top last year when they were going through an Oriental phase. I was a size 22.

Same as this size 12 one on Eb*y.

It got a couple of wears before it got put away for the winter.

I tried it on today and it's like a tent. I could get away with an ordinary M&S size 18 or a Per Una size 20.

It has to go.

I've got to give Eb*y a try, or else this losing weight lark is going to cost me a fortune.

thriftwizard

But well done for losing all that weight, Gingernutty! I'd love to shift a few pounds off alongside my clutter, but it's just not happening although I'm pretty active. Too many missed meals and grabbed snack-substitutes in between domestic disasters! Although by & large they are fairly healthy, home-cooked snacks - they're still snacks!

It's been a flying-about sort of week so nothing much has happened on the hoard-demolishing front. Apart from my weekly trip to the market, there's nothing much on the calendar for today, though, so I'm hoping to Get Into the porch to try to tame the Hat Mountain; there are several boxes of vintage hats in there awaiting some attention! I'd like to consolidate them, work out what's worthwhile to sell on as is, put some aside for car-booting & jazz up the really boring ones with some old silk flowers. That shouldn't actually take very long; I think I've been putting it off because it's a job I'll enjoy doing, and somehow un-hoarding shouldn't be fun!

Gingernutty

thriftwizard wrote: »

But well done for losing all that weight, Gingernutty!

Thanks. I've calculated that I've lost 2st 3lb since October. Not bad.

Tonight, as it's the weekend, I'm wearing M&S Size 18 skinny fit jeans to work. I feel better about losing the tent now.

thriftwizard

A new hope dawns...

It's become apparent that thanks to the Chancellor's brainwave of giving "free" money to those saving up for their first home, we'll be playing host to DS2, TDiL and their assorted belongings for a while longer. They'd just about saved enough for a 6 month deposit on a small rental place; now they think it's not much further to go for the 5% deposit to buy, and he's just moved into a higher-paid position within his firm. I have to agree it'd be daft not to, so we'll have the pleasure of their company for a while yet...

Knowing we're stuck with the space issues for a while longer, we reluctantly decided to look at "storage" for their bits that are still in the house... and the cheapest available units big enough & with access near us were £145 per month! Admittedly that was actually bigger than we need, but they haven't had any of the smaller 8' x 8' ones available for over a year and aren't expecting any to come free anytime soon. Other places are what I call "deep" storage, where you have to pre-arrange access and are only available 9-5, which wouldn't be practical. This also tells me that this isn't really a hoarding issue, because much of the stuff is actually in use, albeit not all of the time.

So I've come up with the idea of buying a plastic shed, to pop into a little-used part of the garden, too dim to grow much in and already paved over. This can go with them when they go, if they need one, or be sold on. We can get at stuff when we need to and we/they aren't committing to any ongoing expense. It's not ideal, but should give us the space back to use the "spare" room - also my studio! - and not have to shift tons of stuff every time someone comes to stay.

Cross your fingers for us, that this will ease the situation somewhat!