Hoarding - Springing Ahead

NewStartGoneWrong

Right started, wished I had X-ray eyes:cool:

Took one box from entrance hall....even more books... So dusted bookcase and just chucked..ahem..roughly artistically arranged the books on shelves, no particular order and cleared the floor as well.
Laughingly:rotfl::D:p there was books about storage solutions, one called the clutter clinic and hints and tips on storage...seems this hoarding?collecting clutter?? has been with me a while then...

Introduced myself to my Dyson...and spent 20 minutes listening to the beater brush rattling picking up the dust and cobwebs:eek: they say confession is good for the soul...in my case it's given me the boot up the harass to sort this out.

So first small step on the sorting the stuff out journey.....

pigpen

I have binbagged half the girls room and cleared the bunkbeds for dismantling.

1 binbag of wallpaper, 1 of recycling and 1 just of rubbish.

I want to sit in a corner and cry, this is going to be such a long haul I don't think I can cope or do it on my own. I have to get these 3 rooms sorted by Saturday when the girls get home and get the kitchen emptied for the pipe fixing and I have the new bath coming on the 2nd so need to sort that out too.

Florenceem

pigpen wrote: »

I have binbagged half the girls room and cleared the bunkbeds for dismantling.

1 binbag of wallpaper, 1 of recycling and 1 just of rubbish.

I want to sit in a corner and cry, this is going to be such a long haul I don't think I can cope or do it on my own. I have to get these 3 rooms sorted by Saturday when the girls get home and get the kitchen emptied for the pipe fixing and I have the new bath coming on the 2nd so need to sort that out too.

I too am having workmen in and need to have a sort out. I am trying to keep calm about it.

whitewing

This is another thread that I have just stumbled across. I haven't read it yet properly and it may not be something that newly-enrolled dehoarders want to read right now, so do please ignore it if it makes you anxious

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4513551

purple.sarah

Bedroom Window

Before:


After:


I'm working on the rest of the room so I'll post more photos later.

PudseyDB

purple.sarah wrote: »

Bedroom Window

Before:


After:


I'm working on the rest of the room so I'll post more photos later.

Massive improvement - well done :T:T:T

JayneC

That's very impressive purple.sarah

Just looked at the other thread and squirmed a little:o

Whilst I'm not quite that bad I am acutely aware that my back yard in particular is very messy and often wonder what the next door neighbours think when they look out onto it. Thankfully no-one else can see into it. Having said that though they are really nice and have never made any suggestion they find it offensive and the house has sold twice whilst I've lived here so I can't be that bad:D ( or maybe they were trying to get away:rotfl:)

Cleaned my kitchen windowsill yesterday, which had housed several dead plants in pots. All dead plants now removed and just a selection of living plants nicely arranged.

Not done much else but am managing to keep the dining table, the radiator cover and chest of drawers free of clutter. Which is a major achievement as these are the worst hot spots.
Table top sale has now finished for the season and carboots are on. but I'm afraid I'm not sitting in a field in this weather so my boxes will have to wait a while. I did put out a charity bag the other day and may bag up some other stuff to reduce the amount waiting to go.

pigpen

2 and a bit wall stripped. hole plastered.. not at all bad for my first ever attempt at plastering!

Tomorrow OH is dismantling bunkbeds to move to the other room, moving one of the girls to the girls room and taking down 2 shelves.. On Tuesday I am dumping 2 small naughties on DD1 so we can wallpaper in peace! One the wallpapering is done I can see we will make decent headway through the roomswap.

Once the 2 bedrooms are decorated I'll do the kitchen which should be done by then and then I would like to hit the front room and the backroom.

I would like to empty the backroom and bin the carpet and put lino down so it canbe swept and mopped rather than filthy carpet needing vacuuming constantly.. in the future I am having underfloor heating in there.

Money_maker

Just popped in to say well done to purple.sarah. I have a pile like that in my bedroom, right in front of the radiator and window too. It's actually really depressing to wake up to in the mornings. DH is practically living out of a suitcase (which he shares with easter eggs which I have nowhere else to put!) as my pile extends to cover the wardrobe door too.

You have inspired me to sort mine out - will do this next week once everyone back at work/school/college.

Forgive me for just jumping in, I read the decluttering threads often as I can associate with everyones problems. My main problem areas are paperwork, clothes and kids toys. Paperwork cos I always have piles and boxes of it everywhere. I go through it from time to time but hate to throw away bits associated with Justin Case or my children. Clothes cos I've put on over 2 stone in the last year (stopped smoking) and I refuse to buy larger. Therefore I have stacks of clothes way too small for me (but I will fit them soon!). Kids toys as I have a spoiled DD who at 5 years old wants to keep all her current and 'baby' toys. She also has a wardrobe to be envious of courtesy of the grabbit board.

I did do some bags for the BHF a few weeks ago but I like to wait until a charity bag comes for a charity shop as I am suspicious of the clothes only ones which just sell the fabric by weight.

I have been trying to declutter for years and really mean to get something done next week before my lot finish for the Easter hols.

dktreesea

We have a lot of stuff, and have had for years, because a lot of it is the overflow from the business. We have business premises elsewhere, but tend to keep the more valuable stuff here. Having now realised I live in a warehouse rather than a home, I have been speeding up the selling/decluttering process for the stuff. All well and good, and at first I was really pleased to see the space.

And then a strange thing happened. I'd love to know if this has happened to anyone else? The space in question is not a whole room. It's just, so far the entrance way to the hallway (our door can now open fully - another odd experience; I spent a couple of days just opening and closing it because it was such an unusual sensation :-) and part of the main bedroom, which is huge. I didn't feel I should fill the space, but kept feeling it was such a waste of space. Like it was space for space's sake and not being used, and space should be used. I thought I was going to really enjoy it, but it's like having a "bedroom tax" event in my own home. I found myself thinking stuff like "But if you aren't going to use this space, then why are you paying for it?" and "you really shouldn't be buying space you don't need." That works well as an attitude if, say, renting storage space, but our own home ??!!

So I started looking at all the stuff in the house, as in really looking, as if I was noticing it for the first time. And I swear, I do not remember acquiring half this stuff. Some of it was a complete mystery to me, to the point where I had no idea what certain things were even used for. "Where did this come from?" I ask my OH. "You bought it," comes back the reply. "Yes, but when...? And why..???? Why did I buy it? Where did it come from?" Usually this is met with a stare. Followed by a comment like "you put up your hand (at the auction). This was part of the result" or "you said you connected with it and had to have it" (This was a blanket I've never used - and haven't seen in years.) Men can be annoying sometimes :-) I know I'm asking the questions, but do they have to develop a memory like an elephant in response?

The other thing I realised is that if there was only the stuff in the house that we personally used, and/or was in good repair, so no clothes with wee munched on holes by a resident moth or two (lavender seems to work well on them, by the way), we would all be able to live out of a couple of suitcases. Even the kitchen bits and pieces we use would fit into one.

I should be feeling estatic about this, but I keep thinking, and worrying about, all the ensuing space. Not about filling it up again, but stuff like it won't feel so cosy, what if I or someone in the house decides to take up yoga, and hurts themselves, what do people in houses with too much space do with it (OH says he knows the answer to that one; they enjoy it!), will I turn into one of those manic, mad all day cleaning women, who freak at every speck of dust? ( OH says "that would be a change!")

I haven't experienced this much unused space in years. And it isn't like it's a lot. About 10 sq feet in the bedroom and the entrance way would be around 4ft x 6ft. Has any newly dehoarded person found it difficult to enjoy the space?