Hoarding - Springing Ahead

Bennifred

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

This isn't very MSE, but if you have a mountain of clothes scrunched up in the laundry basket waiting to be ironed, if you give them a few minutes in the tumble dryer (enough to heat them up) you can them give them a shake, smooth them out, fold and put away without ironing (even if you have to finish some of them off with the iron, if you do it straight away while they are still warm it only takes a minute.

This only works if you have time to watch over the dryer, get them out while warm, and work in small batches so you can get them folded and put away immediately they come out the dryer. It also helps to sort the clothes into similar types (T-shirts, Tops, clothes to be hung up etc) and have clothes hangers handy so clothes than need hanging come straight out the dryer onto the hanger.

Even if you dry the clothes on a clothes horse over night, it may be worth a quick spin in the dryer to de-crease them.
Dx

Ooooh - I am definitely going to try this. My ironing mountain is epic. I do actually hang wet shirts etc straight onto hangers and wear without ironing, but when OH or offspring do the washing (more often than not, these days because of my health issues) they just dump the dried stuff onto said mountain, and there it stays.....(yes - I know - too much stuff!) That is my stuff I hasten to add - everyone irons their own in this house.

Brighton_belle

blossomhill wrote: »

I go cold at the idea of a professional declutterer as I know they won't be a hoarder so will have no idea what is inside my head when I look at what to someone else seems an irrelevant bit of tat, I rely on LBMs for me to be able to see it as both "irrelevan"t and "tat"

Someone else, particularly someone with no history of hoarding, saying to me "it's irrelevant tat, just bin it" is no more likely to cure me than some marketing manager at Nike saying "Just Do It" will turn me into an althlete

Ultimately, you must do what is right for you BH, but a good professional declutter will never ever tell anyone something is irrelevant tat. They are there to help you decide what you want to achieve and how you feel you can get there. This may mean working very slowly at times with a client, if that is the speed they need. As part of the inital consultation over the phone (and perhaps a simple questionaire) a prof declutterer will get a feel for how difficult each individual client finds the process and adjusts their approach accordingly. And always be respectful of a client and their home and stuff.
But I am not trying to persuade you to get one - no not at all. You need to trust your instincts as to what is right for you.

blossomhill wrote: »

(((hugs))) sending you hugs ww to try to give you the strength to deal with it and hoping the impact will be less than you fear
Can I second this please.

The purpose of craft is not the end product but what it does to the brain while in the process of crafting, so I have no embarrassment at assembling a kid's toy kit even though I am capable of creating stunning unique pieces
I love this - I shall come out of the closet as somone who also will do kids stuff if it pleases me.

We just need to make sure we are actually creating, not shopping for aspirational creativity that we will never accomplish because we can't find the scissors among all the raw materials LOL. This is something I have definitely turned around in the last year. I've gone from overwhelmed by unfinished projects and stuff spread all over the place, to a streamline craft cupboard and sharing studio space once a week where I actually make stuff and am loving it.

Picklepot wrote: »

Brighton Belle lol!! I realise that since i have been on this thread i am highly sensitive to suggestion of all sorts of things as well as steam cleaners..i think you would all say it was aspirational. However i am going to get one i just need to choose the right model for my needs. Its just for my floors and so i can get rid of the whole mop and bucket thing which i hate i just feel like i am moving dirt round.. and a floor that takes forever to dry is an impossibility with dog ,2 cats and two teens off whilst it does!

I hated the mop and bucket thing too, for years and also felt I was just moving dirt around and it put me off from botherng (and it doesn't take much to put me off any housework - I need all the encouragement I can get) So I really am delighted with my purchase but my concern it might be an aspirational one day wonder was thereason I took 6 months to decide to get one.

purple.sarah

Hi,

I'm new here. I had to admit I had a problem when I realised a pile of clutter has almost blocked our bedroom window so that's what I'm working on today, I'll let you know how it goes.

pigpen

Did I mention I spent 5 hours tidying/cleaning/decluttering 1 room yesterday (I found a carpet!!!) and I located a new sicket for the hallway to replace the one which has been broken for 4+ years.. One job done!!!

I sorted a small pile from the kitchen work surface.. half a bag for CS.. What is one to do with the childrens outgrown socks and undies?? They are too good to bin and my girls wont wear them.

We ate some of the pasta mountain tonight... oh I need to put spare chops in the fridge.

Does that count as headway?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

pigpen wrote: »

Did I mention I spent 5 hours tidying/cleaning/decluttering 1 room yesterday (I found a carpet!!!) and I located a new sicket for the hallway to replace the one which has been broken for 4+ years.. One job done!!!

I sorted a small pile from the kitchen work surface.. half a bag for CS.. What is one to do with the childrens outgrown socks and undies?? They are too good to bin and my girls wont wear them.

We ate some of the pasta mountain tonight... oh I need to put spare chops in the fridge.

Does that count as headway?

It does, indeed! Brilliant!

I'd pass the knickers and socks on to the school, brownies, rainbows, girls brigade, etc, assuming they're for under 11s. Everytime my girls were sent home with accidents or getting wet in school, they never seemed to have undies or socks, sometimes getting blisters as a result. And if the school didn't want, I'd bundle them up for the cs, who can rag man them if they don't want them.

purple.sarah

purple.sarah wrote: »

Hi,

I'm new here. I had to admit I had a problem when I realised a pile of clutter has almost blocked our bedroom window so that's what I'm working on today, I'll let you know how it goes.

I made progress! I cleared out a bag of clothes I'm going to take to the charity shop. I put on a load of washing and I put away clean clothes.

I found a BNWT camisole and knickers set that I've never worn, 2 hairbrushes I've been looking for and a pound.

I threw away 2 black bin bags of rubbish. I read something in an article about hoarding once that always stuck with me. A professional declutterer was talking about removing the emotional association from items. He said “This vase is not your grandmother, you can throw it out and still keep the memories.” I threw out the pretty notebook that I got when I was pregnant to note the milestones in. I lost the baby and I kept the notebook for 4 years and never wrote anything in it. I also threw away the shoes I wore when I got married. I'm never going to wear ivory satin shoes again and they had got badly stained. And I threw out a large novelty #1 Dad badge I got my dad for Father's Day and never got around to giving him because he was in the hospital and subsequently died. I realised that I don't have to let go of my memories but I do need to let go of a notebook I'll never use, a pair of stinky shoes and a badge that made me feel bad every time I looked at it!

I can now see out of the window! I took before and after photos, would anyone like to see them or would it clutter the thread up too much? :rotfl:

On the eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge they keep track of what goes in and out of their freezer and cupboards so I thought I would keep track of what stuff goes in and out of my house each day.

Friday

In: Nothing.

Out: 2 bin bags of rubbish.

whitewing

I would love to see your before and after photos.

I feel pangs reading about the badge for your dad, but you honestly won't regret chucking any of it.

I wish the weather would improve dramatically. I know we're more fortunate than a lot of you weather-wise but it is easier to spring clean with sunny weather.

Think I will wash the bedclothes today. We're out for lunch.

ETA: What's a sicket, pigpen?

pigpen

it is a posh plug socket

pigpen

I have got 2 empty boxes to clear Squeaks room... which shouldn't take too long.. I am then stripping wallpaper.. that is today task. As well as that I want to get the decorating stuff in from the car and maybe make a start on the wallpapering if I get time.. Squeak goes to bed at 7pm so it needs to be sorted by then... hhmmmm.... I don't know where the paste table is and I don't know where to put it up if I did as I have no landing...

This is turning into a bigger job than I anticipated and I haevn't even started yet! Bother... I need a paste bucket too and thepaste brush out of the shed.. which means emptying half the shed.. oh !!!!!!!!!

whitewing

One of my newly acquired daily tasks is to make a point of polishing the children's shoes. I generally do this at night and never feel like making the effort, but I don't allow myself to put it off. And it works! They look smarter with freshly polished shoes, I notice things like buttons missing etc on clothes so they get mended promptly or replaced if necessary, and that means not having stuff hanging about that can't be used. And it puts me in an organised state of mind.

I have the bedclothes in the washing machine, nearly finished.

I am organising work stuff.