The Hoarders Anonymous #5

[CherryMargo]

Thread #1 | Thread #2 | Thread #3 | Thread #4

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

Ah that did make me laugh!
And the disembodied hand...
Solo good to see you, hope that you and your dcs are well

I put out an old mixer tap and some copper pipes outside for metal salvage collectors...they come past collecting old radiators scrap metal every now and then.

That was laughing at Lego gas video...sorry mid post went for dog walk and only just pressed send 2 hours later.
Will read posts up to date

Hello Solo, I did have you on my original c& p post!
I' m a newbie. Thank you for starting this and pleased you're here.

@Elleherd refresh the thread to get rid of big video.

Solo Thank you for tagging me and getting things moving again around my house!

FiniteSagacity Keeping on top of the laundry is a massive achievement, one I hope to get to at some point. Interested in the TOMM weekly plan, off to google that.

BlackeyedSusan Gosh, you did great with the 1.5 laps of the garden and yes it is typical to be furthest point away from a seat when you break. Do you have EDS? Ignore my question if you want, just sounded like my friends issues.

DownUdderer I loved my can crusher. If nothing else, it is fun to use. We got a wall mounted one.! Keeping on top of laundry IS a massive achievement. I don’t think I have EVER done that. I know what you mean about finishing a job. I am awful at doing 90% and then stopping. So good on you finishing your cupboard.

Elleherd Hope the landlord gets a wriggle on and gets the problem sorted. Could you borrow or buy a dehumidifier in the mean time? They are better than heaters which just put the water back into the air, with a dehumidifier it removes the water and puts it in a tank you can throw down the sink.

Nettleskeins Getting all the metal bit and pieces out of the house is a good idea. I will keep that in mind, see what I can find to put outside.

What I have done…

1. Today I have updated my food spreadsheet a bit.

1. Tidied up the kitchen again, managing to keep on top of it for now. (Still need to tidy under sink and clear top of cupboards, which is a job for another week/month.) I am ashamed to say that two children came to thank me for reorganising the fridge, as it is much easier for their pack lunches.

1. I updated the thortful card website for April’s cards. Just one birthday for April, so that is now ordered. Then on 1st April I will order May’s cards etc. When we get back around December, I should have added all relevant reminders, dates and addresses into my thortful account. So in theory, 2022 should be much better organised for cards.

1. Sorted out all my medication for the next 13 days aka 442 pills! All pill gunned out of their packets and in the right dosette box section, that took hours. So don’t have to do that for another fortnight, hurrah.

5.Updated ToDoIt App I am updating jobs and allocating some to the children and DH.

Plus this evening, the food delivery will arrive and I have to make sure the kids put the food away in the right sections in the kitchen. Look forward to having a bit more food in the currently empty cupboards. Though it will be a few weeks before I replaced everything I had to chuck.

Right, off to have a lie down, shower, lie down, go and collect kids at 3pm Wish me luck!

Officially I have hEDS(?) According to my letter. Definitely HSD which according to some researchers (Marco Castori et al) who publish a lot, are the same thing.

Menopause fucked my hormones, progesterone fucked my joints. Though I managed to pull my hips by trying to put the second slipper on when it was facing in the opposite direction to the other one without moving the first leg.

Today I have achieved ds's breakfast, uniform, school run, cast on foundation chain and first row of a blanket while waiting for the mad traffic hour to finish, checked some details for kids respite care, limped round garden and got up the stairs a lot better took some washing up through to the kitchen, completed sewing one join in another blanket, and done another few stiches on something else, checked on kid who's not coming straight home and, slept for three hours.

Will attempt washing up and cooking later. May have to pull out a half cooked veg pack from the freezer to make tea.

hEDS (?) [sic] is how it appears on the letter.

Still trying to finish the old thread; so not yet reading this one. I'm certainly 'doing' more than before, but I have such a lot of physical pain, as well as the ME right now, that it's difficult.

From the last thread. I leave grocery shopping in bags all the time! It's ridiculous, but I don't have much cupboard space to use usually, and even less than normal because I have wall cabinets literally coming away from the wall. If I can get into a reasonable state, I can get that sorted...yada, yada, yada! .

Done 2 loads of washing today. Drying it is the problem. I've had or have a rodent problem again, and me using the dining room to store the clean laundry (argh!!!!!) has given said rodent/s the ideal hiding place and toilet. So, I'm having to re-wash everything! I've decidedly, most definitely - HAD ENOUGH!

Small victories:
I now wash up after every meal/cuppa/whatever.
I squeezed out a bit of hair conditioner that has sat waiting to be used for a year or more, and got rid of the bottle! Dd said: "Noooo! I like that!" Well, it hadn't been touched in a long time, so no! Gone!

More tomorrow.

Yes, you get to the point where you have so much to sort out that sorting out becomes difficult.

Solo, just keeping on top of washing up cups etc feels good! Well done.

I'm feeling tired out after building two flat pack shelving units just now. DH helped me carry one into the cupboard, next to the first one. The last one will go into my little laundry room. I've ripped up the boxes and I'll get them in the recycling bin.

I've swept the bathroom. I've done two loads of laundry. I'll cook dinner in a minute.

I honestly felt like procrastinating and not bothering with the two shelving units today. I pushed forward though. I made a real effort last night to think through what'd help push me forward today and made a list.

I'm hoping to get my cupboard sorted and get a photo of it! That's spurring me on! I'm sure lots of bits that have ended up on my bedroom floor can get put away on these shelves. In the past I've just put things on the floor because I couldn't think where else they should go. I've got fabric and yarn and other arts and crafts bits, and I'll be happy for them to not be on the floor! Then I can clear a few things from my walk in wardrobe, so it can be walk in again! I can't walk in there at the moment without half jumping over a box!

I've booked a kurbside collection! I plan to put out a mattress, three cot mattresses and a broken chest of drawers. I will do it! I will feel relieved afterwards because I'll have that space in my garage again. I can also get rid of any other boxes that are lingering around and about.

DownUdderer well done, sounds promising. Are you allowed to add extras, or do you have declare each item ans stick to that?

Babieseverywhere A dehumidifier would be a good idea but at this point I’m too cash strapped.

BlackeyedSusan Thanks for the video instruction That level of hypermobility sounds very draining.
you get to the point where you have so much to sort out that sorting out becomes difficult. This should be pinned.

Solo Pain is always going to make things so much tougher. Sympathies. One less bottle is one less bottle.

Had to accept defeat yesterday, did small amount of additional cleaning and couple of items out, but am not in a great state and had to admit it to GP as things are heading in the wrong direction.
Consequence is I’m booked into hospital today and about to be picked up. Hopefully they might be able to get me up and running better and replace a few lost spoons. Fingers crossed.

Solo, don't forget the vitamin D supplements! Friend who is in pain from ME takes 4000 iu a DAY, and her tested level is only 70 ( optimum level 70-100 mil). She says the only things that helps is swimming,sunshine and rest. She works from home but swimming and sunshine have been sadly off cards all winter. She says she craves the sun .I think it really is linked to vit d. Needing it I mean.
I was found to be D deficient seven years ago and so was ds1 so I am a bit evangelical about repeating this to everyone..sorry if I've mentioned it already

Solo...I get this situation with moth...and end up spending so much time rewashing airing things. But in the end it is a storage issue not a moth issue as such. I've thrown a lot away because of it, after trying to darn and reuse woollens. Now I just reduce so I can keep on top of it. Also I put things in vacuum bags but that was just distracting me from storage ishoos.

Things are looking a lot better here but I'm still trying to make decisions. Lots of decisions. It is a relief to wash up and not think about bigger stuff.
I have a bag of rubbish to deal with in the garden, and some old hyacinths to plant out in flower bed. Also need to pot up my butternut squash seedlings, nicotiana sunflower and lobelia ...too many I fear ..one dill seedling has come up

But my Blackened Susan seeds have not germinated yet Susan. I planted them two or three weeks ago and I fear life in greenhouse has been too dank and cold. They are for (too lazy to organise her own plants and will throw money at problem if I don't get in there now) DDS tropical "patch" where she hopes to sit with her friends soon. It's in the alley.

Elle hope these is some help at hospital.We are all looking forward to seeing you back here.
Babies what kind helpful children

Good luck at the hospital @Elleherd

Well, I am standing up again, and have started the washing up. There is a fly in...God knows where from, I am washing up a bit and drying and putting away. I need to clear space to be able to come up with a solution for flies.

Well done on putting the shelves up.

I've gone round in circles trying to think through various solutions to various legistical problems...cars, pets, relatives, dentists..

Am now back at the beginning again having achieved very little except to ascertain that Great Western Hotel Does allow pets but only up a flight of stairs (ie not pet friendly...or is that just my incontinent dog) so my plan to break travel to ferry by train not very sensible after all...but how is dog to be transported madness...

Back to the boxes on the landing...they need to GO In the LOFT today!!!! My 19 year old is not helping me by telepathy, I need to actually ask her.

Threw out; coat that was uncomfortable and unflattering although relatively new.
All the catalogues that came in the door, immediately
A woollen cardigan that is baggy and doesn't suit me (although it could be recycled into cushion material...I am going to resist, and give it to clothes bank)
Some out of date maps and guidebooks from top cupboard. Lockdown helps with that...catching up on travel is likely to take several more years

Gosh, it is fun sorting out maps...nothing like being an armchair traveller
I'm bad at driving and spatial things so maps give me great pleasure. Some of them, alas seem to have been acquired from secondhand shops, in case I needed to go to X place. And never went of course.

Sidetracked....

Welcome, @DaisyDyson and @MsMMarple! 🤗

@Solo glad to see you back in action! 😉

@Nettleskeins thank you very much for the website link! 🙏 I believe that many of us will find it helpful (I sure did!). I wish we could edit our posts on MN so I could add it to the original post.

@Babieseverywhere well done for starting on a grocery spreadsheet! Spreadsheets are my no. 1 organising tool. My pantry, skincare & beauty products, clothes, shoes, meds, food supplements, you name it, are all tracked and monitored with the help of spreadsheets.

@Elleherd get well soon!

I’m really impressed with everyone’s progress and commitment! 👏 2021 will be our year, I believe that! 🙌

Signing in, haven’t caught up with the previous thread yet!

I have devoted no energy to decluttering lately. Since the covid jab I’ve been quite weak and wobbly, I’ve achieved lots of life stuff (studying, scary forms etc) but the house is getting messier again.

Seriously need to sort paperwork - just about found enough medical letters for my needs today (applying to disability support services for an OU degree) but can’t find the marriage certificate I also need to change my name on my account 🤦🏽‍♀️ I could have sworn I saw it within the last week or so but evidently I didn’t have the sense to put it in the damn paperwork box. WTF.

I’m still working through my kitchen cleaning checklist, and have recently shined all of my kitchen utensils, cutlery, mugs, cups and oven trays for the first time in… years 👀 It took a lot of scrubbing, and if my wrists could cry in pain, they would 😓

‘Detailed cleaning’ has revealed that I’d been hoarding cleaning products, too – some of the products I’ve dug out are 5-8 years old 🤦 It seems like my approach to cleaning products acquisition was similar to how I used to buy my skincare and makeup – always testing new products, pushing the old ones to the back of my drawers. I’m going to deal with it in a similar fashion as I did with my skincare and makeup – I’ll start with the oldest and halfway finished products first, and make notes about their performance. The products that I'll find particularly impressive will be added to my master shopping list 📝 So far, I’ve ‘used up’ six items: a duster, a medium-sized microfiber cloth, a large soft sponge, a Dishmatic sponge head, a Spontex tough scourer and a 500-ml bottle of Dettol spray.

Meanwhile, tomorrow is Friday, and I chose Fridays to be my Menu & Grocery Day which means that my tasks for tomorrow (in addition to my morning and before-bed routines and everything else in between) are as follows:

🍒 Defrost and clean the freezer
🍒 Clean and sanitise the refrigerator
🍒 Check the next week’s menu plan (I’ve been following a 5-week rotating meal plan since March 1st)
🍒 Check the pantry list
🍒 Update my master shopping list (I put a number against the items which I wish to buy this time round. The number represents the quantity needed)
🍒 Upload all the relevant offers/deals onto my loyalty cards (I usually visit several stores)
🍒 Do grocery shopping
🍒 Update the pantry list

5 week rotating meal plan.....

Gulp

Have a long long way to go.

Maybe...perks up....I have a TWO week rotating meal plan and dont realise it. At the moment there are lots of carrots. Ds 2 said...is this carrot lasagne?
I keep pointing out to all that will listen thst there are lentils in the freezer, but they put their fingers in their ears and make sandwiches, again.
sing the vaccine made me very tired for a week too, now better. OU, how motivated, that is certainly.achieving plenty, and scary form filling too.

BlackeyedSusan Heds. Yes, like my friend. It sounds like it is a very difficult condition to manage and you certainly sound positive about managing the best way you can. Good for you, in a non-patronising way.

Solo I hear you about drying washing, it is hard. Outside line is beyond me now. So I either use ceiling rack and dehumidifier OR bribe a child to put it in the dryer in the outhouse at 50p a load that is not a regular occasion. Yeah for on washing up after every meal and getting rid of the conditioner bottle. You are making steps in the right direction, keep going :)

DownUdderer You are on fire. So many things done. Can’t wait to see a picture of the cupboard with the completed units in it. Yes, the more you get out of the house the better

Elleherd Sorry you are booked into hospital but it is the right place to get mended and hopefully you will come out with a whole drawer of spoons.

Nettleskeins I take a multivitamin and a B12 tablet on top of my medical pills and I am wondering if I should be taking Vit D pill too. I am desperate for some energy maybe it might help. You sound like you really know your way around a garden. I want to try growing some forget me nots this year but I have no idea where to begin!

CherryMargo A lady after my own heart. I planned my wedding via spreadsheets too, lol Clearly I have a medication spreadsheet and various others. I agree with you that 2021 will be our year Have a successful menu day, I am having my hallway and stairs day.

SingToTheSky Nice to meet you I have wandering paperwork too. But I am slowly trapping it and keeping it in a file box under my bed. One day I will be able to find all my paperwork in the same place!

Today I have…

Caught up with a good friend on the phone.
Done my daily jobs (scooping litter trays, tidying kitchen etc)
Done two loads of laundry and towels in the dryer via DS
Caught up on paperwork and to do tasks, sit down tasks today.

Tomorrow will be hallway day and I am going to attempt to hoover the stairs from my stair lift! Wish me luck!

Oh, I forgot until I came upstairs. Today was bathroom day for me. So this week I cleaned the windowsill plus the boxes and toothbrushes etc. The sink. The top of the toilet and the shower screen.

Last load for today in the machine. Last load out of machine and hung up...time for bed

For our kerbside pick up we can leave out 2 square meters of items. But by writing down what I want to put out it's helping me to cement the idea that I'll get rid of those darn mattresses!! So if I put out other bits that's great for us. I would have normally procrastinated about booking the kerbside pickup, but I'm relieved I've booked it.

I'm still aiming to get my bedroom sorted by the end of the month. Having a goal has really helped push me.

I've had my groceries delivered and I've put them away.

I love that someone can say they threw a bottle away and we all know that that is an achievement.

Sat on my backside at ex's waiting for traffic from the two schools to clear. Just about to go home and do the Friday tidy. in this case tackle more damn washing up and fly hunting.

I catch flies by spraying them with antibac. At least they are clean then if they escape. Turned a fly on the window into a swim. It swam down a streak of antibac until it was caught and dispatched..