Any diagnosed germophobes or hoarders on this forum?

Oh dear, popping to the shops derailed me a bit. I managed to keep busy most of the day but the hallway is still not cleared 😞 I really hope the smoke-detector-check man doesn't come this week!

Hope you've had a better day @Dimity 💚

Hello @NatureLover how nice to find your messages. Well done on your efforts yesterday and today - you've achieved a lot even if the hallway isn't clear yet.

I didn't feel well today but was determined to do what I could. I did some mending. I also tackled some of the stuff in the livingroom and set aside some of my unused wool stash to donate. Then I worked hard in my garden. I didn't feel up to my usual walk. So the day passed fruitfully but I've barely made a dent in all that needs to be done. Thankyou for motivating me to try.

Wow @Dimity - you're amazing! You didn't feel well, but you achieved all that! I take my hat off to you.

Tackling your living room was especially good, as it's been weighing on your mind in a big daunting way, I think?

Thanks for your kind words. I do like pottering slowly on whatever strikes my fancy, much more than tackling the 'dirty' stuff on the floors, all of which needs disinfecting (in my mind), as it's come in from outside. Even I myself need disinfecting when I come in from outside, lol 😄 I don't mean from the garden, I mean from going out and about to the shops or work or whatever.

Good luck today - I hope you feel better than you did yesterday 💚

Hello @NatureLover . Hope work went well yesterday. I had a bad day, lots happening. Today was calmer and I got some stuff to the opshop, and tidied the garden a little, but forgot to walk. So I'm obviously still a bit distracted. I'm expecting another visitor tomorrow and feel quite ashamed of house and garden - they've known me a long time and know I've been wanting to straighten things, and they've helped from time to time, so I would have liked to show more progress. In fact it looks worse because of the stuff I've un-stashed.

Onwards and upwards. I'm trying to get more done, but am not yet back to my regular decluttering.

Hi @Dimity , I'm sorry you had a bad day 😞 And I know this week is tough for you with all the things you have to deal with. 😞 Thanks for letting me know.

Well done for getting stuff to the Opp Shop, that's huge. Huge for me, anyway...you seem to do it more often.

I hope your visitor today realises that anyone makes more mess when they're sorting stuff out, which you're doing. It's good of you to even have someone over, I reckon.

I've been busy working on the hallway still - it's full of bags of stuff that all needs disinfecting, so it's slow and time-consuming. But it's satisfying to finally get those things cleaned and in their rightful places. I can work on it today, apart from a quick trip to the shops for bread and marmalade. I think it's time to pack up a food donation this Friday when I visit my psychologist - the food bank is near to her office. It's not noble - I have too many food items that I need to get rid of. Plus there's a rental inspection coming up soon 😣

Thinking of you in your tough and busy week... 💚

Working through the stuff in the hallway sounds tedious @NatureLover ... and to have to give it away straight after all the unpacking and disinfecting is hard. Well done for all the work.

I was grateful for help pruning a couple of trees today. Tomorrow I'll start revisiting my admin stuff - still much to do and documents came back with errors. The house and complications about my storage seem overwhelming.

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@Dimity wrote:

The house and complications about my storage seem overwhelming.

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Sorry to hear, @Dimity ...overwhelm is a horrible feeling 😞

How did it go with your visitor?

I'm just popping in briefly to write to you as I still need to quickly go through all the bags on the floor and pull out foodstuffs to donate this morning after my psych appt.

Thanks for saying Well Done as it's something I never heard growing up, and I always appreciate it.

There seems to be a few little sun icons in the 7-day forecast, which is good news for both of us.

Good luck with your admin stuff...

I mean it when I say "well done" @NatureLover I think you do an amazing job considering your challenges. I hope you were happy with your foodbank dropoff and psych appt today. I've given up on my psych, she's not coming through with paperwork and I've already reached out to someone else to ask their availability.

I'm juggling several balls atm - just relieved to make it through the week. Actually looking forward to tidying and garden, things I can do something about if I try.

i have been caring for my elderly parents and now they have passed. I need to clean the house, but I cant bring myself to do it. I know I need to take baby steps but I just dont want to. I know hoarding arises out of being overwhelmed. I do have ptsd. But also, I dont want to throw out any of their stuff especially clothes. I didnt take many photos of them as photos trigger me (crappy childhood). So I hold on to clothes or notes they had written. The house is a mess. I dont know where to start. Also the garden needs a good clean as well. I havent even ripped out the tomato plants mum planted before she died. I go out there and cry. It is so hard. I know the advise is dont make drastic changes until 12 months have passed since someones death.

Some of my friends have offered to come over and do some gardening with me, but I feel so guilty doing that. I have been looking for a gardener, someone came out but didnt follow up. I will keep looking. I had a bad emotional set back today, it was building up through the week. I hope the bad feelings go away and I am able to somehow be productive.

Hugs @scruffypuffball it's not easy. I'm still dealing with my parents' stuff years later. I avoided it for a long time.

With my back garden after months of looking I got an Airtasker for a few hours. When some of the family heard they came for a day and we bonded as much as worked.

With the house the best place to start is the corner in front of you. My psychologist said the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, and to aim for 8 things at the start. I've lapsed but for ages I'd get half an hour or an hour's decluttering done each day. I've been trying to get back to that... it was comforting to know I was making the effort. There was often emotional processing involved, which was why I couldn't do more.

I had a crappy childhood too, and a dysfunctional family. It's still hard to let go. And sometimes stuff can be a protective shell. Grieve as much as you need to, but let yourself grow towards to the light.

I haven't posted on my thread The magic of tidying for a while but you'd be welcome there. It was inspired by Marie Kondo. She said it's easier to work by category, and to start with clothes. I also liked the inherent respect she had for things, and her suggestion that we can thank things for their (past) service even as we let them go.