Tillie, happy to hear you can relax today. Saturday will be my reward day, go on a hike with 2 friends.
Maymay, let us know how wild you got at the party.
After reading your note tillie, I realized how tired I am tonight, I have been doing alot every day, gets tiring. It feels so good to stay motivated daily, and will be happy when able to let go of more clutter.

Thanks diane and Tillie. :)

Good morning :)

Woke up about 6:30, rolled over and slept in till 9:00. :D

Been sitting here drinking tea and reading the internet.

Fed the cats their breakfast.

Have a few dishes to wash up.

Nothing else has to be done today. Taking it easy. Been so tired lately that I really need this time off.

My garden is doing well and only needs watering periodically. My laundry is all caught up. Kitchen is under control. House is clean enough.

Today is trash pick up day & the can is out at the road. :D

It is very quiet here. Wind is gently blowing. A little bit on the cool side but will be nice and warm this afternoon.

Happy Uno De Mayo! ;)

MayMay
Have fun! :D

I love putting a bright fresh coat of paint in a dark drab area.
Really brightens it and makes it cheerful and fresh. :D

sounds like a fun evening Maymay.
Today I decided to tackle the cupboard above washer and dryer. I remember organizing it a couple of times, but no evidence of anything being organized. I took everything down, filthy, washed it down, now took a break, to allow it to dry, then paint it, deciding between white and yellow paint. It is so gloomy now, either will be better. Now to deal with all the crap that was up there, now can have room to put things I actually use. So many decisions. I am finding I am a paint hoarder, amoung all the other stuff I have hoarded. I made a trip to dump a trunk full of old paint a couple of weeks ago, and now keep finding more cans hidden behind stuff in every room. Amazing.

YAY! Today is a total party day for me! :)

Tonight my boss is throwing me a "going away" party! :)

I'm so EXCITED because tonight at the party, I get to meet all of the firefighters that will be cleaning my EXTREMELY MESSY room and walk-in closet while I'm in Hawaii. :)

Last month my boss told me that if I didn't have my room and closet cleaned by the time that I am supposed to leave for Hawaii, then him and a bunch of his firefighter buddies are going to come in and clean it while I'm gone.

I'm kind of excited about them coming in and cleaning my room and closet while I'm gone. :)

All of you guys who are working on getting your house clean all by yourself are SOOOOO AWESOME!!!!! :)

Because I've tried to clean my EXTREMELY MESSY room and closet all by myself and I can't do it. It totally stresses me out, trying to clean it all by myself. It's kind of weird because I have no problem helping hoarders clean out their houses; but for some reason when it comes to cleaning my own EXTREMELY MESSY room and closet, I have a hard time doing it. It's just really overwhelming. :(

Feeling our emotions, accepting them, owning them and working our way through them
will make us stronger and give us inner peace and acceptance.
It is very mentally/emotionally/physically hard.
This is all personal work that everyone must do to find their center.
To identify that which we truly value and believe in in this journey called "life".
We can not run away from grief, anger, hatred, dissapointment, etc.
Unresolved emotions/feelings damage us and hold us back.
Always try to look for the positive lessons/gifts that the bad times bring us.

Tillie :D

Thank you for your heartfelt posting today. You give me great strength. Hearing your words to that the pain of letting go and changing habits is for the good. I particularly appreciate the remark regarding energy vampires as that is an area where I have much to learn.

Tillie, happy to hear you laughed too, I think it is funnier today than I did yesterday.
When I thought it was a dead cat or a giant rat, it shook me to the core. Thank you for asking about my dining room on Sunday. I had been avoiding it. Now I am doing 1/2 hour in the morning on it, not a minute more, yet.
My friend that cleaned out aunts apartment called yesterday to tell every detail. She threw 55 large bags of stuff in dumpster. Humane Society picked up two large truck loads of stuff. I ached inside, thinking of the valuables I could have had for free. Had to consciously push those thoughts out of my mind, it really was painful when she told me of the old costume jewelry she got rid of, that is what I collect, love looking at old shiny earrings and broaches. I don't need anyone to tell me how lucky I am to not add to my hoard, I know this is true, sometimes just need to feel the sadness, that I cant have the things that bring me joy because I have hoarded meaningless things. It is all such a slow process to change my total way of being, but in 5 weeks I have changed the acquiring habit, and have not wasted time looking in thrift stores, garage sales, instead worked on what will truely increase my quality of life. I am starting to appreciate even more that I own my trailer and that it sits on land that I own, with a view. Trying not to focus on the big houses that have been built around my land, I have felt like I didn;t do well enough in life. I really did the best I could, and want to be grateful that I kept going through all the setbacks I had in my life. Instead of "trailer trash" I am focusing on making it the best it can be for me to feel like I have a great home for myslef, for no one else. No one needs to approve, want to do it for me. Tired of feeling like crap, really want to surround myself with people and things that I love. No more energy vampires for me, no more junk or people that are negative and make me feel less alive. So there, said what I have been thinking this morning, we all deserve to be happy, in spite of our current conditions.

Happy Last Day Of April! :D

LOL :D Diane OMG! A DUSTER! hahahahahaa
Thanks for the laugh.
WTG! on all that cleaning you have been doing!
You are getting all that nesting material where the bugs like to live and removing the stuff that causes water damage. :D
I will be over with some crackers to go along with that soup. ;)

Dianne, he didn't say anything but he is in a better mood because he has been getting a good nights sleep without being up all night hacking & coughing :)

I have been exhausted!
My sleep is filled with very vivid dreams that keep me awake.
Just dragging through the day.

Will be taking it easy & slow today.
Cat stuff is getting done.
Need to vacuum, again.

Doing a bit of laundry, by doing it as I generate a full load worth it doesn't build up into a major chore, like his laundry does. :(

I have some salad fixins and cantaloupe all prepared & in the fridge. Will eat good today. :)

Enjoy this last day of April!
Tomorrow is May! :D

How tired is your body Tillie? That was a lot of laundry. Another great day for me, I got lots done. It was cold this morning so started by doing dishes, then started on dining room, took empty bins outside to wash, took craft stuff to craft closet. Moved stuff out of closet and there was a grey fuzzy thing behind a box, I jumped back thinking it was a dead cat. It was a grey duster on a stick.
I did alot on the deck, still have more to do tomorrow. I took a medal pick tool to get the crap out flipped the junk out then vacuumed it as it flew out, of the deck, next to house so water can drain. It was amazing how much crap was clogging it. I am affirming that cleaning and organizing is fun. It was really windy today.
I boiled a chicken for soup so in the morning I will take bones out and put vegetables in and have a yummy soup to eat.
I look forward to reading the message board as my reward for working so hard.

Good morning :)

Yesterday was very busy.
He agreed to letting me launder all the clothes and bedding in his room.
He had a lot of clothes on the floor collecting dust and cat hair and he was complaining about having allergies.
Ended up doing 6 loads Sunday and 2 Saturday evening.

While I did laundry he actually made a difference in the carport near the back porch.
He cleared it all back almost a yard. That seems to be his main "dumping ground" for everything.

Monday....
Today I need to get outside and water my little trees and mountain laurels.
General house cleaning...
Sweep
Vacuum
Clean bathroom
Wash floors
Dust

But first the cats and their needs. :)

Happy Monday! :D

I have no idea why, but for some reason I am really hyper today. :)

All I feel like doing is singing and dancing while listening to music. :)

Today when I came into work I was listening and dancing along to Mystikal's song "Shake Ya Ass!" on my iPod and telling my boss to shake his ass. LOL. :)

OMG! I have had 2pac's song "California Love" stuck in my head all morning and it won't get out of my head.

Thanks diane. :)

You think the 50 pair of shorts story is funny? Well I've got an even funnier story that happened earlier today. :)

My hoard is super tiny and it all fits into my bedroom and closet. It's mostly all in my closet though. And in order to keep people out of my messy room and to keep my tiny hoard hidden, I always lock my bedroom door before I leave the house. And earlier today shortly after I got home from getting my massage, I accidentally locked myself out of my room. :o

After I got home I put everything that I had with me into my room, and then I changed my clothes. After I was done changing my clothes I went out to the kitchen to get a bottle of water; and when I came back to my room I noticed that I left the key to my bedroom in the door. After I took it out of my door I set it in my room next to the bottle of water that I just got from the kitchen, and then left my room again to go to the bathroom. And for some reason when I left my room to go to the bathroom, I decided to shut the door to my bedroom behind me. And that's when it happened. I accidentally locked myself out of my room. :o

After I realized what I just did, I started to FREAK OUT because not only did I lock myself out of my room, I also locked Cory and Matt in my room when I did it.

Luckily I remembered that I keep my spare key to my bedroom at my boyfriend's house. So after I realized what I did, I called my boyfriend and told him what happened and asked him if he could bring me the spare key to my bedroom so that I could unlock my door again.

So for about an hour and a half I was locked out of my bedroom while Cory and Matt were trapped inside it. LOL.

Had some success today with the hoarder in my life.

He listened to me that he should not buy any meat and to use what is in the freezer.

He was wanting to buy cheese. He has about 6 pounds already.
I told him no cheese, he had enough.
We was fretting that he did not have any cheese at home.
I promised him that he had plenty and if he ran out he could have my bit of cheddar.
He bought no cheese. :D
He saw that he has LOTS of cheese here already.
He shopped in the freezer and got out some meat.

He did buy some veggies. I told him that he had lots going bad already in the fridge.
He promised he would use the old stuff before getting into the new veggies. :D

He looked at the frozen dinners at the store and said he had enough already at home.
He passed up on all the cookies, crackers, donuts & pastries, candy and chips.

He said he would eat what he already has squirreled away in his room and garage. :D

Sure hope this lasts.

I enjoyed the story of 50 pair of shorts!!! Maymay, you are so funny. I have 47 athletic stretch pants, and never go to the gym anymore we are funny creatures. Nice reading about food hoarding. I used to do that, now just not interested in watching food rot. I am still working on the hoard, worked all day on front deck, only got 1/4 done, and took 2 breaks and chatted on phone with friend. So much better now that I know to take a break and can go back to work after rested and fed. Made the day so much more pleasant.
Thanks for the updates on your life.

WOW! I never realized how many pairs of shorts I had hidden in my closet. I had 50 pairs of shorts in my closet. :o

Right now I'm starting to go through all of my stuff and think about what clothes I want to take with me to Hawaii. :)

I'm only going to take 5 pairs of shorts with me to Hawaii. So I've been trying on some of the shorts that I found in my closet to see if I like the way they look on me. If I like the way they look on me, then I will take them with me to Hawaii. :)

So far all of the shorts that I have tried on look ok on me. I just wish that they were shorter. They are already pretty short, but I just wish that they were a little shorter; because while I'm in Hawaii, I want my look to be kind of sluty. ;)

My style is normally "sexy gothic" but while I'm in Hawaii, I want my style to be a little more sluty. Kind of like the girl in this photo:

Go to this link to see the photo:

www.tattoo.com/tattoo-jaybirdca-51886

What can I say. I'm a total REBEL! ;)

Good morning :)

I'm off to do my grocery shopping.
Still only going once every two weeks but he has been doing his grocery shopping every week and shopping with me too.

He over buys. Buys lots of junk food and meat and veggies and cheese.
This stuff piles up on his shelf in the fridge and goes bad.
I swear there is a baggy of cheese in there that is now nothing but greenish bluish slime and yet he refuses to toss it. :(

The freezer on the fridge is packed so full of all his stuff that there is no more room to put anything else in there.

He had my pantry and small deep freeze all stuffed full with food that he never ate, only kept buying new food year after year.
I cleaned that out and now he isn't allowed to store anything in there.

My plan was to keep him out of grocery stores as much as possible to cut down on his over buying.

I think I need a new plan. :(

Anyways....

Hope everybody gets to enjoy Spring weather today. I plan to. :D

Today was a busy one. Dropped the kids at school, drove to the city. Met my mother for a few minutes. Stopped at Walmart and got some new workout shoes since mine kill my feet. Went to physical therapy at the hospital. Got good news there. On my way home stopped and surprised my boyfriend at his place, which was a good thing as he was in immense pain, so gave him a massage. Went to the gym and did a fitness assessment. Came home and relaxed for an hour while waiting for the kids to get home from school. Upset my son because I wouldn't plant the tree he brought home from school. Nearly had a little meltdown, but crisis averted when I told him he could plant it at grandpa's tomorrow. Took the kids to the aquatic center at the gym, let them play in the pool while I swam laps and used the resistance pool. Currently, I'm busy watching the NFL draft because, well, that's important!

Good busy day, even busier weekend. I hope everyone's weekend is good. No checking in for me. Autism group meeting in the morning, and then I head to Des Moines for the weekend with my boyfriend and watch him run the half marathon at the Drake Relays. Might go see Rock of Ages at the performing arts center. Our first weekend alone in almost 2 months. Desperately needed!

Good Morning Everybody! :D

Yesterday afternoon turned into a fiasco.
Didn't get any rest.
Stupid cat brought home a very tiny few days old cotton tail bunny.

Anyways, after all mine & my neighbors efforts the poor tiny baby had to be euthanized.

I have been traumatized all night long. :(

The cats are now very angry because I will not allow any of them outside. Too Bad Cats!

Wish I had an enclosed outside area to turn them out in. Like a dog run.

Anyways, taking it very slow and easy today.

Hope Ya'll have a positive day today. :D

Today, I went to the gym, walked for 20 mins, and swam for 45. Did 14 laps, 350 meters. Only 1150 meters to go, and I'll be swimming a mile. Came home, made some phone calls, created a lists of things to do, worked on some school work, then went for a walk to the town square, stopped at one of the restaurants and got a salad. Came home, got ready for class tonight and drove the hr to the city. Sat in class for 15 mins, and left because the professor didn't show. I would normally have let that piss me off and I would have started fuming. Instead, I knew there was a Mary Kay conference in town, so I called my director and met her there and was able to do some business stuff. I didn't get anything done around the house, except move a couple pieces of furniture and make lists of what needs to be done, but I felt good after today.

OUCH!!!!!

A few minutes ago I tripped and accidentally fell right into the fire-pit in my boyfriend's backyard. Now I have a huge scab on both of my knees and on my right elbow too. :(

Thankfully there was no fire in the fire-pit when I fell. :)

Today I went to the job fair with my sister and we saw the cleaning company there that she is still working for but is losing their contract and taking apps to work...

My stomach dropped and I felt sick. I could not believe that they were there taking apps!

Katie said that she was glad she went because she could also get a job in a nearby hospital and I was also looking forward for it too.

That is just like a store that is going to be demolished in a few months or later on in the year and going to a job fair and taking apps! <:O

BP is done with Aztec!
I don't know when their contract is up but there has to be somekind of headlines going on later.

Oh my Gosh! What a morning! Woweee!

Good morning :)

Today will just be doing some light house tidying up.
Take care of the cats.
Sweep & dust.
Should run the vacuum.

I am very happy that all that hard outside cleaning is done.
Between waiting for the snowy weather to stop and for him to move his stuff, it was a long time coming.

Now I'm very tired and sore. Time to just take care of myself. Get some rest.

It is supposed to get up to 80 degrees here by Saturday.
Time to start enjoying summer weather sitting outside in my pretty garden. :D

Take care. (((hugs)))

you are amazing Tillie, you accomplish so much in a day--happy your man is following your example, even if only after seeing the doctor

WTG! everyone for getting things done.
Doesn't always have to be decluttering, reducing and cleaning.
There are a lot of important things that come up that need attention too.
Self care, resting, family mattere, finances, etc.

That Maine Coon cat went over to my neighbor's house for a few days then he wandered off somewhere. ?
He is a young unaltered male and I think he is going off to start a family. :(

Good morning! :D

I got that back porch all clean!
He had a Dr appointment yesterday so he was home by 3:00pm and he saw all I did and was still doing outside & he got busy and did some work too.
He shop vacuumed the carpeted cat tree that I keep on the back porch, fixed the leg of a metal lawn bird decoration that was a gift to me from the kitties & puppies that I baby sit, he also filled the big wheelie trash bin and another trash can & set them out at the road for pick up today.

It was so nice out that I just kept on doing outside tasks.
This morning I got up and put the weed & feed on the grass because this year we have a LOT of dandylions.
I vacuumed the carpet.
Put my winter coats away in the dress bags, hope I don't need to dig them out again till Autumn.
Right now I am eating. :)
Then I plan to remove everything from the fridge.
The shelves, bins & drawers and wash them.
Wash the entire fridge out paying special attention to the rubber gaskets.
Wipe off everything that I decide to put back into the fridge.
Vacuum the coils underneath.
Wash off the entire exterior.

Then I will sit down. ;D

Tillie your hoarder is truely afraid of you and the hose,so happy he moved junk and you could finish your list. My closet is better still need to decide to give away a pile of things I like but don't fit in closet.

Good morning :)

Waiting for the sun to warm up the world a little bit before heading out to scrub down the back porch.

He saw that I was serious about cleaning it so he moved his stuff sort of away from the area.

I plan to spray it down good with the hose after I scrub it and if his stuff gets wet so be it.

There has been this HUGE mean bob tailed cat coming around at night spraying there and it stinks.

I wanted to clean it for so long but his hoard was right there in the way.

YEA! Today is the day! :D

LOL :D

Could you imagine being interviewed for a job by Cory?

That would seriously be like the coolest, most intense, and also a little bit nerve racking interview ever.

If I was being interviewed by Cory I could totally see myself accidentally being rendered speechless.

His level of hottness would totally melt my brain and cause me to lose my ability to speak. LOL. ;)

Well as far as trying to work for Cory, he said he's only in California for now but would be hopefully in Indiana within a year or two.

I'd rather volunteer as a cleaner somewhere to gain experience than not do anything at all.

I've also went to the animal hospitals and shelters to see if I could do something there but haven't gotten a response yet. I love animals so that would never be a problem for me.

Trying not to play with them is my problem because they are all so cute in the shelter.
I love all cats, dogs, kittens and puppies and always want to give them attention!

I hope to get a response soon from someone to do something.

Working for someone is much easier than working for myself.

If I was able to I might go for helping out hoarders. That would also give me experience for being or to be an organizer, which I'd like to be a professional organizer. That would be awesome!

Check out the Institute for the Challenging Disorganization tab next to the chat board on the left on the top. I did and the courses can be expensive and for me quite a bit of traveling.

OMG! It would be so cool to work for Cory! I would LOVE to work for him! Working for Cory would seriously be the BEST JOB EVER!!!!! :)

Don't tell my boss I said that. ;)

No MayMay, I didn't start my own business but it is a great idea for you to want to start your own cleaning business for hoarders.

I forgot to ask Corey if there can be any jobs for me with his company.

Thanks Tillie keep up the good work! :)

All of you keep up the good work and hope to help others by reading this site and checking out other links by what other hoarders had posted.

Hi Lynn,

If you did start your own cleaning business, what type of cleaning business would it be? Crime scene clean-up? Maid cleaning? Hoarding clean-up?

Because I would like to eventually start my own cleaning business one day. But my cleaning business would be a hoarding clean-up business only; so I would only be helping people who are hoarders. :)

Because to tell you the truth, unless I'm helping a hoarder clean-up their house, I don't really like cleaning that much.

Thank you Cory :D

Isn't it wonderful how busy everybody is here!
This message board is great!

Thank you for providing it for us. :D

Tillie,
It was actually our site that was down for about an hour this morning. They got it up and running quickly again, but all of our sites went down. Sorry for the inconvenience!

WTG! Dianne :D

About the floor washing...
I think that is called perfectionism.
Doing it on hands and knees gets into the corners and along the edges better than when using a mop.
I do it this way too, don't even own a mop. ;)

Lynn, you did a GREAT job on the job search today! :D

For some reason my internet server has been having problems getting me to this web site today. :(
Had my morning post all typed up and tried to post but couldn't. Couldn't even get here to read. :(

Anyways....
All the West and North side windows are clean on the outside. The two exterior walls all got hosed down. The porch, walkway, all the yard Doo-Dads are washed, and the door mats are all washed & drying.

The inside windows are all washed except the two in his bedroom and the one that's all covered in plastic where the evaporative cooler is. Will get that when it is time for the cooler.

My stained glass ornaments and colorful light catching ornaments are sparkeling clean in the afternoon sunshine. :D

My back is sore and I am tired but am so happy sitting here looking at the fruit of my labor. :D

Today I've made a couple of calls for some janitorial positions. On one I don't know how to undo saying that I'd be able to due to the distance and tolls and maintainace work for my car even though he was trying to warn me due to the distance to get to in Ill. But on the other one he'll get back to me in a few days and let me know.
I also did a follow-up call with the one that I was expecting a call from and from the sounds of it, it doesn't sound so promising.

I did some research on what I would have to do to start my own cleaning business and for me personally it is a lot of work to do. It's too complicated to start from who to go see first and taxes and getting licences to have before I can do anything. It's for the State of Indiana so for me it's complicated. I've never been a leader in starting things because I always mess things up. I'm not tech savvy or world savvy on what to do business wise. Nor never have been.
If it wasn't for the licences and tax forms and registration forms, lawyers,everyone would be able to do it.
I'm what they would say is one of the dullest knives in the drawer. I always have been all my life.
I'm happy trying to apply for a job or volunteering at a place for cleaning experience.
Even though I was let go unfairly I still plan to get a cleaning job somehow.

Dianne you are taking on alot, I exhausted just reading your list. Well clothes should all be out of the hallway before the sun sets tonight.