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

DownUdderer I'm curious which hoover did you get?

FiniteSagacity you're welcome 🙂

I have got rid of a lot of stuff today. It was all small stuff - games and pieces of games etc. So frustratingly the house doesn’t really look any different and it’s not lots of bagfuls leaving the house. But it does represent progress - I finally let go of some games (I’m autistic and games are one of my special interests, but we don’t really get time to play because life is so chaotic) that I’d been clinging onto, despite missing/damaged pieces/boxes, either to play again or to sell. I just finally accepted it wasn’t going to happen and the space was more valuable - even if it’s not a huge amount of space physically it’s a weight off my mind, the guilt of having these things and not using them.

Such a long way to go, but definitely progress made.

More progress yesterday. I found some old bags, shoes and coats that could mostly go (outgrown tap shoes I will sell though) and added a fair few toys and other clothes while I was on a roll!

well done SingToTheSky!

Letting go of anyone is wonderful. Great work.

I'm in Australia. I got a Work Hero 10L Commercial Vacuum Cleaner, it was $79. So that's sort of 40 quid. It's a great little thing.

*anything not anyone. My phone changes all my words! So annoying.

I'm having a party for DD who has turned 11. Six or so girls are coming. I'm spring cleaning! The party is in our house.

I did lots of spring cleaning before mum and dad arrived. I'm really pleased I did it as I felt proud of how lovely the clean bits of the house looked.

Now I'm just doing some additional cleaning of areas I hadn't done before they arrived.

Our sunroom had flooded from the rain and we've been out there mopping. Mum and dad have helped. The party will be out there.

Mum and dad arrive so helpful I love having them to stay.

Lots of things have gone into the garage today! So I guess that's sort of just shuffling the problems around!

Anyway I've worked hard and the house has benefited.

I hope everyone is keeping well and I like to remember that doing anything even if it's small can help in the long run.

What a lovely update DownUdderer your happiness shines through! Enjoy the party.

DownUdderer that's great you've managed so much. Putting things into the garage is a step closer to getting rid of them, I find. Hope you all enjoyed the party.

The party went well. The kids all enjoyed it. I'm so so glad everything was clean and neat. I found the party loud, overbearing and stressful but I'm pleased DD enjoyed it and I'm glad I did it for her. My mum really helped on the day as well.

I really hope I can keep on top of things now!

Fantastic down well done!

Not much progress here, been a busy few days. Did get another bag of clothes out of the house for my friend’s toddler though.

Gearing up for our family Sunday Morning Clean but all a bit tired!

Well done to all you people Getting Things Done! Progress here has been glacial and school has now broken up - the holidays will be a write off I expect.

I've soaked a sheet over night. It's got pen stains on it. I'm not sure what it'll turn out like. I think the stains looked permanent. We'll see.

Hope it comes out well down!

So I’ve completed the first stage of organising toy storage properly. I made labels for the categories I did have sorted, which pleasingly was exactly the right amount for two of the four trofast units we have on the landing. It’s mainly for DD2 (4) of course but TBH it will hopefully help all of us tidy up more easily and help everyone find stuff.

It’s not a pretty solution, I feel like it’s more at home in a preschool, but TBH I don’t care anymore, I just want to be more organised.

Felt really good. I paid the council subcontractors to take two mattresses away. I took one downstairs and got the obligatory call from my neighbours-is this yours? Then got too scared to take the second one down (I live in a black of flats). Set an alarm for 6 to take down the second, and the first has already gone, even though the lady said collections start at 7! So now I am still stuck with a huge mattress I don't want and will have to pay money I don't have for another collection. Gah!

Hi everyone :)

Little progress here, but the laundry is all clean.
Yesterday I took some coats off the coat rail in the porch and went through the shoe cabinets. Several coats in the charity bags and a pair of trainers and beach shoes which have gone weird are in the rubbish bag! I also sorted through one of my bags of knitting needles and paired them up.
I've also paid to have my garden cut down (jungle really), and now have to find a way to get rid of it all. A skip would be best, but I can't have it on the road and I don't have a drive.

Small steps!

I lost the thread so thanks for resurrecting it Solo.

I’ve been making the most of today’s fine weather to get a few loads of laundry done. The plans for gardening fell by the wayside.

Congratulations, @SingToTheSky on completion of the first stage! ⭐️ I love the way you’ve labelled the trays, and look forward to seeing the results of stage two! 😉

Well done, @Solo, for your wardrobe decluttering and dealing with the garden jungles! 👍 Hopefully, this summer brings lots of sunny days for you to enjoy your decluttered garden! ☀️

@DownUdderer I’m so glad to hear that your parents have arrived safely, and you’ve been enjoying your time together! You had waited for their visit for so long!

March was a complete write-off as far as my unhoarding is concerned 😟 Then I spent the first half of April spring cleaning those areas of my flat that have been brought up to the FlyLady’s standard so far (i.e. kitchen and bathroom).

The rest of the flat is still a mess, plus my digital data has piled up again. I swear, digital clutter is my nemesis – I get distracted for a second and bam, I am already drowning in it.

Also, now that the big holidays are over, I really need to tackle my postcard hoard. It’s going to be a mammoth task due to my extreme sentimentality 🥺 But I’ll do what I can.

After a good start this year the place has slowly been cluttering back up by people leaving stuff around. I get fed up and cba to tidy up then.
Our house has no storage which doesn't help.
But yesterday I sorted my wardrobe so I can at least get clean washing put away.
I couldn't face a proper sort and bin so have sorted out a capsule wardrobe and put the other stuff away for a while. What I dont miss and still doesn't fit in a few months i'll chuck out.
I feel better having achieved that at least!

Busy getting rid of loads of stuff. Being sabotaged unintentionally by old lady where it is apparently rude to refuse her sacks of clothes that dd does not need🤷🏽‍♀️

Finally found my support group ha!

Jumping on for the emotional support.

@CherryMargo I was inspired when you did your digital declutter. I unsubscribed to hundreds of emails! Nowadays I only get three or four emails a day. I used to delete all unwanted emails, but unsubscribing is so so so much better.

Good going everyone , progress being made on many fronts !
I haven’t been here for ages but been reading intermittently.
Since the last time we managed to finally visit my family abroad for the first time in 2,5 y after by a miracle finding a boarding company for our dog that had never stayed away from home . They seemed like a lovely couple so I pray we can use them again .
Then on returning we just had DD birthday but she’s broken her finger playing sports and we realised it just before going on our trip so that’s made things more difficult . She’s not in pain and it’s healing well hopefully so that’s the main thing . On the house front there’s slow progress but the trip and birthday and many medical appointments etc have kept us busy . We did start with what seems a good and very affordable window washer every 2 m a lot of the neighbours use too. He’s doing all of the 23 windows and 3 doors pretty quickly with his telescope brush and some freshwater filter system and they look nice and clean now . We’ll ask him to do the skylights and the solar panels a few times a year too . Next I’ll try to book a gardener I found ( or one the neighbours use ) to do some of the mowing and to look after the plants in the front of the house the developer has put in until we get the back landscaped . I think we’ll do once a month then DH can mow in between . He’s managed to kill one of our two bay trees up front so will have to replace that . Also need to book the sink polishing company I found earlier to do our scratched utility and kitchen sinks .
After the last time I posted DH has carted a load to the dump from the storage locker comprising of some fans and heaters , a wooden shelf , plastic boxes etc and then brought a few items back to sell like his motorcycle panniers .we’ll just have to figure out a good time to list a bunch after getting them ready to sell . Need to find the time for him to change a part in his motorcycle so that could go . It’s big so would free up lots of space . He finally also went to check on his little sailing racing boat and that needs some fixing too once the motorcycle has freed up space or he’ll sell it as it is . Our dining room wine cabinet arrived and the 6 chairs are in the living room waiting to go into dining room once the boxes are out of there . We might also sell the elliptical I can’t use because of my dizziness . I have to then force myself to deal with the few more boxes from the storage locker in the dining room so they can go to the attic . I have gotten rid of maybe 3/4 of the stuff that’s come from the locker so I am very proud of that . I got a couple more out of there but have maybe 9/10 left . A dining table will be ordered when there’s space .There’s a mountain of laundry some of which is stained / too small and will just go to rags , clothes bank or charity . I have to still unpack kids outdoor / ski clothes from our trip .DD stuff is too small and I’ve already replaced them from the sales for next y so they’re going . The rest I’ll wash and store in the attic . I need to get her a few things for her school trip in a month although don’t know how many activities she could take part in with her finger injured . We did change the white sofa , arm chair and footstool covers but still need to wash the second set plus rewash a part DD got chocolate on right away . DH did manage to order a second recycling bin hopefully we’ll get it too . It’d help a lot with the huge pile we seem to generate in the two w between emptying them .we’re always carting things to dump but now there’s no recycling there except for cardboard. DH set up the new internet boosters now need to put up the doorbell camera and a few more around the outside of our house , we have one in the garden already .
I think he also finished spraying the fence with wood protector ready to plant trees in
front of it so that’s a job done . Still need to do the shed and landscaping . Garage and the attic are ongoing projects. Now the developer wants to come for a walk around to pinpoint what they need to mend in their 6 m in maintenance works in the summer . It’s a good service but I want a bit of time to tidy before that in the dining room and the attic and the garage DH is convinced they don’t need to see but I’m not counting on that . I’m hating it at the moment to me it looks like such a mess with all the stuff we need to sell etc . Admin tasks and medical etc appointments seems to multiply as we Frantically try to tick them off . DH works full time and commutes then deals with the kids and the dog and the weekly house stuff so it doesn’t leave a lot of time on weekdays to get any extra jobs off our list and I can’t do it all especially since I’m in such poor health . Just finally got DD first vaccine done ,booking the second dose didn’t work out yet . DS is in the first y of A- levels and doing his drivers licence and not feeling great on his medication so having to have breaks from it . He’s had several health issues so there’s yet more therapy and physio etc to book , DD had an issue being treated already and now broken finger in her writing hand so that’s more to deal with . I have many medical
issues of my own but no time or energy for them it seems . We want to start travelling also for our mental health so scrambling to put that together and DD is doing 11+ next y so am registering to schools , booking open days and so on . I’ll have cobble up together a kids party and a special day out for DD we just went ice skating , lunch and she bowled with her wrong hand on her birthday . The dog needs a trainer too his recall is not great and he just run out the front door for the first time with me the other day without a collar . luckily he will do nearly anything for treats so came straight back . It’s the first day back to school for DD as well as DS so it’s just me and the dog who’s been walked and fed so
im thinking I’ll be going back to bed ! I had the worst night of sleep waking up
loads and having nightmares . I try to be more positive and recognise all the things that are getting done but it’s so hard when it’s never ending and just seems to all falling on top of us . I’m nearly always feeling overwhelmed

ftom the locker

You only need to live in accordance with your own values, not somebody else's. If you don't think it's rude to politely refuse an unwanted donation that's fine. FWIW I don't think it's rude either. So stay strong and keep refusing "that's kind of you but we don't need it and won't be taking the bags, thanks" on repeat. If she's upset or annoyed those are her feelings to have and are not your responsibility to fix.

My organised hoard is much better organised now and although I still have too much stuff, I can easily get to everything, which is an improvement. Thanks to this thread and is posters for helping me keep things under control with a reminder of how bad things can get if I don't. I am still bringing things in, but at a much slower rate than before and they are more carefully considered. I'm managing to say no I don't need that, more often. No more multiples! I also actively look for things I can let go of now and it all helps create space however small the thing.

Since the start of spring I have slowly amassed a small pile of clothes, one item at a time, all of which are very bobbly or uncomfortable and which I will be getting rid of as soon as there's a full bag.

I thought I had done all I could with the baby clothes but I have been even more ruthless and one of the boxes has now been halved. This has taken a few months as it's emotional, but I've carefully considered each item and am happy with my choices.

The edges of the bath are slowly thinning out as I gradually use up a multitude of hoarded beauty products. My aim is to get to the point where there's nothing at all round the edge of the bath and it's all in the trays and shelves. It will make cleaning the bath easier.

Hey everyone I'm jumping in to try and get my head clear before tackling a mammoth task of making my home lovely. I've just moved here in December and I brought a lot of clutter with me as I didn't have time to get rid of it all before the move and somehow when unpacking I got overwhelmed and most of it has ended up in the house again arghhh. So I have to go through it all and decide what to sell, donate or keep. I have a toddler and I'm a single mum and I feel a bit out of sorts trying to tackle something that most people would be able to get done in a week but I'm going to do my best and I don't want to fall behind the rest of the world because I'm stuck indoors sorting out junk and feeding a toddler things she won't eat all the time! I'm hoping to get a very very big chunk done today but I'm so overwhelmed that I never begin. I've got to clean the living room floor and tidy up the toys in there. Then I've got to finish some washing up. I've got to clean the outhouse floor of dead insects that were here when I moved in and roll out a piece of old carpet so I can use the room as proper storage for my unhoarding process. I put a few things as I go on my front row for passers by to take, which is usually quite successful but sometimes I won't let myself because it feels like an extra job to bring them in, I'd they don't go. As you can probably tell I'm not much of a risk taker. I like everything to feel secure and ordered. Probably why it has taken so long to declutter. Before I had my toddler I was travelling and had gotten rid of all my belongings and was living out of a bag and now somehow I have a house full of plastic and clothes which somehow never have anything to match with!
Okay I'm going to get started now. This is quite a big deal for me now, as if I get it done I can thoroughly enjoy the summer and get outdoors. I'm not an indoor person at all so that also slows me down- distracted by longing to be outside and trying to think of a plan to avoid the work and be outdoors! I should just throw everything in a skip and get outdoors really. Oh buy mum guilt and environment guilt! Going to wash up, get the living room floor done then get the outhouse clean. I'll throw everything in the outhouse, have an almost empty house and then decide what is coming back inside with me!
Good luck to everyone else too, nice to know we are stuck sorting out clutter together!