Hoarding - Springing Ahead

Happygreen

Thriftwizard, I am glad you mentioned that chucking things indiscriminately might not be a great idea for all. Many times we are glad we have an item to fix something else with or replace one that broke. OH kept a tabletop which is exactly the right size to be used a replacement roof for the duck house, lol. There are too many examples here to list....
DD2 will move out next month and many kitchen doubles with go to her student pad. We will start packing soon

thriftwizard

News! DS2 and TDiL have filled in forms & paid a deposit for a sweet little (rented) home of their own, in a village four miles away. Hoping like mad that there will be no hiccups... however, it's a "no benefits" property & they were virtually the only potential tenants who are both working. If all goes according to plan, they'll move in on 1st December. Then I can really get stuck in, though I've continued to pick away at the edges of the mess all along. I have plans for their room that involve FLOOR SPACE!

I have decided that I'm going to put my foot down hard about certain pieces of furniture that are hanging around, hogging space that's much-needed for current uses. Yes, we spent money on them, 30 years ago to do a specific job in a house we haven't lived in for 25 of those. They can GO now because they don't work here. I'm hoping that DS2 might take on a couple of them, as that'll make the "loss" easier for OH, but TBH I don't care where they go as long as they're being some use to someone, and I would like the kids to have their own choice of stuff & not feel obliged to take on stuff they don't like.

Interestingly, my middle brother has recently retired down to this area, and it took them 3 overnight lorry-loads to get all their stuff down from Surrey. They've moved from a 5-bed Arts & Crafts mansion (which went with his job) to a pleasant 5-bed modern house, without realising the vast difference in room sizes... there's furniture in every nook & cranny, the garage is full, and even the greenhouse is now fully-furnished! As my elder brother did exactly the same two years ago, it seems that this tendency to bite off more than we can chew runs firmly in my family. Only my youngest brother has it under control, and he makes his own furniture...

However I was very encouraged to read one of those Facebook memes last night, about what you need to think about/do before you downsize. Apart from running two cars, which is still very much a necessity for us, I could tick all the boxes already. Not that we're in much danger of being able to downsize for several years yet, but it's nice to know that we'd be well-organised if we could!

seven-day-weekend

Hi there, just to say that the hoarder friend I asked advice about a few pages back has dropped out of circulation (she has done this before). She stopped coming to Job Club after saying she loved it, and has not replied to my texts until weeks later when she doesn't have to reply to anything I asked her.

I think, although it was initiated by her, the thought of her brother helping her and me talking to her about it, was all too much so she has gone into her shell again. I think also perhaps she told me more than she intended and is now feeling uncomfortable about it.

I think I will just keep in touch with the occasional non-committal text.

On a slightly more humorous note, a friend who has had hoarding problems in the past, and is still very untidy, visited us yesterday, at our static caravan in North Wales.

She'd only been in the place two minutes and the table was cluttered with assorted bags and dog paraphenalia, and her coat was on the sofa. I even said 'shall I hang your coat up in the hall for you?' and she said, no just leave it where it was.

WhilstI thought it was quite funny I don't think I will EVER understand it, especially when she wouldn't let me hang her coat up!

Gingernutty

I've packed up all my stuff and moved into a three room flat for building works on the house.

Only the essentials are with me and the rest is in storage.

It took less than two days to pack and dismantle everything and storage fees are less than £50 a month.

I've continued to lose weight and a huge portion of my wardrobe has gone. A suitcase of clothes is waiting to go to the charity shop.

It's only waiting for the last of the too big clothing to be washed and dried before it all goes.

I've lost so much weight, but I'm still looking at the same flabby me in the mirror.

I was in denial about how big my old clothes are until I got a wake up call one morning.

I was wearing my 'old' size 16 knickers and a pair of loose 1980s style charity shop trousers that were so loose, the crotch was lower than it should have been.

I say 'old' as I had only bought them new this year and was trying to get some wear out of them.

As I walked into town, I could fell my knickers falling down but as I was wearing trousers, that was OK.

But the trousers were too loose as well and the crotch was almost to my knees.

Trying to climb stairs into the shopping centre was like wearing a tight hobble skirt.

I had to buy some smaller knickers. Luckily M&S had some reduced and I was able to change into a pair in their toilets.

When I got home, I had a proper 'try on' of all my clothes and I realised that a huge portion of them made me look ridiculous.

A large section of my wardrobe was bought brand new and some of the clothes had only been worn a few times.

For certain items, I could count the number of times I wore them on the fingers of one hand.

Each item in the wardrobe had been carefully chosen in accordance with my new non hoarding principles. There had been no impulse purchases and nothing from Primark, Peacocks or Aldi.

It was very upsetting to realise that even though none of my clothes were 'poor quality' or weren't good to look at, they'd had to go as they were no longer useful.

More money wasted.

I've bought new coats, woollies and trousers from charity shops and these have been filling the rails as the sleeves have been adjusted/hems shortened.

Lesson learned - Don't have too much. You won't get around to using it all.....

Gingernutty

One overloaded wally trolley including three pairs of shoes and a couple of CDs to the local BHF today.

Yay!

Gingernutty

......aaaaaaaand I've found another size 20 T-shirt just as I thought I got rid of everything that was too big. :mad:

Gingernutty

Nope. Found a size 18 T-shirt lurking at the bottom of the laundry bin. :mad:

Gingernutty

Six pairs of shoes after foot problems mean that they're too narrow and won't fit.

A pile of clothes including two T-shirts, a vest, two cardigans and an 'office smart' top I shrank out of.

A pile of plastic bags for the Sainsbury's bag bin.

Batteries

An empty nasal inhaler for the pharmacy to dispose of.

Two DVDs

greenbee

You're doing really well Gingernutty. Every item out is a win.

thriftwizard

Well done, Gingernutty!

Massive steps forward here now. DS2 & TDiL moved out on 1st Dec, and I took about 75% of their remaining stuff over to them yesterday. Which was a full van-load, up to the lid in places... it included several bags which I'm pretty sure were just rubbish, but I didn't want to inadvertently throw out anything precious. The room that they've moved out of is in the process of becoming a calm and peaceful second living room (the main one is just 12' x 12', which is quite small for a big family; this one is the same size) and guest bedroom; I can't redecorate it until a damp issue in one corner has been resolved, but I will post a pic of the room in a couple of days, when I've finished making cushions etc. The main living room (altogether livelier in mood) has remained clean & tidy since they went; no coke bottles/sweet wrappers/dirty plates to pick up every morning!

The conservatory & porch are still hanging onto their excess contents like mad, though. I've stopped acquiring random stock, as the market has slowed right down, so I'm being very much more selective about what I buy in and am aiming to limit my stuff to only what will fit in my stock shed. I've given away some of the unsold stuff, and will sort out a fair bit more to dispose of after Christmas, but I am still buying in the odd high-quality item; I do still make money doing this, at the end of the day, and I enjoy doing it.

Best of all, the fabric hoard is dwindling down a bit; between making cushions & curtains for the room and a couple of quilts, I'm not going to have to panic & move everything round yet again to put my brother up in that room over Christmas. DS1 will be in the "new" room, as he needs desk & speaker-space for his music kit. (Writes & re-writes music for a living)

But I still have to battle not to try to save all the good stuff I see being thrown out. It will always be a struggle for me, but the last two and a half years have made me resolute; my family & I deserve a decent, liveable home that's easy to keep clean & tidy, and if that means letting good furniture & still-useful tools going to waste in front of my eyes, well, so be it...