What to do with all the old stuff - there is no room for NEW stuff.

[Izzy101]

What do you all do when your house is overrun with new stuff and there is nowhere to put it? I have three kids - 11, 9 and 9 (twins) and today they have received so much stuff, all currently piled up in the living room that I am starting to panic as to where I will put it all. It does seem a trifle unfair to throw some of their old things out or give them to charity when they are still fully functional. My youngest daughter has so many cuddly toys she barely has room to sleep in her own bed - and today she has had an elephant, a frog and a giraffe to join them.

My 83 year old father is a class one dreadful hoarder and as soon as my house starts to get even a little bit out of hand and messy I freak - possibly some kind of mental over-reaction; but trust me - if you had seen his house then you would understand. Actually you may well have seen his house as he was on 'This Morning' earlier in the year and also on a programme 'Can't stop won't stop hoarding'. His house is a dreadful, dreadful mess. Today he will have switched on his Christmas lights. The lights have been up since 1998 - he can no longer reach them to take them down - and if he did he would never find them again for the next year so he would have to buy more... So he turns them on at Christmas and ignores them the rest of the year. The same goes for his Christmas cards - these he has on a string along the wall - he has many cards on this string - some cards written by people who died years ago.

So anyone who has a similar issue - you're not alone. The book 'Diary of a Hoarder's Daughter' which details my struggles with both my dad and his house are all in my book which is on FREE DOWNLOAD today and tomorrow on Amazon. 'Diary of a Hoarder's Daughter' by Izabelle Winter. Enjoy :) and a very Merry Christmas.