The Hoarders Anonymous Thread Part Two...Still Sorting It Out ~ Together!

[Solo]

Sorting out the home when you're a hoarder (big or small) is never going to be easy and we should know! but having someone else to support you, talk about it with you and make you feel much less of a freak of mother nature makes a huge difference!

If you are any of the following:
A hoarder. In a mess. Untidy. Disorganised. Lazy with housework that has lead to something that you now feel unable to deal with. If you are ill and not coping with the housework. If you are emotionally attached to items for whatever reason. If you have a combination of any or all of these things or something completely different, please join us. No one here will judge you. We have something in common and we have a common goal. We share our ideas and we share our disappointments no matter how big and our celebrations no matter how small.

Welcome to thread number 2! :)

Glad to see this on Active Threads as it'd fallen off my list.

Nothing going on here decluttering-wise, but I'm on my notice period from work, as they've dismissed me due to my health. The right thing really, obviously I am sad about it though.

Think I'm still down with the stress of it all though, so not managing much.

But here's the crazy thing. I will probably be running the maths club IN MY HOUSE. What the actual hell have I done?!

Anyway, we have a couple of weeks before we go away for a few days up north-ish, and after that we also have our annual home ed review thing so want to be tidier for that as well.

In a lot of pain though and just have so little energy for it all.

All of my tip stuff has gone, few bags to go tcharity then i might have some space!

Will check in properly later, on phone.

Sounding good Beyond :)

I have been ill, so not been on here at all really. Or done any clearing.

(((Solo))) Hope you are feeling better.

I have finally sorted out all the kids school clothes. I have thrown some, got a small bag of 'too big' stuff to save until next year and have given a big bag to school to reuse. Plus re washed two more loads of school clothes, now hung to dry. Just have to order a few jumpers/cardies for next year.

Next job is too sort out konnect and lego into the new (from china) playmats/storage bags in one. This will clear space in the storage unit in the big kids room. I am hoping to get the kids toys thinned and organised this half term...gulp....wish me luck. :)

Hi Babies :) I'm a lot better thank you, just still coughing, but nowhere near as bad. I had a full week off sick, but been back all this week. Dd has Cellulitis from an insect bite/sting! She's on antibiotics as she was ill with it today :( poor thing.

You are really on it here Babies and I just need some time! (and energy)

I've got a minging cough and cold too (and slowly becoming laryngitis), and i'm going camping today! Feel sorry for the rest of the campsite, if i'm gonna be coughing all night.

So, took this opportunity to get rid of some of the hoarded camping supplies that i wont ever use (solid fuel for eg was tried once and will not be used again as it stinks!!)

Solo oh no hope your daughter feels better soon.

Beyond yippee, good job sorting the camping stuff.

My youngest daughter is really spotty atm, either allergic rash or foot & mouth I think. Rash blanched under glass so I am not worried but until I get the all clear from a doctor or it goes, we are stuck at home :(

On the bright side, the house is on a much better Keal than if normally is at half term.

I have got to bottom of laundry pile (again !) And re packed pe bags x 3 for school and all school uniforms are ready to use. I can't explain how very unlikely this is to ever happen here.

Also managed to get floor clear in little girls room...though I have three bags if toys to sort though....I need to throw quite a bit.

Right off to finish kitchen and I have one dry load of clothes which need konmari folding and put away.

Feeling like I have achieved a lot recently.

Hi all .

I'm struggling still...Will I ever get sorted out?

Solo Yes, you will sort it out

But it will take a while, especially taking into account raising a family and bouts of illness and day to day life....which is very hard to do in a clutterly house....I know that.

Keep plugging away, you will get there one day (((solo)))

Hi guys,

I haven't been on mumsnet for ages, it was a huge timesuck for me for a long time so I stopped coming on here to try and stop being sucked down the rabbit hole! You know, just one more click and one more thread and before you know it hours of your day have been wasted.

Anyway I just wanted to say that I read through lots of pages of this thread yesterday because I have been feeling really down about the state of our flat. It's chaos and I feel like I'm stumbling blindly along each day and some weeks the chaos and mess just gets worse. I tell myself that I don't even know where to start, so it's like I'm frozen. Instead of just getting up and doing a small tidy up or clean I am frozen.

At the the same time sometimes I get a bit blind to the mess.

Then other times I feel like I over-think things and I feel frozen. I want to find the PERFECT solution to the mess (and the untidiness and all the stuff) and that leaves me frozen too.

My brain goes round and round and I just end up feeling frozen.

BUT yesterday I read lots of pages of this thread and then made myself a list of things to do that would make a start at getting the shit-tip in order. And today I managed to clean the bathroom. I threw away some bath toys, there were simply too many and some needed to just get thrown away. I washed up some things, I tidied up, I wiped over the floor, I wiped down the toilet. I took out dirty clothes that had pilled up in there and I took out damp towels that had been languishing on the floor for ages. It's looking good in there and I feel so happy i achieved that today.

I also have filled up more than 5 supermarket bags of clothes that do not fit dd2 anymore and are really ready to go to a charity shop. I asked dh if he wanted to sell any of them and we have jointly decided that it will just be best for us to donate them rather than risk trying to sell them and then sort of getting in a pickle with it all and then ended up with a mess of clothes. Getting them out of the door will feel good and it'll be a relief to drop them into the charity clothing bin asap.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome back :)

Definitely agree for me and you, getting stuff out of the house and to the charity shop is the best way to deal with it.

Anything which is piled to 'sell' ends up being drifting back into the house !

I have started to write a mega to do list which I am going to print out and start following tomorrow...wish me luck :)

Thanks Babies :)

Welcome back to Mnet Down You'll feel right at home on our little thread and well done for getting the bathroom sorted :)

This morning, I sorted out a tiny bit of paper stuff, shredded some and recycled others. That is a single drop in the ocean that is my mess, but I did it.

Drop in the ocean, is still a drop done :) Keep on going !
How is the garden looking ?

I am working on a housework routine...go me. I'll tell you next week if I did it or started it or not, lol

Yes Babies you are right! Garden? It needs to stop raining :)

Solo I thought your friend was having a go at the garden for you ?

I am drowning in dry laundry which needs putting away but for a THIRD time I have got to the bottom of the laundry bin. Yeah :)

Babies yes, but it is now covered with thick plastic to stop the weeds growing back after weed killer, but the plastic is all wet puddles!

I think you are doing great with keeping on top of your laundry! :) Since Ds left home, I have so much less washing and ultimately dryingto do. The biggest positive!!

Well! I have cleaned 85% of the bathroom today :) would have done 95% but for a phone call...I also did a wash load...Might have to work tomorrow, but I hope not.

Solo 85% of a room is fab progress. :)

I have had a busy day but full of hayfever and can't sleep, so mumsnetting the evening away :)

How are we? I've not done anything more. Where is time going? And what's going on with the weather? I need a couple of months off!

My house is ok ish. Need to do one load of laundry tomorrow and fold and put away a pile of clean dry clothes.

I really need to tackle our room...the last dumping ground but I can't face it and spend time in other rooms rather than just getting on with our room. That said I have been mulling it over on my head for months, so I do think I will be ready to start this room soon !

I am five months in my BuJo (Bullet journal ) and just loving it..it helps me balance all my to do lists and paperwork.

We seem a bit slow on here atm; is everything ok?

I've done a bit, but it doesn't seem enough ~ ever and never stays even slightly tidy/clear. Time is flying away and I'll be in next year and still not have the work done that is necessary .

I've spent the last couple of days attacking a massive box of paperwork. Realised most of it could be shredded - things like bank statements from 2007.

Well done with the paperwork :)

Solo, Time does fly past...another day another chip away.

I am balancing ok. Still never finding time to attack our room (really cluttery room)
Rest of the house is ok ish. Laundry is up and down...need a good drying day atm.
Working through little girls toys atm, ahead of their birthdays.

Yep time flying here too! Keep falling off the thread, sorry I have been totally useless at supporting people and chatting on this thread. I have caught up now!

Babies huge well done for getting to the bottom of the laundry so often! I manage it once in a blue moon. Dirty clothes everywhere ATM.

Welcome Down how are you getting along now?

Solo it's like groundhog day isn't it, but longer term, with the never getting anywhere feeling. Groundhog year.

Beyond how's things? Was camping ok?

Hope the colds and bugs have gone away for you all, it's my turn ATM - cold has gone but the chesty/wheezy cough is getting worse again. Ugh.

So I've not been doing much other than the paperwork shredding. And that only came about because we were frantically looking for a receipt (and no, of course we didn't find it!) and realised just how ridiculously OLD some of the papers were. So I bought a cheap shredder and am gradually going through it. So far I've only found a tiny amount that needs to be kept (tenancy stuff mostly, for this house).

The massive (48 litre!) box of papers will then be used to store all the jigsaw puzzles (but I do want to go through them as I suspect a couple may have missing pieces). Said puzzles have been moved because we have reorganised the board/card games! They aren't completely sorted yet, but they now ALL fit in/on ONE (admittedly gigantic) cupboard. Rather than being in piles everywhere. This makes me very happy. We have a massive collection - I decided to type an inventory of them... we have 172! It makes me happy though. We use them a lot (although there are some that need checking in case we want to get rid), and having them organised better will really help. The eventual plan is to move them around so they are all shelved with similar games/themes etc.

The living room is a bombsite today, it gets like that SO quickly :( but it's definitely quicker to tidy now. I've had some maths classes here, and they've gone well. We've got more clear surfaces now.

That's not to say there aren't boxes and bags full of random crap elsewhere though...

Do you have room for one more at all?

I'm a bit lot overwhelmed. A brief breakdown.. 3 bed period house with just me in it. Finalised divorce last week so husband finally clearing the rest of his crap. House needs a full renovation, and I will be doing as much as possible to manage to keep costs down.
Both gardens are like jungles. I can't say inside the house is too much better either!!