Community Chat

[esmerelda]

Deadlines.

[MrsSweetieBear]

mistri - Regarding Hoarders and cleaning up and cleaning out, that worked for me too. Even if my house was neat and clean, I'd go find something to straighten up or toss out, LOL!

I no longer watch any of those Hoarders shows because they were too disturbing. I found myself feeling depressed and worrying about loved ones with some of those tendencies.

[Azcowgirl]

On 1/27/2014 mistriTsquirrel said:

On 1/27/2014 Azcowgirl said: Reminding myself of how good it feels to get organized(;

.......and watching squirrels !!! They are about the best organizers I've ever seen (;

[mistriTsquirrel]

On 1/27/2014 skuggles said:

On 1/27/2014 mistriTsquirrel said:

On 1/27/2014 skuggles said:

Goals ... I set goals for myself.

I've found that having goals isn't always enough...I have to have motivation to get there...and a plan.

Hi mistriT. I always have a plan to go with the goals. Usually, if I'm at the goal setting stage, I've got the motivation.

I'm...sometimes lacking the motivation.

For instance, if we're talking about keeping too much stuff around your home...

My mother hoards things, and is unmotivated. My brother throws out as much as possible, and is highly motivated. I am somewhere in between the two extremes.

Sometimes I have to play games with myself, mentally, to get things done. (The "throw 5 things away (or donate)" game may turn into the "throw 10 things away (or donate)" game...I just have to get the ball rolling.)

[mistriTsquirrel]

On 1/27/2014 esmerelda said:

Deadlines.

Yes.

The term "deadline" has taken on a very serious meaning for me, because of how ill my father is. It really puts things into perspective when I think about what life will be like after he is gone, what he will miss seeing, what he would want, etc.

I don't know when he will pass, but I feel a sense of urgency that I didn't have before.

[mistriTsquirrel]

On 1/27/2014 MrsSweetieBear said:

mistri - Regarding Hoarders and cleaning up and cleaning out, that worked for me too. Even if my house was neat and clean, I'd go find something to straighten up or toss out, LOL!

I no longer watch any of those Hoarders shows because they were too disturbing. I found myself feeling depressed and worrying about loved ones with some of those tendencies.

I can identify with that; I worry about my mother.

On the other hand, I don't want to wind up like her (worse in my hoarding tendencies). I know that I cannot "fix" her; she doesn't even want help. All I can do is help myself...and perhaps she will be inspired by my progress. (Probably not...but who knows, right?) ::shrug::

[dimin]

On 1/27/2014 mistriTsquirrel said:

On 1/27/2014 Golden Sky said:

When watching Hoarders I get somewhat motivated but I never really see where all the stuff goes, besides the trash. I keep reading on these boards about donating, but it's hard for some reason.

Do you mean that it's hard to part with things, or hard to find suitable places that accept donations?

Good question, but I don't really know. i have tons of paperwork, I have some stuff that my DH likes, antiques with no use like old radios that are pieces of furniture, we both have clothes we don't wear. I donated my kids clothes no problem. All I have to do is put the bag out on the sidewalk to be picked up. I think I should be blamed for the papers and bills, and him for all the old furniture, some goodwill nick nacks he got that I don't like, and the junk in the garage. He thinks my xmas decorations are junk and that's just 2 bins. I have empty boxes around, and I have blankets. I use the bags and get bins, but then I just have space bags and bins around. He did build a shed and I only have it half full. It's taller than wide so I have to stack things. We can't afford good furniture, so I got cheap stuff (like Sauder bookshelves) and he hates it, then he wants all this old junk he picks up. He has headboards that he makes into benches. I wish I could just throw everything away (almost), especially his stuff. We just complain about each others stuff lol.

[mistriTsquirrel]

On 1/27/2014 Azcowgirl said:

On 1/27/2014 mistriTsquirrel said:

On 1/27/2014 Azcowgirl said: Reminding myself of how good it feels to get organized(;

.......and watching squirrels !!! They are about the best organizers I've ever seen (;

You'd be surprised. Sometimes it's hard to remember where your nuts are.

[Azcowgirl]

It's the getting started that seems the hardest for me too. Amazing how once I get past that, it's usually easier than I thought it would be, and actually fun and really rewarding.

[Azcowgirl]

On 1/28/2014 mistriTsquirrel said:

On 1/27/2014 Azcowgirl said:

On 1/27/2014 mistriTsquirrel said:

On 1/27/2014 Azcowgirl said: Reminding myself of how good it feels to get organized(;

.......and watching squirrels !!! They are about the best organizers I've ever seen (;

You'd be surprised. Sometimes it's hard to remember where your nuts are.

LOL.....one day I made a pile of the green pine cones, because the squirrel in my yard works his tail off collecting them all day, and one by one, he took them away and hid them,till the pile was gone. Amazingly ambitious little guys (: Anyway, My Dad never threw anything away and his garage was so jam packed , Mom would walk out there , look around and finally throw up her hands and go back in the house that she kept as neat and clean as a pin. .....I have the house now, and it took days on end to plow through Dads garage, but talk about a trip down memory lane(:.....lots of it I have in bins, still trying to figure out what to do with it, most of it went to donations and a garage sale.Couldnt believe there was actually a good sized garage buried under everything !