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So, am I a haorder? I don't think so, a hoarder is someone who won't get rid of stuff, even if there's no reason to keep it. I, on the other hand, crave getting rid of stuff. Ok, you can't pitch everything, you need "stuff" to function, but why do I have so much?
No you're not a Hoarder, by far! My ex-boyfriend was a Hoarder and couldn't bear to throw anything away, even if it was really rusted, useless, broken, melted or misshapen. I really believe it's a psychological issue and when I see those examples on T.V. of how bent out of shape those people get when asked to just throw away any piece of junk, I'm even more convinced.
You've gotten some great suggestions and I really like the six month rule and OHIO.
I believe in the O.H.I.O. principle.
Only Handle Information Once.
the counter stays clean. so does the desk. File it, pay it or toss it.
Frank
Frank, normally I'm that way too and I do handle my bills that way, but writing my dissertation isn't working like that for me. When my boss says "go back to the literature" or "check so-and-so's paper" the last thing I want to do is print another copy because I tossed the last one. I've killed enough trees. I can find what I need, it's just not as organized as I'd like because things are constantly getting reread and shuffled around. I have never had to deal with this volume of paper before and am willing to admit my organizational skills may, in this instance, be lacking.
Most of my basement, which is about 60'x36' is cleaned, vacuumed, etc. AWESOME. Perspective buyers will be impressed. I still have more to do down there, but it's almost done.
Remember, God gives us all the same 24 hours in a day, and we do what we want to do......keep up the good work and just DO IT! It feels great!!!
Easy for you to say---God may have given us all the same 24 hours a day- but apparently he threw in a 60 x 36 foot basement for you! I don't see how anyone could have any clutter laying around if they had a huge basement to store stuff in! Pity us fools who have a few feet in a closet or under the bed in a guest room for storage........
Well, God didn't "throw it in". I designed and built my house myself.....many hours of work, skill and sweat that most could not do.
I thank God everyday for my blessings.....but I did not get them on a silver platter.
The point is that we are now in the empty nest stage....kids gone, the house is now big for the two of us. Many tools, etc I needed to build my house I no longer need as I plan on moving to my much smaller Florida home....with a smaller garage and no basement.
I keep a nice home...I would not really call it cluttered, but the "Man-part" , the garage and basement, did need a good cleaning....as 90% of what I own will NOT go down to Florida with me. That home is already furnished, so hardly anything goes with us.
I do have a lot of tools and are not ashamed of it. I use them well, both for myself and to help many others.....I'm the neighbor most folks wish they had. For me, it is just time to downsize........
As to my basement, if you want it, it will be for sale along with the rest of my house in about a year or so......nice, clean and uncluttered.....
I just read this on another thread and I cannot remember who said it but I think it is good..."noone ever sees a hearse pulling a U-Haul". Remember, it is all just stuff. Stuff that someone will have to sift through when you pass and they will most likely not have the same sentiments about it.
I am a new minimalist and I love it! It was and is great to empty and organize my spaces. Every time they start getting a bit full, I am on it...keeps things in check. I don't buy a lot either, so that makes it easier. Just google minimalist and check out some of the spaces there...it looks so nice it makes you want to dump everything but the minimum. You may just be surprised at how little you need to function comfortably!
5 christmas trees and 25 boxes of christmas stuff, and that's not being a hoarder? I mean, unless 23 of those boxes are pieces of some kind of elaborate outdoor display that you often see on youtube with 45 pages of comments saying how awesome it is, I don't see how this can NOT be hoarding.
Get rid of all the trees, and box up only what's customized that you can't sell because it was made out of dough by your son and says "Mommy's Favorite Little Boy" with the dates on the back painted in blue by his teacher, that kind of stuff. Then give ALL of the rest of it to charity. Keep enough lights to decorate the tree and the front door of your house. And this year, buy a real tree. And string popcorn and dried cranberries instead of tinsel. And then after christmas, pull the popcorn and cranberries from their string, and toss them by the handful in the back yard for the hibernating animals to grab when they pull out of their slumber in the spring.
I just read this on another thread and I cannot remember who said it but I think it is good..."noone ever sees a hearse pulling a U-Haul". Remember, it is all just stuff. Stuff that someone will have to sift through when you pass and they will most likely not have the same sentiments about it.
I am a new minimalist and I love it! It was and is great to empty and organize my spaces. Every time they start getting a bit full, I am on it...keeps things in check. I don't buy a lot either, so that makes it easier. Just google minimalist and check out some of the spaces there...it looks so nice it makes you want to dump everything but the minimum. You may just be surprised at how little you need to function comfortably!
That is so good! I like the quote about the hearse.....so true! To complicate things, we just had a recent death in the family. I am now responsible for selling a car and for selling many items from the estate. It won't be too bad, but it is a time consuming responsibility.
Thankfully I now have no problem with having room to sort out this estate.
After ten years we were in a similar boat...no judgment at all. However, honestly I've learned that it is best to look at it from the viewpoint of how many of a given item can I use at once. For instance, everyone gets a holiday plate...not ten at a holiday dinner. You hammer a nail with one hammer. You use one tablecloth on one table. You get the idea.
I think we've become somewhat a society of "stuff". When it really comes down to it...how much does anyone need? I was watching a news program within the last year or so and people with hoarding problems were the panelists. One was asked why this wasn't a problem years ago. The simple reply was that we just didn't have all this "stuff".
Now, I know that there are exceptions to that. However, hearing that and recalling our childhood (one ball, one jump rope, etc. each) made me head back for round two with our packed boxes for our move. I got rid of more than 1/3 of it.
Either way good luck. BTW, you are not alone by any means. We are living currently in the SW and honestly about 80% of the people here have so much crap in their garages that they park their cars on the driveway, street, wherever they can find a place....those cars are never in the garage. When you drive by and their garage doors are open and you see a little narrow path between a ton of boxes and you know those folks have lived here 15+ years....you realize this is an experience a lot of people face.
I guess what gets me is, I've gotten rid of so much stuff, why do I still have so much stuff left over?
Obvious answer, I still have too much stuff!
We're inventorying one box at a time, toss a lot of it, label others donations, Godwill, Garage Sale, etc. Then---do it! found once you decide to donate something, do it right then, even if it means making a special trip, otherwise you end up second guessing it, or, worse still, someone else comes along and second guesses it. why are you getting rid of this? You can use this. there seems to be a mindset against getting rid of stuff in this country, or at least letting other people get rid of their stuff.
Which brings us to the question---how did we get all this crap in the first place? Like my dd said--I turned daddy's paycheck into this Good observation. It just happens.
I'm also like another poster, have a ton of storage bins, sorting devices, etc, but still have clutter up the wazoo!
If you've ever had to sort out someone else's stuff, you get determined not to leave such a legacy. My mother died suddenly, I had to sort out her posessions, I couldn't believe how much stuff she had. How could so much stuff fit in a one-bedroom apt? It also had a large storage unit attached, she had it stuffed to the gills. It took me over a year and $$$ to sort all the stuff, she lived in another state, I had to pay a moving company to ship and store the stuff until I could sort it out, not a legacy I would leave to anyone. I got so sick of people asking me how did she get all that stuff in there to begin with? How do I know, my problem was getting it out!
Either way good luck. BTW, you are not alone by any means. We are living currently in the SW and honestly about 80% of the people here have so much crap in their garages that they park their cars on the driveway, street, wherever they can find a place....those cars are never in the garage. When you drive by and their garage doors are open and you see a little narrow path between a ton of boxes and you know those folks have lived here 15+ years....you realize this is an experience a lot of people face.
Exactly. I know folks who say, "I drove by, but it looked like you were not home." I say, "Why would you think that?" They say, "Because there were no cars in the driveway".
DUH......Cars belong in the Garage. That's where I keep them.
As a emergency responder for 20 years, I've seen too many people actually die from their stuff....too cluttered to get a gurney in or to do CPR.........oh well........
I've gone in places where you could not even find the person because of all the stuff......killed by their own stuff.....weirdly sad.
Frank
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Hoarding?
Good observation. It just happens.
