Plotting for an early retirement - anyone want to join me?

MallyGirl

I am trying to get my OH out of the hoarding mentality. In my youth I was terrible - maybe because I had very little growing up - but I have moved on from that now. DH has so many old IT books and so many tools/boxes of old sockets/bits of wire/all sorts. These days we would pay someone to do this sort of work, and the IT books are just out of date and no use to man nor beast. We have boxes and boxes of 'paperwork' where a pile of stuff was in the way with guests coming so it got dumped in a box
Useful paperwork is properly filed. If there is anything useful in these boxes you'd never find it anyway.
I am not making much headway with him at the moment
We are planning to convert the dog van to a camper so I have a list of what needs to go for that to happen (crates, rig, etc). I will work my way through the list and maybe some of it will rub off on him

Silvertabby

MallyGirl wrote: »

I am trying to get my OH out of the hoarding mentality. In my youth I was terrible - maybe because I had very little growing up - but I have moved on from that now. DH has so many old IT books and so many tools/boxes of old sockets/bits of wire/all sorts. These days we would pay someone to do this sort of work, and the IT books are just out of date and no use to man nor beast. We have boxes and boxes of 'paperwork' where a pile of stuff was in the way with guests coming so it got dumped in a box
Useful paperwork is properly filed. If there is anything useful in these boxes you'd never find it anyway.
I am not making much headway with him at the moment
We are planning to convert the dog van to a camper so I have a list of what needs to go for that to happen (crates, rig, etc). I will work my way through the list and maybe some of it will rub off on him

Eek ! We're married to the same man !

barnstar2077

MallyGirl wrote: »

I am trying to get my OH out of the hoarding mentality. In my youth I was terrible - maybe because I had very little growing up - but I have moved on from that now. DH has so many old IT books and so many tools/boxes of old sockets/bits of wire/all sorts. These days we would pay someone to do this sort of work, and the IT books are just out of date and no use to man nor beast. We have boxes and boxes of 'paperwork' where a pile of stuff was in the way with guests coming so it got dumped in a box
Useful paperwork is properly filed. If there is anything useful in these boxes you'd never find it anyway.
I am not making much headway with him at the moment
We are planning to convert the dog van to a camper so I have a list of what needs to go for that to happen (crates, rig, etc). I will work my way through the list and maybe some of it will rub off on him

Do you know the reason why your other half is reluctant to declutter? Is it because the books were expensive at the time? Is it purely a case of not wanting to spend the time doing it? Is there some kind of emotional attachment? Would cleaning that area mean that something else will happen and he subconsciously is delaying? If you can work out why he isn't keen, then you may be able to persuade him. Good luck!

MallyGirl

The thing is - he is the one that wants to redecorate the room where all this stuff is and I have said that it needs to be much clearer first. I am happy to move stuff out completely - not sure where to - as moths have attacked the carpet. I just don't want to move it back in again afterwards. It is a big room across the full width of the house with a vaulted ceiling and 'loft' storage down either side. The room is 12' x 33' and both long sides are full of bookshelves, office furniture, desks (and a king size bed at one end). The boxes of stuff are in front of the bookshelves so you can't even see the contents. If we didn't have so much space to fill it just wouldn't be possible to keep all this toot.
Maybe I will just start processing a box every now and then and see if he misses them.

barnstar2077

MallyGirl wrote: »

The thing is - he is the one that wants to redecorate the room where all this stuff is and I have said that it needs to be much clearer first. I am happy to move stuff out completely - not sure where to - as moths have attacked the carpet. I just don't want to move it back in again afterwards. It is a big room across the full width of the house with a vaulted ceiling and 'loft' storage down either side. The room is 12' x 33' and both long sides are full of bookshelves, office furniture, desks (and a king size bed at one end). The boxes of stuff are in front of the bookshelves so you can't even see the contents. If we didn't have so much space to fill it just wouldn't be possible to keep all this toot.
Maybe I will just start processing a box every now and then and see if he misses them.

Tell him that if there is anything in there that he wants he has two weeks to take it out or lose it forever. Then order a skip for two weeks time and gut the place. I bet he removes a couple of cables and handful of books at most. As long as you give him enough notice, and you make it clear you are serious, then he can't complain. But then I am a proponent of being proactive! :rotfl:

Bravepants

barnstar2077 wrote: »

Tell him that if there is anything in there that he wants he has two weeks to take it out or lose it forever. Then order a skip for two weeks time and gut the place. I bet he removes a couple of cables and handful of books at most. As long as you give him enough notice, and you make it clear you are serious, then he can't complain. But then I am a proponent of being proactive! :rotfl:

Ooh no! You don't want to fall out with your partner over this. I think it's much more effective (and peaceful) to lead by example.

Anonymous101

bugslet wrote: »

I think minimalism or simply questioning the value of something is to you personally, is a natural bedfellow to early retirement. Less stuff means less expenditure, less upkeep.

I was out yesterday and people were extolling the virtues of a soupmaker. I have one of those, I just call it a pan:rotfl:

:rotfl: Really funny you say that.... I've just that the exact same conversation at work and one of my colleagues made that pan reference!

cfw1994

Silvertabby wrote: »

Eek ! We're married to the same man !

Good grief: is one of you my wife?
:rotfl:

Anonymous101

cfw1994 wrote: »

Good grief: is one of you my wife?
:rotfl:

Sounds like both of them might be! :T

barnstar2077

Bravepants wrote: »

Ooh no! You don't want to fall out with your partner over this. I think it's much more effective (and peaceful) to lead by example.

Haha, I don't think they would have a falling out. From what she has said he doesn't seem that bothered either way.:)