Stop holding on to the things that clutter my home and my life

Nick and I watched two episodes of a show called Hoarders, about people who hoard pathologically. It was fascinating. I learned that people who hoard often have or are prone OCD or addiction problems. I learned that people who hoard can’t just be made to clean up their stuff and then miraculously be “cured.” They have to want it.

Two hoarders were featured on each show. They were at an extreme point in their lives: about to be eveicted, had to sell the house, about to have their kids taken away, and the like. Most of them just had junk and trash piled around.

But one woman hoarded food. She opened her refrigerator (one of them) and must have had 30 or 40 cartons of yogurt in there, some expired for months. She said they were still good; she would not toss them until they started to bulge. In her living room, she had a rotted, and I mean decayed and slimy, pumpkin. When she agreed to get rid of it and someone scooped it up in a shovel, she reached out and said what a beautiful pumpkin it had been and put her hand in the rotting mess to take out seeds so that she could plant them.

I understood as never before how hoarding is truly a disease, and how people get truly attached to their rotting pumkins and empty plastic bottles and clothes they buy and never wear.

This show also made me want to throw away everything in sight so that I will never go down that path.

in all my crap on my desk . . . I found a check that Mr. HC’s Dad sent to us for our anniversary. Our anniversary was last April. Clutter is Bad!

account. New account, same old clutter though . . . .

I have been working on my office all day long today. All this crap is overwhelming me. I know every thing in here seemed like a good idea at the time, but for the life of me right now I don’t know why.

I am going through everything just in case it really is important and if it is REALLY IS important I am trying to establish a reasonable and organized home for it. It is really time consuming. I have been struggling with it all day long. Why do I have all this crap? Why can’t I just throw it away already and just be done with it?

There is the fawn sweater that I did not donate after no one bought it at the garage sale. And I pulled R’s camel sport jacket out of the donation pile because I have always loved seeing him in it. He may wear it again.

But we sold enough stuff to feel OK about donating the remainder of the clothes, minus what I mentioned and my black wool skirt suit with the skirt that wraps long on one side and short on the other, with the snappy form fitting jacket. And the felt hat with the netting. It won’t be worn in Hawaii, but there is that European adventure in the offing, later in the year, so a pretty and sexy suit is a good idea.

The house is looking barren.

We are getting there.

Gotta work on my timeline, and then the big discardia rolls on!

Sofas, beds, plants, dishes and the pantry contents. “Statues, jewels, roasts!” I’m going to lose lots of weight here!

I had a short pile of boxes with tax-related paperwork in the middle of my bedroom (my main living space) for a couple/three months. Although small, they were quite in the way. Well, I completed my taxes recently, and two of them got moved back against the wall. (On top of a box of books! LOL) Two other ones are what I call “current paperwork” and will be consolidated into one over the next while. (Two weeks to two months…or years!!! ROFL)

As I go through things, though, some paper always comes up that can be filed, recycled, or shredded. Doing these things with said paper eats up a LOT of time, but once it’s done, it’s done.

Sooner or later, some of that will disappear, too, since I only have to keep seven years’ worth of tax records. (Actually, only about three.) But I can worry about that once the tote I keep them in gets full. Same thing for my FOUR-DRAWER filing cabinet. But neither the tote nor the cabinet would get any smaller if it were half empty.

Still, it’s a victory for me. (Not to mention getting my taxes done!!!) :c)

with this goal for now!

It will be something that I continue to work on!

I washed all of the dishes!
I cleaned a few mirrors!

Cleaned a little in the bathroom!
Washing the bath-tub is hard work…

And I picked up my medicine at the pharmacy!
And I returned my library books!

Tomorrow I need to throw out the trash.

And I ate lunch & dinner at home!

Working through my big pile of laundry as i write ;)
Theres nothing like the smell of fresh laundry!!!
hmmmmm… chill!

Cleaned up the back-yard today!
Phew!