Am I A Hoarder
Please tell me I’m not a hoarder!!! Well where do I begin….it’s fall after all and I’ve been on a mission to get my to-do-list wrapped up before winter. Here’s how it all started, my husband’s step dad passed recently so his brother and him drove to Florida to help their Mom clean out all the storage sheds their dad had. What a mess they arrived too, many years of stuff. They had to make several trips to the dump, had a garage sale, took loads to the scrap yard, and a week later was headed home. Not to mention they worked everyday in 90 temps with high humidity. When my hubby got home he said we are going through everything and downsizing (which was fine by me). He said he’s not leaving a mess for our son to clean up after we die (which I hope isn’t soon).
I of course got right on it. While hubby was away last week on a quad trip I decided to clean out my walkin closet. It only took about 2 hours of time and I ended up with over 400 pieces of clothing to donate. Why in the world does one person need that many things? I do have to mention I’ve lost 40 pounds so many things just didn’t fit any more, but I did have 30 white t-shirts 🙁 It sure felt good to purge and downsize. I kept very little, but it’s truly the things I wear over and over again anyway. I did keep one pair of gray and one black pair of pants, one gray skirt and one black skirt, 3 tops to match, and a few cardigans. I figure with that combination I’m ready for a funeral or wedding if one pops up.
The next room will be my shoe and accessory room…..yes I have a whole room for those things. I love shoes (they don’t judge what size you are you know) and have about 100 pair so that will be my next challenge.
The other thing I did while hubby was away was relocate the grill. It’s always been on the front deck, and I never liked it there. It was great because it was under a roof but I always felt it was an eyesore. So all by myself I muscled it off the front deck and onto the back deck. I figured I can now grill and enjoy the view at the same time.
I also put our wrought iron table and chairs on Facebook for FREE. Wow when I mentioned that four letter word I had no trouble getting rid of it. We never use it and it’s just another item that our son would have to deal with someday, so it may as well go to a good home. Two guys I graduated school with came and got it, it was fun to sit and chat with them, and the next day they sent me a photo of the table all repainted a new color and the chair cushions recovered. That in itself was worth it all, I felt like it went to a home where it would be used.
Now this week as long as hubby isn’t out of town we will be finishing our landscape project that we started last fall. I’m anxious to get it done. There’s been a few changes around here. We took the guest house off the market because we had a friend that needed a rental for about 2 years, so for now we will be renting and we will need to stay in the cabin to be close for snow removal and lawn care. Sometimes things just change and plan B falls into place better than plan A, I’m not one to force something to work out and renting will work out fine for a few seasons of our life.
I mowed the lawn for the last time this year, and that doesn’t hurt my feelings any I get tired of that job quickly. I also pulled everything that was no longer producing in the garden, added Moo Poo and straw to each bed to make it easier next spring. I was sure my dog would want to roll in the Moo Poo but once I added the straw she left it alone. They’re calling for frost this week, so if that’s the case I will have to pull my tomatoes (the plants to the back) but the brussel sprouts can take the frost so they will be the last to go. The last thing to do outside is hang bars of soap from my fruit trees to keep the deer from eating them. I use Irish Spring in a knee high nylon and it always works. Must be the deer don’t like the smell and they stay away.
I do keep myself busy when hubby’s away, and I’m so glad I got so much accomplished. I now feel like I’m ready for old man winter to drop by the cabin.
No, you can’t be a hoarder because that would make me one, too. 🙂 I am doing the same thing little by little. Have already taken a full SUV load to GoodWill. Great tax write offs!
Kim, LOL yep my Jeep is loaded for charity as well. It’s so nice to see it all go.
Well that explained it. I so need to do this as well. Due to about 11 deaths in one year, the cleaning out of four
residences of relatives that passed I have lost about 28 pounds. I did get rid of a lot but still need to go thru those
items you are attached to and think you will use again. It is just so time consuming!!!!
Debbie, good for you on the weight loss, but yes it is a time consuming job to purge. I have to be in the mood to do it too.
I helped my mom when her husband died last July. A lot went to The Mission, trash, and family, but she also took this time to go through her things too. So when I can back home, I had my husband and I go through our things too. And! Surprisingly enough, he was very helpful ( wasn’t sure about that, a bit of a hoarder ). Still on going, but freeing, you know? Kathleen in Az
Nice to know your patio furniture is going to someone who enjoys it and I’m sure, your clothes will be too:)
Kathleen, it must be an American thing, I don’t think people in other countries own all the crap or keep all the crap we do. It was so nice to load my Jeep up and donate all the clothes.
Dawn, I’m not sure if you’re a hoarder but you do have a good eye for color. I always cut buttons off of throw away clothes and cut ups I make pillows and crazy quilts, pillow cases and recover chair seats. God Bless.
Joy I did save a favorite dress just for the fabric, thanks for reminding me of that.
To me a hoarder is someone who keeps absolutely everything and has piles of stuff all over the place. At least your hoarding is contained in closets and cupboards. When my inlaws died several years ago we had to clean out their house and we decided there and then not to keep all the stuff that they did. I’ve been giving away clothes over the past few months, thank goodness for the thrift stores that take them. You did well on purging your closets. Once I retired I got rid of a lot of clothes as I just didn’t wear all the dresses and skirts anymore. I’m even more selective on what I buy now, as I realize I can only wear one outfit at a time and there are only 7 days in a week!
Linda yes I hate clutter so I don’t have things stacked all over my house, lol. I agree there’s only so many days to wear these pieces. With 4 seasons here I think we own more to accommodate the changing climate.
To all of you,
Yes, take time and clean out your stuff. It seems every time I clean stuff out and send it off, more stuff comes in. My biggest problem is fabric. I do a considerable amount of sewing for charity. The items I sew are: quilt tops and backs (no quilting) toddler bibs, bags for personal products, baby blankets. Then there is the knitting! Needless to say I am getting tired of
quilting and sewing for others, but sewing for myself does not work well. I know the brands that fit me.
Oh, dear! I feel that I should give away some of the fabric or sew some more. Knowing me, I will be sewing!
Lorraine
Lorraine, I used to be a fabric hoarder too but now I only let myself purchase for a particular project and once that is complete I move on to more fabric for another quilt. Fabric can get out of hand too.
When I retired, I told my daughter that I could easily live for the rest of my life without buying another piece of clothing or shoes. Of course, I have bought things over the last 2 years, but I have also gotten rid of a lot.
I’d rather have beautiful linens than more clothes.
Carol, it was nice to clear out so many things. I look in my closet now and it’s not cram packed with things. Im with you more linens 🙂
With selling this house I am cleaning and purging things too. It feels so good to clean out and take things to Goodwill. It is amazing all the stuff we can collect over time. Love the porch with the chairs. Looks very relaxing.
Kris
Kris, I know isn’t it amazing how much junk we can collect 🙁 So glad you are getting yours all cleaned out too.
Wow…you have been busy. Please do a post on your 40 lb weight loss for all of us who need to lose weight. Thanks
Jeanie there was no magical way I lost the weight. I suddenly became allergic to food 🙁 sugar, gluten, flour, preservatives, and dairy so once I eliminated all those things and let me tell you sugar, gluten, and preservatives are in everything, the weight dropped off.
You’ve done great, Dawn. I wish I could let go of more!
Can I ask how long it has taken you to lose 40 lbs?
I’d like to lose 20!
Kim well I became allergic to food…..and when you can’t eat you lose weight. Im allergic to sugar, gluten, flour, preservatives, and dairy so once I cut that all out the pounds dropped off.
Good job, Dawn! You are inspiring me to start sorting through all the crap I have around here! Big news about staying in the cabin – I didn’t know! But it makes sense and going with the flow is a wise choice.
xo
Claudia
Claudia, it was so nice to weed things out. Im on a mission to do every room in the house.
Wow, I am shocked that any one person has 400 items of clothing let alone 400 to get rid of lol I think that number alone would qualify you as a hoarder tbh Good job on sorting it now though, there is nothing worse than leaving it all to loved ones left behind to deal with. Hopefully the shock of having so many items of clothing will keep you from over indulging ever again. I think the hugeness of American homes, and closets in particular, encourage wastefulness like no where else in the world, it will feel good to know you are not adding to the stresses on our environment by not buying so many clothes in the future. I try to always think about what resources were used up to provide anything I buy, that way I tend not to buy on a whim and not to have too many things, like 30 white t-shirts? I don’t think I have ever owned thirty t-shirts in total at one time, well I know I haven’t!! Keep up the good work on de-cluttering x
Angela yes I have a very big walk in closet, it’s the size of a room. My hubby now has more things than me but he has work close and everyday things which are totally different. We also have seasonal clothes unlike many people, so far so good on not bringing things back in.