Hoarders

[Hound dog]

Swear to all that is holy..................if husband's hoarding had involved more of the main house.............I could've been an episode.

I don't understand the need to keep *things* just for the sake of keeping them. I can't do that. I might sell them, find someone else who can use them.........but I don't keep stuff around just for the sake of keeping it around. I loath clutter. Not sure if that was my upbringing (my mom is the same way) or if it's too many years living in apartments.....but clutter drives me insane.

And there are gonna be some mighty unhappy mice too. LOL

But the stuff we discovered today........on top of all the other stuff we've discovered so far.........is just omg unreal. Much can and will be sold in the yard sale. (It's going to be huge) But there is an awful lot coming from the 70's (really?? if you haven't used it/needed it that long c'mon!) and good grief, I thought I caught all that stuff YEARS ago. Evidently not. It doesn't make me anticipate the attic by a long shot. I have a feeling some stuff has been hidden away up there.

99 percent of the family room/ back porch area is sorted. I can't really "clean" it well until we get the actual stuff out of there. Yeah, it's that much. I still have the attic.......*shudders*.....and to finish going over the main house to make certain I haven't missed anything. Then sister in law has to help me go through the tools to see what works, what doesn't', what can be sold, what should be kept. (I'm not looking forward to that either)

And GLORY BE!! Nichole put a bid on a house and it got accepted (she got a hellova deal too!!!) which means all the little tykes girl toys.......the kitchen, the crib, the high chair, the swing, the stroller, the table and chairs can all go soon as Nichole moves in. I used to tell husband I bought them to set up a play room for the grands, but I actually bought them knowing she had no where for them yet and just stored them (figuring they'd still play with them here) until there was somewhere to put them. LOL So that bulk will go too.....probably right after the yard sale.

Worn out but I'm finally able to SEE the progress and it's wonderful! YAY!

 

[InsaneCdn]

Here's a can of ice cold root beer (the only beer I server)... and a bowl of home-made ice cream.
You've earned a BREAK!

What does Maggie say about all this "work"?

 

[Hound dog]

Maggie is unsure of what she thinks about it. On one hand she got to play with Nichole, Aubrey, and Oliver.........and on the other, there were very long stretches where she had to entertain herself if it wasn't' naptime with Mom not in the room, which did not exactly thrill her but she got used to it. She ought to sleep well tonight. Other than a short afternoon nap, she was up all day since very early this morning.

Before tackling this job, I made a kroger run for stock up groceries, so she got to play with Nichole and family all during that time.

Overall, I don't think she'll mind much.......gives her more room to run with the new game she and Molly play. She "gets" Molly, Molly barks lunges, she zooms from one end of the house to the other.

 

[AnnieO]

I am IMPRESSED!!!

Your house certainly did not look like Hoarders when I was there last... But I do understand. husband keeps everything. I declutter. He hates it... But he never misses stuff...

 

[Hound dog]

You never got a look at the backporch / family room, just the main rooms of the house. husband kept much of his hoarding hidden, knowing if very much made it's way into the main rooms I'd toss it.......I just didn't realize how hidden, or how utterly disorganized. Had it been organized in any way, we might have been able to have finished a while back. *might*

I have to investigate how to price antique books too............and some china pieces, crystal pieces...............and omg that just reminded me I have to sort through the buffet for all the hand embroidered linens!

 

[Liahona]

I wonder if its an autism thing. husband does this too. He has one room that I don't touch. He still leaves stuff all around the house but I put it in "his" room. Giving it to him to put away or throw away at best it gets put in his room. At worst, most of the time, its put somewhere else in the house. He has an emotional attachment to everything. He has 4 computers (not including my laptop, his phone, and his itouch). I once suggested getting rid of one. He started cradling it like it was a baby and rocking back and forth almost in tears. Me suggesting getting rid of any of his papers results in him freezing with indecision or just outright saying no. He really needs his badge from work 10 years ago.

Good for you for tackling such a huge mess. I'm sure it feels good.

 

[Marcie Mac]

SO is not a hoarder but a collector (his quote) And he has gotten worse since doing his storage gig. And then there is me who never met a knick nac that I didn't fall in love with. But when he brings them home, I pick one thing and keep it on my desk so I can look at it and in 30 days its out of here. His Yoda collection is well over 2,500 items and still growing. I got him to stop with collecting dolphin stuff, then war stuff, then antique cameras, then model cars and honestly, we have SOOOOO many dvd's and .shoot..I forgot what they are called that came out just prior to DVD's, we could open our own store. Won't even get into tools or gardening equipment (really...really SO, I need all of these shovels, leaf blowers, rakes why again?? We have a gardener)

The Mac Hoard is at least tidy, and I have been going thru a box of storage stuff a day to either take to our stall, or give to good will. But I hate all of the dusting I have to do just to keep it that way. When Hoarders is on TV, its all I can do to stop from getting up and start to clean. I for the life of me cannot understand how people live like that - not the hoarding of items, but the garbage, diapers, food containers just thrown all over the floor - feet and feet of it Uggggg

Try the Marketplace app on FB Lisa to sell some of your stuff - its zip code specific. As to the collectibles, I just look on Ebay and drop it down a few dollars.

Marcie

 

[Tiapet]

Hound you astound me! You just keep going and going and going like a little energizer bunny. You truly are a trouper. I've read your trials and tribulations time and time again. You just move through them as if they are just but a blip on your radar, an imposition to shrug off and move on. I know you will look back on this a year from now and see where you are at and where you were. Between the house, the garden, and the yard you've been doing some amazing things. Not to mention the whole "you" thing. I know you probably aren't really aware of it now, though maybe you are, but wait and see. The transformation is wonderful to watch/read. Inspiring....

 

[Hound dog]

I look at some of those hoarders on the show.............and honestly, I don't think some of them are hoarding as much as got lazy cleaning up after themselves and then it got to the point they just gave up completely. And yeah, it certainly keeps me motivated to keep plugging away at it until I finally get it all out of here. My garbage men are none too pleased with me lately. But no way, I'd die before I'd let my home get into the condition of some of those on there. I mean most of the people are able bodied. Now some are somewhat disabled.....but seems theirs tends to be more on the collection of things than the trash and such. The damage of some of those homes.......omg, they'll either pay a fortune to repair it or it will be condemned when they finally move out.

I have some things I tend to collect. But I make myself be picky about it so I don't go overboard. And it truly isn't much. I've nearly stopped collecting tins because I'm running out of room along the tops of my cabinets. So now I'll really think about a piece and weigh it against the price before even considering it. Usually I don't buy. I bought one with darrin a while back and it's the first I've bought in ages, but you just can't beat .25 cents for a truly old food tin or tobacco tin. LOL

I'll check out that app and see if Ebay can help me with pricing at least a few items. I have 2 antique mirrors, I have no clue of a date but I know they're super old as they've been passed down via mother in law's family......and I have no clue where to start at on price, not to mention an enormous one in my bedroom the same way. The kids don't want them and I certainly I'm not a big mirror person but they'd look lovely in someone's home.......and I certainly don't want to store the darn things.

I'm already stuck storing father in law's ships he made, plus the supplies ect for another ship still in kit form for Travis and Darrin at the very least. And I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with these stamps........I've yet to find an appraiser for them, but I am determined, I want the darn things gone.

 

[Hound dog]

LOL Tia

I dunno about a self transformation........... But I've been wondering if no jobs outside of watching easy child's boys are currently coming my way because I'm meant to get this enormous task done first. I'm still looking for work, but this type of cleaning out would take an eternity if it were limited to say one day a week or something. It's time consuming, not to mention dirty, dusty, somewhat heavy work. (especially when I go to tackle those books stored in the attic)

Up early to be back at it in the morning before the heat of the day because tomorrow and the rest of the week is supposed to be a scorcher........and my back porch/ family room acts like a green house during summer (too many darn windows in the thing) I'll have a window of dawn until about 11 am if I'm lucky and it's not too humid. And the attic is worse. Plus, I've no AC.

 

[TerryJ2]

Oh, Hound Dog, I want to go to your sale!
And I want you to come over to my house and help me clean my office ...

 

[Hound dog]

You're more than welcome at our sale, but it might be a bit of a drive. LOL

I dunno, will be some treasures in it for some people for certain. Some of everything from baby items (hint hint Step.....got a Jumparoo and all sorts of things) children's toys, clothes, to adult stuff, to tools, some lawn mowers & weedeaters that just need a bit of work and then will be fine, appliances, a treadmill, an exercise bike, a very old solid entertainment center that movers have cussed some some nearly 30 yrs LOL, 2 tvs, antique books & antique knick knacks (if not sold online beforehand, antique crystal ware odds and ends, the antique mirrors.....lord only knows what else in this area alone as husband also stashed a lot of this stuff upstairs too. And that's only some of it. I'll have more an idea once we start pricing it as Nichole's stuff was boxed/bagged up and I didn't see a whole lot of it. Shoot we even have a bit of camping stuff, although a lot of that I'm keeping for emergencies.

The kids had a fit when I asked about the antique Pinocchio book......but so far I'm not hearing anyone claiming it, although they remember having read it via borrowing it from mother in law.

And good grief, I even have rather large pieces of alabaster stone (which isn't cheap to buy even all the years ago husband bought it) to figure out what to do with. But I *might* be able to find a local artist who might like to have that.

Oh, and some WWII military stuff. Not much of that, but a little bit. Not sure if it will actually make it in though, Darrin might go bonkers for it. It's items the adults don't want, but I know collectors would enjoy having.

Have some original prints too. Need to look those up. Found them in a large envelope. They were I'm sure from husband's great aunt Kate.

So much stuff, such a wide variety.

 

[Liahona]

Its a good thing I'm to far away. We don't need more stuff but your sale sounds like fun with lots of tempting buys.

 

[Marcie Mac]

Military stuff is very collectible. If there is an antique store/mall near you take it in there and see if they will buy it off of you, or at least tell you about it so you have an idea on pricing. Same thing with the crystal - sometimes they will take it on consignment. As far as the antique books - ebay is a good place to start

 

[donna723]

Do you know any antique dealers? If you do, you might get someone to come look at all the old things you have and help you price them?

 

[AnnieO]

Lisa - Waynesville is the antique capital of Ohio... You might be able to find an appraiser for the stamps & some of the glassware. Bonus, it's on SR 73 between you and where Nichole is buying that house...

As for the baby stuff... LOL it will depend on when your yard sale is & what I have by then!!! If mother in law doesn't stop...

The WWII collectibles... I admit, that's one of my weaknesses...

 

[donna723]

Lisa, you never know! His "hoarding" may turn out to be a blessing in disguise if some of those things will bring you some good money. My grandmother was a major "packrat" who saved everything! When she died and her house was cleaned out, they probably threw out thousands of dollars worth of things going back to the turn of the century because they didn't know what they were worth!

I like to watch "Hoarders" because it makes me feel better about my own house! You can always sit back and say, "Well, at least mine isn't that bad!" I can halfway understand these people who have a collection that gets out of hand, or the ones who hang on to things because they think that someone might need them, or the ones who fill the empty spots in their life with "things", or the ones who hang on to every little scrap of paper and receipt for some reason. One of my oldest and dearest friends, a musician, just posted a picture on Facebook of a receipt he unearthed for some equipment he bought in a music store ... back in 1971! But the ones I just CANNOT understand are the ones who look like they haven't taken out the garbage since Eisenhower was in office and they just throw everything on the floor and then walk through it! Or the ones who haven't done the dishes in so long that they can't even find their sink any more! How do those people live like that? Eeeewwwww!

 

[tiredmommy]

Do you have any dark sheets? If so, hang them over the windows to keep the sun out.