Hello everyone. So nice reading all of your posts. Dianne, Dave and Tillie, I really appreciate your kind words, and suggestions, gave me hope.
Today I noticed I felt like a prisoner, afraid to leave,fear of shopping again. So I said to have some fun. I got up on roof and went to the area that I never go to because it is the metal roof over the added on bedroom/bathroom. Have to put boards up on it to crawl because it isn't sturdy. I went up and swept all the juniper berries and junk off, it was really thick, had never cleaned it before, and have been here about 18 years. Got it all done then decided I needed some fun. I climbed the juniper tree over the roof. It is huge and I climbed almost to top. I have never been in that tree before, climbed the ones in side yard, but they are smaller. I smiled and giggled a little, 65 year old lady climbing a tall tree. Neighbor in back finally came out to see if I had lost it mentally!!!! As a kid, that was a way to have fun, lived out in country with no neighbors. Since I am hiding, thought this would be perfect. After chatting with my neighbor, who noticed I have been hiding, and reading your posts, I know I will return the calls to my friends in the morning. When I was in the tree I thought about maintenance, and compared it to dieting. When the dieting is going on and losing weight, motivated, then hard to maintain weight loss. Same when I was focused on throwing away tons of stuff and making living area ok, was motivated, and now have trouble maintaining it. I have dishes to catch up on and stuff to pick up in here. So greatful that we can discuss our hoarding, and feelings related to hoarding on here and be understood and encouraged to start over when we mess up.

Spent two hours packing Christmas decorations (yes I am still working on that). STILL not done because I spend too much time wrapping the fragile ones.

Had to replace my daughter's phone that she dropped in her cereal. Took that trip to the phone store and converted it into an op opportunity to restructure phone and data plans and cut expenses down by $35.00 a month.

Was supposed to bbq (we bbq in winter all the time)but was raining so took my daughter out to eat.

Tried to nap but impossible with my daughter's constant interruptions (makes me sooooooo mad that the few times I try to nap she wakes me up)

Spent a lot of time giving her rides and keeping the dogs pee pads clean. The snow was so deep they couldn't walk through it... they are little guys) and... the usual... cleaned both my bathrooms but wimped when it came to vacuuming and mopping the floors. Am so disappointed that I only spent two hours packing up Christmas decorations today and STILL not done. :(

I took out all my steri-lite boxes, looked in each and every one of them, and put labels on them. Threw away a bunch of stuff and vowed to toss more later. Whew. Long overdue. No more BOTU - Box of The Unknown.

I've got a project for my sister's 50th birthday to assemble some photos of her over the decades. She's had a rough go of it lately so wanted to do something especially nice for her. That's been my motivation when I didn't want to open yet another random box.

Thanks all for your inspiring stories - you are helping people you don't even know.

Mrs Dave loves the concept of "Scooter Mode".

LOL :D Scooter.
So easily distracted................

Great that you got some stuff out even if it was not from the target room.
Cory said that it helps to put on some music and stay focused working at the target task till the song or songs are over.
But....
I have seen how even the distraction of music carries you off in the wrong direction. ;D

One thing I have that Mrs. Dave doesn't is my "NO CLUTTER ZONES".
I was the one who removed all his stuff from inside the house, except his bedroom.
It took a very long time to bag & box it all up & move it to the carport, garage & his bedroom.
I worked slowly enough to allow him to adjust before I moved on to another area.
But eventually I reclaimed the inside of the house for humanity. :D

Dave, get off the computer and go declutter that living space! :D

Hi Tillie,

Amidst some of the stress yesterday, Mrs Dave found great humor in the comment that my attention span resembles that of one of your cats. What was its name?-I forgot.

She thought about that a bit and then hollered SQUIRREL! with great enthusiasm.

:) :)

( And I demonstrated that in my donations yesterday. In the middle of the afternoon she was stressed with something and took a break. I was also stressed with the living room, but then in frustration wanting to see me doing something, I went to the bedroom and pulled out a bunch of shirts and t shirts. (many refugees from prior cleanings which is why i wanted them out of the house so quickly.) Then I added some books and the box from the garage. That did nothing for the living room but it got some stuff out that I have tended to keep.

Today it gives me a framework for thinking patterns. I start in on "I'd wear that shirt if I still had it." and I think no I need to change the focus and say "there's a foot of room in the closet for all the stuff I've dragged in and the outbound spot is empty and I can wear something I like."

I am slowly getting changes in my head that I need to get changes with the stuff!!!

( and I am really sorry that you can't have the benefit of some of that in your own life instead of just seeing it happen in others.)

HI :)

Hello Dianne :)
WAY TO GO! getting that outside stuff done.
Happy birthday to Laura! :D
Wishing you lots of sunshine this weekend.

Hello Darco :D

Hello Diane :D
Please do not hide. :(
At the least give them a call back.
Make it a very FIRM rule that when you do buy something not necessary like food that you MUST then donate or toss something you already have that is similiar to what you just brought home.
Or since you still have too much stuff, you MUST now donate or toss at least two items.
ONE IN = ONE OUT! is the rule I follow to keep my possessions under control.
Makes me think VERY hard at the store knowing that I can have something, but only if I am willing to give up something else for it.

Hello Dave :D
WAY TO GO! on the donations! :D
Wishing Mrs. Dave good luck and best wishes that you can start to show her some positive progress. :D
Been such a long time since I saw any progress around here. :(


Today it looks like I might go into town.
Mr. Hoarder wants to go to the thrift shops to look for a wall phone to replace his malfunctioning one here.
So he will buy someone elses broken phone to replace his broken phone.
Logical, NOT!
I am quite happy with the phone here.
It does not ring and interupt my thoughts and has no dial tone so no reason for me to bother calling anyone. ;P
If I buy anything I will post it in the other thread.
Not going to bother to post whatever he may buy.
Most of the crap he buys I always wonder "what the #%&* is that thing anyway??? And why does he want it???"
Sunshine here today. Clear blue skies but very very cold.

Easy up on yourselves. You are the most critical and unforgiving on your own self.
This is the first day of February 2014. You all have a fresh new start on the rest of your lives. (((hugs)))

diane,

Perspective note, for what it's worth. I don't think there is anyone in my life other than a few immediate family members that would call me "to get together". Perhaps all the hard work you have been doing cleaning, ordering and preparing is drawing new opportunities into your life.

Hi All.

Hope you have a good day tomorrow.

Have been doing some thrift store buying most of the week. A combination of some objectives and opportunism. I think I have also exercised restraint in the process.

Made another trip to goodwill today with stuff, bags again. Not sure but think rough equivalent would be 5-6 copier paper boxes full. (Some of that came from an "outbound" box i uncovered Thursday in the garage.) The trip on Wed or Thur was probably 2-3 boxes equivalent. I don't usually go this soon again, but this time I was following Tillie's advice about getting it out quickly because there were some clothes and books I did not want to get back into. Outbound spot cleaned out again and hollering for more.

Mrs Dave disappointed because we did not meet a living room goal today, I hope that I will be able to get to that tomorrow. Difficult choices both today and tomorrow as part of that process. I am very pleased with brain process and progress I am making, but Mrs Dave must see much more physical item movement tomorrow.

Yesterday I finally went to the store, got enough groceries for a small village. Stopped at a thrift store, I am still an addict, bought some craft crap. Today I have been annoyed that I still get a high from the buy. Did some work outside, plenty cold with the wind. Reading about boxing up and giving away stuff, made me think, it is time for me to focus on unloading some more stuff. Two friends called and left messages, I have not returned calls, they want to get together, I just want to hide.

Thanks Dianne. Wow! You were on fire today. A little warmer weather and some sunshine after being cooped up and the burst of energy is nice :)
Wow, hats off to ya! I couldn't imagine letting go of lawn and garden stuff because that is so...well... usable! But if it is more than you could use yourself, well... then quite the logical choice.

@Tillie... totally understand about Cory being busy. He has such a huge heart and is so giving, comes as no surprise.

Hi :)

Right now Cory is very very busy and spread very thin.
He is working hard to get franchises set up of his specialized cleaning company and doing seminars to train social workers and other public workers in the best ways to deal with hoarding situations.
He has dedicated all his time to these worthy pursuits and any free time that he has right now he spends with his family.
So, right now we should do the very best we can here to help ourselves and each other and when Cory is not so very very busy I know he would love to spend more time here with us and have contests. :D

Also, am happy to report that I finally got around to donating the really nice lamp that just needed a new light kit (I will never get around to that project) and donated a book in trade for the prayer book I bought). This was to fulfill to make sure I keep up with the "one in?, one out" rule. When I was really in my purging "prime" I used to follow "one in, 10 out" but it will take me a bit to get back to that one!!

In the meantime, I will be scheduling a weekly pickup of 24 boxes to get the room ready for rental on March 1. When I keep those pickups scheduled in advance, the obligation to another person (the Good Samaritan mission pastor)helps keep me on track.

I am giving myself one day off a week until March 1.... have to be careful not to hit purging burn out.

TILLIEWhat are the chances of getting Cory to hold another biggest loser contest? I have a hat but would love to win a Tshirt or better.... a hoodie!

Yesterday my daughter and I took photos of and packed 10 boxes of donations. Not quite the four boxes a day I need to do, but progress none the less. I have a donation pickup scheduled for next Thursday and plan to have a total of 24 boxes ready to go by then.

In order to maximize the value of the donations, IRS regs require that the item be "good" or "like new condition". Because of this, I do take a bit extra time to clean up the items. Better I spend that time improving the donation value (hence less taxes) than acquiring :)

So here is my BIGGEST accomplishment. I had a set of books called "Nature's Children" that I had bought for Chris when she was little. I bought them as an investment since their was a whole set that contained scientific info that will still hold true for years to come (squirrels will still be mammels...). I read these books for Christina for years. I made payments on the books for years as well. I held onto them in hopes of reading them to my grandchildren. The books were small so the whole set only took up a 10 x 10 x 10" cube box. But, I let those go. Because who knows if and when my daughter will have children and if I will ever live close enough to read to her children. Holding onto to a wing and a prayer that I will have that in my life... need to let go of those future visions and hopes.

Good morning everybody! :)

Hope you all are having a good day today,
this very last day of January 2014.
This is the Chinese New Year according to my calendar. Year of the horse.
What are your plans for February?
Mine are to continue trying to get the vehicle titles all in order so I can try to sell them so I can get myself a car.
Do some more pruning and maintenance stuff in the garden.
Empty kitchen drawers, wash them and put everything back in them all neat & tidy.
Sharpen the knives.
Work on the doll house. The tiny bed is completely bare and needs some linens.
Sew on my sewing projects. This is hard & frustrating to do because Scooter always helps.
Then there is some self improvement I want to work on. Eating on a real schedule rather than just when I get hungry.
Keeping better track of time. Seems the hours and days are just going past in a blur. Need to be more conscious in the present. lol :D

So, what are your plans for February 2014?

Good morning! :D

It's snowing! YEA!!! :D
Slept in. It was so dark and quiet and the bed was very comfy. :)
Yesterday I got a lot accomplished. Even did the deep freezer.
Have to do the daily tasks, like cat stuff then since today is a SNOW DAY I will mess around with my sewing projects. :D
So very very HAPPY to see snow.
My county has been declared a disaster area due to this being a third year of drought.
All our wells are at risk.
Keep your fingers crossed that we get enough snow fall to make it right again. :D

Good Morning to All!

I hope that neither rain nor sleet nor snow will keep you from a rewarding day!

Karl, hope you are able to make progress on a place to stay.

Barb, hope things are going well with the SteraClean project.

Roxie, hope you can get a good resolution on your plumbing problems today. Makes me sick to think of all the money you are having to spend on that.

Have been doing some shopping, perhaps I got my comeuppance yesterday. I bought a pair of very light hand weights in the morning. I wanted to use them to modify some exercises in a book I'm reading. They have disappeared; they were so light I think I got them mixed into a large batch of outbound in the afternoon! :). I was putting everything in plastic grocery sacks and I think I just grabbed that sack without looking carefully in it and added more stuff on top. I guess the bright side is that 10-12 grocery sacks of stuff and 2 lunch boxes went out the door. (and I didn't keep back too much.)

Now the outbound spot, the trash dumpster and the recycle dumpster are all clamoring to be fed again. I appear to be faced with challenge of following some of my own advice. :). I believe I am going to have to review the bucket collection for getting something into the recycle dumpster besides weekly waste this week.

I just don't like the cold, but it's supposed to be up in the high 40's later today, so I will go in the garage or outside with the buckets later.

I have remembered, sometimes, to keep a straight wrist. Have been following Tillie's advice (re meditation) and been reaquainting myself with John Bright-Fey's Morning Cup of Meditation. I have also been working a little bit with his Morning Cup of Qigong.

Tillie thanks for the message, good info.

Good evening, I brought 3 carts full of wood to deck today. So nice to have a smooth gravel/rock path to bring wood on, so much easier. Over an hour in craft room. Organized all good fabric by color. Sorted some junk bins, kept the good stuff and put in labeled containers. Noticed a little more floor to walk on. Nothing fell on me today, that is a sign of progress, used to be piled to ceiling. Very windy so made sure tarps on wood etc were secure.
Yesterday/last night it rained and rained, I was so worried, but no flooding in garage or walkway. It was warmer and the rain softened soil so I finished the steps in back yard. Used a sledge hammer to knock cement blocks further into soil so they are sturdier now. I was busy all day, didn't get much done it feels like. Did get an appt. with my doctor finally. Days are getting a few minutes longer, thank goodness. I am so happy it is raining, means it is above freezing finally.

Good morning! :D

Hi Diane :)
A main part of my weekly cleaning is to always clean those things that get touched daily.
Door knobs, light switches, remotes, phone, computer, etc.
Can't help it, having been a surgical assistant my job was to make and maintain a sterile field. lol :D
I have taught a lot of families to do this to help reduce the spread of viruses in the household and it really does work.

There is a concept called "good enough".
Perfectionism keeps us from doing anything since we don't have the motivation to do it all perfectly.
But running the vacuum around and doing the job "good enough" is perfectly acceptable.
Same with other maintenance tasks.
Running a wet cloth over a countertop rather than scouring and shining up the whole kitchen or bathroom is "good enough" at times.
(((hugs))) :)

Hi Karl :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Enjoy your BD freebies. :D

Hi Dave :)

I have a few plans for today.
Since it's cloudy & windy outside I think I will cook up some more food to freeze and have ready to eat when I get hungry.
Need to make more lemonade.
I brew a pot of herbal or green tea and add fresh lemon juice and honey then enough water to make one gallon.
A couple of glasses of that a day helps keep the sore throats & sniffles away. ;)
Then I will have to clean the kitchen.
Debating with myself about defrosting the deep freezer today.
It's not hard to do so I really should just do that then I don't have to think about it any more.
It's trash pick up day and the big green wheelie bin is already out at the road. :D YEA!

So, what are you all up to today? :D

Hey Karl,

Famous Daves, that's a lot of food if they'll let you have both orders and then a doggy bag. I can't remember, do Fazolis or Panera Bread do birthday something or anothers if you've registered online?

You had some ice cream coupons awhile back-was it cherry cordial? - how was that?

Did you have any rooming leads from the last time that had any potential for this time?

wow, my post turned out with a huge space at the top, sorry for that

Nice to read your posts this morning, helps so much to feel connected to you. They canceled all schools in county, including college and university in Bend today. Streets are all solid sheets of ice. Warm upper air rain, fell through the frozen fog and covered streets with ice. So glad I enjoy being a home body. Yes SAD has affected me since childhood.
Dave if you keep your wrist/arm straight when getting up, should not injure wrist, if you bend your wrist too much pressure, so keep it straight knuckle man.
Today I need to bring more wood up to deck, and keep plenty ready for week, supposed to snow on and off this week. I finished the pot of soup, so time to make more. On news said the dirtiest places, so plan to disinfect all handles, remote, phone, handles, knobs, computer today. I have glue gun out and craft table set up by stove, so plan to do something creative today to boost my spirits.
I see myself as lethargic most of the time, have to fight it most days. Yesterday had to trick myself into going into craft room, saying I was looking for something, then thought I could sort one little bin, stayed in an hour working. Much of my lethargy is caused by indecisivness (sp) I think. I noticed yesterday did not want to vacuum at all. Perfectionism popped into my mind, realized I think I have to do every inch or why bother, so I told myself I could quit as soon as I was tired, that is why only vacuumed 1/2 yesterday. It was a new awareness, if can't do it all, why start. After I use glue gun and mess up stuff in here more, will vacuum in here. I plan to let my mind just dream up a new project, freedom to create whatever I dream up, not to sell, or give away, just for my satisfaction and fun.

Good morning :)
Big dark storm clouds moving in this morning.
Predicted to have rain & snow this week.
YEA! :D we really need the water to get out of this drought. Hope we get LOTS & LOTS.

WOW! Everybody, take care of your thumbs and toes.
Stay whole & healthy. No wounds or diseases.
Makes life miserable being sick or hurt.

Spring will be here soon and watching the daffodils and iris leaves emerge from the ground will lift everybodys spirits.
Hang in there.
Januweary is almost over and we only have to get through Februweary.

I too have been struggling with the "why bothers".
Want to just vegitate and let the world go by without me.
But I know that if I don't maintain my "NO CLUTTER ZONES" the hoarder will immediately re-crap these areas.
So every day I do the maintenance and every week the general cleaning and schedule in at least one bigger cleaning task like vacuuming the fridge coils or defrosting the freezer, etc.
"Idon'twanna" but I do it any way.

Sleep is very important.
I try to get the right amount but most often my plans are ruined by inconsiderate housemate, fighting cats or brat kids making prank phone calls.
We all need around 7/8 hours of undisturbed sleep a night.
Too little or too much and our brains don't fully function. Decision making becomes impossible and we whine a lot.
But still, we need to make the effort to get the sleep. Setting firm bedtime routines and schedules even though the little kid in us begs for more play time. :)

WAY TO GO!!!
for all your accomplishments!
The important phone calls, the decluttering, the maintenance, the eating healthy, the keeping at it even when you really just want to quit! (((hugs))) :D

YIKES sorry about the way too big font... can't edit it.

Re quote I just posted.

I am awestruck by the battles I see being fought around me. I pray that each of you will experience a special kindness tomorrow.

diane,
Difficult to think of you as lethargic. I'm glad you were able to both find things to do and do them in spite of the bad weather.

Happy Dances are always good.

farting rainbows allowed me to smile, first one today I think!! got up to 28 today, everything still frozen fog. I did go up on the roof and did two little things, then back in the house. It is so cold with the wind.
I did make appt with old eye doctor and tax person. tried to make appt with doctor but clinic appt system was not working, computer problem.
did dishes, vacuumed 1/2 of place. 1 load laundry, 1 hour in craft room organizing. Took shower, washed and curled hair, did not want to do one thing but did it anyway, really dislike this no visibility weather.
thank goodness for this website, since last night, I said I would do stuff today, I knew I had to, or report failure. did nothing with clothes, too cold in bedroom to try clothes on. Maybe tomorrow. A myt least I did do a few things in spite of lethargy. I want to do one fun thing now, maybe some felting. Forgot to have fun today until I read about farting rainbows, maybe I will force myself to get off butt and do a 10 second happy dance.

Good morning Everybody :D

Must clean the house today!
No procrastination, no excuses, no whining.
Right now I have been downloading updates, defraging, deleting stuff to see if something malfunctioned with my computer & fix it.
Really enjoyed reading the message board here today! :D
Even when you feel your posts are not worth posting, please post! It is important to put it all out there, let us know how you are really feeling, so we can understand and be better able to help you with suggestions or just a (((hug))).
Wishing you all glitter covered unicorns farting rainbows today. ;)

diane,
sorry about your weather. I thought sure from the accuweather map you were in for a nice day or two.

Dianne,

The gist of something I read somewhere. When we get busy being guilty about the past we miss the opportunity to engage with right now and start the creation of a new past.

My thoughts: Understanding that we have messed up in the past gives us the opportunity each day to knowingly make our buying choices in the store rather than our basements. It also gives us the opportunity to talk back to our brains and our emotions and clear out stuff that is holding us back from doing things other than cleaning that might be more beneficial to both us and those around us.

These are thoughts that am dealing with as I work to get my head and my hands around the things I need to do to get my garage opened up some more.

Very busy keeping busy :)
Not tackled hoard projects yet today but been cleaning and keeping energy levels up. I clean both our bathrooms every day, vacuum and mop everyday.. keeping the good areas polished help me look forward to the potential end results. Also, I am SOOOOOOO paranoid about creepy crawlers and critters that I feel that cleaning the areas I can get to will alert me if they are running loose. (We live on water and rats E-GAAAADS are an issue in the winter time). Off to run errands so will report back later.

When you get so befuddled you don't know what you want or don't even care about doing anything
because it all seems so futile/hopeless
It is a GREAT time for you to meditate.
Sit quietly, breathe properly, relax, let go,
forget about the world and all the busy-ness there.
In the calm and quiet you will be able to hear a different sound.
This will lead you to your inner thoughts and needs and desires.
It will release you from all the distress of the modern world and allow you to become centered.
When centered, you will be able to calmly and serenely do that which you now can see is the way you should proceed.
(((hugs)))
Tune out, Tune in

Sorry we lost you last night Tillie, wondered why you didn't come back.
Dianne, I can relate with you so much and so happy you keep posting, it helps to know I am not the only one with ups and downs with this project of change. I hear you on volunteering, taking care of pets and yourself is enough for now.
Woke up to frozen fog, no visibility this morning, not so happy about weather, was supposed to have one more nice day to finish stuff I started outside. Will do this afternoon, supposed to rain/snow starting Tuesday. I made a long list of calls I need to make with phone numbers, then thought I would write on here first. stressed to make appt. and not know how much snow will fall by the time they can see me. some of the calls are not associated with travel so will do those first. Barb, I keep an old slimline plug in phone to use when power goes out. Do you have one, can use that until get new phone.
Roxie, nice to hear from you.
I have to do maintenance this morning, papers around me, file, toss, pay one bill. few dishes. Vacuum. put away a few items.

Thank you.
I slept well.

diane,
From accuweather, it looks like while some of us are experiencing Polar activities for a day or two, you get mild weather. You are being blessed with some more roof repair time!

Roxie,

I bought a thumb brace yesterday too. (Mueller thumb stabilizer.) It seems like it will do a good job immobilizing the big joint next to the hand. I will probably get another one. Care when lifting is in order so as not to over stress the small joint which is still exposed.

Something else I have been trying to do. I notice when sitting or getting up i spread all my fingers and thumb out. I have been trying to remember to tuck my thumb into my fingers adn use my knuckles when I'm getting up and down on the couch (although that probably creates more stress on the wrist).