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Post by Chris on Jul 11, 2008 13:20:50 GMT -5
I am 44 and live with my husband and our 2 cats. Until just 2 months ago we had his parents living with us as well. I am unemployed right now and I am putting my time and energy into changing my long standing pattern of messiness and excess ..... and stepping out of the squalor.
I have to say it feels so good to be doing something about it.
I have gotten a lot of help from the book, Buried in Treasures.
This is hard for me to admit but the truth is that when I started this I thought this was almost exclusively my husband and his parents with the hoarding problems. I only was able to see myself as a little cluttered and a little disorganized. That has changed. I came face to face with some of the boxes down from the attic -- and I found letters and junk notebooks and old work papers of mine - it was shocking and really an eyeopener. The very fire hazards I had attributed to someone else were over 50% my old junk.
I guess we all have certain areas where we keep too much now that I've worked for a week straight in the house I can see my danger areas:
*paperwork of all kinds, letters, old paid bill stubs, checks etc.
*books
*clothing
*sewing stuff
*purses, wallets etc.
This is the other thing that surprises me. I have a perfect file system that I worked hard on and it really works well so there are no lost bills or important papers, my problem seems to stem from a difficulty with throwing away old letters and not staying on top of shredding and recycling. My whole home is a study in drastic opposites. Proving that I CAN be organized. I can see sections and areas where I really am good at it. Then there are areas in our home, (garage, attic, closets, study, etc.) that look just like the photos of really serious hoarding. Totally out of control spaces with boxes and junk.
So here I am - and I am glad I found this place. I am determined to make this a priority in my life - cleaning up and changing myself. I know this has made an impression on me this past week, realizing that everywhere I had been complaining about (blaming others) I have found tons of paper trash of mine and many old discarded items I should have dealt with.
There is much for me to learn!
~Chris~
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Post by pegasus48 on Jul 11, 2008 19:52:40 GMT -5
Welcome aboard, Chris. Paper is a problem around here too, but it's not organized like yours! Maybe you can give me some filing system tips!!  |
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rocky
New Member
Joined: July 2008
Posts: 6 
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Post by rocky on Jul 11, 2008 20:16:07 GMT -5
Hi, Chris - welcome! Is that a photo of one of your cats? So sleek and elegant.
I just want to say that I really feel ya on the issue of needing to shred and recycle junk mail and old, un-needed papers. I have finally gotten a grip and dispose of new incoming stuff pretty immediately, but that still leaves the problem of the miniature mountain of old junk that I keep putting off sorting and disposing of.
I think maybe you sound a little bit like me in that respect; not really an active hoarder, just a forget-you-have-it, neglect-to-discard-it type. My thought process goes like this: I can throw that out any time, I don't have to do it right now.
I hope you will keep us posted on your progress - I bet there will be lots!
rocky
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Post by Platypus on Jul 13, 2008 8:11:25 GMT -5
I am good at keeping the new stuff out, but there are all those boxes in the garage... Welcome to SOS, Chris.  Yes, that fire hazard stuff can be scary. In the news here was some lady who they think died under piles of clothes. |
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