Hoarding - Springing Ahead

lobbyludd

kate, if it feels to horrific to go through it all, could you commit to choosing one thing from each pile each day and putting it in a bag for cs/bin? you could do this whilst you are concentrating on the garden, and then by the time you do have time to do go through the lot, the job will be smaller?


on a personal note, massive result! had neighbours over for book club last night, and one of them that I hadn't met before messaged me afterwards to thank me for hosting it my "beautiful home" < that's my home! and I don't think she wasn't being sarcastic! (she didn't go upstairs lol) but I am so happy, no-one's ever said my home was beautiful before

not so long ago there is no way i would have had strangers to my house, and before friends came over I'd have to take days off to clean and stuff things away.

keeping at it does make a difference, thanks all

katep23

Thanks lobbyludd, that's a really good idea. I tend to go gung ho at every job - pull everything out, make a mess, lose interest then end up in a worse state than when I started so that might work.

pigpen

I did a bit of flinging!!!

Sorted ebay stuff... 6 binbags full to bursting away to CS.. the boys and DD2 dropped them all off already so I am not tempted to empty them out again!!
2 binbags of rubbish and 1 of recycling (a box actually but still it has gone!)
a binbag of shoes ready for recycling.

10 binbags of sh!te... gone!!!!!!

along with the 6 boxes of cereal the *little treasures* spilled all over the kitchen this morning!!!



Oooh.. a mower has been binned too after it died 1/4 way through mincing the grass.

The kitchen and back room are slightly improved over their 'natural' state.. off to do a little in the front room.. I really want rid of everything.. I'd love to just move house and burn this lot and start again... I might feel a little better about it when DS2 and OH have got the stuff up in the loft from the landing.

roundtuit

Hello. Can I join you please?

I've been directed to this forum by fellow flyladies after 'confessing' that I am feeling overwhelmed by mess... and I don't want to slip any further towards being a candidate for 'the hoarder next door'.

I've read through some of your thread, and already feel less 'alone', but a bit 'scared' if I'm honest.

My 'hall' ( a tiny square at the bottom of the stairs), stairs and landing are clutter-free; the bathroom isn't too bad, but everywhere else needs sorting. And I'm not going to mention the spare bedroom or the (large) cupboard under the stairs

I've started though:

today I have put out for recycling 16 rinsed cola cans and a biscuit tin, and binned 6 eggs from the fridge, age unknown.

I've also put away groceries and sorted laundry which has created space to move/work in the kitchen.

Teeny-tiny baby steps!

GreyQueen

Hello, roundtuit, welcome in.

I adore your user name. My lovely mother is a woman of many virtues and talents but is definately a Mrs Messy.

In about the late 1970s, were were on a family holiday and saw a "Round Tuit" - a ceramic plate with a humorous quote about how people are always promising to sort things out when they get a Round Tuit, and now they can have one of their very own.

We bought it for Mum. It floated about the cluttered house for the next quarter of a century until it got carbooted on the grounds that it was obviously defective as it hadn't made a jot of difference.:rotfl:

But you, Roundtuit, CAN make a difference and have already started. Every item off the premises is a win, no matter how small. Even putting out the rubbish every day puts you ahead of chronic hoarders who cannot differentiate between trash and treasures.

You go for it, a little at a time, building in time for patting yourself on the back, and we'll cheer you on.

PS, cupboards under stairs are effectively a spacewarp into another dimension. Be careful in there, don't go it alone, and take it very very slowly. Never mind babysteps, under there it's a matter of baby-crawls.

roundtuit

Thankyou for the welcome Greyqueen. That's the first time someone's made me laugh around the subject of hoarding - defective roundtuits :rotfl:and space-warp cupboards :rotfl:. It's a TARDIS! That's why it holds so much 'stuff'!!!

I understand some of the theories around hoarding having read articles and watched tv programmes - but I never understood why people ( on tv programmes) kept what was to me 'rubbish' (pot - kettle - black ) it never occured to me that they couldn't differentate between trash and treasure. Thankyou for that insight.

In the corner of the living room there's a broken toy cement mixer lorry and a broken toy train. My only son is 20, and just finishing his second year at Uni!

Bear with me ... today is the first day of a new beginning .. I'm going to put them in the dustbin....

Done it.

xx

pigpen

2 more binbags of rubbish out.. I am filling up the neighbours bins now!

lobbyludd

lol,
I was so scared of the cupboard under the stairs that rather than tidy it, I demolished it. Much less scary now

yay roundtoit

lobbyludd

pigpen, your kids are adorable but you sooooo need locks on your cupboard doors! not child-proof ones (which obviously all kids can open) but deadlocks with keys and secret combinations.

decogecko

Hi all

Welcome roundtuit - well done on your start. Everyone's journey is different, what works for one may not work for someone else.

The main LBM for me, that started me on my dehoarding journey was Jojo's comment of 'You're worth it' - you're worth having cleared work surfaces in the kitchen, you're worth having clear safe walkways in your home (stairs, landing, hallway etc). You're worth it to replace the bulbs on the stairs and landing.

Personally I found it easier to donate my unwanted items to my local CS, I couldn't cope with the whole e of the bay kerfuffle. I also use freecycle to get rid of unwanted items, the majority have gone within 24 hours.

Good luck and keep updating - every small thing you get rid/donate/sell is one item less holding you hostage in your home.

Deco x