Hoarding - Springing Ahead

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

DD has texted to say she's visiting again tomorrow.

I have a gig to still rehearse for, I'm feeling under the weather and have t been able to have my injection for two weeks now because my immune system's too low, it's TOTM and I'm hungry but haven't got a clue what I can eat.

I need somebody to come to my house and cook for me!

whitewing

Cheese on toast with natural yoghurt and a side salad?

I think its TOTM here too - tummy hurts.

Picklepot

Blossom Hill

Although this is all about dehoarding for me, not about housework, I am becoming aware of housework getting easier.

I know exactly where you are coming from with this one. Last autumn i hit an all time low and everything seemed to lead back to one thing ...my clutter/hoarding issues or in my mind it did.
Stuck in a rut at work.. the thought of trying to dig through the paperwork to locate CV's and docmentation seemed too much , so i never did anything about my job just became more unhappy, socialising and inviting people round ..all too difficult with the embarrassment of CHAOS.(meaning i became ever more detached from friends) Going away for the weekend or planning a holiday.. also too much the thought of trying to sort out everything to have a clean slate whilst away.The constant thought of what happens if i fall ill/die and the shame at having all this stuff for family/friends to deal with .Trying to keep the house tidy and the systems going i.e the washing, the cooking, the garden etc were so difficult because i was constantly having to battle with the stuff. It seemed like a constant cycle and all the time i kept coming back to the same point it seemed the clutter and inability to let things go were causes of all this. I think i have read a lot of the books , know the theory and the background and this is the only place where i have been able to overcome my inertia and deal with it.

Although the decluttering was the primary reason the effects on the housework for me has followed and as you say BH things suddenly do start to become easier on the housework front.

NewStartGoneWrong

:eek:Ever had that moment when you see the state of your house:eek:

I put the key in the front door and there's unpacked boxes from 5 months ago in the entrance hall, go into the lounge and there's a library of books in every corner on the floor awaiting sorting:o. .

The outside storage cupboard is stuffed from floor to ceiling with huge removal boxes not unpacked and the built in wardrobe has boxes too.....under my bed has plastic storage boxes stuffed with paperwork I think I need to keep just incase:(

And to add to it I have half a rented storage unit that my sister pays for filled with???? well I don't know what but its there in boxes just there doing nothing cannot be important as I don't have the urgency to find out.

I am so demotivated to do anything about it, I look at the magazines in the supermarket at the clutter free minimalist rooms and think oh if only that was my place.

I know the only person who can sort it out is me, then I make excuses, have no transport to the tip, no bus service so I have to walk the 2 miles to nearest bus stop and can't carry black sacks...the excuse list is endless and with other things happening in my life at the moment I can't seem to get off my butt and do something about it.:(

The Housing Assoc blokey came to sort out a dodgy tap yesterday, he said Are you moving out or just moved in?..side dodged the answer by making him a cuppa :eek: and then I realised I have never considered this bungalow as a home...that might sound deep but it's true.

How do you motivate yourself to get started, most of the things in boxes I haven't a clue about, obviously don't need and so are of no importance.

I know I have to get this sorted, but slowly and surely. My kitchen is not cluttered infact it's totally organised :rotfl: so it's me that's the problem.

So where do you start obviously at the begining .....ooh errrr I need a cuppa...procrastination is my name.....

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Put the books in the bookcase. One after another. No faffing around with alphabets or colours or whatnots. Just get them off the floor.

There's your start.

The_Dragon

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Put the books in the bookcase. One after another. No faffing around with alphabets or colours or whatnots. Just get them off the floor.

There's your start.

Then grab one of the boxes near the door and deal with that .... just one

Goldiegirl

purple.sarah wrote: »

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 .

That is so true, and since I've got my head round that idea I have made huge strides in letting go of things that belonged to my parents

I've kept the things that I feel are very significant and have great meaning for me, but lots of things my parents just kept in drawers for 50 years and never looked at - I didn't see the point of repeating the cycle.

Newstart - all your belongs can seem overwhelming, and when you think how long it took to gather them, it brings it home that de-cluttering them will be a long job.

The only thing to do is to take the plunge and get stuck in, preferably with something simple to start off with like the pile of junk mail that is on the table and has never been looked at!

GreyQueen

Afternoon all.

I've been reading but not posting as not much to report on the decluttering front. Some stuff comes in to be used and refuse and recycling goes out but that's it.

Today I've had a micro-triumph; a bottle of floor polish is finally used up which means that it won't be falling around my undersink cupboard. Is rinsed and ready to go into the recycling outside (as soon as the floor dries enough to walk across to the door). Bliddy thing has been annoying me for yonks.

Having a convo with Mum yesterday, I just remarked how much I like my soft ballet-type slippers from Primarche and how perfect they are for paddling around the flat when it's cooler and she said Why don't you buy another pair?

That foxed me; not sure if one pair is a useful possession you should have two pairs, because....? Only had the one pair of feet last time I looked so I asked her why? For when you wash them but I'll handwash them and let them dry which should take no more than a day so this is a non-problem not requiring an additional purchase to resolve it.

It's dangerous to be raised by a person with hoarding tendancies as you are stalked by the MBUs (might-be-usefuls) and Justin Case is also a frequent visitor to your home.

I have a small pile of plastic containers from the Magic Greengrocer which should go back and I really really will do that nest time I visit his shop, even if I have to stick and eye-level sign on the inside of the front door so I don't forget.

Loving the new shiny thread and glad to see old and new faces again. Keep on keeping on, everybody.

PudseyDB

purple.sarah wrote: »

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:

Put them on please - I could do with the motivation

OldFartPlumber

I am thankfully blessed with a non addictive personality , but have genuine sympathy for Hoarders . I`d love to be able to help people shift and SELL their stuff ! . I actually did it once for a good friend - their parent`s house had 6 skips full of junk - BUT by letting me look @ most of it and by getting stuff I " spotted " off to auction , got back over £1k for them .