Hoarding - Springing Ahead

parsniphead

It's nice to see this thread again and that people are plodding on.

I challenged myself to a 30 bags in 30 days challenge. I managed 15 bags in 8 days, then came to a grinding halt after coming down with the lurgy. I really need to start over again. It was really motivating me.

My sewing room is still :eek::eek::eek:. Its needs sorting if i ever want to start building my business properly.

One day i will be organised.

mothernerd

I know the feeling parsniphead. Everything is fine until I take something out to use it - might need several pieces to determine whch is best, then need threads - I am trying not to start anything until I have used all the threads associated with a particular piece and had several periods where I have tried to 'use up' a pile of small leftover pieces and the 'leftover threads' - short lengths, some not labelled.

Made a massive effort a few weeks ago to seperate out into categories and keeping them in seperate bags for now, but I am sure they come out to play at night or when my back is turned. This room was originally (pre-children) supposed to be a sewing room / study - if only there was somewhere else to put me and my bed there would be loads of room.

I've also been helping out at a crafts session for people with mixed abilities - one girl is blind and has some problems with her hands, one lady is in a wheelchair and has had a stroke so only has the use of one hand - again I have pulled things out from my stores - bits of fabric, card, stuffing, threads that people could use. I am also building up templates and instructions for if I am unable to help in future years, stars and trees before Christmas etc.

If only we didn't craft - but then our stress levels would rise and maybe there would be a GTA style killing spree.

parsniphead

If only we didn't craft - but then our stress levels would rise and maybe there would be a GTA style killing spree.

Too true mothernerd. I would have lots of space but be very grumpy indeed.

DS's toys are another issue. They get everywhere even though he has moved to a bigger bedroom. I get too emotional about things, especially earlier toys but he has chosen a few to donate. I'm going to have to toughen up if I ever want to get this house sorted.

I'm starting my 30 bags in 30 days challenge today. I'm aiming for two bags today and two tomorrow. Then if I can get I to the sewing room I can completed some work and get paid for it.

I'm starting to see deterioration in my house and I need to get things fixed before it goes too far.

I wish I was a neat freak.

mothernerd

I might do the 30 bags in 30 days - but only because one of the charity shops wants carrier bags and, despite a large selection of reusable bags, those two keep bringing more carriers in (unless I stand over them at the door holding the bags for them to take).

parsniphead

30 carrier bags of clutter is much more achieveable than bin bags.....well for me anyway.

mothernerd

Doing my bit to keep this thread going. DS3 and Beloved have gone to a convention for the day. Curtains and window in their bedroom opened as they went out the door at 6.30am and downstairs as well. Put a load of washing in the machine and brought breakfast back upstairs to have with morning pills. Read for a bit then had another go.

I have filled a papersack since Wednesday (keep going through a tray or pile of paperwork and thinning out - will start sorting once the obvious discards are gone. Put a plate (breakfast), bowl (supper) and 2 empty cans from my room into a jumbo bag for life and have filled it with bottles and cans from their room (+ 1 fork so still 9 hidden around the house).

Worked my way to the far side of her desk and found the mini dalek was overflowing so used a bag their pillows came in (her mother sent them more bedding to be collected from our Arg*s) and filled it with dalek offerings (some cans into the other bag) and random bits from the floor. Also swept under the bed - going back to sort later and will do the same exercise downstairs.

Resting now as my back is aching. Really want to put as much as possible into their wardrobe (s) - only the one that used to be mine has any room in it - before they come home. Try to reclaim a little space in the front room. We were hunting for a particular jumper of Beloved's last night, found part filled binbag under two bags/ suitcases that have fallen off the couch - some stuff from when she first moved in but parents have brought her back twice from visits with more of her stuff from their attic.

Kitchen needs attention too - I have been chipping away at the washing up mountain all week (wasn't well last week and need to catch up - as well as finding a basic minimal routine that gets me through the bad weeks).

Serious de-clutter is needed - some stationery and 'decorative' items identified (don't have much, these are 'storm lantern' type candle holders but finding I am doing less 'Christmas decorating' so gradually weeding out - candles are essential but I have 3 ceramic ones which hold big candles and last throughout the twelve days rather than lots of tealights and taper candles (okay I like playing with fire) that I used to have.

Have identiifed that I need to look at my work in progress - work out how much time has been invested in each piece and how much time is needed to complete it, then make some decisions. Unused materials and threads are stored neatly - the problem is clearly when I have wip (pattern, materials, scissors and needles which easily get separated) with lots on the go at once - some complicated designs can only be worked on for short periods of time and I sometimes have a use up month going through a box of small pieces (card size) with the 'use up threads' box putting in things like a kitten's eye that need just a few stitches in green or blue.

Think the main problem is that for most of my life the materials were expensive. I had the contents of both my grandmother's embroidery supplies when I first showed an interest (mum's mum embarked on a series of evening classes after granddad died so she often had booklets with different craft ideas in eg paper flowers) and there was a stall on the market that did house clearances (bought all my cotton - 1 linen - sheets and feather quilts from there in the early eighties) and would occasionally have embroidery threads.

For years I started a project with whatever threads I had (not always the pattern colours) and then made a trip to the city/ centre with a craft shop to buy the 2 or 3 threads I was missing. It's only internet acces that has given me other people's unwanted stash and bargain lots of 'odd colours'. I want to do my own designs on-line (plus some less labour intensive pieces to sell) but have not made much progress - real life keeps getting in the way and I still find it difficult not to cave in to others demands.

I seem to take on more things every time I go to mum's - spent 2 Tuesdays there, once when she was ill and once to wait for deliveries and workmen as she had an appointment. I am currently making curtains (cutting down, trimming and then re-attaching the cut off bit as a pelmet and she has asked about the possibility of me doing her decorating when the weather improves - she will pay me for these things (she passed on the tax return yesterday, partner's daughter pulled a face until I explained I am now mum's accountant) but not sure until nearer the time whether I will have the extra energy.

I declined painting her fences last year - took me about a morning per panel when I did the ones at my old house 4 years ago, despite lots of heavy hints.

Anyway back to plodding, baby steps and purposeful pottering - I will get there in the end.

thriftwizard

I'm at it again; a sudden need to accomodate a 91 y.o. with dodgy eyesight who's not too nimble on her pins any more put a big fright into me! Mum's block of flats have developed a carpet-beetle infestation, & they've been asked to absent themselves for 24 hours whilst they're decontaminated. So she's coming here. One glance at the room I'll have to put her in - downstairs, with easy access to a loo & shower and the kitchen - and I'd identified 8 trip-hazards... so off I trotted at silly o'clock this morning to the first car boot sale of the summer. I made a fair bit of pocket-money and the room looks much safer now!

However I'm hoping this will be the first sale of many, as there's still lots to go; last year frittered away between Mum's health problems and bad weather, so we were left with a fair bit of very saleable stuff. I'm being very good & not acquiring any more, unless I'm certain it will sell quickly & I'll make a reasonable profit on it, but there's plenty of old stuff still to go. Onwards & upwards!

mothernerd

Last month my regular monthly challenge had decluttering at least one item per day as the random extra challenge. I decided to do the 1 thing on day one, 2 on day 2 etc but did it any order. Didn't meet my target of 396 for the month but it helped.

Decide to continue this month and have just found 25 items to go in the bin as there was space. Mainly old seed trays and other junk from the yard. I have started nibbling at the problem of craft supplies - sent some threads to the charity shop last month (+ bits of fabric and odd items). They were all lurid colours that came in random bundles and I decided if I hadn't used them in the last 10 years (approx), then I wasn't going to. may donate some material and threads to the embroidery group that meets at the library. They do quite a bit for raisng money for cancer charities so may donate pink threads - I seem to have lots and it's not my favourite colour.

I would like to find 'good homes' for everything but at the moment I seem to have reached crisis point (pile on the half of the bed I'm not sleeping in is reaching landslide proportions again) and I think for the sake of my mental health I just need to get rid of whatever I can.

Last month I was very sluggish again. I slept and slept however much I tried to stay awake. Seeing the doctor this week, not sure if he would increase my medication - I stopped taking the hayfever stuff as I thought that might be causing the sleepiness in cmbination with my other meds but not really noticed any improvement.

Putting my positive head on for this month. If I can get rid, i will.

Nodette

OK - I commented at the very start of this thread and then life went haywire.

We moved house 4 times in 2 years. That got rid of a LOT of stuff. Then a year ago we moved into this house and we're staying put now!!

The confession part is that we were in a 2-bedroom terraced house and hoarding was a problem (hubby & I are both hoarders). At the time I had ". . . at least 6 boxes of yarn . . . two shelves, one large bag and at least 4 boxes of fabric . . . and 2 freezers crammed full of food...."

Now we're in a house twice the size - but I have twice as much yarn, fabric and freezers!!! Not to mention other household bits & pieces.

Admittedly, much of this came to me when my mother-in-law died. Nobody else in the family did crafts of any kind, and even though we took a car full of craft stuff to charity, I kind of ended up with about 2 car-fulls of craft stuff coming home to me. And her freezer full of food. Sigh.

We recently took four boxes full of some of our own household items to the charity shop, but it hasn't really made a dent in the overall 'stuff' we have.

So here I go again trying to get rid of our excess things . . .

mothernerd - I think I'll try your idea of decluttering at least one item a day. That feels do-able.

mothernerd

Went back to the doctor this week and my medication has been increased. Had a strange week but need to get back to getting rid. I have been making a large embroidered cushion as a thank you present for my counsellor - doing Florentine embroidery (using embroidery threads not tapestry wool) and it's using up a lot of thread - over 30 skeins so far.

My son likes it, so I am thinking about starting another one in blues and greens to have at home - it makes up very quickly as each stitch goes over 6 threads. That should leave a dent in my threads. Also going to give some curtain material (already cut into lengths but was done for the old house and they are too short for the windows here). Kept telling myself it was good material but no use to me (unless I make it all into 'bags for life') so that may go this week. Two medium sized baskets full of random items went into th charity bin at the library (not as far as the shops if I have to carry something heavy) last week.