yvette writes

Decluttering and letting of stuff is a lot more than just action and chucking things out of the way its an emotional journey for the hoarder.

Organisation is a skill that needs to be developed and taught. You are  not born knowing how bes to stay organised. Its not just about buying more storage space,  its about being aware that all this excess material things are actually draining your energy time and money. Overcoming the mental barriers is the first battle. Once this is done a plan on how to get rid of clutter and how to prioritise needs to take place. Yvette writes is a website which gives tips on how to declutter and improve your organisation. I have been receiving newsletters which have good visualisation techniques to help people decide how to declutter. There is also a mini course  "Get Myself Organized" where you can receive emails for 7 days. I would recommend it to anyone not just hoarders or people who live with hoarders.

Please visit Yvette writes.

I have not been paid to recommend the website i just like to share good tips to help others.

Its been a long time on here but my attempts at decluttering have not gone in vain. We have purchased a new house. and been redecorating BUT not moved in yet. A new blank canvas... a fresh new start free of clutter and dust.

So we made a few rules: told my dad under no cirumcstances will his clutter including books be allowed in the house. So far agreed and adhered to.

Second rule books can go into the new garage (bonus!) but things have to be thrown away before stored in the garage. This was a very difficult one for my dad and is still udnergoing. He spent over 4 hours putting books neatly into boxes (according to size not subject), and only one was ready to go as the boxes got to heavy to carry books.

As a result of the above very little has been done in the last few months as my dad clings onto his belongings. Spending hours sifting through book marathons (and sneezes to follow) and then a tirade of justifications for keeping the book. It goes something like this

"I saw this book in WHSmith for £9.99 and you know how much i got it for?"

Pause (nobody cares)

"20p! what a bargain"

and i think to myself yes and now its not worth the paper its printed on and is probably on Amazon for 1p.

Have tried explaining that books loose value and are cheaply available. But no, my dad insists on keeping them-i really don't think a GCSE Letts revision guide form 1989 will be a huge benefit to anyone. Seriously if i had an exam i would want an uptodate book not one that is 20 years old, yellowing pages, written in a boring manner, and probably before colour books were even published. Im sure the dust mites would also trigger and allergic response. Am thinking of maybe taking books to one of those recycling companies that pay for a tonne of paper...will need to look that up.

Would like to hear from any hoarders and if they moved houses how did they decide or come to terms with with what to keep and what not.

Have you helped a hoarder? what advice would you give?

Jenga brain

Is it my imagination or when you are in a cluttered environment even your ability to think straight and do tasks properly is equally chaotic. Having a quick glance through my blog shows my incoherence in places with typo errors and sentences that are random rants that do not flow (in the writing sense). I have found draft version of posts for this blog which i completely forgot.  I only remember things if they are staring me in the face- my organisation system consists of reminders and to do lists on my phone or a post it note on my wall and even sending myself emails of tasks i must do. I have about three notebooks full of tasks to do and even my table at work is some kind of ordered tip.So last week i just put folders and boxes for every little thing- at work at least thing is i just feel overwhelmed at home.

House is still crowded and is a like the game of Jenga with instead of blocks, books falling from hallways and  "neat piles" in the living room.Last night insomnia kicked in and so i decided to look at one of my to do list-out of 15 i had achieved two and then my brain went on a roll of other to do lists and creative ideas- it was like my thoughts were on a reverse jenga.Talk about mimicing my surroundings!
HOARD REPORT:Since i last blogged there are now 3 bulky camping bags making a home in the living room,Deluxe BBQ set stull resides in my room as a temporary table. :(

Uh oh i've just remembred i can spot my typo errors courtesy of my new glasses....yeah anyway cluttered surroundings=clutter brain.

How old is old?

My dad doesn't even throw away letters that come throught the post and is even reluctant to throw away leaflets/flyers "just in case" because they have "information". Up until recently we had bills from the last 15 years stashed away in my bedroom! I can't understand the logic to keeping them when you have paid them off unless you are seriously going to sit there and analyse the house phone bill form 10 years ago! (Sad!).
 I wasn't allowed to throw them away (irrational logic of a hoarder) but i got so annoyed with them taking up my precious inches of shelf space i shredded every single one, except my electric shredder was unable to cope  (i think the sharp bits have gone blunt) so i sat there for hours tearing away with my hands- well there wasn't much else to do in December with outdoor snowed under and indoors snowed under with paper.
But it felt good kind of like having a facial..clean and refereshed

Divine inspiration

Whether you believe in God or not i'd like to share a verse from the Qur'an with you:
"Verily Allah does not change a peoples condition until they change what is in themselves"

People whinge some say its a British thing to moan about everything from the weather, the cost of living, space and the list is endless. But i reckon it is a human condition. What i like about the about the above verse is the implication you yourself have to take the action by start from looking deep inside yourself and try changing that first. For example you're always angry so you look at what makes you angry and think is it really worth your energy? Solution: Anger management strategies and patience as a developing characteristic. I could write about what Islam says about controlling anger but that would be another post. Now i'm not a religous scholar so i don't know in what context this verse is written but i often remember these words when i am in whinge mode. In terms of my dads hoarding in particular the books, i tell myself to just endure it, a little bit of dust might irritate my nose and lungs but it's not going to kill me for now. I actually don't bother cleaning my dads bookcase on the landing in the hope it might prompt him to get rid of them it didn't work but at least i've stopped imposing responsibilites on myself.
I guess if my dad really wants to get rid of the excessive material belonging that hinder our everyday living space (especially when it inconvenieces him) then he should try to find out why, and once that 's clearly established start taking action.

Happy New Year!

It's been just over a year since i started this blog as a rant....but did i get anything out of it?  Know is the time to look back and reflect.
Well  i didn't write regularly but i have perfectly valid excuse-lack of internet connection.
I've had quite a bad flu and then my laptop lasts about 10 minutes where it gets hotter than my oil filled radiator and switches off. Even though kind brother has a laptop my dad the resident hoarder started hogging the laptop over the holiday period.

The hoarding has got worse. My dad even got me to buy a book about gliding of Amazon- he has been going through an obsession about gliding as his childhood dream was to be a pilot! My dad went through a camping phase and bough lots of sleeping bags simply becasue they were going cheap. One permanently lives at the top of the stairs-*HEALTH HAZARD*!!
I didn't share any pics did I? Honestly its my family home and i guess putting up pics of the hoarding crimes will be infringing others privacy.
The BBQ boxed set is still being used as dressing table.
Before making this years new resolutions why don't we look at last years below:

1.BE more organised with storing MY belongings- it sets an example-ACHIEVED- BOXES AND BAGS!

2.REFUSE TO BUY BOOKS-borrow from library! ERM I BROUGHT ONLY THREE-ONE WAS WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND.

3.continue to persuade to dad to get rid of useless books-who needs a book on idioms from 1956 or "A dummies guide to Windows 95"-nobody wants them! apart from a computer book antique collector? (if one exists) FAILED-"get out my house" was the usual response


4.Continue to state how the book collection is causing extra dust mites- which is bad for my health. :(
FAILED, what happened when little brother had a nose operation and needed a clean space- dad left the books in his room and even went and bought some more.

5.what junk does not belong to mine should not be in my room-however small or large. ACHIEVED!!

6.sell/donate any of my junk and encourage others ACHIEVED

7.write every month ANY ACTION taken and RESULTS achieved . NOPE

8.Write on this blog! NOT AS REGULARLY I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO

Now i think thats an achieveable set of resolutions don't you? I GOT 3 OUT OF 7 MY MATHS AIN'T GREAT BUT THAT'S NEARLY A HALF. The glass is half empty or half full depending on my mood.

why?

Obsessive compulsive disorders OCD become more prevalent as one gets anxious as a result of changes in life-and compulsive hoarding is no different. The past few months my dad has been collecting tools even though he does not do DIY.He already had a pile of toolboxes in the kitchen (no room left in the bedroom and they rus in the shed).
What's really been bugging me is Why? Why do certain people become like this, what emotional triggers are there.To find a cure or to be realistic, a way of managing it one has to look at the cause-Looking at childhood experiences.
My theories/explanation based on my own observation is that compulsive hoarding is a consequence of missing something in childhood- a parent or material objects, maybe become homeless or displaced, a way of creating some kind of control on one aspect of one's life,an inability to express feelings in words or physical action, an emotional sentimental attachement to objects, temporary joy, a burglary or betrayal,escaping making real relationships. My dad dreads throwing away something as it just might come in handy.9 out of 10 times it won't or he will not be able to find it.Are there any particular traits common to OCD hoarders?I am certain that there must be some common characteristics in hoarders. How common is it?
Just as autism was little understood a decade ago and known as a spectrum of disorders.

As ever being a curious person I'm hoping further research would go into helping people overcome hoarding.