Hoarding - Springing Ahead

mcculloch29

Gingernutty wrote: »

Another example of what we don't want to be when we grow up here. Tragic.

That's the town where I live - though thankfully, I'm in my own place across the other side of town, not in this rather run-down area of social housing. I didn't know the poor lady concerned, or her son.

I'm not sure that the hoarding shows do make light of the issue at all. The coroner made some telling comments, but I honestly don't think those criticisms are justified.

I really feel for those firefighters, some of them fitted my smoke alarms and they are a great bunch.

My cleaner commented on how my ongoing dehoarding had made life much easier for her, which was nice and an encouragement to continue, too.

mcculloch29

Picklepot wrote: »

Hi

Gingernutty ..tell me about cash converters what is it?

I have hit a brick wall ..well not literally:eek: . Help! im going round in churning circles. . My brain then thinks i cant throw anything out because i cannot buy anything new at the moment.. so maybe if i keep it, fix it, dry clean it and so it goes on...Churning queen returns!

I need to break this cycle and get into a routine.Any pointers??

Cash Converters buy your surplus electrical appliances, musical instruments, etc.

Picklepot, if the stuff is lying unused now, what makes you think it will be needed? The chances are you have more than one jacket for work for example, and you can only wear one at a time. What circumstances will lead to the items currently being used becoming unavailable for use?

Have a piece of paper with two columns, in one you write the issue around the hoarded item (eg 'I need to hold on to this FM radio in case the hi-fi goes kaput') and the other with the opposing facts. ('I'm never in to listen to the radio anyway, so I wouldn't miss not being able to listen', or 'I can listen to the radio via digital TV, internet etc..')

It's a tried and tested strategy, which you can play out in your head if you don't want to write things down. HTH. Good luck.

Gingernutty

Picklepot wrote: »

Gingernutty ..tell me about cash converters what is it?

Cash Converters are a pay day loan, pawn shop and secondhand store. They're not lovely people, but it's a little extra cash without going for the car boot or Ebay options.

They offer you about one tenth to one half what they'll sell your goods for and about 50p per disc (Games, DVDs or CDs).

If you've got computer games or expensive box sets of CDs or DVDs, then Music Magpie may offer more but you need to fulfill certain conditions (minimum number of items, certain value threshold etc).

I got £9 for 6 CDs, 1 DVD and a 4MP digital camera with extra memory cards, a spare battery and camera case.

I also got rid of 4 dud batteries and an empty medicine bottle at Boots.

lobbyludd

or read through a couple of pages of this thread find something that doesn't fill you with horror (i.e. start easy) and get rid of it wholesale, quickly, by whichever means gives you the quickest emotional payoff.

might be carrier bags, an old underwear drawer (me!), a box that hasn't been opened for 5 years and therefore nothing inside it is vital.

I find when I'm struggling that sorting through things or doing a pro/cons list invests too much emotional energy and it's exhausting and I stall again. So (again, for me) it's best to just get rid of something without thinking about it at all, no sorting, straight to the bin/cs/whatever, when I'm more in the swing of it, i'm more able to tackle the harder-have-to-sort-through things.

different things will work best for each of us, so remember whatever you do is worth celebrating

last of ex's stuff into storage today, I've given him 8 weeks, then I'm going to give it all to a charity that will collect (50sqft storage unit, rammed mostly with furniture) or freecycle to the first person who can collect.

boot load of very old (12 year plus!) paint tins in colours I don't like (that I was keeping why?) to recycling centre today and 5 bags of shredding divorce papers yesterday to bin men.;)

think I'm going to have a week's break from dehoarding as haven't done any normal housework for ages, and as there's more space and room, it should be quicker, but I can see that much more that needs cleaning!

Gingernutty

Picklepot wrote: »

Hi

I have hit a brick wall ..well not literally:eek: . Help! im going round in churning circles. Very work stressed, house sliding into chaos again dont know where to start. Just started full time job after many years of part time.

I have being reading all the posts and inspired and so pleased for those of you that are making huge inroads despite difficult circumstances.

So why cant i do it?

I know what the main triggers are.. initial extra expenditure until full time wage comes in (have to work month in hand) having to buy extra work clothes, extra fuel in car, extra food shopping to meal plan, but holidays looming which will swallow extra wage etc all the usual expenditure which makes me go into poverty mode. My brain then thinks i cant throw anything out because i cannot buy anything new at the moment.. so maybe if i keep it, fix it, dry clean it and so it goes on...Churning queen returns!

I need to break this cycle and get into a routine.Any pointers??

Try here, here, here, here or here.

Honestly? A lot of the hints and tips are the same.

The big questions for me when I'm shopping are

Can it go in the washing machine? - If the answer to this is "no" then it can stay in the shop.

What kind of care does it need? - If it's covered in sequins and beads that'll fall off if I'm not careful wearing it and washing it, if it requires ironing (cotton, linen or silk) every time it's washed, if it looks like it'll bleed dye or if it's pure white and looks like it'll grey then it can stay in the shop too.

Will it fit? - I'm short and round. The arms have to be 3/4 length and the size around 20-22 for a start.

What adjustments need to be made if it doesn't fit? - If the sleeves of a coat need shortening, then, once bought, the coat goes round to the dry cleaners/tailors before I take it home. It doesn't get taken home until it's wearable. I have to factor in the cost of adjustments to the total cost of the item.

If you're at home and you're looking at an almighty pile of clothes you've had for a while

Is it clean? - If no, wash it or take it to the dry cleaners.

If you're so skint that you can't afford the dry cleaning, ask yourself if you really need something that you can't afford to keep clean.

It's only going to hang around the house, dirty, until you either scrape the money together to get it cleaned or you get so fed up with seeing it that you get rid of it. Unless it's a very special garment, say, your only smart woollen winter coat, save the hanging about and get rid.

If it's clean, does it need ironing? - Put it in the ironing pile and set aside some time to do it. You need to be strict with yourself otherwise a large portion of your wardrobe is going to be left in a pile, gathering more creases as more and more clothes get piled on top of it.

Does it actually need ironing or can you change the way you dry things so as to cut down on ironing?

Most T-shirts are not smart wear. There's mostly no need to iron casual wear. Don't bother ironing jeans.

Does it need mending? - Can you do the mending yourself? Do you need to scrape the money together to get it professionally repaired?

Think about it. While it needs mending, it's unwearable. While it's unwearable, it's unavailable. While it's unavailable, you might as well not have it.

If you don't have the time or the inclination to make repairs then get rid.

If you have to pay for the repair, will the repair be cost effective? How much more wear are you going to get out of the item once it's repaired? If you find yourself not being able to justify the cost, get rid.

Have I worn this in the last year? - Forgetting seasonal clothes, this time last year, did I wear this? - If the answer is no, then get rid. You've avoided wearing it for some reason. If you don't want to use it, then lose it.

Am I waiting to slim into these clothes? - You want a working wardrobe for the person you are now, not someone who may possibly never exist. Get rid.

Do I actually like these clothes? - Do I need a nylon, EasyJet orange blouse with bow collar? Yes, it fits, yes it's easy care but do I like it? If the answer is no, get rid.

Once it's ready to wear, hang it up, fold it up and put it away where it's supposed to be - don't let it hang around in the open, cluttering useful space.

Don't hang your garments off the picture rail in the dining room just because you've got the space. It's your home, not a market stall.

You can't afford to procrastinate. You have to be pretty ruthless.

Good luck.

GreyQueen

Morning all.

lobbyludd, I so hear ya about the old paint cans. When I took on a rented flat several years ago, the previous tenants were pals and they'd helpfully left about 20 part-used cans of paint on the shelf. Within the first couple of weeks I wanted to touch in the decor and opened up can after can after can; 13 were solidified and several more had such a tiny dribble that there wasn't enough to do anything useful. I freed up so much space by getting rid.

gingernutty, I have pretty strict rules for chosing clothes these day; no matter how nice, if it can't be machine washed at 40 on a mixed colours load, it ain't coming home with me. I don't have the temperament or lifestyle to manage neurotic clothes.

We're busy people, no matter whether we're SAHMs, full or part time waged workers, carers, volunteers, whatever we do. It should be our aim to eliminate as much as possible to free up our precious life to do what we want to do, not to be household serfs.

That might be working on the Next Great Novel or laying on the couch, but it shouldn't be a life of constant shuffling, choring and fighting with richard.

Gingernutty

Picklepot wrote: »

Just started full time job after many years of part time.

I know what the main triggers are.. initial extra expenditure until full time wage comes in (have to work month in hand) having to buy extra work clothes, extra fuel in car, extra food shopping to meal plan, but holidays looming which will swallow extra wage etc all the usual expenditure which makes me go into poverty mode. My brain then thinks i cant throw anything out because i cannot buy anything new at the moment.. so maybe if i keep it, fix it, dry clean it and so it goes on...Churning queen returns!

^^^This^^^

The jump from part time to full time means you don't have as much time to yourself as you did. The amount of time you have for housework is reduced and you have less 'down time'.

Yep. Been there. I can't drive and travelling to and from work took nearly three hours, I worked eight hours and came home to a pile of different things to do.

Now I'm on 'an as and when' required contract, I've got all the time in the world to tackle projects but no money. I'm skint!

Working full time, the temptation to slump and relax as soon as you've come through the front door is almost overwhelming. The trouble is, you can't.

Try to set aside 15 minutes to tackle something. Don't churn.

Assign space for the different piles EBAY/CASH FOR CLOTHES/CAR BOOT, CHARITY, DRY CLEANER, ALTERATION, MEND YOURSELF, CLEAN, IRON, PUT AWAY.

Laundry baskets, bin bags, carrier bags whatever. That can be one task in itself.

Then, once done, for 15 minutes each day, pick something up, decide what you're going to do with it and put it in the correct pile. Don't pick it up again. That's the rule. You can't afford to churn. Your time is too precious to waste.

When you've sorted the giant pile into the smaller piles, start on the piles that you can do something about immediately. It need not cost extra money for now.

When you get home, set yourself one task. Put a load of washing on and put it to dry. Or sew a button on. Or do a bit of ironing. Or try listing something on Ebay. Or sort out the stuff for the car boot.

The temptation to put off a decision, watch telly, log on to MSE, relax after a long day at work may feel overwhelming. You may well be able to justify your decision not to make a decision.

Make yourself do at least one thing extra before you carry on with the rest of the evening. You will feel better for it. Honest.

sjprmc01

Hey folks,

Just thought I'd pop on and say Hi!

DDs arm is healing well, she's back at school and got a much thinner cast on on Tues so can go back to normal clothes now (a relief for her that she no longer has to hide her arm zipped into an age 11-12jacket at 6yrs old!) she gets the wires out this tues coming!

I've not been particularly good or bad at de hoarding, I'm ashamed to say, Eldests wardrobe is still sat in its boxes waiting to be built!

I have donated some things to the school for their summer fare at the end of Jun. I probably could have donated more but some things I just can't bring myself to part with yet. Still have the same predicament of 'too much stuff' and whilst I'd like to imagine I've been better at avoiding the shops, I probably haven't been

pigpen

Well, I watched 2 episodes of that hoarder programme and I feel totally unmotivated by it.. in fact I looked at my house and thought 'well it isn't so bad' and today have done nothing...

I need a serious jojo-ing!!

katep23

I did the same Pigpen - well it's not as bad as that!!

Am trying to use up something out of the larder every day, tonight we're having fake takeaway so that's 3 things used.

Earlier this week I took a truck load of bedding from the duck houses to the dump; we stored it in an old fall-y down sheep shed hoping it would compost but it hasn't much. The shed was looking very precarious and given the cats like to sit on it, explore it etc we decided it needed pulling down.

All corrugate promised to neighbour (hopefully going this weekend), all rotten wood burnt on bonfire along with all hedge trimmings and most of the bedding bagged and taken to the dump. Still need another go but overall the garden looks a lot better. Now need to strim next to the hedge which was hidden until we cut it back!

I am desparate to sort out my clothes; given the unpredictable nature of the weather I have my summer wardrobe pulled out on the bed in the spare room and my winter wardrobe still out in the bedroom. I need to go through it all and get rid of a lot but the thought fills me with despair and horror.