HI Everybody :D

Mary,
You have been making great progress! :D
Maybe you need to consult with another doctor about your health issues.?
So happy for you that family will be moving so close by. :)
Step by step, little by little you will get this all done.

Dianne,
YEA!!!!!!
HAVE A BALL! :D

Diane,
It is a daily thing, minute by minute, step by step.
But always taking the time to smell the flowers and appreciate the sunrise or sunset.


Today I plan to...
do a load of laundry
do cat stuff
sweep
Then mess up the kitchen making a batch of cookies
then clean the kitchen

My wild currant bushes are all in bloom so I also have to go out and enjoy them. :D

Been busy with children/grandchildren excited that son and family are moving within 10 mins rather than 8 hrs away. Little stressed about health but one min at time will turn into hours then days and projects.
My goal this week was to rest and get ready for the new tasks since I did a marathon to get house ready for spring visit from children/grandchildren.
A little down the dr won't give pain meds because of new laws (dont ask-yet) and says I need to slow down. REALLY??? been sitting all winter gained 30 lbs.... REALLY??? gonna keep moving and just do maintaining. Strange how what I thought I decluttered in the great room looks messy and needs more decluttering....tok out 3/4 of the items but now the "collections" are going..angels, churches, pictures pictres pictures furniture that make it crowded . I have two couches, two recliners three coffee tables four end tables and four unpacked boxes from fire.... that will be my weekend project oh and TAXES.

Thanks Tillie for letting us know what you have been doing, it is so wonderful that you do something fun most days. I felt like a kid today pulling weeds, and yesterday. Love being outside. Your posts are very encouraging Tillie. Your consistency is amazing. I have always been a sprinter not a marathoner, so have to learn lots of new things. Thanks for showing the way.

Hey Tillie,

It's funny that you said that; because I have actually been outside for most of the day today. :)

Today I went over to my parent's house with Matt and Cory and helped my dad do some yard work. :)

HI :D

Been busy ever since I got up today.
Did all the cat related tasks.
Then went outside and watered all the trees and bushes and plants.

Since I was out there anyway I pruned some branches and did a little spraying for bugs.

Right now I am eating then I am going to shower and shampoo my hair.

The wind is gently blowing and that stirs up the dust and pollen and makes me itch. But the shower will fix that. ;)

So far it's been a fun day for me and I hope ya'll are having some fun too. :D

MayMay that sounds like a case of Spring fever.
The cure for that is to get outside.

I just woke up a few minutes ago.

Besides going to work tonight, I have no other plans for today.

I have no idea why, but for some reason both yesterday and today I have been feeling very blah and lazy. :(

Thank you both,
It really does help to keep me going to be able to speak honestly here and receive support.

All that sorting, decision making and evaluating and letting go yesterday wore me out. I am tired but in a good way.
The only difference between me and you is that I have a whole lot less stuff to sort out and keep organized. :D

Today I am going to sort through my warm winter clothing and get it stored out of my way on the top shelf.

We will still have cold snaps but nothing to bundle up for.

If a clothing item has seen better days I won't waste my limited space storing it.

Here is a list of my warm winter clothes. It is a short list.

pretty sweaters (4)
long sleeve T shirts (3)
sweat shirts (2)
jeans (6)
fancy knit tops (3)
flannel night gowns (8)
big down coat (1)
light weight coat (1)
pretty jacket (1)
wind breaker (1)
coat that I wear to do yardwork in (1)
gloves (1)
thick socks (10)
sets of long underwear (2)
pair of snow boots (1)

I have until October to replace anything that I decide to toss.
The coats and jackets are never stored far away because we have even seen it snow in July here. lol :D

I didn't add in the blouses because I wear those all year, not just in winter.

Wishing you contentment in whatever you do today. :)

Thanks Dianne, sounds like you also have been on the fast track to recovery, so good to hear you have accomplished so much and all that you are doing today, hooray.
Tillie it is 30 degrees out so am going to wait awhile to tackle deck.
Today have to deal with a bill I made out incorrectly and tires in car to have studs taken off tomorrow. Do dishes, 2 loads of laundry. I appreciate this site every day, so great to have others to support and receive support, makes all the difference to me. Thank you gals.

Hooray Tillie, you are such a great inspiration to me. Thank you for sharing all that you sorted, it helps me to hear how you do what you do to keep things nice for you.
Sorry to hear about your husbands frustration, he is so lucky that you are there to help him when he is ready. Hugs to you.

OK :)
Here is what I have been doing today...

Going through ALL sheets, pillow cases, towels, wash cloths, rugs, rags, blankets, kitty bedding, napkins, quilts, comforters, kitchen linens, curtains, drapes, table cloths, dresser scarves, etc.

Laying out each piece looking for wear or tears.
Seeing what I have that I am keeping and making a pile to go to the veterinary animal shelter clinic.

I have been able to make a big pile for the clinic. :D

What I'm keeping is in excellent condition and there is enough to meet my needs.

Now that all the older stuff will be gone there will be room should I find something nice that I may want to buy.

Every Spring I do this big purge and have never regretted anything that I have donated.

I am doing my Happy Dance! :D

Hello

Fed the cats and did a load of laundry.
Doing another batch of wash.

Tried talking to him (again) last night.
He never listens to what I am saying, only hears what he thinks I am saying.

He said that things have gotten away from him and he is trying to catch up with it all.

For 20 years he has been trying to organize this hoard. :(

He says it is just too much now to fix this mess.

If he would just listen.
I could have this all done in one month.
Since it is his hoard he has to have control over the final decisions.
Since the stuff is too heavy for me he has to do the work.

I can and have helped others dig out but the difference is that they wanted and asked for my help.

Yay!!! I just found out that MTV has announced the location that this years "VMAs" will be held at; and the date that it will be held on. :)

This years "VMAs" will be held at "Brooklyn's Barclays Center" in New York City on August 25th. :)

I'm so excited for it! :)

MTV still hasn't announced a host for this years "VMAs" yet though. :(

I really hope MTV plans to have a host for this years "VMAs"; because the "VMAs" are always better when there is someone hosting it.

I remember that MTV didn't have a host for the "2007 VMAs" and the "2011 VMAs" and the "VMAs" for both of those years totally sucked. :(

There always needs to be a host for the "VMAs".

Not having a host for the "VMAs" is kind of like trying to let a hoarder do a major clean-up by themselves. It doesn't go well at all.

tillie you always brighten my day, that is hilarious that he is a maintenance man and won't fix the bathroom. I replaced my kitchen sink and bought one 1 inch too small so have a gap on one side. I slid a plastic placemat under that edge, took all day. Bathtub drip turned into a steady run so I took it apart and got new parts, took 2 whole days to figure it out and finish it. Your hubby could fix it so much faster. I am so sorry you have to live with the problems. Maybe if you took it apart he would have to fix it. He can yell at me!!!

Thank you MayMay :)

Tillie,

(((HUGS)))

Hi Tillie,

Wow! It is very shocking to hear that your husband is a maintenance worker. :o

I'm so sorry to hear about the condition of your bathroom. :(

I hope your back feels better soon. :)

Hello

My back is still hurting from dragging his clutter over out of my way.

I am depressed about things too.

Don't care about doing anything today.

Still need to do things for the cats though. It's not their fault that they live here.

Was going to start Spring cleaning in the bathroom first. But what's the use in that?

The plaster is all falling off the ceiling and walls.
The sink in the vanity is smaller than the hole cut in the vanity so there is a large open gap at the back of the sink allowing water & stuff to drip down into the cupboard below.
The floor all around the toilet is rotted bare wood because the toilet leaked for years and destroyed the floor and some day I fear that toilet will just fall through and land under the house.
And that's just a small part of what's wrong with the bathroom. :(

I am just wasting my time cleaning squalor in there.

He says the bathroom is just fine and does not want to waste time or money fixing it properly.
We have been through all this before with the leaking roof where I had to put buckets around to catch the water and the plaster all falling down everywhere.
The over flowing sewage in the yard from the neglected septic system.
And a bunch of other long neglected home maintenance issues.

Want to hear something funny?
He works for the state as a maintenance worker at the college.

Anyways, sorry about the rant.
But I need to say these things to someone. Can't always keep it bottled up inside.
Think today I need to rest up till I'm back to my normal self.

Tillie :)

Happy Easter! :)

I am probably the most unhealthy eater on the planet.

I very rarely eat actual meals. Most of the time I just snack on junk food and I drink a lot of pop. I don't eat a lot of it though. If I ate 3 meals a day and snacked on a bunch of junk food, then I would probably be like 500 lbs. whenever I do eat an actual meal though, most of the time it's when I'm at my boyfriend's house. :)

Good morning :D

IT'S RAINING!!!! :D HAPPY DANCE

Living in the desert we really like any rain we get.

Thank you Dianne. :)
Good luck with your To-Do list and have a great time today. Happy Easter :D

Thank you Diane.
I was hoping my posting my dailys here might encourage and show what I do to keep my reclaimed spaces from falling back into clutter and squalor.

Today I need to straighten the kitchen. He dumped a lot of dirty dishes into the sink after I was already in bed last night.

Clean up the cat vomit by the bathroom door.
Scoop litter boxes.
Fresh water in their bowls.

Rest up because tomorrow I am planning to start my Spring cleaning.

Everybody have lots of good times today! :D

Remember online chat group tonight at 5:00pm PST.

My hoarder goes food shopping when he's hungry and brings home all sorts of junk like candy, chips, soda and prepered frozen food dishes.

To make sure that I eat things that I know make me feel better every day I...
Make a list of menu plans of healthy meal choices.
Check what I have on hand to make them.
Write a list of items I need to buy to make them.
Stick to the list when I'm at the store.
Except in the fruit and veggie aisle. There I can get whatever looks good to me and I make sure to get at least 3 fruit and 3 veggie selections to snack on.

Rather than chips or crackers I have almonds.
They crunch and are salted and help keep me from feeling dizzy and tired.

Fresh fruit and veggies rather than cookies keep me awake, alert and able to concentrate.

I do indulge in dark chocolate! :D

Another healthier habit I have is I can eat cookies, cake, pie and pastries but I must make them myself using fresh wholesome ingredients.

As you can see my hoarder and I do not share meals. His choice.
He does not want to eat healthy and I refuse to cook food that I will not eat.
He cooks outside on his gas BBQ.

He has a lot of health problems that I know would go away or at least improve if he had better eating habits.

great reading what you are all doing
Tilie you are such a trooper, do so much every day, also makes me see that it is important to do daily maintenance, I just let things go then it is a disastor, you are a good role model of doing daily maintenance of house, and yard.
Dianne good to hear you got good food for yourself, does make you feel so much better. I soaked beans, then cooked them today, added seasonings, kale and red pepper tomato soup to it. I have been not eating well, and know that has a lot to do with depression.

Thank you MayMay. :)

Thanks Dianne and Tillie. :)

We had a lot of fun at the park today. :)

Tillie,
I'm so sorry to hear about Baxter. :(

Good morning :)

Saturday already isn't it?
Waiting to see if he is going to do anything other than sit around on the computer all day.

I need to do the usual daily things...
Scoop litter boxes
Sweep the floor
Tidy up kitchen
Fresh water in all 4 cat water bowls

Last night at bedtime I noticed that something on his shelf in the fridge is leaking.
His shelf is the bottom one right over the veggie bins.
I was tired and just tossed in some paper napkins to try to contain the puddle.
Today I have to get in there, stop the leak, wash the overly stuffed hoarded shelf and wash the veggie bins and the area under them. :(

One good word of advice is to never neglect any mess.
When you notice something like this get right to it as soon as possible.
This will help keep you from falling deep into squalor.

Wishing everybody some fun this weekend. :D

MayMay have fun with the dogs.
One of my favorite things to do was to take Baxter (a dog) to the park and throw the frisbee and watch him run, jump & catch it.

Baxter died last month. He was old. :(

Dianne

I will be here cheering you on that you get your bed decluttered today! :D

Happy you have some real food and not just munching on snacks.
Eating a properly balanced diet helps us concentrate better, have more energy and helps us sleep better at night.
Sleep is also very important. When I'm tired I just want to sit and whine. Couldn't think my way out of a wet paper bag. ;)


The snakes are here to eat the deer mice and that's a good thing because there have been outbreaks of Hanta virus from the deer mice less than 100 miles from where I live.

Today I am going to take Matt, Cory, and their doggie friend Rex to the park. :)

Rex is a golden retriever that lives near my boyfriend's house. And whenever I'm at my boyfriend's house with Matt and Cory, Rex always likes to jump the fence and come over to my boyfriend's house to play with Matt and Cory. It's so cute. :)

would be great for us to trade places for a week, I could clean up his junk and he could clean up mine!!

Diane I would love to let you have a word with him ;D


He came home from work today with 2 more rose bushes for me.
Sort of an apology for making me that angry.

Then he took me to the grocery store so I could get some REAL food for me & the cats.

Now I have to just sit and wait to see if he will declutter anything this weekend.
There is soooooo much that needs to be done out there.

Hi Tillie, sounds like your husband is certifiable!!! Let me have a word with him(teehee) I was out in the yard all day today, actually made some progress, my back feels it too, I can relate to you, except I am the messy.








1

Hi :)

Spent all of yesterday outside.

Planted the rose bushes, watered everything.

Was depressed about this one area near the front gate.
Piled high with years of his clutter and all the leaves & tumbleweeds all mixed into it.
Snakes, deer mice, black widows, scorpions and thousands of Yellow Jacket Wasps all nesting in there.

For at least 10 years I have been begging him to clean it up.

He sort of started clearing it out weeks ago then stopped & went back to his old habits.

I was tangled up in it all again and got very very angry.

That stuff was heavy but I was so mad that I managed to pull it all over next to the driveway.
Grabbed the rake and raked the leaves, sticks & tumbleweeds over there too with it.

This is the first area people see when driving up to the house. He also has nonrunning trucks parked there.
It is still so very cluttered all the way out to the road but the few feet in front of the garden gate are now clear.

Today my back is killing me.
But now I can at least walk over to my mountain laurels with the hose and not constantly get tangled or cut or my clothes torn.

Yes, he was mad when he came home from work & saw I had moved it twenty feet over, out of my way.

HAHA Diane :D
No candy but I did eat 2 oreos.

That isn't silly at all.
I always bury mine with their favorite things too.

Tillie, I can see you out there planting your new roses and eating your M&M's (tee hee)
Back to the bedroom to clear more floor.

Dianne, so sorry to hear about the death of your little furry love. I will be thinking of you today. I buried my 1st dog with his favorite toy and blanket, sounds silly but comforted me.

Thanks Dianne. :)

I'm so sorry to hear about your fur baby. :(

(((HUGS)))

It is wonderful that we have this safe haven where we can share our struggles with others who understand and don't judge us.

Just knowing that we are not alone can give us so much hope and encouragement.

Here in this chat thread we can write about anything that comes to mind and all the events in our daily lives.

We are all so much more than the condition of our homes and this needs to be expressed.

:)

My To-Do list for today...
Go outside and dig two holes for those rose bushes.
Drag over some compost.
Prepare the rose bushes for planting.
Plant then water them.

Since I will be out there anyways with the hose I may as well water all the other plants, shrubs, bushes and trees.
Then I will probably put the sprinkler on the lawn.

Also need to do the daily stuff...
Feed cats
Give them fresh water
Scoop little boxes
Sweep the floor
Tidy up bathroom & kitchen

Everybody be kind to yourselves today :)

(((Dianne))) (((HUGS)))

Our Fur Babies bring us so much joy and unconditional love.

My thoughts are with you at this very difficult time. (((hugs)))

Read around at this site, especially the personal stories of real people digging out.
Click on the names listed on the left.

Very inspirational. :)

http://www.squalorsurvivors.com/stories/index.shtml

that is hilarious!!! guess your man needs a shopping list for you----

On his way home from work he stopped and did the grocery shopping.

yea????

Here is a list of what he bought for me and the cats to eat this week....

oreos
peanut m&ms
snickers candy bar
payday candy bar
rocky road candy bar
1 1/2 pound can of cashews
a bag of tangerines
6 pack of v8 juice
3 cartons of soy milk (told him years ago I am allergic to soy)
a box of wild flower seeds
2 rose bushes

He bought himself some steaks, cheese, crackers, danish, mushrooms and frozen prepared meals.

This is why I try to keep him out of stores.

ROTFLMAO :D