Not quite a horder - decluttering

del

I'm finally starting to go through all the stuff I just threw higgledy piggledy into boxes a year and a half ago, when I wanted to put my house on the market in a hurry right after my original dx. I don't seem to have many fewer boxes yet, but the stuff is (at least partly) sorted and there's a lot of paper in the recycle bin that wasn't there two days ago, and half a box of books ready to donate to Goodwill or friends of the library. There's another box of other items ready to go too.

Hi I have read back quite a few pages. After bc , I decided to "clean" out. Over the past 7 years, I don't keep anything I will not use.  I clean my drawers and closets twice a year. I just can't  stand the clutter anymore. I also figure when I die, my kids are just gonna throw it all out anyway..lol.

I do have a problem with a friend of mine, I am hoping you all can help me. She is a hoarder. So is her adult  daughter who lives with her. You can't even get into the apartment. When you are in, there is no where to walk , nowhere to sit! I went there one day about 4 months ago to try to help her but admitedly, I can't . She doesn't want to throw anything out and there is just so much stuff.  At the same time she had thrown out her bed and needed to make room to put in a new one. Well, that was nearly 4 months ago and she has been living at my small 3 room apartment sleeping on my couch. She had asked can she stay with me until she gets the bed in but I didn't think it was gonna take all this time. Before me she was at her cousin's for about 2 months. I have to control the stuff she brings into my apartment. If I let her it would be just as stuffed as hers is. She is also a coworker. She told me she would be out 2 days ago...at least the third time telling me this.

I hope you don't mind me sharing this story with you. I don't know where to turn to at this point. I seem to get good advice and help from my bc sisters no matter what the subject...hugs and prayers to you all.

Ditto Teka's message, with the caveat that I haven't a clue as to what type of professional could possibly help them.  Maybe start with your state agencies? 

A week late, but here is the image for the indian.

My brain is still on the other time and it is 5:30 am on a holiday and I am laying here in bed playing on my laptop instead of sleeping in.

We went to the LA convention center Saturday to the "CHristmas" Cash & Carry sale. Nothing for Christmas there to speak of. I wanted to get some shopping done early.

I went shopping on Black Friday once. I would be willing to tell my family Xmas was cancelled rather than do that again. Although I might show up at 2am if I could get a new sofa for cheap.

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I would rather stick a fork in my eye than go out shopping on Black Friday...

Last May, DH and I finally bought an RV. It's been at the dealers all this time, having various warranty issues repaired. He brought it home on Friday, and we cleaned that sucker from top to bottom. Seriously - I washed the ceilings, walls, cabinets, and scrubbed the floors.

Right now I have less enthusiasm for going camping than I do for the fact that this is just a big Tuff Shed on wheels.... all those things we've been gathering "for the trailer" have now been shoved inside (not put away) and the RV has been hauled back to the storage space.

I know it will mean more work when we're ready for our first trip, but I'm SO glad we got all those piles of stuff out of the garage!

Teka - for years, we've talked about traveling across the country to visit family and friends. But then life got in the way. DH's kidney disease, my BC.... finally, this year, we just decided to go for it. Having the travel trailer actually accommodates both our health challenges more than staying in dank motels and eating in greasy diners.

Our first overnight trip will be in our driveway! That way, we can make sure everything works, and if there is something that we need to go in the house to get, that item has to go on our "MUST HAVE" list.

Anyone else here have an RV?

My uncle bought a travel RV and loved it. They would go to Mission, TX in the winter and spend the summer visiting people they'd met down there. When he got older, they bought a house in Okla near her sons. She was 15yrs younger. He had lymphoma and the chemo destroyed a lot of nerves. He ended up in a wheelchair, then bedridden. She was an absolute angel taking care of him.

Teka - Sounds like your friends have a sweet arrangement - the best of both worlds!

Wren44 - That's why we want to travel now, while we are healthy enough to do it. Who knows what the future will bring? At least your uncle had good memories of his time on the road. Sorry to hear about his illness, but glad he was so well cared for.

Meece - DH is the "wilderness" (camping and fishing) guy in the family. I don't pee in the woods. I think we will focus primarily on places that have full hookups, before we venture into "boondocking", or dry camping in a remote area. We do actually have a Tuff Shed in the side yard - it's 8' x 10', and we love it.

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