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Post by merrymaid on Jul 2, 2009 7:13:41 GMT -5
 !! I thought the title was so funny! Piles = hemorrhoids!   Anywho... how do you keep your piles from flaring up?? (hehe, I can't help myself!!) I have piles everywhere and they seem to come back as soon as I clear the spot off. Do you have a daily routine for clearing them away? I'm challenging myself to get rid of at least one pile a day. Anyway want to join me?? |
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Post by theroyaldump on Jul 2, 2009 7:37:41 GMT -5
lucky you! Piles. I have MOUNTAINS. I think it is a frame of mind thing. Once you clear a pile, you have to think about that item in your hand and make a conscience effort to put that item away instead on an existing pile or creating a new pile. Unfortunately that is easier said than done. Also, I do my very best not to bring anything new into my home unless I am going to use it right away. One thing I think would help is to minimize your posessions. Make your living space more about open spaces than places to keep things. I live in a VERY smalll condo and if I got rid of all my mountains it would still look cluttered becasue of the "good"things that I have. Once I can clear out the mountains, I have to begin thinking of reducing the "good"things. I am talking about small tables, a little book shelf, boxes (oh I hate those) that line the walls one right after another. One day as I was leaving the condo my next door neighbor was leaving at the same time. His door opened while I was locking mine. I couldn't help but look inside his apartment ... and was shocked and flabbergasted to see an absolutey stunning decor. I was so envious! All that day I kept thinking that if only I could live like that .... I tried to put my finger on why it looked so appealing and it dawned on me that he had a great color scheme and that he had minimal furniture (all quality) and NO CLUTTER. And I thought I could have that too if I got rid of the junk and stuff I have. So, that is my goal. My prolblem is staying motivated. I have been working diligently for a week now under terrible heat conditions and it just doesn't seem like I am making headway. I get discouraged. |
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Post by bluefrog on Jul 2, 2009 8:56:32 GMT -5
It may not seem as though you're making progress, but as long as you're taking more out than you're bringing in, you are. If there's a lot of extra stuff, it won't be obvious right away, but it's there. Really.
It's OK to be discouraged, but don't give up. As is frequently said around here, "Motivation FOLLOWS action." Just start in, whether you feel like it or not, and it gets easier to keep going for a while.
YOU CAN DO THIS!
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Post by Script on Jul 2, 2009 9:20:00 GMT -5
I recognized that the single worst area of 'piles' in my home was the floor of the bedroom, closely followed by the chairs in the bedroom, where I piled clean/dirty clothes before moving them to their real homes:
*laundry hampers (we have two)
*cupboards (plural)
*dresser drawers
When I began the desqualoring process 5+ years ago, I made a rule: put away my clothes before bedtime. If I do this regularly, it is really only one days' worth of clothes. Of course, if everything I own is out and about: well, that's many days. But once the backlog is cleared: I can work ONE DAY at a time. It is not overwhelming,
This is the single biggest visual change that I was able to create for the bedroom, even more than making the bed. I used to feel such shame in my old office-work days when I would see PILES of custom-tailored suits draped over the chairs and PILES of good work shoes all over the floor. Now I don't have suits or good work shoes: but what I do have is in better order.
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Post by moggyfan on Jul 2, 2009 9:19:59 GMT -5
I have piles everywhere and they seem to come back as soon as I clear the spot off. Do you have a daily routine for clearing them away? Yes, I do. And that routine is to never, ever, ever let a pile begin. Once it starts, I am doomed. That very first piece of paper calls out to the catalog, which in turn sings a siren song to the day's incoming mail, which beckons to a couple of DVDs, and soon there's a teetering two-foot tower. The only solution for me has been to immediately toss or put away every single thing as soon as I bring it in the house. There may be those who can let a small pile accumulate over the course of a few days and then dismantle it, but alas, I am not one of those people. |
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Jul 2, 2009 9:30:09 GMT -5
One of the most helpful techniques for me was to collect boxes, baskets,etc, and leave them in every place where piles accumulate. Instead of making a pile on a flat surface, I make a pile in a basket. Not a perfect solution, but great for this "in-between" stage: I can quickly move the basket to use the flat surface, take the basket to another location to sort it, or stash it in another room when visitors are coming.
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Post by breakingfree on Jul 2, 2009 9:44:20 GMT -5
I have piles everywhere and they seem to come back as soon as I clear the spot off. Do you have a daily routine for clearing them away? Yes, I do. And that routine is to never, ever, ever let a pile begin. Once it starts, I am doomed. That very first piece of paper calls out to the catalog, which in turn sings a siren song to the day's incoming mail, which beckons to a couple of DVDs, and soon there's a teetering two-foot tower. The only solution for me has been to immediately toss or put away every single thing as soon as I bring it in the house. There may be those who can let a small pile accumulate over the course of a few days and then dismantle it, but alas, I am not one of those people. I could have written this post, moggy! Every word rings true for me. My worst culprit is the mail. I have gotten into the habit of dealing with it immediately. Anything that is not a bill or a coupon that we will definitely use (i.e. restaurants) goes into the shred box. I shred once a week and take to recycling. You would not believe the clutter this one habit has eliminated. BF |
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Post by cleanhouse on Jul 2, 2009 11:21:51 GMT -5
Yes I want the answer too!!! For me is to consciously recognize that I'm procrastinating when I don't immediately put something away. Using script's example of putting clothes away everynight, I try to do this to too because if I don't it immediately turns into a huge pile by the weekend. Then I see this huge pile of clothes and I groan and say to myself "I'll do it later or I don't want to work on this or I don't have time for it, " etc. You get the picture. So I guess the answer is to practice the "do it now" principle or else you end up with a huge pile that's overwhelming and depressing and it just grows and grows and multiplies some more and ugh.... So much easier said than done. |
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Post by messysue on Jul 2, 2009 15:01:07 GMT -5
I have a awful time with piles. It seems that I naturally want to cover all table tops etc. Flylady calls these Hot Spots. I'm constantly putting away my Hot Spot stuff!! !! I thought the title was so funny! Piles = hemorrhoids! Anywho... how do you keep your piles from flaring up?? (hehe, I can't help myself!!) I have piles everywhere and they seem to come back as soon as I clear the spot off. Do you have a daily routine for clearing them away? I'm challenging myself to get rid of at least one pile a day. Anyway want to join me?? |
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keriamon
New Member
Joined: June 2009
Posts: 61
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Post by keriamon on Jul 2, 2009 18:54:30 GMT -5
FlyLady talks about hot spots--places that seem to attract piles of junk. She has you to identify where they happen, and then clean them off each day.
Personally, I prefer the idea of getting rid of the coffee table all together. That's my biggest hot spot; if we didn't have it, we'd have to deal with stuff because there's no where to sit it and forget it! Alas, my DH likes the coffee table.
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Post by missjean on Jul 2, 2009 22:16:34 GMT -5
Two things that have worked for me lately:
1. Putting things into boxes by KIND. For example, clothes went into one box, books another, and so forth. That's how I finally figured out I had too many books for the shelves and too many clothes for my closet and dresser. That helped me purge.
2. Designating "no dumping" zones. I used to dump everything on the sofa table as I came in, but I'm not allowed to do that anymore. Also, my diningroom table is a "no dumping" zone now because it can fold down to practically nothing, so there's no space to eat if I put stuff on it.
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Post by Meme on Jul 2, 2009 22:48:37 GMT -5
one of my problems is that I had no place to put things except in piles and so I realized that if I do not have room for everything to have a place-(spot) then somethings have to go but also some things have to stay -- this did not entirely solve my problem due to a small house with little or no cupboard space- I do find baskets help- at least the pile of mail in contained- I found if I rolled the blankets and then tied them with ribbon or hairbands(those big elastic ones) I could pile the blankets like logs--- this helps keep the pile piled and also if some one wants a certain on it does not unfold the whole pile-- some people do this with towesl- I have one dumping table (zone) that is used only for that but is cleared every day. there are no other dumping zones allowed although things do get dumped else where but not by Meme(well, almost never) it is the darn clutter that messes with our heads-sigh I have found some nice ways to hide some of it as some of it- I do need- such as the blankets- I do not need for me per say, but I need for the grandkids when they come- I saved for a long time to find nice things to dump some of the stuff in that we still need in life---I never thought before about how I learned to pile my piles neatly - |
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Post by serenitynow on Jul 2, 2009 22:56:30 GMT -5
!! I thought the title was so funny! Piles = hemorrhoids! Anywho... how do you keep your piles from flaring up?? (hehe, I can't help myself!!) I have piles everywhere and they seem to come back as soon as I clear the spot off. Do you have a daily routine for clearing them away? I'm challenging myself to get rid of at least one pile a day. Anyway want to join me?? Hello merrymaid, I'm ttthhhinking about it..  |
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Post by Serendipity on Jul 15, 2009 20:29:57 GMT -5
I laughed at this thread . my piles are in baskets mostly .I am aiming to sort one basket a day and then there is the pile of cardboard boxes which I can't quite part with as i need them for sorting and boxing up donations. But i am getting really close to amnesty on a bunch of old coats !
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Post by gottaproblem on Jul 16, 2009 12:30:21 GMT -5
!! I thought the title was so funny! Piles = hemorrhoids! Anywho... how do you keep your piles from flaring up?? (hehe, I can't help myself!!) I have piles everywhere and they seem to come back as soon as I clear the spot off. Do you have a daily routine for clearing them away? I'm challenging myself to get rid of at least one pile a day. Anyway want to join me?? OK I will try.  |
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