Hoarding - Springing Ahead

GreyQueen

Yeah, seconding pigpen about moving the drawers as they are. A pal did that with the clothing in her chest of drawers, the pro movers were fine about it.

This isn't the time for fine-sorting of little bitty stuff, this is time for grand guestures. How long to go to moving day? Will the new place have more or less or the same space as you have now? Have you measured doors etc to see if your bigger items will go through, or be the right size in the rooms once indoors?

Ask me how I know this......actually, please don't, it's a painful memory.:o

If you can shed a piece of furniture or an appliance, you'll feel the benefit a lot more than losing a couple of boxes of misc.

Are there easy wins such as hernia-inducing piles of magazines, heavy breakable stuff like unused crockery which you're not particularly attached to. Of you're indifferent to pix on the walls now, will you like them any better in your new home?

Best thing to do is to sit down with a notebook, and a cuppa, and make some lists and do some pondering. Time spent like this can save you a lot of thrashing about and weariness later.

Best of luck!

calicocat

pigpen wrote: »

Calico... sort through the drawers by all means but to make it easier moving.. you leave the drawers full.. take them out of the chest.. put the chest in the van and put the drawers back in.. it saves a great deal of packing.. obviously if you have time to go through and fling stuff from the drawers do it but if packing other stuff is a more efficient use of your time do that instead.. and a big fat marker pen to write on what is in the boxes so you have no boxes of surprises helps massively. .. also if you write on which room you want the boxes putting into that makes it a lot easier when you do get moved as well.

I have marker pen in hand, have got that bit organised at least, and got proper boxes that you can tick which room they put them in (although the stuff I have done today I will prob wizz up myself).

Yes the drawers thankfully I can leave, well most, not keen on people being able to see underwear to will take that up before too.

It's more the amazing amount of rubbish in the kitchen drawers and cupboards, 40 lightbulbs likely, and god knows what else. Also the tardis that is the understair cupboard, there's 4 xmas trees in there I think. Things like this I will have to sort or I will end up with boxes full of christ knows what at the other end. There will be flipping spiders in there too....not good, and the cat doesn't eat them anymore.

Do the removal blokes write what's in boxes too, or do they just pack and run.?

You have helped organise my mind though so thank you, I've just been packing a box of candle holder (which they can do really), and my time will be better spent doing kitchen stuff, and will put the crap lying around in the lounge units for the blokes to do. It will look less chaotic that way. No wine tonight......progress needs to be made rather than sitting staring at it all.

Thanks.

calicocat

Greyqueen,

No move date yet, around a month I would imagine, I rent so i'm lucky in that I can tailor that to what is good for me.

Have got a good company so can leave lots to them and can leave stuff in drawers. Have already thrown out some hernia-inducing piles of mags. In one box-seat thing I think I have 30 scart leads, no clue which work etc, and mountains of other leads, no clue what for now or what purpose they have.......clearly highly important well needed 'stuff'.

I'm going to attack a kitchen drawer now, and put half the contents back into a tool box (where it should be) probably..

Thanks

lobbyludd

I did a "box of connectivity" a while back full of leads and cables to gawd knows what, I have a feeling there's another in te loft.

Kids poorly again so had to fit a full day's working at home round constant calls for soup/tissues/ice-lollies.
so have done nowt - am picking up 100 freecycle bricks tomorrow so will load the car full of cs stuff to unload on the way to balance out (bricks are to build a raised bed - as all current borders are in deep shade and i want some sun-loving plants).

dragonette

Calicocat - oh I sympathise! I just moved 2 weeks ago, after being dumped and kicked out by my hoarder(ish) bf. He wouldn't let me in to pack up my stuff, and as I've unpacked I've found so many things that I know are rubbish and he packed up for me. Things like, boots which I knew were done but couldn't find to bin. And look so scruffy in my nice bright tidy flat I knew instantly they had to go.

Now. I keep turning round and round in my new place in shock that I have clear floors and most things have a home now, ex-bf always claimed I had as much stuff as he did, well that's clearly not true at all. Not in the flat we shared anyway as I had to leave a lot with my mum as I couldn't get it into the chaos!!! Now I'm settled, the belongings at my mum's can slowly be gone through and, I suspect, a majority binned/cs/sold as rag.

I have followed this thread since Jojo's original one, and as the partner of an incipient hoarder and now sorting my own items alone, its been such a help. Your stories and wisdom and insights have allowed me to evaluate my own behaviour and become much more rational with 'stuff'. Thank you!

cyclingyorkie

calicocat wrote: »

Greyqueen,

No move date yet, around a month I would imagine, I rent so i'm lucky in that I can tailor that to what is good for me.

Have got a good company so can leave lots to them and can leave stuff in drawers. Have already thrown out some hernia-inducing piles of mags. In one box-seat thing I think I have 30 scart leads, no clue which work etc, and mountains of other leads, no clue what for now or what purpose they have.......clearly highly important well needed 'stuff'.

I'm going to attack a kitchen drawer now, and put half the contents back into a tool box (where it should be) probably..

Thanks

I am constantly evicting tools from my kitchen drawers! OH seems deaf to the concept that they belong in the garage! I will evict all non-kitchen stuff - and put it where it should be! I WILL! Heaven alone knows my kitchen isn't big enough for all the kitchen stuff... let alone any other c***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pigpen

Binbag of crap flung.. inc. broken fairy lights, several old phone chargers, a LOT of odd socks and some holey pants and a vast quantity of nothingness.

The boys took the last 2 binbag to CS yesterday so of course today I have filled another one plus there is the box of kitchen stuff to go.

Had a bit more of a kitchen shuffle so some more stuff has gone!

emptied 2 boxes of wool... into a bigger box.. lol... it gives the appearance of being tidier!

lobbyludd

Cleared a drawer of underwear out - found pads for when breast-feeding - which I stopped doing 3 years ago!) think that's going to be it for today, unless a frenzy seizes me later, in which case I'll do the rest of that chest of drawers. I don't actually use anything in it, so it can all safely go to c.s. and then I'll have an empty chest of drawers, which is useful as a bedside table/lamp holder, so I don't want to get rid of it necessarily but it seems odd to have an empty set of drawers (I'm sure I'll get over the oddness!).

might use it as a ninth square for clearing out the wardrobe (which is packed and I honestly only use clothes on about 3 hangers within it)

calicocat

Well I have taken time out since Saturday morning as was getting too stressed with it all, and to be perfectly honest was turning to the vino, and moving/de-hoarding should not be making me do that.

So last night I went out for a lovely meal with a friend and forgot about the whole thing.

On reflection thinking about things this morning I am going to have a month overlap where I am paying for both places. So I've had a good chat to myself about not stressing and panicking. This gives me plenty of time I hope to go through my stuff in a sensible methodical way to lessen any trauma at the other end.

Jeeze....i may have a de-hoarded house by the time i'm finished!!

Plan is to do more next weekend when my shifts have finished.


Good luck to everyone

whitewing

We were away from home recently. I was very good and put all the scrap paper (directions etc) in the bin at the hotel rather than bringing them home to be put in a pile to be sorted at a later date.

Also chucking out clothes that are tatty straight away (as part of normal laundering), rather than having a designated 'sort out wardrobe day', is making a big difference. In fact, anything regardless of cost that is broken in such a way that it wouldn't get fixed, goes more quickly and that helps enormously.

Finally, I did get a big mark on my new skirt while I was away. That is already being tackled with Vanish, hoping that will sort it out. Vanish got rid of a chewing gum splodge from 2 years ago on DH's shorts, where he sat on a public bench (grotty people). I am pleased with Vanish, and am not related to the company in any way, lol.