I’m tempted to offer you all of mine.
I like playing board games, but unfortunately no one I know does. >sigh<
Not the ones I use: they’re called ‘Really Useful Boxes’ and come in a variety of sizes.
there is a declutter for lent thing. 40 bags in 40 days.
Today I got introduced to the coffee set and the fruit bowls set, both of them wedding presents, which my grandparents never used.
Not once.
You should try a different brand, or maybe a different thickness. I use them to store books in, and it’s great – if you pack the books so all the spines face out, you can see which books are where without taking the lid off, and obviously the same goes for other stuff like blankets. A bin full of books can weigh quite a bit, and I’ve schlepped them around for years, and sometimes stacked them three high, and never had one crack.
Most of them are Sterilite, very thick. I haven’t bought one for a few years, but when I did, they were six to eight bucks on sale for a 60-quart bin. I’m very happy with them.
Well as much as I’d like to collect more board games, the ones I have already take up too much space so I am probably going to get rid of mine soon anyways. The same with my old Star Trek stuff. So much for good intentions.
I might try those. Good thing about those, the corners are more square so things will fit better.
Some old board games go for a lot of money on eBay. Check before you give any away if you might want to get a little cash for them. 
I got UK£40 ($61ish?) for a twin peaks board game that’s been lying in my mums house for decades, the other week. Might not sound much to you, but it all adds up for me 
I cleaned up my wardrobe yesterday. I hung all my shirts, divided them into work and leisure and put all my socks into a box. I also chucked out a load of clothes. There was a lot of stuff on the floor of the wardrobe: it’s all been removed and organised.
Howdy all, it’s been awhile.
My Massive Cleaning and Organization Project got put on hold (again) because of my father’s terminal illness and my employer sending me on several business trips to Wisconsin. The spouse managing to come down with a broken foot, hernia, and kidney infection during the past few months also didn’t help. In the past, that sort of life-interfering-with-chores has resulted in a build up of STUFF in the residence, making the problem worse. Once upon a time it resulted in my front room being filled up to nose-high with STUFF.
The good news? That didn’t happen this time. Yes, I did acquire five boxes of items from dad’s estate, one of them being the ashes of mom and dad. Two boxes are mostly things like dad’s laptop, tablet, GPS, and the like which will be utilized rather than sitting on a shelf somewhere. Box #4 is emergency gear like flashlights which will replace some damaged items in the car and house emergency kits. Yes, that does leave one box of STUFF - mementos from my deceased sister, parents, etc. which will be folded into my other “memory boxes” (1 per person) of deceased family and the box itself will be a nice storage box. Alright, maybe not ideal that I acquired that, but given that in past I’d often acquire an entire load for my pick up truck this is progress. Half of the items have already been “processed” into their final locations.
Also good news: we were able to maintain the basics like cleaning the dishes, taking out the garbage, taking the recycling down to the scrappers once a month, etc.
The bad news: I am way behind on various items of paperwork. Ugh. Hate paperwork. But at least it’s all in one location so I’m not chasing paper all over the house.
So… no progress, but no backsliding either. The fact I was able to maintain the current level of “organization” without an increase in chaos and clutter in the face of what, in the past, would have led to an increase in the problem I’ll take as a sign I’ve made some real, permanent changes in habits.
So… I’m hoping to get back on track in the near future and report more progress. Meanwhile, at least things didn’t get worse.
My parents bought this house just over 50 years ago. Ever since the traffic into the attic has been one way: item you don’t need or want? Something you replaced with a new one, but there’s still some use in it, so better keep it in case the new one doesn’t work right? Clothes that are now too small, but you plan to go on a diet? (My parents grew up in the Great Depression, and I think it left them with a fear of not being able to buy something they needed in the future so squirrel stuff away now.)
That nifty craft you got involved in and then lost interest after acquiring mucho supplies for it? Magazines that might have ideas you can use later? Paperwork you don’t want to deal with right then?
Hey, no need to actually make a decision or deal with it now. Just, bung it all into the attic!! It’s got as much space as any other floor of the house, and you aren’t using it otherwise, right? And so the attic got FULL. Floor to roof, every inch of the floor covered with stacked up trunks and cartons and loose items. Just the pulldown stairs not heaped with anything.
Ever since we inherited the house I’ve been saying “Got to clean out the attic” but … For some reason, about a month ago I got ambition. It takes two of us: one goes up into the mountains of crap and slides things down the access stairs to the other, who piles them up all over the room the stairs opens into. Boxes upon boxes. On top of the bed and all the other furniture, on the floor, everywhere. This goes on until the person up top is near heat exhaustion or the person down below has to cry uncle! because there is Just No More Room.
Then, over the next four or five days we (mostly me, hey, it’s my parent’s ‘fault’) go through the stuff and figure out how to get rid of it. Will it fit in the trash bin? Sneak it into the dumpster at his office? How about an overflow bag? Does it fall into one of the recycling categories? Does it actually have some remaining value? If so, Good Will or Freecycle? Donate to a shelter or the library? Does it need to be shredded?
You’ll notice the lack of “keep it.” Honestly, we’re about halfway through the attic stuff, and besides three cartons full of family pictures (all loose, not identified of course) I’ll work on going through after the main push, the number of things we actually have kept to use/display can be counted on the fingers of one hand. With the thumb to spare.
On the other hand, so far the count is 14 bundles of cardboard boxes flattened and tied up. 19 bags of magazines/brochures/clippings/whatever for recycling. Four week of completely stuffed trash bins plus 11 more large overflow trashbags gone and three more ready for next pickup. Three sneaky trips to the dumpster. 33 items (understatement, because many of those were like "Carton full of supplies for scrapbooking/needlework/whatever) gone via Freecycle. 15 cartons gone to charitiesl, and 14 more awaiting their next pickup. Three trunkloads of old blankets/sheets/towels delivered to the local animal rescue group. Forgot to count how many books have gone to the book sale…
It’s scary to think there is likely as much to come — but I have to say, I feel good each week at trash pick up time: we haul out load after load of stuff and pile it as required --trash on this side, recyclables on that. It looks SCARY! And then the trash fairies come by, and in less than five minutes all our sins are washed away. Hallelujah!
We are definitely giving those guys a really nice tip this Christmas.
I gotta brag. My seven year old wanted the large train set a friend was getting rid of. I promised to buy that train set off the frien, but on one condition.
My son was to get rid of double the volume of toys that the train set would be. He had a week for purging, and, with a little help from me, he did it! He purged four large bags of toys and books. The train set takes up two such bags. He got such praise, was so proud, and he got the set. One more incentive that helped: the bags are still in our barn, waiting for a neighbourhood yard sale in two weeks. He will be able to make some money, and all the non sold stuff will go to either his daycare center of Goodwill.
Wow, what a great way to teach good habits early!
I’m raising this zombie (not that old) rather than starting a new thread, because I have been lurking this thread for a long time, and it is time to tell my story, and it fits here.
Last month I was able to move back into my house, for the first time in over 10 years. My house was in such a state I wasn’t able to live in it. For the last year I have been living in a camper in the driveway, and at GF’s place for most of the decade before. I have far to go, but have made real progress the last couple of months.
Beyond that, there isn’t a TLDR version of what I have to say, so bear with me, or move on…your choice.
How it came to this:
I have never been very neat, and my mom created a lot of trauma/anxiety around cleaning without ever really teaching me anything. Also both my parents were depression raised, so I grew up with a strong pack-rat mindset. There are some “mommy dearest” moments I could relate, but am working to put them behind.
My Dad died in '93 and I ended up with a lot of his stuff. Tools mostly, but things I didn’t have a place for. I also fell into a mid-grade depression for a few years. In retrospect, it wasn’t that bad back then, but about then was the last time I ever invited anyone to my house.
My clutter was such a source of shame and anxiety to me that I have never posted about it before. My mother considered it a moral defect, and I was with a woman for many years that sustained that early training. She’d come by (uninvited) and tsk-tsk over the state of the place.
Around 99, we moved my mom out of the house, and I brought home another shit-ton of stuff…furniture mostly this time. Again, never made a place for it, just piled in living room and unused bedroom. And then when she died in 2001, a few more things. No depression there, but a fair amount of guilt over not feeling depressed.
At some point in the late 90s-2000s I started self medicating with alcohol…any negative feelings, but the shame and anxiety over the house were pretty much there from the time I’d go in the door. I kind of learned to tune it out, but anytime I would try to clean, I would end up getting drunk instead.
And along in there somewhere, the woman started wanting me at her place all the time, so over the course of a year or so I ended up not living in my house any more. I’d drop in to pick up the mail, do work in the garage.
In 2005 I got fired for the first time. The day after I was fired, the gas company showed up and disconnected my service. It was a bad time. Gas was expensive then, and with the fixed cost of service, I worked out I could heat the place with electricity cheaper than having gas service. But no hot water. The gas company insisted they had to check pilots before restoring service, and I was too ashamed to allow them into the house.
Things continued getting worse…Drinking more. lost another job in 2008. By then I filled my house up with junk to the point that staying there wasn’t an option.
Finally, in 2012 I managed to quit drinking. I was terrified to try to deal with my house, because for the last 10-15 years I had gotten drunk every time I tried to clean. I started seeing a shrink to see if I could get past the crippling anxiety associated with cleaning, as well as other anger and anxiety issues that I had previously been taking ethanol for.
I had hoped that getting off the booze would make things better with my GF…well, she was happier I guess, but that never translated that into everything not being my fault.
So a year ago, I decided I couldn’t tolerate being in that relationship any more. Once I made that decision, it was as a huge weight lifted off of me. I had no idea what a constant drip-drip-drip of stress that relationship had become. I had been depressed for a decade, getting there so slowly I had no clue. But ending the relationship also meant I had to move out. I have a camper, so I moved into it, and that is where I lived for about a year.
For the first time in over a decade, I felt like I had the mental energy, and emotional strength to deal with the house. So I tried. I managed not to end up drunk, but hyperventilated a couple of times, and ended up sobbing, curled on the floor in a fetal position the last time.
I googled, and found a 15 week class/seminar for hoarders starting a few weeks later.
I was able to talk about my issues in a safe, understanding environment, and that is important. I made virtually no progress on cleaning, but I was able to declutter my finances, consolidating 4 IRAs and 6 401Ks. This has been a huge help, because encountering the statements while cleaning had been a huge source of anxiety (I need to take care of this…re-allocate investments, etc.) My failure to make progress was very depressing. I had some suicidal thoughts…never any intention to act on them, but I started wondering if that was a solution. Yes, I am seeing a shrink.
I finally decided I needed to hire help. I found a lady that specializes in helping hoarders. (Liz) We are making huge progress. It took 6 weeks, but I finally got the gas back on, and now I am doing all domestic stuff like sleeping, cooking, bathing, laundry in my house. My dog has a place to stay now too, I had been taking him to doggy-day-care for a year. I couldn’t leave him in camper, he’d scream if stuck outside, and the house wasn’t safe for him.
Liz says I’m not a hoarder, and assures me she’d know. I don’t have much trouble throwing stuff away, and she say’s I don’t acquire like a real hoarder. I just get really anxious over cleaning, like a phobia. It is really hard to start, but is OK once I get going.
Last Saturday (halloween) we got my kitchen not only safe, but actually rather clean, at least by my low standards. I had been using half the stove, because the other half was piled with clutter. Yeah, not safe.
I have far to go, but I am so excited to be making progress. It is going faster than I ever thought it would. I thought it would take years, but it will only be months.
And I can talk about it, and let go of the shame. Writing this feels like a big milestone. I have been lurking this thread since it appeared, envious and mystified as to how all of you have been able to do what you have done.
So now I join you.
Congratulations, Kevbo!
It feels good to feel good, huh?
Kevbo, what an inspirational story. Your clutter kept you in a bad relationship, and worse. Good on you, and good for other people to know there are resources out there, like your Liz and your seminar/self help group.
Amazing work, Kevbo! You’ve come so far. I’m so happy for you!
Congratulations, Kevbo. Keep up the good work. And no more beating yourself up over the past.
Thanks for the good words. It took a lot to let go of the shame. I had to have plumbers come because the gas lines were leaking. That was very difficult, but easier when they came back second time.
I filled a 30yd dumpster the first few weeks, but am down to a pickup load a week.