Any diagnosed germophobes or hoarders on this forum?

Thanks @Dimity

I do try to compensate for my unworthiness and think I maybe have done a bit much lately. I'm always looking for the next opportunity to do some thing helpful. Which will be cancer fund raising this Mother's Day. I just feel now I'm retired I've got more time to do worthwhile things.

I see you've been having a difficult time with your family and flooding, but you managed to achieve some chores

Hi @Dimity , your news wasn't disjointed. That's good the new physio corrected your technique. But oh no re flooding the laundry!

I feel similarly dismayed and helpless when NBN or other technology doesn't work. Good luck figuring it out 🤞

Well done on decluttering more papers.

I had a quiet and lazy day yesterday but I think I needed it. Today I've done the watering front and back and am about to go out and do more watering plus the raking. So might not achieve much on the house today.

I feel a bit down as the person I was training to take over part of my work has decided not to take it on.

You must be very worried about your sister 😥

Good luck today, to us both.

It's disappointing you can't delegate @NatureLover . I hope your boss is aware of the situation.

You must have trouble keeping up with the liqiidambar trees at this time of year. I haven't watered as much as I should.

I'm tired and have brain fog so I'm not sure what I'll get done today. I hope you have a good day.

Amazing of you to remember our liquidambar trees, @Dimity ! Yes, they drop oceans of leaves! And even though I borrow some of my neighbours' bins, there's still too many leaves to fit in every week. One raking can fill 3 green bins.

Yes, my boss is aware I'm overloaded, but the problem is no-one wants to do my work, that's why it's left to a volunteer. I enjoy all my work, there's just too much of it.

Sorry to hear your brain fog's bad today. I hope you can take things easy.

I've been out to the shops and the post office; now got to think of what I need to focus on. I think I'll start with clearing some bags to make up a laundry wash.

I hope you are OK.

I had a quiet day @NatureLover with a bit of reflection, being mother's day.

I did some decluttering and went on a longer walk than usual.

The tradie who quoted on my backyard texted me. He was rude and refused the job, making untrue assertions about my expectations, my communication style and about my having hired someone else. I've wasted over a month waiting for him since accepting his quote.

Not a happy day.

It sounds as though you contribute a lot to your workplace. I hope they appreciate you.

That's strange and bad about that tradie, @Dimity . Sorry it wasn't a happy day 😥

Well done on the decluttering despite that.

Yes, my workplace appreciates me, thankfully.

I achieved nothing extra in the last 3 days! Just maintenance chores like laundry. I think there's something wrong with me - when it's daytime, especially a sunny day, I just don't see / don't care about the mess. I deceive myself that I can tidy it all up in a couple of hours no trouble (!). Once night time hits, I see it all and it dismays and alarms me. 😥

I hope today is a happier day for you...

Keeping up with maintenance chores is a big job in itself @NatureLover . If I fail one day I try again the next. Today was another failure.

Yes I feel dismayed and alarmed in the evenings too. It's one reason I have trouble unwinding. I know I've put in time decluttering but the minuscule change is wiped out by unpacking and sorting the remaining stuff. And I also know how much time I've wasted on news and social media.

Today I forgot to chase up NBN repair and Bunnings orders, but I did do catfood and grocery shopping. My brain fog is worse. A friend wanted to drop by tomorrow but I panicked and put her off.

Hi @Dimity I might be way out of line asking this, and I'm only doing so for my own learning, not as a comment on you or anyone else, but here goes;

Do you feel there is an element of procrastination in your decluttering activities?

I ask because I can get all the maintenance tasks done and deal with stuff that has built up over the week (when I was working, or lately that I've been busy). Such as the things I put down somewhere as I'm getting home etc, instead of putting in the proper place straight away. But when it comes to takling the "junk room" where I'm storing my suitcases and things I rarely use or that I've kept "just in case", I feel I procrastinate over it. I know there is stuff in there I'll never use and I need to sort out my wardrobe of things I'll never wear again, but I just don't get to it.

You're right, maintenance chores take a while and are tiring.

Sorry to hear you feel like you failed again. Also that your brain fog is worse 😥

Would you not go out to coffee with your friend, if your house is too messy for a visitor?

I have my psychiatrist appt at the hospital this afternoon. Am dreading it a bit. Also the timing (late afternoon).

I hope to do watering and laundry before that.

I find if I start reading at any time before 5pm, especially over lunch, that my motivation to tidy / clean goes way down to almost nothing. It's a battle not to read during the day.

I hope your brain fog is much improved today...

@Dimity

Hello @Till23

I guess it's reasonable to ask about procrastination on a hoarding thread. I'm also mindful of the feelings of the owner and participants in the thread.

Technically yes we procrastinate. We delay and postpone dealing with our accumulations and ongoing collecting and overspending.

@NatureLover I apologise if you read this and it is upsetting for you. I explain why technically it's procrastination but it's complex and doesn't feel like a choice for me personally.

TRIGGER WARNING ,(it's not an option on my phone screen)

We also deal with depression and resonations of trauma and distress in contemplating and engaging with our stashes, and become avoidant.

Depression and triggering mean decreased cognitive capacity and decisionmaking ability, and, if longterm, deskilling. I'm also aware of deficits in visualising ability and imagination.

When working through my stash I feel the need to proceed slowly and thoughtfully to process the upwelling memories, emotions and associations so the process is physically and mentally taxing.

And much of my stash is in heavy boxes I've been unable to lift or transport because of a longterm severe prolapse and recent surgery. I now have a lifetime limit of lifting no more than 10 kg and and a lifetime ban on heavy gardening. So I'll continue to have problems.

For me the storing and accessing of my stash are also associated with significant family relationship, accommodation and financial difficulties

So yes I procrastinate. And I can feel many of my somatic symptoms manifesting as I write. have daily reminders of my situation as I look around, as I look at the lists on my mood and activity tracker, as I write to-do lists, as I agonise over what to do to resolve my difficulties. These are ongoing and inescapable and can't be postponed at my convenience. So reflecting on my procrastination has been confronting.