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

[Solo]

Are you are any of the following? Can you be described as a clutterbug? Are you 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 cannot just ask someone in for a cuppa at a moments notice or dread the meter reader asking for access.

Are you nodding whilst reading any of these words? 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. We cheer one another along and drag the drowners from the depths of despair.

Join us; we don't bite :) Welcome to thread number 3.

Well done Nettle :)

I took a bag of Ds's socks, caps, pillowcases, his friend's t-shirt and sweatshirt which I found in a carrier bag with white sweat marks on (so washed them) over to Ds this morning. Also gave mum the single sheets and pillowcases that match sheets I gave to her before. I'm sure she doesn't actually need so much single bed linen but, I can't get rid of it any other way! And it's another bag gone from my lot! (sorry mum!)

So today, I went on a long cold walk and had, despite the 1000s of clothes in this house, no warm trousers fit for purpose (luckily had thermal leggings) and no matching socks that I could find, or teeshirts that I could find with long sleeves. Just a reminder that clutter and excess stop you finding clothes to wear when you need them. Nor could I find a single clean towel when I got out of the bath. There is no soap, apart from one tiny sliver of green organic Austrian mountain soap! Yet the drawers in kitchen are full of stuff I NEVER USE. Special cloths for drying the car, or rollers for removing lint...tape for winding round electrical cable.bulbs that I've never worked out which sockets they go in..Charcoal in the garden I never cook on..fancy dress I never wear...decorations I never put up...and all I really need is a pair of warm trousers and a bar of soap!!!!!! rant over,

today is going fine though, had a great walk in the great outdoors with sister and her dog. Bought some groceries, and supper will be fish and potato wedges and carrots. Ds2 and I are going off to the football in Reading tomorrow. First time at the Reading stadium.

Goodness Nettle we sound so similar!

that is very heartening to hear solo, sometimes one feels very isolated thinking those thoughts!!!

Well today I did well. I stopped myself buying anything (although possibly indecision is to do with this rather than foresight) although tempted by nice dishcloths, craft kits, shoes and a lot of random presents for people that will probably never get given to them (think the entire stock of John Lewis) and thought..I need to sort out my life before I add anymore crap to it!

With that in mind, I bought a book to read, and started reading it, and a walk on walking, so I get out and do the walking, and a map. Until the house is clearer I am not going to buy anything with adds to my burdens/sense of frustrated muddle, no cookbooks, no creative stuff.

I need to clear my mind before I can create anything. That is my spring motto.

I need to sort out my life before I add anymore crap to it!
OMG! Yes!!! I feel the same.

Getting there but really unproductive lately. Think I have a bug as really wiped out. Still need to sort out living room for Monday.

I have also tried hard not to buy anything to add to the pit of despair! I see things and I've got quite good at resisting but if I buy one thing - just one! I'm probably done for as I buy more.

Today has been a nothing-y day as I visited mum. All I've done is put washing to dry this morning before going out, putting a small load on tonight and hanging it to dry when it finished, emptying and refilling the dishwasher and putting it on, vacuuming the cobwebs from the bathroom and landing ceilings and the landing walls.

The fact we are hopefully moving soon (not sure exactly as we are waiting for housing) helps me not buy stuff, I keep thinking of storage, things I’d like to replace etc but I keep reminding myself that it’s better to see what house we end up in to see what we need. I really hope we can get all the clutter out before we move rather than have to take it with us though.

You can do it Cag :)

Lazy day today. I have no business being lazy though.

I've decluttered some paper today from the Christmas "pile"
and put some books back in the bookshelf so they are not making new piles
Also threw away an old pair of trousers that smelt of cat pee, rather than trying to re-wash them and wear them in the "garden"
Did more washing, folded it and took it upstairs immediately
threw away some out of date Maths GSCE books
put the folded swimming towels back in the car with my swimsuit
watered a plant outside in a pot under the porch
kept on top of washing up

next step is to get the hoover upstairs to my room. It's been a week or more since I said that still haven't managed it. And the bathroom cleaner for my basin, will spray it on and leave it whilst I read my book in bed. Cag ds2 is playing Monopoly with his friends, or rather he is in middle of a week long Monopoly game which is spread out over sitting room and I'm thinking how lovely it is, much better than a tidy sitting room. It is so nice to see them happily employed, rather than in a tidy room in front of the telly (which could be the other extreme "decluttered" version of our lives...) Hope your weekend is going alright and you are not feeling that you need to do too much on this wet and horrible day..

Cagletini is not even three months old and we have lost her red book 😳 it’s around somewhere as she had her first jabs just after Christmas but where I couldn’t say. Sigh.

Not achieved anything for a while, still feeling sick and headachy the last few days so just trying to keep afloat really, and do some gentle admin type stuff. Procrastination is my worst habit.

Cag I read the first line abbreviated in threads I'm on, and I saw the words "we have lost her" and was v v relieved it was the red book only you had lost. I think you can get a replacement. I lost dd's at one stage, and they just put spare sheets in a folder every time we went to an appointment.

I'm feeling a bit rubbish today, not anxious about anything but just sick and headachy, think it is period pain. I woke up thinking about the hifi and speakers and how if I could just avoid thinking about anything else I could probably declutter them today, put them in the car, and drive them to the electrical recycling. will it happen? This made me really happy (sad person that I am) Not sure.

Procrastination is a virtue is you think about it, quite a lot of things are better for thinking them over, and some things just vanish if you don't do them [like sending Christmas cards

Oh gosh I see what you mean! No we thankfully haven't lost the baby or even forgotten her anywhere despite me being so disorganised. And DH found the book buried in a random pile of stuff so I took her to be weighed today, 12lb14 :o so following her centile perfectly yay!

HAHA!! It reminds me of Dd being just about 2 weeks old and we were out with her father looking around CarpetRight; Dd was in her car seat and being carried by him but, he put her down - unbeknown to me - and I suddenly heard a little boy saying at the top of his voice "MUMMY! I'VE FOUND A BABY!! " do you think he was decluttering?!

I had a blip over last two days as feeling a bit ill, but today is the day I am going to do the decluttering of the Hi Fi, aha, as dh is away in Germany for two days, so I can sneak it downstairs without him noticing or commenting. Normally if I do that sort of thing he would grumble about me wasting my time throwing away things instead of doing something more constructive/life enhancing.

Oh, how sweet finding a baby under a carpet roll, like a version of Thumbelina Has your dd read the wonderful "Star of Kazan" - book for 10-14 year old girl/boy set in Vienna Solo ds2 really enjoyed it, and I thought it brilliant riff on the finding baby on a mountain story, horses and delicious food in it too?

Oooh! Nettle no, she hasn't! I will investigate:). I must say, I would not have put a newborn baby down and walked away into a different aisle as he did .

Does the hi-fi not work then?

It might. but it is just amplifier and speakers, and do you know I have had enough of it, lurking, just in case the other one breaks down. It is taking a whole cupboard up.

I have one full set in the living room, 2 sets in the dining room and a portable type. None but the portable is plugged in or set up atm for a lot of years and I want one set in the dining room and the portable in my bedroom as well as one in the living room. I have 2 turntables too.

Our hifi broke years ago. DH bought me an Echo and a dot for a late Christmas present and they are brilliant.

Echo downstairs and Dot with speaker upstairs. They are smart speakers and play music on verbal demand.

House wise. I have been distracted by home brewing wine and being unwell. But I am planning to reorganise the kitchen cupboards. I did it a few months back but the tuperware is breeding again and the Poundland tubs I used to organise things started splitting due to overuse.

I gave therefore bought a few Wilko kitchen storage boxs with handles and will reorganise stuff into them. It might take more than a weekend but I am looking forward to doing it :)

:o at Mummy I’ve found a baby :o

Mega stressful few days here due to stuff going on with DH’s family. Not done a damn thing.

Oooh! What's an Echo and a dot?

Cag hope all is okay...I haven't anything but 2 wash loads either.

Trying to sort out the home ed resource drawers. Aaaaargh.

I have sorted out ALL kitchen surfaces and partial tidy to the cupboards. I need to get more kitchen boxes befire I finish the rest.

Happy with the good start. :)

Solo Echo and Dot are Amazon smart speakers absolutely great fun :)

Not much to report, but I sorted out all the CDS and records, binned a few and matched everythign with its covers! Made a big pile to go under the sofa, so I could start listening to a selection on the shelf and not feel overwhelmed by choice all the time.

Unfortunately my vinyl collection is so amazing that I am now wondering whether to ressurrect the amplifier and speakers for ds1...oh no...

Currently listening to The Magic Flute, Side 1 of 4. Last night I was listening to a very scratched Mamma Mia cd with ds that we found under the dusty shoebox containing other cds...

I also put away some books in the shelf which had been on the landing for a while, and matched them with their authors.

I've also planted all the bulbs that hadn't been planted from November, and used up all the china pots that I have keeping for this moment. And also found some cat food bowls in the greenhouse, that need washing, and returning to proper use (not drip trays for plants!)

Washed up some stuff in the utility room, and put away some provisions that have sitting out for some time because a cupboard was full of things to be decluttered (so the decluttering meant I could put other more important stuff away)

washed the bathroom windows last week too and got rid of something on the window sill as a result. Put all the nail scissors in one place in the house.

decluttered/gave a harry potter book to a 9 year old who was a reluctant reader. decluttered some home ed resources to a reluctant writer/speller.

filed some info last week in 4 files, instead of having a big pile of papers.

In short or in long, I am getting somewhere, but it will be many more weeks before I make obvious progress, still I am making small bits of progress and that is what I have to focus on, not what is not done, but what is going to be done, and has been done.

also found some sheepskin boots at the back of cupboard which will do for dd's school ski-ing trip, yet another example of having far too many old shoes, which then means you cannot find the really useful ones and nearly bought some more or went without. She will be very pleased. they do need fleecy insoles though, very worn out