butI do love TLC and Discovery and A&E Channels.
Last week one day,
the show, "Hoarders: Buried Alive" was on.
I had just told monsieur Boofus to clean his room,
and got the usual reply: "I know."--
so I called him downstairs as well as the other
mess-makin' fools.
"Sit down and watch this with me."
Daisie: "That's so gross."
Ari: "You'd kill us."
Boofus: "Sick."
"Un-hunh. Keep watching."
It's kinda like a train wreck--
you can't take your eyes off of it--
half-expecting to see someone
actually find the
"dead-Chinaman"
your mom used to tell you was probably
under all the clutter in your closet!
And once you realize there are no dead bodies in the mess,
then you wonder why
NOONE
has come up with a plan before NOW to get rid of that crap.
And in my mind, honestly,
I think hoarders have too much money
if they're able to fill a complete house as tho they're The Little Mermaid:
"Ya want thingamabobs? I've got twenty! But who cares? No big deal, I want more...."
If I were related to a hoarder,
this would be my evil plan:
Have someone take them out for the day.
Beg, Bribe, Pay a dozen or more of my friends
to come with me
and a huge dump truck...
yeah. you got it.
It's along the lines of "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission."
"Oh you wanted all that stuff? Sheesh. Sorry 'bout that. Hmmm. Tell me what you're missing and we'll get you a new one. Here, maybe you should write it down."
Yeah, at our house, the rule applies:
If it's not valuable, or a sentimental token--
like baby blankets, awards, heirlooms, etc.,
and
If I haven't used it in a year
it's Outtahere!
Mr W's father was a Saver--
when he passed on, there were entire jars of shoe strings,
leather belts, tiny little bits of this-n-that--all organized mind you,
but so unnecessary.
Mr W says it's because they lived away from town,
and it was a chore to go to town,
so the thought was,
"Keep it, you might need it one day."
Well I've got any kind of shopping I want
five minutes from the house,
and once you get to my age
there's not alot of things I haven't
already got.
Ya know?
What about You?
Saver, Keeper, Use-it-someday-Hoarder?
or
Sell It, Toss It, Give-It-Away?
How do you decide what's worth keeping?
Last week one day,
the show, "Hoarders: Buried Alive" was on.
I had just told monsieur Boofus to clean his room,
and got the usual reply: "I know."--
so I called him downstairs as well as the other
mess-makin' fools.
"Sit down and watch this with me."
Daisie: "That's so gross."
Ari: "You'd kill us."
Boofus: "Sick."
"Un-hunh. Keep watching."
It's kinda like a train wreck--
you can't take your eyes off of it--
half-expecting to see someone
actually find the
"dead-Chinaman"
your mom used to tell you was probably
under all the clutter in your closet!
And once you realize there are no dead bodies in the mess,
then you wonder why
NOONE
has come up with a plan before NOW to get rid of that crap.
And in my mind, honestly,
I think hoarders have too much money
if they're able to fill a complete house as tho they're The Little Mermaid:
"Ya want thingamabobs? I've got twenty! But who cares? No big deal, I want more...."
If I were related to a hoarder,
this would be my evil plan:
Have someone take them out for the day.
Beg, Bribe, Pay a dozen or more of my friends
to come with me
and a huge dump truck...
yeah. you got it.
It's along the lines of "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission."
"Oh you wanted all that stuff? Sheesh. Sorry 'bout that. Hmmm. Tell me what you're missing and we'll get you a new one. Here, maybe you should write it down."
Yeah, at our house, the rule applies:
If it's not valuable, or a sentimental token--
like baby blankets, awards, heirlooms, etc.,
and
If I haven't used it in a year
it's Outtahere!
Mr W's father was a Saver--
when he passed on, there were entire jars of shoe strings,
leather belts, tiny little bits of this-n-that--all organized mind you,
but so unnecessary.
Mr W says it's because they lived away from town,
and it was a chore to go to town,
so the thought was,
"Keep it, you might need it one day."
Well I've got any kind of shopping I want
five minutes from the house,
and once you get to my age
there's not alot of things I haven't
already got.
Ya know?
What about You?
Saver, Keeper, Use-it-someday-Hoarder?
or
Sell It, Toss It, Give-It-Away?
How do you decide what's worth keeping?
I do not like keeping anything beyond what we need, but I do allow for a few sentimental things. That's only fair.
ReplyDeleteI am such a tosser!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't stand clutter, useless stuff, bits and pieces. It makes me have panic attacks to have junk.
My hubs has a tendency to be a saver and a slight hoarder. He's been outta town for two weeks..............bwwaahhhhaaaa. He'll never miss it.
I try to throw away anything we don't use either, or DI it. I am a minimalist still trying to learn organization skills and so far this has been key to keeping my house uncluttered.
ReplyDeleteI easily get rid of things but I am married to a hoarder.
ReplyDeleteI've been tempted to do a mass clean up. Get a dumpster delivered to our driveway and fill it up.
But here is what I've learned... hoarding has an emotional base. Just like eating disorders or cutting. If I go and toss his stuff, I will have hurt him in the deepest way possible. I will have thrown out parts of the fiber of his being.
So instead, we keep the conversation open. We have a threshold. And we work through it together. It has to be at his pace and in his time. There is a balance. I keep things clean so we aren't keeping piles of trash or anything. But the basement and specific areas of the house are "his" as long as they stay free of food and trash.
It's easy to see it on TV and be amazed, appalled, disgusted. It's eye opening to live with it and understand it.
I'm a Tosser married to a Keeper. Sometimes I have to grit my teeth.
ReplyDeleteI am an organized keeper... but when I get in the mood, I toss. I am not near any stores... and I like old things.. those are my "excuses"
ReplyDeleteI'm somewhere in the middle and so is my husband. But he's a little more of a tosser and I'm a little more of a keeper.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing for me to get rid of is clothing that doesn't fit me. Because I know it easily could again.
=)
I have hoarder tendencies but I also purge a couple of times a year so I don't get inundated. I do have a high tolerance for clutter, but watch out when I am in the mood to throw away, do not get in my way or you might go too.
ReplyDeleteI am a tosser! Clutter makes me crazy and my mind muddy...Anytime I have the chance to toss stuff, I do. Looking forward to the first day of school so I can really go through the kids rooms and throw away broken toys and little pieces of "important" papers that they created by taking a big piece of paper and cutting it up into a million little pieces!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of Ariel as a hoarder, but you're right! lol! I'm a tosser living with a household of savers. Ugh! It's definitely a struggle!
ReplyDeleteJulie..i am so on page with you..lol Funny what our children consider treasures..but still I don't wish them to grow up to fast..just soaking in the littleness of each one as it seems they are aging way too fast.
ReplyDelete@Arin: when one of my daughters was 4 and 5 yrs old, she used to hide her treasures under her pillow, in her play-purse, and just everywhere she could-- I loved finding her little bits and pcs when she was little.
ReplyDelete@Moody: Me too!
@Julie: A cluttered house makes me crazy! And I clean best when noone is helping...I get rid of more stuff that way and they never know! mwahaha
@Connie: "Do not get in my way or you'll go too!" lol Amen.
@Sue: I am ashamed to say I have a Donna Karan outfit that I haven't worn in 10 years just waiting to be worn again.
@Lulu: Whatever works for you, right?!
@Marilyn: I hear you. I grit mine too.
@Liz: Thanks for sharing more on this topic. It's a good thing your dh chose you, as you certainly have more patience than I would. As I shared before, I cannot function in clutter and be a happy Momza. Gots to have some order. My dh won't let me near the garage. I am a sneaky garage cleaner tho when he's not around. I toss a little out all the time.
@Arin: When I grow up, I want to be a minimalist.
@Tauna: You speak my language, sister. Toss O Toss Away...
@Kazzy: exactly.
In my head I know I should be a tosser, but in reality I am a hoarder. I don't even throw out most of my garbage. I recycle or compost it. I think it's genetic, or possibly a learned behavior. When my grandma died and my parents were cleaning out her garage they found milk receipts from the 1960's. She really saved everything.
ReplyDeletebtw, since I've started reading your blog I often find myself referring to my children as "the yahoos". :)