Thank you MayMay I saw his name somewhere in here... oh I think it was that he gives getting rid of stuff advice and tips. I will keep my eyes open, he is such a kindheart isn't he...

I love these boards so I hope to be around for a good long time!

Hi Mare,
Yeah Cory will post on here every once and a while. It's been about a month since he last posted on here though. I think he's just been super busy lately. I'm pretty sure he'll post on here again soon. :)

Thank you, Dianne.

Still readingreadingreading hahaha. Feeling optimistic and encouraged, so thank you everyone who posts here.

Does Cory ever post in here anywhere anymore? Or are there any old post someone can point me to?

I've learned a lot from watching the show Hoarders, such as that when clearing an area or going through storage to use boxes labeled KEEP, DONATE, GIFT and using large bags for THROW AWAY.

I have a confession as well... *coughs* my son-in-law owns and operates in this area a recycling business and a trash and recycling pick up service (which I get for free). How lucky is that?!

My only problem is keeping him from picking through it!

Thanks Dianne,

THAT'S AWESOME! :D

I actually have a lot of book ideas that I want to write about. I want to write a book about hoarding, I want to write a book about being an extreme cleaner (that is when I become a professional one of course). But my most recent book idea, that I got today, is about me and my relationships with my boyfriend, my boss, and all of the firefighters; and I'm actually now thinking about turning it into a co-written book and letting them write it with me. I LOVE TO WRITE! And I figured since most of my friends are firefighters, and we like to do a lot of crazy things and have a lot of fun, we have a lot of really crazy and funny stories that I think would make a really cool book. :)

Right now it's just an idea though. If I ever do write it, then it won't be until after I become an extreme cleaner; because then people will know who I am and will hopefully want to buy my book. :)

WAY TO GO Mare! :)
Starting a diary is a great idea! :)

Thank you MayMay... still reading and checking the live chat area in case anyone comes on haha.

I managed to get through the 3 boxes I had put in the kitchen, which is huge for me.

Starting a Diary to keep track of goals and accomplishments.

Hi everybody! :)

Today I went to work. And then after work I came home and started reading a bunch of different books. Earlier this evening while I was at work, I got into a belching contest with the guys. And while we were having the contest, I suddenly got a new book idea. So now I'm reading a bunch of different books to help me try and decide how exactly I want to write the book. Because I'm still trying to decide whether I want to write it in a diary type of format or just a regular autobiography type of format.

Oh yeah! And by the way, I totally won the belching contest. LOL. :)

Welcome to the board Mare! :)

Hi Roxie,
Sorry to hear that your computer is still having problems. :(

I am so glad to have found this forum! I am busy reading things but so glad to know people are quite active here as I am feeling lonely and isolated.

I have only recently admitted to being a hoarder of the atypical variety... one of my main problems is having a huge amount of stuff in a storage facility that I am under some pressure to resolve.

I moved into a new, small house in March and one room is filled with boxes and over-flowing into the kitchen. I must get this resolved as well but have the usual problem of when I try to do anything I get overwhelmed and either just shuffle it around or put it back in a box.

I look forward to talking with the people here and attending the meetings.

Mare

Taking a sit down break and having some lunch. :)

Love having unscheduled time and find that I can get a lot of things done.
Fun things that I always have to put on hold when I have chores to get done.

Pulled a few weeds. Applied another coat of paint in the kitchen cabinets. Exhausted the kitten playing fetch with him. Rearranged and straightened some shelves & drawers. Took an inventory of the items I have temporarily stored in my room while I am painting the cabinets. Nothing there that I don't use regularly. :D Washed some dishes & wiped the counter and stove top.

Hope you all have a feeling of accomplishment today too. :)

CONGRATULATIONS! Roxie
On 30 straight days of tooth brushing! :D

Quick check-in. My computer has been crashing big time and I don't know when/if I can get online. :(

Today is the last day of July and I have completed 30 straight days of teeth brushing!

I have decided that my next thing to schedule for daily is cat litter box scooping, rather than brushing twice a day. It's more important to me at the moment.

I was looking again at "before" pictures of my home and it was beyond disgusting. What a relief to have the hardest stuff done. Maintenance is no breeze, but at least I can figure ways to do it.

Hi to all.

Hi Everybody :)

Woke up this morning at 6:20, thought about what I had planned to do today, rolled over and slept in till 9:15. :D
So nice to be all caught up on all my "Have To Dos".

Got the short list of tasks all done in an hour and have been having fun today.

Wore the kitten out playing fetch with him.
He loves to bring me his little stuffed penguin dolly and have me toss it so he can run and fetch it back for me to toss again. :D

Tomorrow is trash pick up day.
Wish my hoarder would fill that big wheelie bin all the way full. :(

Well, back to playing again. ;)
TTYL

Hi everyone, I won.t be staying up tonight. I have a summer cold. nose is sore and jaw is aching. Going to bed.

I wish you all well. Keep up the good work.

Hi Kara,
I can totally relate to that! I've cried on my own for no apparent reason too. I always cry once a month for no reason at all. My boyfriend says it's probably just some sort of automatic stress reliever.

Sorry to hear that you got dumped by your friend. :(

Spent the weekend in the city of Swansea on the coast. Enjoyed the weather and friends. Got dumped on Sunday so spent time in a large book shop browsing the books. Very tempted to buy one. £25! But was good and didn't. Came home in afternoon and then went to bed exhausted.

Why do I get lumped and dumped by the same friend who I haven't seen for 6 months? Mystery to me. By the way, cried in a cafe on my own for no apparent reason! Weird or what?

There are times when I wish I wasn't alive (but not dead) to those around me. feeling very unsocial at mo.

Have dermatologist today for my Psoriasis. Humid weather makes it worse.

Congrats to Kate and Wills for their new born. George.

I am having bad computer problems, so bear with me. Today I was able to:

brush teeth
soak dishes and load dishwasher and run it
do SOME sweeping and vacuuming (not a lot)
take out garbage
clean two more framed pictures
wipe down countertops
scoop litter box
empty, rinse and recycle out of date milk bottle
prepare deposit slip for bank
prepare mail to go out
deal with some credit cards needing to be cut up
or activated

Hugs to all

Today the shopping addiction is in the background, not first on my mind, as past two days.
Worked on sorting and finding clothes to give away.
Next is to tackle more dishes.

Hey Karl,

Great job cleaning! :D

Clever prank idea! It sounds like it was a good idea that you decided not to try it though; because you might have gotten in trouble. One of my rules when it comes to playing pranks on people is, never play pranks on strangers in public places; because you don't really know how they might respond to the prank. And if they respond badly to it, then you might get in trouble.

Good morning :)

Karl,
I used to be a phlebotomist and I would have just been happy you were alright. ;)
Do an online search for ways to treat that mildew so it doesn't spread.
This is a great example as to why we can't go too long between times we check areas of our homes.
Mildew, bugs and mice are sneaky things that love undisturbed areas.

My To-Dos for today
clean the house
cook some food
wash my hair
do 2 loads of laundry
water stuff in the yard
Fortunately many of the plants survived when I did not have water. :)

Happy Monday. A fresh new week to all start over.
Leave the past where it belongs, in the past.

I've just emptied the remaining three shelves of that closet, and dusted them; then the floor area below the bottom shelf. Oops -- there's mildew on the wall there, and on the pillow that was against it. That's not good.

I've mentioned before that I regularly donate blood. When finished, I'm supposed to wait in the snack area for 15 minutes before leaving, in case I feel light-headed or have a bad reaction or something. Nobody's monitoring it, but it's all one big room so there's always someone not too far away.

A few months ago, I was there enjoying some snacks and waiting for the time limit to expire; the previous donor had left, and there was a minute when none of the blood center staff happened to be looking in my direction -- a perfect time to try a prank where I lie down on the floor as if I've suddenly passed out, and wait for someone to notice me. (But I didn't do it.)

Hi Roxie,
Yeah they are a great group of guys! Plus they love to play pranks just as much as I do; so they'll probably get me back eventually. LOL. When they told my boss about the prank that I pulled on them, he laughed and told them, "that's what you get for teaching her about the fire engines." LOL. :D

Yesterday...

Yesterday I played a huge prank on the guys at the fire station. I totally scared the crap out of them. Lol. :D

Yesterday when I went to the fire station to say hi to the guys, I did it in a very startling way. Instead of just walking into the fire station and going to the area where they all hangout when they're not busy saving lives and being sexy superheroes, I decided to sneak into one of the fire engines, that was parked in the fire bay, with my "Super-soaker" water gun. And then after I snuck into the fire engine with my "Super-soaker", I turned the fire engine's lights and siren on. After I did that, they all came running into the fire bay freaking out and trying to figure out what happened. And then once they opened the doors to the fire engine, to turn off the lights and siren, that's when I sprayed them with my "Super-soaker". It totally scared the crap out of them. LOL. They thought the prank was hilarious though. :D

After I went to visit all of the guys at the fire station, my friend and I went to see the movie, "The Conjuring". It was so SCARY! I'm so glad we got to see it though. We almost didn't get to see it; because my friend doesn't have an ID. When we arrived at the theater and went to buy our tickets, the guy first asked to see my ID. So I got all happy and was like, "yeah, no problem. I actually love it whenever I get asked to show my ID". But then all of a sudden he also asked to see my friend's ID too; which she doesn't have one at all. Then the guy told us that he couldn't let us buy the tickets because my friend doesn't have an ID to prove that she's over the age of 17. So I was like, "OMG! Really? Because I always thought that only the person who was buying the tickets had to show an ID". And then he told us about how the rules have changed, and how now if more than one person wants to buy tickets to an R rated movie and they all look under age, then all of them have to show an ID to prove that they are not under age. Then he told us that he was going to let us buy the tickets and just give us a warning for next time because we didn't know about the new rules. But he did tell my friend that she needs to get an ID so that next time she wants to see an R rated movie and is asked to show an ID, then she will be able to do it. She was so MAD after that happened; even though he still let us buy the tickets. I gotta say though, I do agree with the guy. She really does need to get an ID. She's 24 years old and has no form of identification that she can carry around. It's kind of wierd.

Hi everybody! :D

Today is pretty much a down day for me; just relaxing at home, watching movies. Later on today I might take Cory, Matt, and Snuggles out for a walk. :)

Right now I'm getting ready to post on here about what happened yesterday. I figured I will post this first to make my next post shorter. I already tried posting before and my post didn't want to show up. For some reason that always happens whenever my post is really big. :(

Hi Tillie,
I hope your headache gets better soon. :)

Thanks Tillie and MayMay, today is a new day and a cooler one at that. Hung some great paintings up in garage this morning, painted desert landscapes, thick paint, very nice and simple, love to look at them, house too tiny. Sawed bottom edge of gate so don't have to lift it to get in. Took awhile but was so worth it. Tried to fix it in other ways then was watching pbs home repair shows yesterday and had a flash, cut the bottom off. Love PBS The thing I got out of the class yesterday was the thought, "am I surviving, or thriving". I have lived in survival mode all my life, never even considered what it would feel like to thrive, just felt I had to work every minute of every day, to keep busy I ate, shopped, crafted, worked any thing but relax. I thought about spending 15 minutes of serious productive work, then relax, instead of aimlessly moving at times. Thriving would mean a more balanced life, more people, more activities. So last night I went and got mail, and my long time friend in So. Calif. sent me a meditation book she has been using for 1&1/2 years, that has helped her so much. I lived with Buddhist monks and had to meditate for 1 hour 45minutes every morning at 5am, when I left there, never really got back in the habit, one extreme to the other. I am now ready to take the time to get back into meditation. 1.75hours seems so extreme, but on this site I have learned 5-15 minutes is a way to start any positive change.
All week I have felt shame for throwing a tizzy fit because I didn't get my turn in order on Sunday, so felt I would not go back to chat, just use boards. I know I need to speak up when something is important to me, try to be nice, then get upset, doesn't work.

Good morning :)

Breaking a shopping addiction is very tough but you have been doing fantastic! :D
This little set back is like being on a strict diet and falling off the wagon once and eating a a cake.
All is not lost as long as you wipe the frosting from your face and get back on track. ;D

Still fighting with this headache.
Been trying to shake off this overwhelming depression.

My To-Dos for today....
cat stuff
clean kitchen (that he trashed last night after I went to bed)
Hoping to work on a small craft project for some fun/escape
Need to do a general "tidy up". The kitten has toys spread everywhere. But he also loves playing with bits of paper and other trash. He keeps climbing into the trash can and dragging out items he believes are good stuff.
A natural born dumpster diver in training. ;)

Will try to be in chat this evening.
Hope to see you all there. :D

Hi everybody! :D

Today was a really fun and busy day! :D

I will post all about it tomorrow. But right now I am going to get all comfy and go to bed. Right now it's really late where I live. :)

Hi diane,
Don't worry about your shopping addiction relapse. It's okay. Stuff like that might happen once and a while. You're still doing great. :)

Ok, I faced the music. Got stuff out of trunk and dealt with it, it was much less than I thought. I bought a blow up seat for my blow up boat so have a backrest, took up most of room, oars, and some craft needles etc, much less than I took over to donate. So unfamiliar with bringing stuff home seemed like a car full, when in fact, small bin of stuff, all put away. Plan to stay away from shopping, not healthy for me now

I took a load of stuff to the Humane Society shelter last night and stayed two hours helping set up for big garage sale. I left a bin that belongs to garbage company that I took donations in, so went back this morning to retrieve it. I spent $15 on junk that I should not have purchased. I felt the old rush of bargain shopping and couldn't seem to stop, didn't want to stop. I brought more home than I delivered. First slip in almost 4 months, feeling shame and guilt and excitement. I needed paddles for my boat, so was so happy to get them.
If I stopped with just paddles, it would have been perfect, but had to look and see what I might find. I can see how after getting rid of excess, could buy something I need, with the thought of getting rid of equal amount that I buy, but to buy before I am at that point, is not good for me. Darn it, thought I was done with the shopping addiction, but it was definitely in full swing. Don't need any criticism, I know it was not good, just saying the truth, and that I am going to keep working on getting rid of stuff.
I went to a class today, "Good Grief", went to please a friend and meet her brother, I actually learned and enjoyed the information. So now I am resting. Hope everyone is more productive than me today!!

Good morning :)

WTG! Karl :D
"Never neglect a mess"
is one of the rules for staying out of squalor. ;D
Sounds like you are making proper use out of that closet shelving.

My Honeysuckle has come back beautifully and is once again covered in blooms.
The scent is one of the pleasures of summertime. :D

After I tend to the cats needs my plan for today is to get rid of this sick headache.

Hoping everybody is doing well today. :D

Earlier this week while sitting down to a meal, I shook the bottle of BBQ sauce, and suddenly became aware that the cap wasn't screwed on. Bits of sauce splashed across the table and onto various table items.

I allowed myself to finish the meal first, but then I made sure that I didn't leave until everything was properly cleaned up. I've learned that "I can take care of it later" is dangerous.

Tonight, I got out the ice cream for the usual reward (along with some cake this time), and started in on the hall closet. I use this one for linens, light bulbs, and assorted tools. I took everything out of the top two shelves, dusted them, and repacked with a bit more organization. I'd never noticed that I'd left most of the top shelf empty. I'm now using that one for light bulbs, and for various items that I don't expect to need anytime soon. The other shelf has candles and matches, a spare wall clock, household tools (most of which are now standing in a glass jar, though I might try looking for a better container later), and duct tape. And half that shelf is now empty.

Some years ago when I painted my kitchen area I chose Lavender.
Never regretted my decision. :D
The kitten tried to help me paint today but I managed to keep him out of the wet paint.
I am pretty sure that not all his hoarded paint is still viable but by making him open the cans and look at it maybe he will toss the crap ones and that will reduce his hoard a little.

He tends to hoard home improvement/repair items and then lets them sit till they are no longer any good. Like his caulk that all dried up while it could have been used around the house.
Whenever I asked if I could use it he always said "NO, I am saving it in case we need it some day."
Well, we needed it then at that very moment.

To be honest, I am very resentful/angry/totally pizzed off about living this way.
But I will keep taking deep/calming breaths and keep trying to get him to see the world differently.

So happy Tillie is getting excited about using up old paint, it makes my day. I got some boards out to paint today, for fun. A friend wanted to paint her house a shade of purple/lavender, so gave me , the quarts of the ones she didn't like. I am going to paint the ladder going up to storage in garage.
Each rung will be a different color of purple.
Today I got up at 5am, couldn't sleep so got up and
worked in walkway, and room off walkway, still a section in that room that has junk, want to get junk out and vacuum up mouse droppings. I am getting backlog of dishes done, one done, will put away, and do another load. Sure liked it when I was doing daily. How is the ankle today Dianne? Roxie, I appreciate all your insight and explaining how you feel. I have never been a slow waker upper, I wake up, jump up and get going, the bad part is, if it is after 5 hours asleep, still can't go back to sleep. Fun to learn about differences and similarities.
Molly didn't eat much for a few days, when she was so bad, now she has eaten all her food today, and laid a gigantic log, her eyes are happier today. I am thinking she may have had a kidney stone that passed, not sure. She doesn't look near death today, I am a little afraid to get my hopes up, just so relieved to see her more comfortable today. Thank you all for your support this week, sure made life better.
I need to go pick up a prescription, so hot out, don't want to get in hot car.
Looking forward to hearing how your day is going.

I really ought to be getting some work done, either employment-type or cleaning, but I'm having problems with sleep...

If I'm up in time, I'll check the chat room for the unofficial Friday session (Noon PDT, 1pm MDT, 2pm CDT, 3pm EDT; this is 8pm British Summer Time for Kara's benefit).

Hi
Hope everybody is feeling better.
Talked with my hoarder about all the paint he is hoarding in the pumphouse.
He agreed with me that I should be allowed to use it before it all goes to waste by drying out.
He stirred and straigned lumps out of some white enamel for me.
It was only 2 gallons of paint in a 5 gallon bucket.
Tomorrow I plan to freshen up the cabinet area under the kitchen sink. :)
Should be interesting with a curious over active kitten helping me. Right now he is an orange tabby with no white markings.

Next I will look for a paint suitable to paint the hallway.
As I empty these paint cans his paint hoard will slowly get smaller. :D
Got this idea fron Diane using up all her paints.

Hey Dianne,
I totally forgot to put this in my previous post...so sorry to hear about your ankle. I hope it feels better soon. :)

Hi Dianne,
Actually I've always had really bad cramps; ever since I first started my period when I was 12 years old. I think it has something to do with my "Polycystic Ovary Syndrome" that I was diagnosed with when I was 14 years old.

I have been out in the walkway all morning, actually got to furthest corner today, first time in 20 years!! Talk about dirt, well my mission was to find enough to fill 95 gallon cart for garbage pickup tomorrow, still a little more to go but 97 degrees is too darn hot. I swept then vacuumed cement out there, then wiped down walls, had music on. I can walk to back yard now without injury. Still have to go through a bunch of junk, but the tiny goat trail took growth hormones, and now is several feet wide, and clean. I have lost my motivation for thrift store donations, just finding things that can be thrown away for now, some that could have been cleaned and donated are going to the dump. Found two huge bundles of clothes wrapped in big sheets, from when I moved to Bend for a few years. I will start going through them tonight or tomorrow. really enough nice clothes in the bundles for a full closet and then some, really sad how much shopping filled my life for so many years. Haven't been shopping in over 3 months, except for things I actually need, like food. We are so lucky to have this site to process our thoughts. My dog is doing a little better, not sure what is different, she actually went down steps this morning by herself to pee in yard. Thank you all for your kindness through this difficult week. I looked on bichon site and said they live 12-15 years on average, she is 14, I have known several that lived to 18 so just thought that was the normal age to die, reassured me that it is nothing I did wrong.

Hi Roxie,
Actually whenever I have cramps, they are always really really really PAINFUL. They are so painful that whenever I have them I get totally paralyzed and I can't do anything. I remember once, back when I was in Highschool, I had really bad cramps while I was in gym class. And I remember, they were so bad that I ended up falling to the ground and just laying on the floor crying because I was in so much pain. :(

MayMay, try yoga stretches next time...it seemed to help me when I had cramps decades ago. ;d

Karl, that was really good feedback from your landlord. You can be proud of what you've accomplished. I know we're proud of you!

Tillie, hope to hear you back at conquering your world, sis!

Dianne, it's good to hear you get outside and enjoy nature for awhile.

Kara, that sounds like an exciting project. I'd like to know more about the Finnish therapy to which you referred.

Janie, I did develop a dish washing system, as I think of it. When I'm on the computer (or in your case, maybe, studying) I fill the kitchen sink with very hot water and dish wash liquid, and put the cruddy dishes in to soak. At least 10 minutes. But then I take a computer break, wash that load of dishes, and rinse them and put them in the other sink to dry. Put in the next cruddy load to soak. Return to computer. Repeat until dishes are done and counters/stove wiped. It makes it pretty painless all around.

I can do the same thing for sweeping or vacuuming or other minor chores.

Diane, how are you and your pup today?

Ali, you are most fortunate to have supportive family to help you recover. Please keep us posted, okay?

I woke up very late again today after a late bedtime. Same old same old. Got teeth brushed yesterday and some mail sorted. Minimal stuff.