A Look Into A Hoarder's Life

Hello, my name is Shellie, and I am a hoarder. I have had people telling me for a while now that I am not a "true" hoarder, like those people on TV. Well, I have learned that the people on that show, like almost everything on TV, are extreme hoarders. Like the TV show about bachelors and the one about surviving and the one about psychological issues such as OCD and every other "reality" TV show, those people exhibit a behavior in an extreme manner.

I am an average, run of the mill, everyday, next door neighbor hoarder. I hoard things that are useful. I hoard food. I hoard toys. I hoard clothing. I hoard NO MORE! As anyone who has been reading for a while knows, I have been fighting the battle against stuff. This summer, a crew of wonderful people came to my house and helped me throw a DUMPSTER's worth of stuff away. You read right, an entire dumpster worth of stuff. And it was so full, they almost didn't take it away, but we were able to get the tarp over it sufficiently for it to go.

That was two rooms. Yes, two rooms. Granted, one of the rooms we call "the great room" because it's a big room. Think a full size living room and dining room put together. (Oh, and note that this is not space we are currently living in. We live in the upstairs rooms which are relatively clutter free, and the downstairs is what is being cleaned up.)

Today, I started working on the third. I have energy issues, and so I have to do things when I am feeling well. I am not diagnosed, but I think it's chronic fatigue, which fits with my thyroid and bowel disorders :(  But that's neither here nor there. We're talking about hoarding.

I started in on the pantry today. Tell me, who needs 50 cans of tomato sauce? Or 15 bottles of shower self-cleaner (when 1 lasts several months)? Or how about boxes of tea? Or maybe 30 gallon bottles of water? I have shelves. Most of the stuff isn't even on them because it doesn't fit. I got the floor cleaned off today, and the stuff is in tote boxes because I need some electrical work done and the stuff was blocking the way.

So this week, little by little, I will be going through the stuff on the pantry. I already donated 10 bottles of water. I know I can do better than that. I will toss the expired stuff, and then work on donating much of the rest. If I don't think we will eat it in a few months, I will donate it. At one point in time, I was trying to "store" food for emergencies. The problem is, I don't do it well. I don't rotate stock and it's not balanced foods.

I have enough to last maybe a week if we are going to eat balanced meals. After that, I don't know what we would do! LOL  So it's got to go to make room for stuff we WILL eat. And also the appliances cluttering up the kitchen counter, like the crock pot and the blender. Stuff that I use but not every day. Those things will go on the shelves in the pantry. :)

I am cleaning up my life! :)  If you think you would like to join me in a decluttering (hoarders style or just regular everyday it creeps up on you clutter), leave me a note :)

God Bless!
One Christian Mom