Hoarder's Anonymous, Part 6

[Solo]

Well, here we are embarking upon part 6 of our epic journey of sorting out our homes.

We are a varied group of likeminded householders that are leading somewhat challenging lives; be that living with too much 'stuff' that we find difficult to deal with, houses that are falling apart (mine included), health issues within the family unit, wider family, or ourselves that makes sorting out our households challenging, to say the least. So...

Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us for support, adding their own ideas to help others out, storage ideas, even tips on actually getting those items out of the house which sounds so simple when you say it. Encouragement abounds here, and we do not criticise. EVER! We even try not to criticise ourselves as it's not helpful to anyone.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, don't know where to start, can't be bothered but really do want to be bothered...think you are lazy, just need to see it in print here...we'll help. We'll virtually fist bump your achievements - small or large, and virtually hug you when the need arises, and if you want a hug, just ask because we are here for you. Here for one another because we get it - the highs and the lows, the art of washing up is sometimes our great achievement of the day, but it's still an achievement.

Welcome to thread #6 of Hoarders Anonymous - Carrying On Sorting It Out

HERE

They are great results @Nordicmom congrats to your DS

Thanks toomany !

Enjoy celebrating those excellent results!

I’m working through another laundry backlog today. I gambled and hung a load on the line so I hope the weather holds… I deep cleaned the sink, tackled the recycling mountain, emptied the DW, took some dry clothes off the airer, rehung the rest, put on another load of laundry, had an overdue phone catch up, now I’m back to wasting time on the internet. Later I need to collect an online order from the other side of the town, pick up some groceries and do some gardening.

Not much progress in terms of getting rid of Stuff. I’m continuing to add books to the charity shop box after re-reading unless I love them too much to part with, but that is not (yet) making a discernible difference.

I need to fill up my green bin again. It's empty and I need it filled up for collection on Tuesday. I will have to force myself out into the garden to organize some garden waste. The last few weeks of lockdown I've not been on top of anything.

Actually I need to stop using fatalistic or negative language. I watered houseplants this morning and a few of them look great. I think I've been having a negative mind set for a few days and I need to fight back and try to stay positive.

You’ve been getting through lockdown down that’s an achievement in itself I think 💐

I’ve not done much decluttering since the toys I sorted for my friend the other day. Still slowly decorating the bathroom - it was meant to be the quick project before tackling the living room, but it’s taking so long to get all the details done as life just gets in the way! Still it’s worth it as it’s making me happy to finally have a room looking nicer. Need to actually sort the bathroom clutter which is currently all over the landing.

Still avoiding the rest of the books that need sorting and there’s a box of games I wanted to try before deciding whether to keep or add to the sell pile. But I really need to get on with the selling, so I might just have to accept I won’t be able to make all the decisions yet and sell what I do have ready.

Miaowse well done for putting books in the donate box, I get what you mean about not making an obvious difference but it really is. It’s the decluttering of an unmade decision as well as an actual item! Those decisions are what make clutter and mental stress so every decision made or book finished etc is a positive!

Thank you SingToTheSky, that is a lovely, encouraging way to look at it - and I’ve also been trying to view it as a way to gently build up my decision making muscles so they are strong enough to tackle the trickier items.

I used to find it so hard to let go of books, but when I’m opening up books that haven’t been read in a decade there is something rather sad about them. They do deteriorate and it would be nicer for them to be read and enjoyed rather than gathering dust on my shelves.

Besides keeping on going weekly cleaning routines , laundry , dishes etc we managed to get old house lawn mowed yesterday avd then we finished the topfloor landing storage cupboard I’m really happy about . We decluttered quite a lot of stuff like old bedding and boxed up and labeled the rest I’m plastic storage boxes ready to go to the new house as soon as we get the keys hopefully on 2.9. We will have an overlap so will start packing up and moving what we can in our own car little by little like before then will have the furniture we’ll keep go on the living day in a truck . We are getting rid of quite a lot of old furniture now we didn’t in the last move to this rental since I needed to see where it’s going when we buy new . The old will be taken away by the moving company which was convenient last time.
Will order the new furniture slivered straight to the new house . Most is in stock but a few have a months or two wait . Ditto the shutters we want we have about 23 windows to put them on and they’ll take 3-4 m from ordering apparently so will have to stick on something to most of those temporarily. I don’t know how on Earth I’ll do this move again it feel so overwhelming when you are not well and staying in bed / sofa a lot of the time . Doing topfloor cupboard together gave me hope though . We already did my DD room so it shouldn’t be so bad to pack I did a cupboard in the spare room I store wrapping paper etc earlier so it’s just the linen cupboard to weed through quickly and I’ve done DD part of DS big wardrobe too . He doesn’t have that much stuff and he’s been getting rid of school folders , books , magazines , puzzles and I’ve been going through his clothes for ages

I have told him to start sifting through all his stuff this week to see if anything else can go . I then still have a few kitchen cupboards to go through and hopefully throw some stuff away ,and I’ve told DH he has to look through his study although he claims to have done it all and that it’s all in order when we moved here 18 m ago . I know that there’s stuff that can go there always is even if his cupboards are mostly full of labeled boxes of camera etc stuff . I can see clutter too and definitely some messy drawers in his desk . We are seeing our house next week Tuesday for the first time all painted with kitchen ,utility and bathrooms in etc .I’m normally pretty good at visualising but I’m nervous, I hope I’ll be happy with it !
Other than moving related things and house hold jobs here we’re trying to keep on ticking off admin tasks ( still waiting to complete on the old house aaaaarghhh) and have a giant list of jobs and appointments . I’ve managed to get all DD new school uniform labelled and ready to go ,ordered the stationary etc too just have to make the mouth guard for next week hockey camp at the new school but DH is practically a professional in making them by now after DS (16) years of playing rugby in school . We have about half of DS new” smart office wear “ for a-levels they can wear instead of uniform just need to have suit trousers hemmed and order the rest inc the shoes . Got Puppy’s neutering hopefully finally tomorrow ( third time lucky ?!)!and got his grooming done today at his doggy daycare ,DD optician , my hairdresser, DS haircut ticked off too recently . Next have DS dermatologist , my optician , DD hockey camp at new school , kids first visit to the new house . Have booked a few meals out with friends and just for us and we just went out on Friday to celebrate DS Exams . Have agreed the handover of keys day , booked a snagging company and will be booking the shutter company to come measure all the windows for after we have the the keys so we can get them ordered . I have stared at furniture etc many a night and now hopefully chosen a lot of it and ordered samples to check colours . Will have to place orders for them this week once I make a few more decisions . I’ve been buying assorted smaller stuff and have lots more to go . Need to launder the mountain of new sheets I’ve bought ages ago but not washed yet . Need to make more medical etc app so I’ll try to do that tomorrow when I’ll be worrying about our little puppy having GA . When I feel overwhelmed I try to look really close and think about just today and tomorrow kind of thing .
DH got packing boxes yesterday so we will start packing things we don’t need here anymore like wedding china and as soon as we get the keys they can start going to the new house .
I the meantime although ended up deciding not to travel in this moving rush and with the dog being poorly twice this summer we are trying to give the kids some sort of summer holidays and do a few days out and activities . We took DD bowling for the first time since this all started and DH took her to an artificial wave surfing place near Bristol on sat they’ve been meaning to try out ,next time will maybe stay over so all can do several lessons just need to book a lot before it seems for the beginners . Have booked theme park tickets for next weekend DD has never been to Thorpe park . Luckily kids can do a lot at their grandma’s that’s not too far by the seaside so that’s like going on a holiday . They do sailing , wakeboarding hydrofoiling or going on an inflatable behind our motorboat , windsurfing , stand up paddle boarding , cycling ,swimming in their great aunts pool and now MIL has bought archery set for her big garden . Hopefully she’ll still live there for the next few y before she’s too old for the big house and garden since it’s such a nice place for DH and the kids and puppy to visit .
I just continue to feel so tired and like nothing gets done although according to the above it does . Need my bloods done and at somepoint go get on trying to solve some of my myriad health issues but i don’t have the time or the energy so I guess after moving .
Well done anyone making progress in their own homes !

Our old house sale is now due to complete end of September so a tentative Yeah ! Our buyer has a chain free buyer so that’s great but I’ll celebrate when the money is in my account .

Our puppy returned from his neutering and is ok so far . Hopefully his recovery goes well and he’ll be back to normal in 10 d or so .
Also heard in the morning that the buyer of our old house has a chain free buyer now so if things work out we could be finally completing our sale end of September/ beginning of October . Looking at the calendar I’m thinking we should try to book
a moving truck for the last week of Sep in 6 w before any viewings . An agent called me today asking about starting them early and I told him they can start them after end of Sep as per our contract and that we would try to move out before it . In my nervous state waiting to hear about our dog after his surgery I got a lot of admin done this morning then had to sleep a bit in the aft . Tonight we need to make some final decisions about furniture and place some orders . Need to make some serious to do lists now and get packing ! Feel a lot of pressure now that I’ve decided we should leave before any viewings . Then there’s booking something for the Christmas holidays when I’ve secured boarding for our puppy at his doggie daycare and also the first week of Oct halfterm is booked for him but with moving I’m not sure if it’s realistic to try to travel then . Pre Christmas I would like to see my family in Finland though then It would be nearly 2,5 y since last time !

Thanks for the flowers @SingToTheSky!

I got the green bin filled up, that's been collected and it's empty again. I'm so glad I filled it up, that's one load of garden waste gone for good.

I wiped down a window sill in the bathroom that was cobwebby.

We've done 7.5 weeks of lockdown. 5.5 weeks of homeschooling! Phew! It's so tiring.

Well done everyone!

Fab news about the house sale nordic :)

I’ve managed some decluttering this week. Last week I’d written “finish decluttering books” on my to do list and I just felt overwhelmed every time I thought of it, so I didn’t even try. This week I changed it to “sort some games and books for the selling pile” and boom, I’ve now put about 30 items out, mostly to sell and a few recycled. Still a long way to go but I feel better for having done some!

We’ve almost finished the bathroom - it’s looking lovely. And we’ve chosen our final two colours for the living room (Dulux wellbeing and soft apple) so need testers of those I guess, to try and choose which one. But I have to admit I’m still feeling totally overwhelmed about the living room. The bathroom has taken long enough and that had barely any stuff in it. There is just so much more to think about in the living room, so much more to declutter and then we have to find temporary homes for the stuff we are keeping while it’s decorated (and the floor is being changed). Aaargh!

But anyway. Small steps. More stuff is leaving the house one way or another.

Thanks Sing ,
When we complete selling our old house I would consider that the biggest decluttering of them all ! Then will also declutter the small remaining mortgage and not have one at all anymore hurrah !
Besides this DH has listed a small motor boat and 2 outboard engines of his dad’s . hopefully they’ll go by the weekend after next when DH will be at his mom’s to hand them over to any buyers . He’s happy to just get rid of them any money is a plus …

Hi everyone! I'm just catching up with the thread.

Congratulations to Nordic's Ds!! That's fantastic :)

I'm off to bed but will try to finish reading and let you all know how little I've got done soon.

I managed to look through 2 baby and toddler clothes boxes last night and reduce what I keep to less than one box . I have 3 left in my bedroom and two of more recent clothes on my landing so I’ll try to add some of that to the charity shop and dump clothes bank load for DH to take this weekend . Might look through some kitchen stuff too .
Booked the Finland villa and the puppy’s boarding for then at pre Christmas is confirmed . Trying to place a kids rooms furniture order after making little models for the floor plan last night. Lawyer got back to us and our new house completion date is confirmed for the 30.8. and key hand over is still 2.9. We are going to see our house next tue ,I’m nervous about it . I’m praying I’ll like all the finishes . Filling in the moving firm online form tomorrow to get a quote and to find out if they’re free the last week of September .we’d like to use the same firm as in the last two moves since they’ve been good at not damaging anything and quick too .
I took DD to the cinema today for the first time in 18 m so it felt special .
Food disposal pipe is blocked so a plumber coming tomorrow morning . I roped in DS to do more weekly cleaning so I can do all these other current jobs instead . My right wrist is hurting now that makes everything harder although it’s not too bad yet so far the left hasn’t hurt this wrist pain is a new development unfortunately. Will try to get the clean laundry mountain folded tomorrow anyway . Need to sleep at night I haven’t since this pandemic started …

Another box of kids clothes weeded through managed to let go of about 2/3 of it a few things still in the pile waiting for being united with rest of the outfit before I’ll put in the donate or keep pile . I’m finding it it hard psychologically since I have so many emotions attached to these baby and toddler clothes after having many miscarriages and for a long time after having DD wanting a third child . I have to give myself time and stop when I feel like I can’t look at more of them . I now have two more boxes in my room and two on the landing left. I want to look through at least a box or two before DH goes to charity shop and dump tomorrow . I don’t know how many more boxes there are of them in the storage locker .
The kitchen pipe blockage needed 2 different plumbers but they came quickly and it’s clear again so thank god for that !
Been doing online grocery orders ,calling furniture companies and doing some emails so getting some admin done at least although didn’t have much sleep last night again . Right wrist seems better so I’ll try to fold laundry tonight that I’ve been meaning to do for days . Also need to do ordering of all kinds of things for the new house and should finally book my blood tests if I don’t just fall asleep before that . I’m very lucky kids can entertain themselves now a days being older . Later they’ll go to the park to play tennis or football .

Today our sofa (minus the smaller cushions so we can use them until the new sofa arrives in october) and my piano have left the house!!! 😱

I bet the room feels enormous without a sofa and piano, Sing!

It does rather, miaowse! Although there is still plenty of clutter in the way that make the walls come in rather closer 😳🤣

Trying to tidy up more in the living room today anyway. I’ve mentally decluttered in the last few weeks - a few massive tasks (and some small ones that caused anxiety for no apparent reason) that had been on my to do list for ages. I’ve managed to get a fair bit done and so now I can get back to focusing on the house a bit more. Hopefully.

How’s everyone doing?

Hot. But at least that drys washing quickly!

Back from holiday. Doing lots of washing. DD is putting lots of washing away.

Today:
Started washing up and putting dry pots away.
Taken three baskets of washing to put away. DD did two, I did one.

Two loads of washing done

Sorted the juice and soya milk out in dd's room. She now has easy access. ( Small kitchen, awkward shaped cupboards, autistic/ allergic/possibly dyspraxic child, autistic adult, fucked up by childhood food issues so need adequate spare food and supply issues in our local delivery shop) she gets through a lot of juice and milk.

Breakfast ds
Lunch ds

Going slow but steady.

Oh bloody hell, whhhhhhhyyyyyy...

Who the heck thought it was a good idea to open the fabric box/ stool and sort it?

Oh yeah, that would be me then. There are four small carrier bags of rags in the hall and one bag of charity shop stuff but still masses of stuff on the floor.

That sounds like a win BlackEyedSusan. Is the stuff on the floor being kept? If so could you bung it back in the stool and take it out another day to sort/fold? It’s brilliant that you lfound so many items to discard in one way or another.

No progress to report here. Gas chap came to read the meter. I fobbed him off as excavating the meter cupboard would have taken too long and we were in a rush (we were already running late for an appointment as bloody usual).

I took frozen stuff out of the freezer but binned all three items in the end.

I’m so exhausted and have zero motivation.

cricket on, church done, time to eat breakfast and then get on with tidying.

It is still a terrible mess in here. It is easier to look at what is left to do than celebrate what has been done. We have a 30l bin bag getting filled for charity. Some rubbish chucked, some recycling sorted and another small carrier bag of rags.

Struggling emotionally with it.