Hoarding and OCD go hand in hand (my paraphrase).
Some of my OCD symptoms:
I don't like to share a drink with ANYONE (but I'm pressing through this one)
I HAVE to wash my hands before I eat
I WANT everyone to wash their hands before they eat, or touch food, or hand me a fork or put ice in my cup .... that doesn't mean they do, sometimes I can deal with this phobia, sometimes I can't
I don't like to "taste this" (take a bite off someone's fork) but I'm pressing through this one too.
Don't take one of my pencils. I keep them sharpened. They have good erasers. I hand select my pencils. I will gladly give you your own pencils of the same high caliber, but don't take mine.
Do I "happen" to have a bandaid in my purse? No, I purposely plan to have a bandaid (and more than one) in my purse. I have various office supplies in there too.
I INSIST that my family members bring water with them when we leave the house. I used to let them suffer the consequences of not bringing their own water, I can't do that any more. They NEED water and then insist that they MUST drink some of mine (see my number one listing). I INSIST that they go back into the house and get water to bring with them.
I press the door lock button on my key fob more than once. Have to "check" to be sure that I did indeed lock it.
I check to make sure the door is locked (more than once) before I go to bed. Not more than once at the same time, but more than once over a period of time.
I used to think that I probably left my curling iron plugged in (and on) when I left the house. Now I make a conscious effort (by saying to myself) that I have unplugged it so that I will remember that I did.
I love my dog, but I don't like her to lick me. I am barely tolerating her dog hair (she sheds alot) in the house.
I think money is filthy! I NEED to wash my hands with hand cleaner after I touch it.
Sometimes I'm OK with touching doorknobs, sometimes I'm not. If I don't want to touch them I use a paper towel or my shirt.
Enough for now :)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Today I bought some Banker's Boxes (at OfficeMax). I have alot of them already. The ones I HAD are in use. The ones I bought are for a specific purpose. I am using them to place items of like categories into one place. The items I am putting into the new boxes are items that were either laying around in a pile somewhere or they were in an odd container of some sort.
I emptied a laundry basket that was full of (probably outdated) computer software. I threw out some that I KNEW were too old. The rest I put into a new Banker's Box and labled it "computer software."
This is not a permanent home for the computer software. It's a temporary/ holding cell (ha ha) for the software. As I purge through the house (and especially in the office) I expect to find more pieces of the software [CD's and user manuals, etc]. I will have one of my kids (who are much more computer savvy than I am) go through this box and determine what is usable and what is antiquated.
I also transferred cassette tapes to a new Banker's Box. Cassettes seem to multiply as they lay scattered around our house. When we are looking for a certain one its usually not in its case.
The box marked "Cassettes" has some cassettes without cases and many cassette cases without cassettes. I would imagine when we get to this box, we will discover that some of the cases hold the wrong tapes, too.
I had ribbon and bows on a narrow rolling cart (the kind made to fit between your washer and dryer). I found this cart at a thrift store or a yard sale and didn't even stop to contemplate whether or not it would fit between MY washer and dryer. It didn't! So I employed it for various other uses. None of them worked well. This cart tips over very easily when it is wheeled about. I think it was designed to go in a straight line (forward and backward) in and out of the crack between the washer and dryer. It wasn't intended to move in any other direction ... carts on wheels in our house get moved in every imaginable direction. This narrow cart fell over countless times. It frustrated us, it angered us ... but I kept it. I would come up with another plan for it's use. And that's how it came to be the cart that held ribbons and bows and assorted gift wrapping tools. It still fell over, but I was the only one who used it now so I was the only one who was frustrated (and I didn't use it on a daily basis) ... but I digress ... The ribbons, bows and gift tags are now in a Banker's Box. I see that this evening, this cart has some of my husband's toolish things on it. I'll just wheel it over to "his" area and that will be that. Once it falls over with HIS things on it, I think it will be gone. He won't put up with it.
I had a large black trash bag that I was using to put things in that I was going to donate. It was not quite full, but I was tired of it being in the way. I went around the house and looked for things that I could live without. I put in a Coca-Cola cap I had (that I never liked to wear, it didn't fit my head right) but I kept because I used to really enjoy drinking Coke. And a Christmas gift that I never sent (it was still wrapped and every time I saw it, it made me feel bad). I unwrapped it and put it in the bag. A play telephone (for infants) that was too young for any of my grandkids now. There might have been one or two more things, but I don't remember what they were. Hmmm, I must not have cared (yea!)
One more box that I started to fill today is the "Correspondence" box. It has card making supplies, stationary, card envelopes, Christmas design address labels and cheery stickers in it so far. I may put my Christmas card supplies in it also. And I have a box that has dividers in it to store greeting cards by category (birthdays, get well soon, etc ...) I don't know if I'll put them in this Banker's Box or not. The little box that the greeting cards are in is already too full. That's because I buy cards, then lose them and buy more cards. Then I I find cards and I seem to acquire cards from other places (that I don't remember buying ... odd type cards) ...
I buy cards for a certain person (and if I buy several at once) I tend to forget who I bought which card for. I must remember to put a sticky note on the envelope right away! (I'm not talking about Birthday cards) cards like "Thinking of You" or "Encourgement" or "Praying for You" type cards. I also buy sympathy cards but don't send them right away and then wonder if it's too late to send them, still don't send them, have another occasion to send a sympathy card, but don't send the sympathy card to the second person because I remember that I bought it for the first person and never sent it to them!
I have some graduation cards that are addressed and have a stamp on the envelope. I didn't send them right away and now they're YEARS late. Need to throw these away ... I think ... or should I still send them? I can't reuse them, and I did mean everything I wrote inside them. I have the same sentiments one or three years later ... what do you think? If there was a check inside, I bet the recipient wouldn't care how late they were!
I emptied a laundry basket that was full of (probably outdated) computer software. I threw out some that I KNEW were too old. The rest I put into a new Banker's Box and labled it "computer software."
This is not a permanent home for the computer software. It's a temporary/ holding cell (ha ha) for the software. As I purge through the house (and especially in the office) I expect to find more pieces of the software [CD's and user manuals, etc]. I will have one of my kids (who are much more computer savvy than I am) go through this box and determine what is usable and what is antiquated.
I also transferred cassette tapes to a new Banker's Box. Cassettes seem to multiply as they lay scattered around our house. When we are looking for a certain one its usually not in its case.
The box marked "Cassettes" has some cassettes without cases and many cassette cases without cassettes. I would imagine when we get to this box, we will discover that some of the cases hold the wrong tapes, too.
I had ribbon and bows on a narrow rolling cart (the kind made to fit between your washer and dryer). I found this cart at a thrift store or a yard sale and didn't even stop to contemplate whether or not it would fit between MY washer and dryer. It didn't! So I employed it for various other uses. None of them worked well. This cart tips over very easily when it is wheeled about. I think it was designed to go in a straight line (forward and backward) in and out of the crack between the washer and dryer. It wasn't intended to move in any other direction ... carts on wheels in our house get moved in every imaginable direction. This narrow cart fell over countless times. It frustrated us, it angered us ... but I kept it. I would come up with another plan for it's use. And that's how it came to be the cart that held ribbons and bows and assorted gift wrapping tools. It still fell over, but I was the only one who used it now so I was the only one who was frustrated (and I didn't use it on a daily basis) ... but I digress ... The ribbons, bows and gift tags are now in a Banker's Box. I see that this evening, this cart has some of my husband's toolish things on it. I'll just wheel it over to "his" area and that will be that. Once it falls over with HIS things on it, I think it will be gone. He won't put up with it.
I had a large black trash bag that I was using to put things in that I was going to donate. It was not quite full, but I was tired of it being in the way. I went around the house and looked for things that I could live without. I put in a Coca-Cola cap I had (that I never liked to wear, it didn't fit my head right) but I kept because I used to really enjoy drinking Coke. And a Christmas gift that I never sent (it was still wrapped and every time I saw it, it made me feel bad). I unwrapped it and put it in the bag. A play telephone (for infants) that was too young for any of my grandkids now. There might have been one or two more things, but I don't remember what they were. Hmmm, I must not have cared (yea!)
One more box that I started to fill today is the "Correspondence" box. It has card making supplies, stationary, card envelopes, Christmas design address labels and cheery stickers in it so far. I may put my Christmas card supplies in it also. And I have a box that has dividers in it to store greeting cards by category (birthdays, get well soon, etc ...) I don't know if I'll put them in this Banker's Box or not. The little box that the greeting cards are in is already too full. That's because I buy cards, then lose them and buy more cards. Then I I find cards and I seem to acquire cards from other places (that I don't remember buying ... odd type cards) ...
I buy cards for a certain person (and if I buy several at once) I tend to forget who I bought which card for. I must remember to put a sticky note on the envelope right away! (I'm not talking about Birthday cards) cards like "Thinking of You" or "Encourgement" or "Praying for You" type cards. I also buy sympathy cards but don't send them right away and then wonder if it's too late to send them, still don't send them, have another occasion to send a sympathy card, but don't send the sympathy card to the second person because I remember that I bought it for the first person and never sent it to them!
I have some graduation cards that are addressed and have a stamp on the envelope. I didn't send them right away and now they're YEARS late. Need to throw these away ... I think ... or should I still send them? I can't reuse them, and I did mean everything I wrote inside them. I have the same sentiments one or three years later ... what do you think? If there was a check inside, I bet the recipient wouldn't care how late they were!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Good Information
I am obsessed with collecting information.
Today I was at the public library and I saw bookmarks from the Friends of the Library that had dates of the last two warehouse book sales this year. My immediate thought was: this is good information to know and to share! So I took one bookmark. As I was getting into my vehicle I decided that I would "do something" with this information ASAP or throw out the bookmark.
This evening I was at Sprouts and I passed the table with flyers and information about upcoming health related classes. I picked up a brochure. It listed several FREE classes for healthy eating and promoting healthy families. THIS IS GOOD INFORMATION for my daughters and their families, I thought. And best of all it's FREE!
I made myself deliver this information on the day I picked it up. I composed an e-mail and sent it off to my family members with this "good to have" information. I contemplated whether or not I should keep the paper and the bookmark (in case I would need it in the future) ... no! I threw them away. I had used them for the purpose I picked them up.
Throwing away those "hard copies" of information was a BIG step for me. Maybe some day down the road I will not have to pick up papers with information that I think someone else MAY want to know about.
Being responsible for the whole world is one of the many burdens that a hoarder subconsciously carries.
Today I was at the public library and I saw bookmarks from the Friends of the Library that had dates of the last two warehouse book sales this year. My immediate thought was: this is good information to know and to share! So I took one bookmark. As I was getting into my vehicle I decided that I would "do something" with this information ASAP or throw out the bookmark.
This evening I was at Sprouts and I passed the table with flyers and information about upcoming health related classes. I picked up a brochure. It listed several FREE classes for healthy eating and promoting healthy families. THIS IS GOOD INFORMATION for my daughters and their families, I thought. And best of all it's FREE!
I made myself deliver this information on the day I picked it up. I composed an e-mail and sent it off to my family members with this "good to have" information. I contemplated whether or not I should keep the paper and the bookmark (in case I would need it in the future) ... no! I threw them away. I had used them for the purpose I picked them up.
Throwing away those "hard copies" of information was a BIG step for me. Maybe some day down the road I will not have to pick up papers with information that I think someone else MAY want to know about.
Being responsible for the whole world is one of the many burdens that a hoarder subconsciously carries.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
I labled an empty Banker's Box and filled it with Primerica and VIBE materials (two business opportunites we were involved in).
I labled another Banker's Box "Craft" and filled it with craft supplies that came out of the white pantry I emptied yesterday. This is not ALL of our craft supplies (and doesn't include any scrapbooking supplies).
I unpacked a box of school curriculum that just arrived today and placed it on a shelf in the dining room. I put all the materials that I will be using to teach on this same shelf. Having a place to put the books and materials and having them off of the dining room table freed my mind up and I'm excited to lesson plan now (until this happened I knew I SHOULD but I hadn't done it).
I labled another Banker's Box "Craft" and filled it with craft supplies that came out of the white pantry I emptied yesterday. This is not ALL of our craft supplies (and doesn't include any scrapbooking supplies).
I unpacked a box of school curriculum that just arrived today and placed it on a shelf in the dining room. I put all the materials that I will be using to teach on this same shelf. Having a place to put the books and materials and having them off of the dining room table freed my mind up and I'm excited to lesson plan now (until this happened I knew I SHOULD but I hadn't done it).
I'M HAPPY ABOUT not seeing the box of my Primerica business cards by my computer everday ... making me feel guilty, knowing the craft items are in a box all together and not stacked up on the floor or on top of some surface, and having a place to put the new curriculum so that I can easy access it and it won't get damaged before I can even use it!
Tuesday, August 25
Tonight I cleared two shelves in the office and put my
personal notebooks and Bible study materials on them.
The reason why I leave books OUT is so that I can
find them and so that I will remember that I'm using
them! Amazing how true this is: out of sight, out
of mind.
I'M HAPPY ABOUT
having a place to put my Bible study materials so that they are no longer falling on the floor
having a place to put away my personal notebooks
being able to EASILY access all these books !!
personal notebooks and Bible study materials on them.
The reason why I leave books OUT is so that I can
find them and so that I will remember that I'm using
them! Amazing how true this is: out of sight, out
of mind.
I'M HAPPY ABOUT
having a place to put my Bible study materials so that they are no longer falling on the floor
having a place to put away my personal notebooks
being able to EASILY access all these books !!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tonight I emptied a large pantry (the white cupboards you can buy and have to put together) and filled it with scrapbooking material.
I haven't scrapbooked for quite some time. One of the main reasons why is that my materials were not easy to get to.
Hoarders collect things and can't get rid of items to the point of not being able
to use those precious things! They can't use them because it's inconvenient to
get to them. Once you can't get to them anymore you forget what you have and
so you get more. Thus the collection grows.
Next step (or at some place in time .... further down the road?) will be to find a new home for the things I plan to keep (and removed from the white pantry).
PURGING
I threw away: coloring books, childrens books that were falling apart, Science experiment tidbits
I'm donating: Easter grass, some children's books, fingerpaint paper, contact style paper to cover books with
I'M HAPPY ABOUT
being able to SEE what I have (for scrapbooking)
having all my scrapbooking materials in ONE place
being able to GET TO my scrabooking materials !!
having my children's books out and accessible for when my grandkids come over!
seeing a neat & tidy shelf in my dining room (where the coloring books and children's books are now)
I haven't scrapbooked for quite some time. One of the main reasons why is that my materials were not easy to get to.
Hoarders collect things and can't get rid of items to the point of not being able
to use those precious things! They can't use them because it's inconvenient to
get to them. Once you can't get to them anymore you forget what you have and
so you get more. Thus the collection grows.
Next step (or at some place in time .... further down the road?) will be to find a new home for the things I plan to keep (and removed from the white pantry).
PURGING
I threw away: coloring books, childrens books that were falling apart, Science experiment tidbits
I'm donating: Easter grass, some children's books, fingerpaint paper, contact style paper to cover books with
I'M HAPPY ABOUT
being able to SEE what I have (for scrapbooking)
having all my scrapbooking materials in ONE place
being able to GET TO my scrabooking materials !!
having my children's books out and accessible for when my grandkids come over!
seeing a neat & tidy shelf in my dining room (where the coloring books and children's books are now)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I am a hoarder
Being able to type that, let alone admit it to myself is the start of this new day.
Welcome to the blog about my journey from being a hoarder to ???
I'm not there yet, so I don't know where this path will end.
Welcome to the blog about my journey from being a hoarder to ???
I'm not there yet, so I don't know where this path will end.
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