Skip to main content
#
Hoarding Help
Hoarding Cleanup, Help for Hoarders, Nationwide Hoarding HelpHoarding Clean up National ResourcesAbout Hoarding Cleanup, Clutter CleanupHoarding Cleanup, Clutter Cleanup, Hoarding Cleanup, Help for HoardersSupport GroupMessage BoardFor FamiliesHelp For HoardersHoarding Help for Hoarders, Resources, Hoarding Cleanup, Clutter Clean up

Hoarding Cleanup Service 
Steri-Clean Locations 

Questions...Answers...Support. Together we CAN beat this!
Brought to you by:

(800) 462-7337
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Every Day!

Hoarding Help Message Boards : The Daily Chat : Space Saver Bags
Reply to this topic
Space Saver Bags
   

MayMay
Posted: 26 March 2013 - 06:15 PM
OH NO!!!!! :o

If that's the case, then I think I might be a hoarder!
Top
Tillie
Posted: 26 March 2013 - 04:55 PM
Hoarders very often can help another hoarder clean out because they have no personal attachment to the items in another person's home.

The difficulty comes when they have to make decisions and reduce their own items due to personal attachments.
Top
Tillie
Posted: 26 March 2013 - 04:51 PM
:D

You tell us. ;)
Top
MayMay
Posted: 26 March 2013 - 04:30 PM
Does that mean that I'm a future "extreme cleaner" that also has a hoarding problem?
Top
Tillie
Posted: 26 March 2013 - 04:05 PM
Very well said Dianne! :D

My fiber filled comforters plumb back up very nicely with just a little shaking out.

I would never put my down comforters in a space saver bag because the feathers would all get broken and destroyed with the crushing effect of the compression.

MayMay,
Deny it all you want. If you have too much stuff then you have too much stuff. :p
Top
MayMay
Posted: 26 March 2013 - 02:30 PM
Some of my clothes do get wrinkled after being in the space saver bags; but I'm also not the best folder when I'm folding my clothes either. I always do it really fast and never check to see if I folded them evenly.

I don't have any fluffy comforters in any of my space saver bags; so I don't really know if all the fluff gets squished out or not.

My boyfriend thinks I'm on the verge of becoming a hoarder. I try to tell him that I'm not though; because I don't have an emotional attachment to a lot of the items that I have; and also because all of the items that I have are never in the way. They are either in my closet or in a space saver bag under my bed. :)

You should have seen my boyfriend's face the first time he saw the inside of my closet. He was really shocked. He actually threatened to call Cory on me. Lol. :)
Top
Dianne
Posted: 26 March 2013 - 11:25 AM
Hey Andi and MayMay,

Question ~ I always wondered about the Space Saver bags ~ doesn't the stuff inside get terribly wrinkled? What about fluffy comforters? Doesn't all the fluff get squished out? Does stuff plump back up when you take them out?

As far as the hoarding question goes... I have a tremendous amount of space. A large country home, a third story fully accessible attic, a large two story poolhouse, extra large two car garage, an ocean front condo. I have kept everything right down to my kid's umbilical cords. For awhile it was all organized. I even individually initialed every single crayola marker (AND TOP OF EVERY MARKER!!!) when they went to school. How insane is that?!

Point being there was no need to get rid of anything because I had the space and was a master at keeping it all under control. Fast forward 30 years and I am a full blown hoarder. I loved going to my beach condo because it was an oasis of simplicity and calm. But I found myself starting to add a little too many decorating touches. Small stuff like swirls of sand and tiny shells among the books. No live animals allowed (I need one hair-free zone) but I filled it with stuffed animals and pictures and books. It was beginning to feel oppressive.

So just because we CAN keep things doesn't mean we should. I think hoarding is more a mental/emotional problem that wreaks havoc in our physical lives. Having a lot of similar items no matter how well stored and labeled can indicate a hoarder mentality. And when life throws some real heavy-duty crap at you the tightly wound control unravels and you start just building piles or tossing bags of newly bought items in a room and shut the door. Or you squirrel away stuff like toothpaste or shampoo or soup. Or you let your passion explode to out of control proportions and have a ton of crafting supplies or take in every poor, abused animal that someone dumps in a bag on your doorstep. Then one day your eyes kind of get out of the squint a little bit and you think, holy shit, what happened to my life?!

If you're lucky you haven't totally destroyed everything, decide you need help and ask for it or find a place like this and attempt to make better choices every day. It's not a fix-it-once problem. It's like other addictive behaviors. Gotta keep working at it. But if you are in the beginning stages and wondering if you have too much, you probably do. Start now ~ get rid of what you can before the decisions get too hard. Put a halt on everything except absolute essentials that come into your home. And if you have living things that depend on you for their well-being make sure you can provide or let a loving person do it for them.

I had to ask people in rescue groups to remove me as a possible home. I make sure to keep my 17 (down from 20) cats and dogs updated on vacs, individual licenses, meds and specialized foods. Their areas, bedding and all needs have priority. The expense, my aging body and my commitment to take care of my responsibility for life-time care is a great deterrent to adding more.

Ahhhh what a lot of words.... don't save it, let it go. Your future you will thank you for it!!
Top
Tillie
Posted: 26 March 2013 - 10:47 AM
Space saver bags can be a good thing for storing seasonal clothes and bedding.

I have one that I store two puffy fiber filled comforters in.
With the air sucked/squeezed out of them they take up very little space otherwise they would hardly fit into a big plastic storage bin.

Problem with keeping clothing items in them is that it is very difficult to remove only one thing because then you have to redo the whole sucking out the air procedure again.

Just because you have shelf or drawer space to store things in is no reason to keep anything.

Open space makes it easier to see and be able to use the things you do want and need.

Maybe there is something better to keep in that space. Something you love/need/use?

Questions to ask yourself is "why am I keeping clothes that I don't wear?"
"Do I have enough clothing that I can/am wearing?"
"When was the last time I ever even looked through those clothes?"

When I sort through my clothes I do a fashion show for myself with a full length mirror.

I try on all the clothing and stand before the mirror and ask myself "honestly! you think that looks good on you!?"

If the item is too big or too small or an unflattering style or color out it goes.
Even if it was expensive and still has the tags on it.

If an item needs mending or alterations I ask myself is it worth my time & bother to mend or alter it?

When my most loved clothing becomes worn out it just looks sad and depressing so I let that go too.

Keeping excess stuff that we do not use is what hoarding is all about.

Too many possessions begin to possess us.
Taking up our space and time and piece of mind.
Top
MayMay
Posted: 25 March 2013 - 11:07 PM
Hi Andi,

I love space saver bags! :)

I have about 50 of them packed with clothes and blankets under my bed. :)

If I didn't have space saver bags, then my bedroom would look like a level 3 hoard.

I'm not a hoarder though. I just have a lot of stuff. :)
Top
Andi
Posted: 25 March 2013 - 09:29 PM
Hi All,

So, what do you all think of Space Saver Bags? (They are the bags you place clothing or blankets in and then suck all the air out of, creating more space with the added bonus of protecting one's stuff.

I have about 15 space saver bags full of clothes (1-2 might be bedding). They are neatly packed away on my highest shelves and labeled with the contents of each bag. However, I just realized the other day, that even if someone has all their clothes neatly packed, labeled, and cared for-- it's still possible to have too many and be considered a hoarder of them.

What do you all think? If there is room and it's on a shelf I can't reach to do anything else with, why shouldn't I just keep the clothes for a another time when I may be able to use them? Is it really hoarding if it isn't in the way?
Top
Hoarding Help Message Boards : The Daily Chat : Space Saver Bags

Reply to this topic
best live chat

Interactive Hoarding Help
Click Boxes Below

best live chat
 
 
Site Mailing List 
"Cleaning with Care and Compassion TM"

Hoarding Cleanup
Nationwide Hoarding Resources Directory

Copyright 2009 - 2024 HoardingCleanup.com

Design Your Own Website, Today!
iBuilt Design Software
Give it a try for Free