Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

jwil

Well done on the decluttering!

HairyHandofDartmoor

@Nicnak Good idea to declutter DD's toys .

@Jwil Thank you .

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

We watched a programme called Consumed on N3tflix and I suggested to DS1 that we look through his hoody and trouser drawers. Another big bag has been set aside for the charity shop so I'm pleased with that . All the clothes in his drawers are items that he actually wears now. I also found a pair of trousers of mine that I don't like, so they've been added to the charity pile.

It still feels like a drop in the ocean compared to our clutter (although we're nowhere near as bad as the people on the programme) but I'm trying to take the 'how do you eat an elephant' approach.

Well done on the decluttering and money-saving when out shopping:T. I'm really impressed by how you're managing to keep up the 'business as usual' routine with your Stepdad as I expect even having a chat over coffee can be a real strain for you with the way events have unfolded.

Great news on the PPI responses coming in so fast:j even though one was a no-go. At least you know and can concentrate on the others now. I wish there had been Resolver when I did my claims. It seemed to take an age between writing/phoning the lndividual companies, receiving a form to be completed, awaiting the outcome and then waiting for the money even after they found in my favour:(. All simple enough to do but I was very impatient when waiting for money that I desperately needed at the time:o


Textbooks are so expensive, aren't they? Maybe when you've finished with it you could sell it on. I've sold lots of carefully-used textbooks on Amazon. They get snapped up really quickly if they are the latest edition as obviously the buyer is saving a considerable amount of money. The only ones I don't try to sell are the heavily annotated ones:(


I've not seen that programme but have seen similar programmes on Freeview and although we have a LOT of clutter it certainly doesn't include lots of broken coat hangers for instance, used pizza boxes and semi-rotted food like on some of the programmes I've seen:eek:. I know I had some sort of emotional need to amass things and hoard them but the people shown on the programmes I referred to are in real need of professional, psychological help.


Every possible storage place in the house is crammed but at least we're not having to stride over piles of 'stuff' all over the floor. Everything that I stashed away is clean and usable, even if it will never be used by us:o. I try to move things on whenever I get the opportunity, either by selling or donating. There isn't much in the house that needs taking to the tip or even putting in the bin:j. The sheds and garage on the other hand, especially OH's storage places are a different matter altogether:(. He maintains everything is useful, or might prove to be so one day;), and he's not going to throw anything out:mad:

elizabethhull

carbootcrazy wrote: »

Well done on the decluttering and money-saving when out shopping:T. I

I've not seen that programme but have seen similar programmes on Freeview and although we have a LOT of clutter it certainly doesn't include lots of broken coat hangers for instance, used pizza boxes and semi-rotted food like on some of the programmes I've seen:eek:.
There isn't much in the house that needs taking to the tip or even putting in the bin:j. :

We're pretty much the same. Hardly any actual rubbish, but for instance I keep going up & down in weight (never got the trick of KEEPING it down!), so I buy clothes that actually fit what weight I am, often cheaply off eBay. So not only, like most ladies, do I have clothes of different sizes that fit, but also larger & smaller clothes, just in case !!

Periodically I tidy away the saved recipes into my folders, but for every close relative who has died, and whose belongings I have been responsible for sorting out, we have acquired lots more 'stuff' that needs going through.

I am always full of admiration for people who get round to proper decluttering - I might do a drawer or bag or some clothes in a fit of enthusiasm but it doesn't last.

More luck sent your way for the PPIs - I'm sure it will have been worth it, because things hanging around waiting to be done are also a sort of clutter, and at least having done it, you don't have to keep fretting about doing it.

HairyHandofDartmoor

carbootcrazy wrote: »

Well done on the decluttering and money-saving when out shopping:T. I'm really impressed by how you're managing to keep up the 'business as usual' routine with your Stepdad as I expect even having a chat over coffee can be a real strain for you with the way events have unfolded.

Great news on the PPI responses coming in so fast:j even though one was a no-go. At least you know and can concentrate on the others now. I wish there had been Resolver when I did my claims. It seemed to take an age between writing/phoning the lndividual companies, receiving a form to be completed, awaiting the outcome and then waiting for the money even after they found in my favour:(. All simple enough to do but I was very impatient when waiting for money that I desperately needed at the time:o


Textbooks are so expensive, aren't they? Maybe when you've finished with it you could sell it on. I've sold lots of carefully-used textbooks on Amazon. They get snapped up really quickly if they are the latest edition as obviously the buyer is saving a considerable amount of money. The only ones I don't try to sell are the heavily annotated ones:(


I've not seen that programme but have seen similar programmes on Freeview and although we have a LOT of clutter it certainly doesn't include lots of broken coat hangers for instance, used pizza boxes and semi-rotted food like on some of the programmes I've seen:eek:. I know I had some sort of emotional need to amass things and hoard them but the people shown on the programmes I referred to are in real need of professional, psychological help.


Every possible storage place in the house is crammed but at least we're not having to stride over piles of 'stuff' all over the floor. Everything that I stashed away is clean and usable, even if it will never be used by us:o. I try to move things on whenever I get the opportunity, either by selling or donating. There isn't much in the house that needs taking to the tip or even putting in the bin:j. The sheds and garage on the other hand, especially OH's storage places are a different matter altogether:(. He maintains everything is useful, or might prove to be so one day;), and he's not going to throw anything out:mad:

It can feel a little awkward meeting stepdad sometimes, but I've known him since I was eleven and I don't want to cause a rift in the family.

We don't have as much clutter as some people, but with five people's possessions in the house and not much storage we do have problems :eek:.


We don't have a shed or garage to keep things in, so all gardening and decorating stuff has to be kept in our two understairs cupboards. Which mean there isn't much room for the coats, brooms, mops, etc, that you would normally keep there.

We don't have any other built in cupboards apart from the two under the stairs, so we have very little storage even for the items we do use, let alone the items we don't use. This is why our voids are crammed with stuff in boxes. Our office, bedroom and landing are also full of clutter :mad:.

So I do need to get rid of items we don't use and if we can ever afford it, buy more storage for the things we do use.

You sound like you've got a lot more storage space than me Carboot which is very useful for you . I think your DH may be a lost clause when it comes to clutter :rotfl:.

HairyHandofDartmoor

elizabethhull wrote: »

We're pretty much the same. Hardly any actual rubbish, but for instance I keep going up & down in weight (never got the trick of KEEPING it down!), so I buy clothes that actually fit what weight I am, often cheaply off eBay. So not only, like most ladies, do I have clothes of different sizes that fit, but also larger & smaller clothes, just in case !!

Periodically I tidy away the saved recipes into my folders, but for every close relative who has died, and whose belongings I have been responsible for sorting out, we have acquired lots more 'stuff' that needs going through.

I am always full of admiration for people who get round to proper decluttering - I might do a drawer or bag or some clothes in a fit of enthusiasm b, t it doesn't last.

More luck sent your way for the PPIs - I'm sure it will have been worth it, because things hanging around waiting to be done are also a sort of clutter, and at least having done it, you don't have to keep fretting about doing it.

Thanks Elizabeth . You'r right about tasks that haven't been done being clutter, mental clutter anyway

I find the clutter stresses me out so much that I want to get rid of things. I hate not being able to find things and I like visually simplicity, so I find that clutter distubs my peace of mind!

It does make it harder when you aquire the possessiong of deceased relatives, as that gives you more items to go though and you can become sentimental about their items too.

HairyHandofDartmoor

It's a lovely sunny day today, although it was cold in the night and there was ice on the windows again when we woke up.

We're working on my business today, which will take all day. I'd rather go out for a walk really, but it will be worth it if it pays off eventually. Our NT membership has expired anyway and we can't afford to renew it until the tax rebate arrives.

I feel quite tired today, so I really hope that I'm not coming down with another cold. We've run out of eccinaccea too. I think maybe I'd better buy some multivitamins and some more eccinaccea next time I go to the shops.

Seasidegal58

I watched that clutter series on Netflix too Hairy. I quite liked the fact that it wasn't the usual hoarding programme where things are so bad that Health and Safety are about to be called in and there are definite psychological problems that the hoarders have with letting anything go. It was more low-key - apart from the lady who seemed to have thousands of dollars worth of unused Tupperware and wouldn't part with hardly any of it!:eek:

I like your term 'visual simplicity.' That's what I strive to achieve. I don't think I could ever live with a clutter-bug. It would stress me out too much!:eek:

Hope you feel better Hairy. Stock up on those vitamins!

HairyHandofDartmoor

Thanks SSG . Sometimes I think I suffer from health anxiety because ever since I had flu I worry about becoming ill . It's because I don't have time to be ill.

I've only watched one episode so far, about the mother who home schooled her children, but it definitely inspired me to declutter. I'm keen to watch the other programmes now. I'm not sure I'll ever achieve visual simplicity but I can dream :rotfl:.

[Deleted User]

Seasidegal58 wrote: »

I watched that clutter series on Netflix too Hairy. I quite liked the fact that it wasn't the usual hoarding programme where things are so bad that Health and Safety are about to be called in and there are definite psychological problems that the hoarders have with letting anything go. It was more low-key - apart from the lady who seemed to have thousands of dollars worth of unused Tupperware and wouldn't part with hardly any of it!:eek:

I like your term 'visual simplicity.' That's what I strive to achieve. I don't think I could ever live with a clutter-bug. It would stress me out too much!:eek:

I like the sound of that hoarder series if it doesn't concentrates on the type of homes where you'd take your life into your hands just to step inside the door. I really admire the people who have to go in and clear up these really awful places. They seem to take it all in their stride with such patience and good humour. Clearing up my own clean clutter is one thing but having to wade through a stranger's home knee-deep in used fast-food containers and rotting food is quite another:eek: