Decluttering and home maintenance

One thing I am noticing this time for us @Faith-and-Hope is how much easier it is now that we have "containerized" a lot of our stuff. So much is already stored in easy to move containers (plastic tubs, wooden boxes, cane baskets, etc.)

It has been that way for me for a long time @Former-Member, but for the last couple of moves I have needed the help of professional packers - we had a couple of house floods previously when I just couldn’t cope with the devastation, and still keep multiple-school commitments running, along with business commitments and caring for a special-needs daughter. I’m not a “control freak” per se (I know all about that - now being married to one) but this is the opposite, in that I ended up with very little control over where and how everything ended up, and had to piece my personal organisation back together, now several times over.

I have to 1) accept that it’s a trauma, 2) then place it into a reasoning headspace, 3) then roll my sleeves up and take it on again.

Not up to step 3 yet ..... and keeping my head in the sand with step 2 for now 😔

@Faith-and-Hope, I was looking at a container of beads this morning. One of those compartmentalised plastic boxes you get in hardware stores for screws and nails etc. It went throught the flood at our place, and is still waiting to be cleaned. There's a few "keepsake" pieces in it that might not have much $$ value, but have enough sentimental value that they're worth keeping for me. But it was shortly after the floods that our Older Daughter really went downhill, so too much went "on hold" at that point. Would love to "catch up" with life again...

At the moment, I'm going through some "toss out bags" from our Younger Daughter's room. I get it that she's too stressed out to properly sort things, so the current agreement is that she bags up the "unwanteds" and I sort them to where they should be. I'm out the back in nice sunshine to do it. There's a bag for soft plastic recycling, a box for recycling bin, a bag for rubbish bin, a bucket for worm farm (mostly plain paper and cardboard, which they happily turn into "soil conditioner") and one bag for "keepers". Socks, plastic snack boxes and anything else that isn't actually rubbish. By the time I'm finished, I expect most of it to be gone one way or another, but I'll be very surprised if there's more than one bagful of actual non-recyclable rubbish.

Am hearing you @Faith-and-Hope @Smc last move and subsequent crisis was traumatic for me. Important to recognise the feelings you have around it.

Professional packers = 👍

We will pack everything but will have people in to do the actual moving of the furniture & boxes.

The couple buying our place plan on putting up a big shed - he is a handyman and I suspect a magpie which means we might be able to leave a couple of old cupboards/shelves which we don't want.

@Smc

Dealing with throw out bags = 😀

That is what my whole household has turned into multiple times @Smc .....

I section out a small amount like you are, make a nice coffee, put on some music, or actually drive to a park somewhere (removed from the house) and toss the rubbish in the bin there before leaving, and drive past a charity bin on the way home to get rid of some more.

mr shaz just turned the house inside out looking for something

@Faith-and-Hope, @Former-Member , @Smc , @Determined , @Ali11

he found it , but now i am looking at the aftermath of the morning --- thinking of putting the stuff in bags and send now the op shop

It's good that he found it @Shaz51! Makes the mess worthwhile! Might be a good idea to get rid of stuff that you don't need or use anymore!

@Faith-and-Hope, it's a household wide problem here too, but today I've got this one bit to focus on. 🙂

Most of what's in her bags is her stuff/rubbish, but there's a few things still left over from when she shared the room with her sister. Not much, but I think there may be some boxes way under her bed that are "leftovers" too. Anything major among that can go to her sister's house for her to make the keep-or-not decisions.

That was one of the reasons I wanted to get things sorted @Shaz51 . Not being able to find things or having to move things to get to things.

Have made good progress in the shed this morning without the blood pressure rising.