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

I did a supermarket shop today and packed most of the food away when I got home.

I'm thinking and putting a load in the washing machine this afternoon.

I've got ten million jobs that need doing but I'm procrastinating most of them. I'm trying not to beat myself up.

Hello all,
trying to slide quietly back in please. It's been a year, much in and out of hospital and coming to terms with both failing fitness and health, and where it's all left me.
Home suffered more flooding and I'm currently not there, but need to get back soon.
Life is a mess in all directions, and I'm in trouble sorting it.
Family and friends made things worse disorganizing and adding to clutter tbh, and even vehicle's been used for storage.

Body and brain weren't working well previously, but another level altogether now.

Was questioning dementia onset and GP referred me to memory clinic. Diagnosed as functional cognitive disorder and told all memory and confusion issues where purely a psychological reaction to what's happening to me physically. Hard to entirely accept

Told very important to stop making lists, relying on writing down and revisiting how to use systems or items I struggled with, passwords, codes etc, as that was making condition worse..

Felt counter intuitive, but high test scores for memory and recall, so did as told.
Several months on I deeply regret it. It's made so much seriously worse.
Post Covid 'brain fog' added to everything.

Decided last week that whatever's going on, I just can't go on following their instructions.

I'm going back to anything I think works on a practical level regardless of if it's theoretically wrong or not.

Nice to see you here DownUdderer, please don't beat yourself up. Trust me I've done so much of it, it doesn't fix anything.

Last week was a painful row with family regarding the whole situation...

Over weekend managed to get part of the vehicle cleared so it could at least be used.

Lot of recycling and a full rubbish bag went.

Got myself taken to look at smaller storage units which were already quite full but family have just rammed in my absence.

A dump run has been organized for this evening, and equivalent of two sacks full of footwear, and a suit bag, are headed for shoe bank, and a mattress for the dump.

Hurt myself doing stuff, which has slowed down today, but about to try and sort a lot of where I'm currently staying.

Oh Elleherd, what a stressful time, I can’t even figure out how to insert the flowers emoji these days so please imagine a cheering bunch. Good work on the dump run, that sounds like a substantial chunk of stuff gone.

My slow declutter of the bookshelves is ongoing and I’ve started filling a third box.

Did you get your washing done, DownUdderer? I put my washing out on the line & then it got rained on so it is now on the airer inside.

@Elleherd hugs for you. A feeling that you're forgetting things must be awful. I'm sorry to read about your stressful year.

I did not get laundry on yesterday. So I really must get some in this afternoon! But yesterday evening I cooked a wonderful dinner. I have not cooked something great in ages. Last night it turned out great, and I have leftovers so I was really pleased.

Logically i know being told it's only psychological is good, but it doesn't make it better, and their ways of dealing with it have made things so much worse.

Miaowse, thank you. I do rember that one [ flowers ] but without the spaces between the brackets. Well done on the books and bookshelves.
Afraid the substantial chunk of stuff gone is only a drop in the ocean, though everything gone is good.

DownUdderer thanks, it's more than feeling, I'm forgetting things you just cant forget about and getting into trouble as a result.
Sorry you didn't get your washing done, but nice food sounds good.

Attempts to clear up were I'm staying didn't get as far as they should have, but a carrier bags worth of stuff gone, including a couple of things I was having difficulty chucking even though they needed to go, and a couple of sensible decisions on things I was saving as 'useful'.

Today has to be starting to deal with complicated paperwork involving money I'm owed. I've been given to the end of the week to complete or risk losing it.

This new site layout is horrible!

I pulled the washing in the machine and I've just hung it up. Phew! I'm just a tiny step closer to getting on top of things again.

I've just been online and paid for a school excursion. My son can hand in his permission slip tomorrow.

Hi everyone, how are you all doing? I'm afraid I haven't read any posts to try to catch up; I just don't have the time yet.

My Mum had a flood. She has far too much stuff and I lir=terally spent hours and hours there, day after day for 9 days straight and then several days after that. Exhausted doesn't cover it!

I still have loads to do at her place. And once all the insurance work is done (flooring, kitchen ceiling, redecorating) and the house is clean and tidy, it ill be going on the market. More stress for me! Yay!

This whole experience has me freaked out and I know that I need to get my own crap sorted - and soon. If something like that happened here, I'd walk away.

A flood! Oh no. Sounds terrible.

I washed a load of towels today and hung them up.

I watered my plants out the front.

I bought groceries today. I only bought groceries the other day, but we get through bread like there's no tomorrow.

Hi Solo, I’ve just returned and am trying to catch up on posts too.
Really sorry to hear about your Mums flood. Total sympathies, suspect you had quite enough problems of your own to deal with!

We’ve gone through it a few times now and it's horrible, time consuming, exhausting and demoralizing, and all the effects are totally exacerbated by having too much stuff!

Glad to hear she had insurance. It's no longer possible for us, after the first one.

Do grab on to it as that wake up call, if you can. It really will make life so much better.

Very little done yesterday, allowed other peoples problems to dominate my time instead. Just another form of procrastination!

Filled a bin bag up of clutter from bedroom yesterday so hopefully this will be the start of many!

I'm overwhelmed today. Sometimes just making it through the day is enough!

I've put a load of laundry on.

I'm soaking one houseplant in some water. I've managed to keep loads of my houseplants happy the last couple of months. I love having greenery in my house and they do give me a mood boost. I absolutely love being able to root things so that I end up with free plants. I've got three avocado seeds to grow.

How motivated are people at the moment? How do you get motivated? How much needs doing?

I still feel overwhelmed a lot. It will take me hours and hours to do to get house tidy and at the rate a few years! Although I've been setting myself little goals ie. filling a black bag of rubbish in a room or spending half an hour on it.

I've refused family help to tidy due to the embarrassment. I have a few days off at the moment so best chance to make some progress is now.

I wish I knew the trick too TalkToTheHand123, I am constantly procrastinating and feeling overwhelmed, but doing anything at all is better than nothing and filling a binbag is fantastic!

When there is such a lot to do it’s really hard to know where to start and it feels pointless, but if you can trick yourself to just start anyway and do this regularly then it will start to show. I know the theory but can’t seem to put it into practice.

Give us an update later! I’m going to get a coffee and empty the dishwasher while the kettle’s boiling. Small steps…

for all (with thanks to Elleherd for the reminder!)

Dishwasher emptied, fridge mostly cleared of manky veg/OOD food, fridge drawers currently in the dishwasher but I still need to clean the inside walls and shelves.

Before that I had a very quick sort through the junk in the hallway and disposed of some junk mail and swept up the dust bunnies which took all of around 3 minutes & it looks a lot better.

Still so much to do but I was sidetracked by looking into meal planning apps/systems (inspired by all the food waste revealed by my fridge clean out). Do any of you have a successful meal planning system?

Happy Jubilee weekend, everyone! 👑

@Solo a flooded house must be an absolute nightmare to sort out 😱 I hope you’ll never have to deal with something like that at your place. May this summer be productive and successful for all of us here

@Elleherd so glad to see you back! 🤗 I am so sorry that you’ve been going through such hard times, and that the specialists’ advice did not help. What was their reasoning behind their advice btw? How NOT making lists can help with memory and confusion issues? I am very puzzled by this 🤔

@DownUdderer well done for the full month of no alcohol! ⭐

@SingToTheSky well done for finishing your essay! ⭐

@Miaowse I’ve been following a FlyLady’s weekly meal plan since March 2021 (it’s step 8 of the FlyLady’s Control Journal), and – after some customisation – it has been quite successful. I have designed four seven-day menus (coloured Microsoft Word tables, nothing fancy) built around four seasons. I rotate these menus every three months, trying to make the most of the seasonal fruit and vegetables.

To ensure that my pantry, freezer and fridge only store the items that reflect and support my current menu plan, I rely on a pantry list and a master grocery list (steps 7 and 10). Both lists are on my smartphone, and I check and update them the night before my grocery shopping, highlighting the items which need to be purchased.

🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸

The tasks that I’ve managed to complete in May were as follows:

🍒 stayed on top of my laundry and washing-up;

🍒 took two of my cold weather* ** coats to dry cleaners, and put them away afterwards;

🍒 cleaned/sprayed/stuffed with paper/put away my cold weather boots (three pairs);

🍒 put away my cold weather gloves (one pair);

🍒 washed/folded/put away my cold weather scarves and woolly cardigans/tops/socks;

🍒 cleaned/stuffed/put away my cold weather handbag;

🍒 used up several food supplements and meds (this is another hoard which I am slowly ploughing through 😬);

🍒 read/sorted all the correspondence across all of my email addresses (currently I have seven 🤯);

🍒 listed seven items on Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, Shpock and Nextdoor. It is making me anxious tbh, as I’ve never tried selling anything online before 👀 If you have sold items on any of these platforms in the past, please share your experience here or via DM! Is there anything to be aware of/careful with? A million thanks in advance! 🙏

(*) By ‘cold weather’ I mean the period of use between late October and late April (i.e., 6 months).

I've been glad to not be drinking alcohol. I've had a stressful time and I'm glad that at least I've had a clear head.

Any amount of clear and cleaning is better than none, @TalkToTheHand123 . I'm a medium amount motivated, I'm keeping on top of somethings and trying to get on top of other things but also I'm trying to stay balanced emotionally. I can waste a lot of energy beating myself up, so I'm trying to be forgiving towards myself. I don't need to be perfect! Phew!

Hello everyone! Wow! The posts I've read are really inspiring :) You are all doing so well.

Nice to see you Elleherd - it's been too long!

Welcome, all the new posters.

I've spent so much time at my mum's place that I've just washed up stuff that has sat in the sink for far too long! There's still some to do, but considering that I almost didn't do any of it, I'm quite pleased with my small effort.

I've managed to keep on top of my laundry, just about and I washed the bath out and put the shower curtain and sucker mat in the washing machine because they. were. rank!

Regarding mum's house, I've worked my socks off and into a bit of an ME relapse, but I can't stop; there's sooo much to do. I changed her bed in the week and I dragged out most of her bed linen (she has loads) and took it downstairs and I'm pleased and proud to say that she let me get rid of most of it. It was a surprise that she went along with it, but the 34 (at last count) pillowcases that matched nothing were just too many for an old lady on her own. I kind of used some psychological stuff on her and it worked. I even got her to let me throw out old lampshades some of which she got from an elderly lady's house and which were horrible. She's resisted my efforts to get shot of them for years of me telling her they were horrible, but now they're gone!

I cleaned and scrubbed and swept and dusted the hallway, living room, bathroom, and landing and landing windowsill, banister etc and I was very pleased with her living room afterward. I even cleaned her cream leather sofa. And the plain painted walls! I couldn't believe the dust on those, but I dusted those off too. The following day, the builders came and stripped the damaged floors out. Now it looks horrible again but at least it will be put right soon and I can hopefully get the rest of the house sorted through and more stuff gone, repairs done, and on the market.

Mine will have to wait.

Went wedding dress shopping with my future DIL. A gorgeous dress was purchased .

I'll try to come back again soon

I'm managing to do laundry most days. It's best when I do at least one load a day, so I'm trying my best.

I got my groceries ordered for delivery. Sometimes I don't order them early enough and miss out on the good delivery slots.

Laundry and dishes are mostly ok. Though I opened DW yesterday to empty it and discovered I’d forgotten to press start the night before so everything was still dirty. I actually started a post about it yesterday but got distracted and lost it. I see a theme…

I agree with you, DownUdderer, we’re all doing our best and some days are better than others. Talking groceries, I’ve recently let my delivery pass lapse but I’ve been doing more in-store shopping. It probably is a good idea to sign up again.

Solo - your mum is lucky to have such a supportive daughter, a huge amount achieved in a short space of time The wedding dress shopping must have been a lovely reward.

I’m going to post this now so I don’t lose it again.

hey there -
I hate stuff, I haven't wanted any kind of new stuff for me for so long now. I'm just so overwhelmed with being expected to manage everyone else's stuff. Like I'm supposed to know which of my kids something belongs to and to know if it it's special or important even when they're all huh I dunno. So I can't tidy up properly because so much stuff doesn't even have a place to go and I can't throw stuff away as I don't know who I should check with first. And I'm just so down and exhausted I want to cry.