Diane,
Sounds to me like there's no need for 12 step program. I think you just had a lot of practice being in the present today, instead of being chained to the past by emotion or hooked to the future by fear. People pay big bucks to go to India and work in ashrams to do that. You did it in your yard. As you continue to do that, if you don't make fun of it, each time you do it, you'll be making incremental changes in the "wiring" of your body and your mind that will make other things like the "meetups" and "cluttercleaning" easier because you need to be in the present to do them well too.

Thank you Diane :)
(((hugs)))

HI:)

The sun never really was able to burn through the fog today and it got super thick about 4:00pm.
The high for today was 31 degrees F.
Didn't venture out to do any garden clean up in the cold fog. lol :)

Good night to be all snuggled warm inside.
Great job Diane keeping the wood and kindling all stocked and ready to use. :D

Didn't do much of anything today.
Washed the dishes.

When I turned 40 I noticed that nothing changed, still felt the same.
Same thing when I turned 50.
Suppose it will be the same when I turn 60.
I still like all the same things that I liked when I was 18.
Rock & roll, jeans, animals, good books/movies, gardens, time to play, good conversation, nature, science and candy. ;)

Tillie sounds like you are doing a lot for the kitties of the world and for the other animals you help (people). Nice you are reflecting on your life.

Dave, such a great thoughtful response, thanks.
Today I made a long list of things to do so I would be sure to get them done. I worked all day and only did 3 of the things on list. Instead I chopped more kindling in the sunshine, is there a 12 step program for excess kindling chopping? I love wood and the security of knowing I can start a fire with all my kindling. Then I decided to move some rocks, I love working in the yard in the sunshine. Had such a good time, it was way better than yesterday, no sun yesterday. Amazing how much sunshine improves my mood.

Good morning :)

Feeling lazy today.
Laid in my warm comfortable bed for an hour after I woke up.
Don't want to do anything much today.
Lost in thought, contemplating the life I have lived.
I am not ashamed of anything I have done or not done. I stuck to my principals, never compromised them.
I do have guilt.
Guilt that I could not have done more to make life better for some animals.
But know in my heart that I can't single handedly save all the world's creatures.
Dissapointed that the world is not the place it could be if evil people would just quit being so mean.
Looking back, I can see it has been a life well lived and I did the best I could at the time with what I had and the knowledge I had acquired.

Going to do the usualy daily stuff around here today.
He is mad at me because I asked him to please throw away his empty shampoo bottle rather than leaving it laying in the bathtub until I get so sick of looking at it and toss it myself.
I don't care that he is mad.

Yesterday I did a little cleaning in my garden.
Planning to get outside and play some more in all that fresh air and sunshine with all the cats running around playing too. :D

Diane,

Kind of going with your post below. Rejection of a guilt trip based on what you think others are expecting you to do. Lesson I continually need lots of relearning on.

"What can you do with approval? Nothing."

Brooks Palmer, Clutter Busting, p28.

"You will never feel there is enough approval, so you will never approve of yourself. Living this way is clutter. It adds nothing to our lives but grief and sorrow. You will never feel accepted enough. But self-acceptance is enough.

"In fact, it is everything. Your life settles when you feel you are enough. Who you really are, the stripped down version of you, is the only place where you have power and freedom."

Brooks Palmer, Clutter Busting, p 29.

(Excited-bouncing up and down like tigger) I found 15 cents yesterday (24th) while cleaning out a toolbox!

Never thought of a trash can burping but that is what I want mine to do so there is more room in it to put more junk in. Tillie, at least he is filling cans, maybe he will have so much fun he will put some trash in it.
Today I worked in bedroom, sorting and finding jewelry I "lost". Only found 7 cents so far, only 57cents yesterday. Enjoyed sorting and getting rid of a few things, then went out, still pretty cold. I intended to go to a "meetup" open house today. No one I know, so talked myself out of it. I do not know how to cook, had to bring dish, 20 mile drive, stress of meeting new people. In fact probably would have had fun, just still hard for me to venture out and meet people. I feel a little guilty, for choosing the safety of staying home, and need to let host know not coming. I signed up for one last night that I didn't go to either.
Since Karl talked about meetups, I checked it out and still have not gone to one, signed up for 3 different ones that I bailed on. New years resolution, people in my life more, just accept alot has happened this past month, lost dog, had a tooth pulled, frozen pipes, no water 7 days, pipes broke, repairmen here two days, lots of dirty work and frozen fingers. Turned 65, signed up for Medicare, felt loss of youth. My brother died on Dec. 24th a few years ago, I was mugged Dec. 13th many years ago, dad diagnosed with terminal cancer 7 years ago this month, brought mom to live here this time of year the year after dad died. Short days, so the reason I wrote all these things down, is not so you feel sorry for me, just to let myself realize there are lots of reasons Nov./Dec. is a time to do what I need to do to feel safe and comforted, and not feel bad because I don't do more. Now the important stuff: I am so grateful for all of you and especially you Tillie for being so supportive and reliable. I am grateful Cory sees the importance of this and supplies us with this great site. I am grateful for all the decluttering I have done this year and for knowing with you help I will continue. I am grateful I can find more things when I need them. I am grateful that I own this trailer and land, so have that stability that I so desparaetly need. I am grateful I live in a safe neighborhood. Grateful I have a view from my deck and roof. (I really want to make a deck on roof) I am grateful I am in need of nothing, really. Grateful I can figure out how to fix almost everything. Grateful I have a sense of humor. Grateful I am healthy and strong. Grateful I am becoming award that people are more important than my hoard. Grateful for Sunday nite chats and that we limit time to 15 minutes each so everyone now gets an equal chance to talk. Grateful we focus on what we are changing in our life Wow, I have the presents in the world, you.

The recycle dumpster says BURP!!!

Thank you for kind words and encouragements.

Christmas blessings to each of you.

Thanks for the sweet wishes Dianne and Tillie, and Merry Christmas to you.
Today was sunny and no wind so I worked in bedroom a few hours then was outside the rest of the day. I chopped a big bin full of kindling. Hauled plenty of firewood up to the deck. Picked up some junk in the yard. Sat in the warm sunshine and enjoyed it so much. Noticed neighbors making several store runs, so happy I didn't have to go anywhere. Another nice day tomorrow, hope we all have fun and don't feel bad because we don't have what others have, whether it is family, money or whatever, instead lets focus on the good in our life.

Good morning everybody! :D

Hi Dave :)
WAY TO GO!!!!! emptying that storage pod!!! :D
Good luck with paring down till what's left all easily fits and is organized and easy to find when needed.

Hi Karl :)
WAY TO GO!!! on finding the spare glasses! :D
I find it interesting that you get to experience hoarding from both sides now. First your own overflowing possessions and neglected maintenance and now living with someone elses.
YEA!!!!! for getting some icecream! :D

Wishing all who observe the present holiday peace and good times. :)

Nothing going on here today.
Already did the daily maintenance type stuff & cat care.
Hoping he will fill a trash can or two for tomorrow's pick up.
Today would be a great day to build a huge bonfire, there is enough out there to keep it burning for days & days. ;D

My wish for today is that all of you have at least one of your wishes granted. :)

Watching to see if Santa makes it to Christmas Island.

Finally. the storage pod is empty after 4 months. It will be out of the driveway tomorrow. I won't be able to have the car in the garage tomorrow. I would guess I have to get rid of about 80% of the stuff I've been moving around. I'm not sure how long it is going to take me to rearrange the space again for the little I get to keep and to go through the boxes and force myself to get rid of the rest. (Yes, I'm whining.)

The box mine has generated the hoarder's equivalent of Christmas luminara, a sidewalk lined with boxes! When I can see tomorrow, I expect most of the output has to go to the tailing pile in the backyard where I have to flatten them and work them into the recycle dumpster over the rest of the winter.

In the morning I will see if rock salt has cleaned up the drive enough that the pod moving truck can get in. The ice was a much bigger project than I imagined.

Diane :)
I don't know about normal people but I have to organize stuff and then reorganize stuff and then put it somewhere only to have to move it all somewhere else.
Takes a while to get the stuff all organized and put away where it will best suit my needs.
Then I will later decide that I could organize that stuff better and keep it in a different/better place.
What works for us and our needs one day can change over night and we have to rethink our strategy for where to put stuff, how to fold the stuff and best way to organize it.
:D

Until we get the stuff into an area, we can't really tell if that is the best place for it till we live with it a little while.
So we end up rearranging stuff several times till we are happy with the results.

So happy to hear you had fun today Tillie, and that it was warm and sunny. It was overcast and windy most of the day here, tomorrow will be sunny, so I will be sure to get out and enjoy it tomorrow. Nice you could have door open and cats got to explore.
Tillie, after I organized stuff then decided to move it all, seemed like I wasted time, cause I spent so much time moving stuff around. Do normal people know where they want stuff the first time around? Seems like I am working as fast as I can, but everything seems to take hours to complete.

I repacked the area where first pipe broke, with more fiberglass and some creative ways to keep rocks out and hopefully cold out. I think I did a terrific job. Worked out there on organizing stuff, until was too cold. Warmed up, then went back out to do pipes under trailer. I cleaned up some stuff under there then decided I was too tired. Closed it up and came in. Worked on moving stuff I organized yesterday, did not like where it was. I worked several hours, but you would never know it by looking!! I got out felted wool to make something fun, but here I sit exhausted. Did bring in firewood and made a fire, and it is getting warm enough now, to get up and make food.
Tillie sure hope you can cope with your hoarder being there. Sounds like you are having fun cooking today. Yum, sure would like to eat cake with you on your birthday.
I will shower soon, got fiberglass on arms.
Good to hear from you roxie, dave and dianne

I have about 6 hours. In addition to finishing emptying the storage pod, that I'd planned on, I've just been informed I have to de-snow and de-ice around it too. It promises to be an entertaining afternoon, in which I will pay the price for lack of motivation for significant parts of the last couple of days!

I'm now going out to see if I can get into the cars (that are in the way) to see if I can get them open so I can get them cleaned up.

(Karl, i hope you got plenty of orange juice and nice treats.)

Tillie,
I hope you can find peace in your heart and small pleasures amidst the turmoil.

Good morning everybody :)

He will still be off work 24/7 until January 2nd.
He has done nothing with all his free time.

Anyways.....
Today I plan to do lots of stuff in the kitchen.
I will cook and freeze several meals and side dishes and I will bake my birthday cake too, just because.
I have nobody to share the cake with so I will just cut it up, wrap it and freeze that too.
I will also make another gallon of the herbal/lemon/honey tea.

Cats have been fed. Planning to wash & sanitize litter boxes today and wash all their dishes too.

Lovely bright sunny day here again today. :D

Well, there's always working on your tax return. If you worked during this year and have a refund coming, that has some practical application.

I've been listening to some library books on cds when I have tasks in one place like washing dishes.

I am unemployed right now too, but the desperation that comes with long term unemployment is not fresh in my mind and I can't recapture states of mind from that time. One thing that gave me a bit of escape during some of those times was church. All my problems were there when I went in the door and were waiting for me when I came out, but for an hour or so I could engage in a worship service and for some part of that time I could usually forget about the problems.

Hi everyone,
I gave my mother the web address to this site and she might be posting here, who knows.
She is going to be in defense mode defending everything I ever said about her.

She might claim that she's protecting me from things or that she has told us what to do as for living situations but grant the job situation today, there isn't much I can do except wait and keep applying for a job and pray for an interview and get a job.

I still have to wait until May for the ideal job but am still applying for other jobs in the mean time.

With no job and no money and no sorce of income, what would you do besides bide your time and apply for jobs?

FLASH!
Dad is currently heading for the Tums, unsure of whether it was yesterday's grease or the hamburger. Oh well, the trash can has to make a living too.

When it's older like that, Dad might actually lay it out on the cutting board and trim the edges off. (Assuming it's a kind of cheese that Dad likes.) That makes some recovery of the cost.

(Dad is currently pushing his luck with some expired hamburger.)

Good morning :)

Had a wonderful and peaceful Winter Solstice celebration.
Many different kinds of birds came and feasted under the huge evergreen in my garden.
I ate lots of tasty things, drank Martinelli's sparkling apple cider (nonalcoholic) and took a nice nap with my cat. :D

Yesterday was so nice and warm that all the icicles fell off the house and lots of snow melted in areas that aren't shaded.

Thinking I'll just lay low again today,
watch some movies & pop some popcorn.

If you venture out today stay safe. :)

It was so great having warmer weather yesterday, I had a great day. Bought more insulation, what could be more fun than that! It was fun just driving around, lots of frantic drivers, I was enjoying it all. There are benefits of being a loner, no need to rush and buy presents! I did 2 loads laundry, dishes, cleaned counters, took garbage out, bought groceries, put them away.
Today I hope to finish packing garage pipe that broke with new insulation. I bought a head thing you wear in cold weather, goes over head and neck with opening for face, so when go under trailer, won't have a head full of spiders. I may go under and do pipes today, only if I feel motivated too, I am taking the time off from all the work. I will for sure bring more firewood up to deck.
Tillie how did Soltice celebration go?
Roxie, so happy you got so much done.
And where are the rest of you? I know if you have families, there is a lot of demands on your time, and I sincerely hope it is pleasant for you.

It was so great having warmer weather yesterday, I had a great day. Bought more insulation, what could be more fun than that! It was fun just driving around, lots of frantic drivers, I was enjoying it all. There are benefits of being a loner, no need to rush and buy presents! I did 2 loads laundry, dishes, cleaned counters, took garbage out, bought groceries, put them away.
Today I hope to finish packing garage pipe that broke with new insulation. I bought a head thing you wear in cold weather, goes over head and neck with opening for face, so when go under trailer, won't have a head full of spiders. I may go under and do pipes today, only if I feel motivated too, I am taking the time off from all the work. I will for sure bring more firewood up to deck.
Tillie how did Soltice celebration go?
Roxie, so happy you got so much done.
And where are the rest of you? I know if you have families, there is a lot of demands on your time, and I sincerely hope it is pleasant for you.

Happy Solstice Tillie!! Roxie, thanks for sharing your gratitude, helps me focus on gratitude. Sounds like you are doing great, and so sorry about your son, this is a difficult time for our troups.
Today I am grateful, it is already 40 degrees and sunny, going to get out and enjoy it. I am grateful to have running water, 2 toilets that flush, and all the fresh water I can drink. I am grateful to have a car that is reliable and the freedom to go wherever I want. Grateful to be born an American and for all the freedoms I enjoy. Grateful I have dealt with one of the most difficult months of my life and developed more coping skills. grateful I am at peace today and feel good again. I actually feel joy today, it has been awhile. I actually feel like I can be around people again, shocked how good I woke up feeling, actually forgot I could feel good. Thanks to all of you. Looking forward to chat tomorrow.

That's frustrating to have stuff get away from you like that.

Well, I hope you are being able to make some progress on getting your room organized.

Can you come up with one of those switch deals to hook one monitor, keyboard, and mouse to two boxes and get into your cpu boxes a little bit temporarily?

Hi all,
The variety here is very interesting.

Getting rid of old firewood was a clutter busting project for me earlier this year.We had a substantial mess in that area and I was able to add the old firewood to storm damage tree waste and get it out of the yard.

I hope I can get back to fence repair in the spring and get that eyesore dealt with.

I have been quite free with computer waste advice so I just looked. I will promise to contribute an old motherboard to the waste pile. I can't do it right now because I have some more urgent things to do, but the promise is hanging over my head when I can get to that area.

I spent my warm day yesterday typing on the computer and putting up some drywall. as a result, if my sinuses can take it, I get to go out in the cold today for that storage pod cleanout I haven't started yet. (I may have to plan to take some excess kitty litter to the humane society.)

Hope you all have a nice day.

Tillie you are so delightful, and your birds appreciate all that you do for them, as do we on here.

Good morning :)

I am grateful for this messgae board and being able to talk with people who truly understand. :D

He has today off from work, except he has been called in to fix something necessary to keep the pipes from freezing but should be back soon enough for us to go grocery shopping.
Have my list made up. Plan to get enough to last through all the crazy after holidays shopping frenzies.

Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice. :D
I am all ready but want to get some pears for all the Threshers (woodpeckers) that have been coming by.
They love pears and this year I have counted up to 10 Threshers at a time in my garden.
Usually I have only had one or two at a time visit.

OK, I will go get cleaned up and dressed.
I am really dreading going into town but need kitty litter.

TTYL :)

Karl, sounds like it is time to start to look for a place of your own. 2 hoarders in one small apt, sounds like trouble. so easy to focus on the other, so neither is working on their own stuff, could easily lead to lots of resentments.
Roxie, thanks for the suggestions. I think I shopped and worked non stop so I did not have to feel, since most feelings led to past regrets.
Time to focus on what I am grateful for again. Today I am grateful that pipes are providing water to all faucets and toilets. Grateful I prepared for a brutal winter with lots of firewood. Grateful I have lots of craft stuff to make fun stuff. Grateful I did as much as I did to get rid of clutter so there is access for repairmen to fix stuff. I went under house yesterday and found that the pipe foam needed to be bigger than what he put on, so went to Lowes and got the correct size, grateful I found out and got right size and that I can put it on myself. before next deep freeze. Happy I had enough damage to motivate me to prevent future problems. Grateful at 65yo, I can still take care of most things by myself. Grateful I exercised most of my life so I am so strong. Grateful that I have stayed able, even without any exercise to speak of past few years. Grateful I am typing this so see the need to start exercising again. I already feel better focusing on what I am grateful for. Grateful for all of you and expecially Tillie for ongoing support and learning.