Hoarding

One of my biggest fears is becoming a hoarder.  I felt on the cusp of slipping into the mindset.  I like to have items on hand like cleaners, food staples, and projects.  Normally, I am good at cleaning areas of clutter throughout the year, especially in the public areas of the house.  I want to have a welcoming home for friends and family.  I do get into trouble with the closets, cupboards, and garage.  The last few years have been bad for various reasons and the junk has accumulated.  Am I a hoarder?

My mother was a bit of a hoarder.  Growing up, I had to keep some of her boxes in my room.  I would be embarrassed when friends came over because of all the junk.  After leaving home, she moved my sister into my old room and turned hers into a sewing room.  The boxes multiplied.  When my sister moved out and we came home less, more boxes moved into the house until every extra space was being used in all of the bedrooms and the back bathroom.  In the end, I could stay with Mom only if I slept in the recliner.  Well, needless to say, we had a ton of boxes to go through when we cleaned out the house.  I began to worry.

Every time I turned around I felt like I was adding more stuff to my truck or pile to be put into the truck.  I came home with boxes of pictures, sewing projects, dishes, cups, and odds and ends.  Crazy.  I stuffed everything into the garage or my writing room.  Ugh!!!  My life was becoming the stuff of nightmares for me.  What was I going to do?  I needed to make some hard core decisions and start getting rid of stuff.  I have a lot more to do, but I have made progress.  I have made a number of trips to the dump with Clay's help.  I have made a number of trips to Good Sam with Madelle's help.  Jerry listed big items on the classifieds and sold a few.  Next week he will work on a few more.  Here are some pictures of my progress.

In these before and after pictures, I still have two boxes of fabric that need to be given to two cousins.  I also have a couple of items to go to Good Sam.  I can't get my pickup into my side yet, but I will by the time the snow flies.

Before

After

These two photos are a little disappointing.  I still have to get stuff off the pool table.  Jerry will list that next week.  I will put up the saw horses and have a place to work on new doors for the inside of the house and a couple other projects I have planned in the next year or two.  Also, the tools on the floor will leave when the deck is finished.

Before

After

This area doesn't look great, but I will say that it is.  This is Jerry's side of the garage for all of his military and catering stuff.  I need to clear the table for him to be able to use.  He will sale the two chairs or they will go to the dump.  Otherwise, the area will stay his.  The boxes to the right are the sewing projects.  Yes, I am going to be busy!!!

Before

After

            Wow, there is a floor.  Soon, I will have a big space for projects.  I am excited.

After

After

I will always have a cluttered garage.  I like to paint, stain, create, garden, and a million other things.  With that said, I also want my garage to be open and usable.  I don't want to be a hoarder.  I don't believe I am one.  As I grow older, I want to continuously scale down so my kids don't have too much of a mess to fix when I pass away.  Oh, and the cat in the picture will be staying.