The Hoarders Anonymous #5

[CherryMargo]

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Is your house/flat in a complete mess? Do you often feel overwhelmed and helpless when it comes to sorting it out? Do you procrastinate a lot? Do you struggle to declutter due to emotional attachment or decision-making fatigue? Are you embarrassed to invite people in?

Then you and us have a lot in common!

Join in for advice, encouragement and support. Here we share our struggles no matter how big, and celebrate our progress no matter how small. Welcome to thread number five! 🤗

P. S. Here are the links to various methods mentioned in previous threads:

The FlyLady Cleaning Method by Marla Cilley
The Organised Mum Method by Gemma Bray
The KonMari Method by Marie Kondo
The Getting Things Done Method by David Allen

Teens FFS

Not doing well here. Did get some board books out of the house yesterday though, a few by a particular author my friend likes. I’ve gathered the rest of the board books together to decide how to get rid - I gave a load to nursery a while ago but the rest got mixed back up with the picture books.

Zero motivation for anything else ATM and I never did find the marriage certificate either. WTF.

Sing:you got rid of board books. That is progress. You are not going to be able to achieve the same every day, but everything you do achieve is a win.

I did twenty minutes of bits and bobs, putting in bin bags, picking up random bits, sorting washing.

Just stopped for breakfast as I got too hungry to think.

Right time to take my own advice think what I have done not all that is left to do. Go and try and tackle a bit more.

Photo taken of the box DD made in reception, 10 and a half years ago. It is now in the bin. Admittedly that was the year that I chucked ex out and it all got a bit stressful.

Some stuff from the heap has been wiped and put away.

Some recycling has been put in a bag

Some rubbish has been thrown away

Some washing has been put to soak to get grass stains out.

Some washing has been gathered to the machine.

Nothing really spectacular but the heap is less high! I am getting down to the plant pot that needs washing.

Incidentally, we have had a snow shower, and I am in an unheated flat in shorts and a t shirt.

I have a nearly empty plant pot!

It's all that bloody annoying detritus that collects in unloved places. Once I have emptied the plant pot I am going to stop and concentrate on the washing and putting the stuff I have sorted where it belongs and sit in the window crafting before swapping to tea cooking..etc.

Funnily enough the annoying teens have dawdled so much that it has spurred me into getting things done and throwing things in the bin or in the clothes bank. I've put the old schoolwork in the loft unaided (ok DD helped me with one box)
Cleared all the remaining cr**p off the landing floor
Thrown away the broken magnifying mirror also on landing
Rationalised the pillowcases in airing cupboard and taken them all to my bedroom for once finding matching sets to change the bedlinen
Found all the walking socks, sorted various socks, used an odd one to dust picture frames and gaps in Bannisters, then chucked it.
Mopped bathroom floors, scrubbed a tiny bit of mould near tap..(not grouting that is too big a task for today)
Threw (clothes bank) away...torn pair of navy trousers, unattractive pair of orange cutoff trousers, a ripped sun top, a Monsoon skirt which was too baggy and saggy, a red shirt that doesn't suit any of us (although been debating this for some years and it had gone from cupboard to cupboard)
A pair of pyjama type summer trousers too short and ripped.
Two viscose white shirts that make me too hot and had gone greyish.
A very baggy bright green polo shirt for a giant

I panicked at last moment and retrieved a maroon cotton jumper with six holes..it IS my favourite..still I think Kondo would have clapped. I thanked them all and tried to move forward.

And now there is room in my cupboard.

Sing I still have a set of Mr Men books I don't dare throw in case someone asks for them.

So now my uphill struggle is to wait for ds2 to emerge and hoover newly cleared landing. Who will crack first??

It has been so difficult throwing things away. They all had some use in them, they could have been mended, repurposed but tbh the whole house is full of similar items that I don't have time to deal with, and worse still they don't make me look very presentable, which is important too I am hanging on to the shabby down at heel me for too long.

Well done. It is hard to get rid of the 'it might be useful' stuff. As evidenced by my flat. That was a long list and very impressive. It is lovely to read what other people have achieved. Seeing other people get rid of stuff spurs me on to get rid of some of mine. Good luck with getting a teen to hoover.

I have an empty washed plant pot. Going to leave the rinsing to the rain. It was brought home to clean so the next crop can be planted in it. Then it got stuck in the flat for over a year. Back to ex's yard. Maybe we will be able to use our own compost?

Just resting before tackling tea.
Thanks for all on this thread. You have kept me going! Not sure if I have visibly reduced the overall crapness of the flat but I have got closer to being able to see a difference.

So:
damp dusted the oil filled radiator under the loft hatch...gets very dusty. (Found the nut that holds the wheel on in the plant pot) this is the start of reclaiming the landing to done status.

Got a small bag of recycling including sandpaper packets.

Washed very stuck on hair conditioner off some cups...they will go for a proper wash up later.

Emptied a large plant pot of junk/stuff and washed it out. It is in the hall waiting to go to their dad's.

Unblocked the basin and cleaned it

Breakfast, lunch and snack for 1dc. Snack for other dc.

Sorted the dirty washing, washed one dark load, hung, got a white load in. Put soap on grass stained knees. Found the two white items that need soaping and soaking and getting stains out of. These have been put to one side to deal with later. Moved washing about, so it airs away from the clothes horse so wet washing can go on it. Taken some dry washing to DD to put away.

Picked three things up off the living room floor and disposed of. Need to finish that as I was aiming for 5.

I started putting the scattered sandpaper in a bag. There is a lot of other stuff underneath.

Wiped a jigsaw from the charity shop as it was very dusty after living in the heap for ages. It has been dumped in dd's room as it is closest to the heap. Need to find somewhere to put it away.

Dd's room is probably coming to the top of the worst room that needs working on. I didn't do the soya milk as I did more than just wash the plant pot at the bottom of the heap. This will need to wait for another day.

There is nothing more satisfying than a (very large?) plant pot. For tomatoes?

Glumy could you buy a cheap EU bedframe to match? Is mattress IKEA?

I'm going to try and tackle my bedroom again. I hoovered it two weeks (?) ago after much neglect (my clothes are in my study so one less reason to bother tidying it) but morning sun is lighting up the dust. And basin is not draining up there.
Lentil shepherd's pie for supper, cooked lentils need to be used; they are in an old strawberry ice cream container - upsetting everyone when they open and find grey sludge instead of ice-cream.

The grey sludge lentils made me laugh.

Plant pot had runner beans in. Going to try those again.

Tomatoes are in my lovely clean indoor pots on the kitchen window sill.

I have loads of new tea towels here in two colours. 15 x blue stripe for our washing up and 5 x red stripe for the cats feeding bowls!

I have kept on top of the kitchen again. Did two loads of laundry and hung them up. Sorted out birthday cards for May, all ordered and paid for.

Tomorrow, I aim to sort out the little girl’s bedroom and hoover the stairs and landing. Plus more laundry

Hi all,

I’ve been absent from MN and other social media throwing all my energy and free time at my kitchen. And now it’s done! 🥳 The kitchen has become the first and so far the only FLY Zone which I’ve deep cleaned from top to bottom.

This is what my Zone 2 detailed cleaning list looks like ⬇️ (in accordance with the FlyLady’s advice, I started at the ceiling and worked my way down to the floor). The kitchen is only 87 ft2 (8 m2) but it took me 22 hours in total (over the course of several days) to complete all 26 steps:

🍒 Dust the ceiling
🌸 Clean the fan inside and outside (it had to be dismantled with a screwdriver. It’s very old, damaged and glued back together. If the kitchen ever gets re-decorated, this fan must be replaced with a proper cooker hood)
🌸 Clean the lamp shade inside and outside (it’s a clip-on plastic globe)
🍒 Clean the wall cabinet inside and outside (yep, there’s only one); clean, sanitise and re-arrange the items
🍒 Clean the tiles
🍒 Clean the paper towel dispenser
🍒 Clean and sanitise the worktops
🍒 Clean the microwave oven inside and outside
🍒 Clean the stove top
🌸 Clean the oven and oven trays
🌸 Clean and descale the kettle
🍒 Clean and descale the coffee machine
🍒 Clean the coffee capsule container inside and outside
🍒 Clean the canisters inside and outside
🌸 Clean the wine rack
🍒 Clean and, where possible, polish the kitchen utensils and tools
🌸 Bleach the plastic cutting boards
🍒 Clean the cutlery drawer inside and outside; wash and polish the cutlery
🍒 Wash all the plates, bowls, mugs, cups and glassware
🌸 Sharpen the knives
🍒 Clean the base cabinets inside and outside (from left to right); clean, sanitise and re-arrange the items
🌸 Descale the washing machine, clean its front and the door seal
🌸 Defrost and clean the freezer inside and outside
🍒 Clean and sanitise the refrigerator inside and outside
🍒 Empty, clean, sanitise and re-line the kitchen bin
🍒 Vacuum the carpet including the area underneath the fridge and the freezer (this flat has carpets everywhere 😬)

If I follow the FlyLady’s recommendations, I need to do this all over again in five weeks. The recommendation is to do it in 30-minute chunks over the course of five consecutive days. I doubt that 150 minutes in total will be enough to complete all the steps. I also think that my kitchen cabinets will be OK if I empty and deep clean them every tenth week instead of every fifth week. And some other steps (I’ve marked them with the cherry blossom emojis) can be done less frequently, too. Maybe I’ll do the full version twice a year (spring and autumn) 🤔 We shall see!

Wow Margo I'm very impressed. I think my emoji won't be a cherry for some of those steps but a comet once every thousand years.
It is funny though, as the clutter lifts I do find flylady more and more approachable ..it is just when you cannot get the major stuff sorted it feels too overwhelming to worry about detailed cleaning.

But I really enjoyed cleaning bits of my bathrooms today it must be said.

Ha,ha, ha...not a fucking chance.

(Too many disabilities in this flat to even think about polishing stuff that's fairly clean already! )

Well done you though. That is an amazing amount of work.

I see your comet nettle and raise it to ice age...once every 10 thousand years..

Having said that...I wiped the microwave over recently, and am not quite finished the bottom two shelves of the fridge and salad drawer today. I have done the washing machine within the last five weeks, and wipe the walls and tiles near the drainer regularly, last time being yesterday when someone marched their eight legs over it repeatedly. Poor sod couldn't get a grip and fell off onto a cactus. Didn't fancy them falling off and wiping a spider willy and 8 mucky feet on my clean washing up so they were delivered to the hall near to where the big hairy fat monsters live. Hopefully cellar spider will catch the big hairy monsters if it survived the cactus fall.

Oh and I did some cupboard and drawer fronts today too. Pick a day when I am not going to topple over when I bend down.

Cherry I hope you don't think we are laughing at you. In my case it is the right state of the rest of the flat and disabilities that make that level of cleaning unlikely for a very long time! Just going for good enough.

You've all done so much! I'm envious!

Today, I've had no energy for anything. Brother phoned me to say that the medi equipment which was supposed to be delivered to mums today didn't give him the 2 hours notice that they are supposed to give, but just 30 seconds . So, he's busy for Thursday and Friday when they can book it in again...so, guess who has to go? So, I'm doing that on Thursday, and mum is going home that day too. So, I need to go to her place early in the morning to clean her very dusty bedroom as she'll be living up there for a while. I'll also need to shop for her so that she's got easy foods in (I haven't done enough to put in the freezer for her). We hate ready meals, but I think she's going to have to have some of those. Next week when I'm back at work Dd's going to stay with her, and I'll have to go there each day after work to sort some meals out.

I did a wash load last night, and another load today, so mum's washing is also clean, and I cooked a very easy meal tonight. I did fold a few bits up, but didn't get them put away yet. I washed up an hour ago. I'm determined not to leave washing up in the sink for days at a time anymore. I set Dd the job of picking everything up off our very small bathroom floor, and from under the bath (no panel), but I'm not certain she's finished that yet, but I'll take the broom up before bed as I know it's very dusty in there.

Dd is annoying me at the moment as she insists on dressing like a boy, but won't let me get rid of the dresses she has.

Still waiting for Dd to put the recycling out into the wheelie bins, it is now almost a week since I asked her to do it, and it gets added to each day.

This morning I'm anxiously waiting for our junk to be taken away! I'll be relieved when it's all gone!

I've taken down birthday decorations from ages ago. I procrastinated. They're boxed up and put away.

I've taken two mattresses down to the garage, they've been hanging around for 1 year 4 months. But now the garage is about one million times better than it was, so getting the mattress down there and put somewhere good was a million times easier. So about 2 months ago I bought a tarpaulin to wrap around the mattresses, so that felt like a step in the right direction! Sometimes I have jobs that need doing, but I don't know where to start so when I got the tarp it just felt good to think properly about the steps I needed to take to sort the mattress storage properly.

I've got some awful annoying paperwork cr*p to sort today. I've also got a library book due back, I tried to renew it but they wouldn't let me! Sometimes when you phone up the librarian will renew it again for you.

I am planning a shelving unit for the garage!

dh has fixed a broken door lock today! Hooray.

The mattresses were in our spare room, so I guess that room can get organized now. But I'm not sure when I'll tackle that room. It'll get added to the list.

Ok. I'm not feeling it today, but I'm just pushing myself. I've taken four boxes down to the garage and put them on top of the mattresses. Neat-ish. Out of the living room. I'm glad. They're full of Xmas decorations.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/elderly_parents/3543471-Ready-meals-delivery-service-or-just-organise-it-ourselves

I just linked to this thread Solo as I remember reading it before.

My parents love M & S with ordinary veg, ordinary salad.
I know what you mean about ready meals but in the short term they can solve a problem...time and legistics.
How infuriating about your DB. Dont end up coooking meals for him too whatever you do.
My ds2 is meant to be in charge of recycling. I have been known to put the recycling "box" strategically on his bed to remind him to empty it. Ive stuck to my guns though and refuse to do it when he is here from uni.
Teens are peculiar (it is normal really)with clothes, dd keeps all hers. It is difficult to declutter someone elses stuff ,I have found without their engagement! Dd has a massive amount of clothes she buys from charity shops and with.babysitting money birthday money from cheap shops. I long for her to buy dresses but she steals her brothers' clothes. The dresses remaining are prom dress from 16, and two horrors which are meant to be sundresses. She is a textiles student atm which.doesnt help. Always in trousers and hoodies or sweatshirts but quite glam with it.

Btw the minute dd hit 13, she stopped wearing "pretty" clothes...everything wss very low key and utility. Despite being creative.
Ds2 conversely likes very flamboyant clothes, not elegant just bright! Pink velvet jacket for Prom. Hawaiian shirt at weekend.

We are drowning in clothes here, except me. Ive got rid of most of mine ironically.

CherryMargo Oh my goodness! You are bombing along, well done you.

Nettleskeins I have tried and failed on the Flylady. I am doing my own routine, it seems to be slowly working for me.

BlackeyedSusan YY, I agree. We all have our levels and we all celebrate each others achievements be it a baby step to a untouched room or a finishing touch to a completed room.

Solo You are doing so much for your mum. Big hug of support, I am sorry your brother isn’t doing much.

DownUdderer Hurrah on moving the mattresses. Good luck with the spare room.

As for me, I have…

I have hoovered the stairs and landing, done my daily jobs, and hung & washed one load of laundry.

I still am on top of the kitchen!

I have practically caught up with my laundry!

I only have one load ready to go in machine and ½ a load of whites and 2 bath towels! Which for a six person household, is a near miracle!

I still want to finish the girl’s bedroom tomorrow, but we had a lazy day today instead!
I have already sorted through the girl’s clothes, books and toys in the last few weeks and found 90% of their floor when DH build them a new chest of drawers each a few weeks back.

But the girls still have three large boxes of small and/or precious things to sort through which are covering 10% of their small room. I aim to get each girl down to a small plastic box and lid which can go at the bottom of the wardrobe. Plus, sort through their shoes, an easy job as nearly all/all the shoes will be too small and will need chucking!

Tomorrow, I am going to finish the kitchen. One cleaning cupboard to straighten and random stuff on the top of cupboards (which DH will have to pull down for me) and sort out the odd things in the hall and landing and the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

Then onto new pastures AKA living room and dining room!