Grunge Garage

[Riley]

Bill,

Let me say I admire your efforts and selflessness in sharing your situation with us all. It's been advised several times before and you probably don't need to hear it again but here ya go...

Get a 20 yrd dumpster dropped off and fill it up. When that one is done, get another one. Repeat until finished.

You'll be shocked that you can fill it to the top and it won't look like you've made much progress, that's OK. Make it a race to see how fast you can fill it. Some good stuff might get tossed, but does it really matter?

It will still represent not only real progress, but a real acceptance of the depth of your challenge.

http://www.google.com/search?q=detro...=hp&channel=np

Pick your favorite and go to town.

Good luck and best wishes. Back to lurk mode.

[marty_p]

Bill:

I'm praying for your success, Boss.

-Marty

[bczygan]

7 trash cans picked up today. Now it's time to fill them again!

Did my good deed for the week.
Lady 4 doors down moved after being broken into 6 times. She left lots of things in the house and garage. Leaves un-raked from the fall. Dozens of newspapers on the porch.
2 guys have been in there in the last few days and took the furnace and water heater. They strew things all over the front yard.
The owners want to protect the house and leave the lights on.
Told them I would help. I cleaned off the porch, trimmed the bushes so you can see inside, picked up leaves from the curb and gutter and raked piles in the driveway, removed the curtains so you can see what's going on and filled 2 trash cans for pick up today.

[jeffmoss26]

Sounds like more excuses for not getting your house cleaned out, but that's just me.

[bczygan]

Originally Posted by jeffmoss26

Sounds like more excuses for not getting your house cleaned out, but that's just me.

Jeff,
I think you are right. It is sure more fun to work on the neighbors rather than my own. But it's not only that. It is also a way to feel good about myself by contributing to the community. A lot of this problem is depression. And depression brought on, and made even worse, by feelings of guilt about not doing what I should have in life, as a husband, and as a man. I need to feel like I am worthwhile as a person. Doing these neighborhood things gives me a quick hit of "I'm OK". But I realize that the only way to get the full and permanent feeling, is to be by fully facing and fully dealing with and overcoming this.
AFTER I got my Courvilles full, by doing a few days work at my house and yard, I did the work there. Now that the Courvilles are empty again, it's back to doing my stuff
Not every minute of my life is spent on this project. I actually do other things. Maybe too many other things and not enough work on the project. It's a balance I have to strike.
I am disappointed in myself for not throwing out the Courville full of disks. I will go out today and go through them and retrieve the ones that have personal data and trash the rest by dumping the trays out into the dumpster and throwing other trash on them.
I know there is enough stuff to fill the Courvilles again in the next few days. That is my next goal.
Gotta go. I want to work as long and as hard on my stuff as I did on the neighbors house, for the rest of the day. Maybe clean an entire room with photos!

Bill

[Bronson]

Bill, just clean one damn room and post pics......THAT will give You a real boost. Me too, You are wearing Me out, Buddy! Git 'er done!!

[vartz04]

so you are willing to help anyone who asks but not willing to ask for help yourself? Its gorgeous out, get it done.

[Nighttrain]

How much stuff did you take from that ladies house and bring home to yours?

[fergus]

So Bill, in total, how many trashcans full of "stuff" (things that you've been hoarding, not just regular trash) have you actually thrown out since this whole thing started?

[klaw]

Originally Posted by Nighttrain

How much stuff did you take from that ladies house and bring home to yours?

great question

[burlybrute]

Sounds like the furnace and hot water heater....

[jjpp]

Originally Posted by Nighttrain

How much stuff did you take from that ladies house and bring home to yours?

My first thought too.

[bczygan]

Originally Posted by fergus

So Bill, in total, how many trashcans full of "stuff" (things that you've been hoarding, not just regular trash) have you actually thrown out since this whole thing started?

Hard to estimate because much stuff was good until I left it in the yard to get rained on and ruined. Rough estimate is 1/3 normal household trash, 1/3 things that got ruined inside the house and 1/3 things that got ruined outside. Maybe 1/2 of the inside stuff wasn't ruined, but rather stuff I decided wasn't needed. Hardest thing is still to dispose of working items, even if I can't see a place for them. This is especially true when I see the resale shop price still on the item. It hurts enough when the item is ruined and I can remember what it was like when new. But the deciding factor is "CAN I SEE A PARTICULAR PLACE FOR IT AND A PARTICULAR USE FOR IT"! Even then, my space requirements are skewed in my head and I imagine that I can fit more in a space than I can. I have to keep picking away at things and eliminating them until the spaces are empty enough.

I just thought about what I said above and it's wrong. Picking away isn't getting it there. Shifting things around isn't working. Letting things get destroyed is too slow. I need to completely empty a room and only put back the appropriate things and dispose of everything else that was removed. I'm going to start with the dining room first as it's the simplest. Before pics coming tonight.

Originally Posted by burlybrute

Sounds like the furnace and hot water heater....

Thanks for the chuckle. I really need to see the humor!

Originally Posted by Nighttrain

How much stuff did you take from that ladies house and bring home to yours?

Honestly, some rakes and shovels and a shoebox of fasteners and odds and ends including a caulk gun, some cleaning supplies, a saw and a grater.
Tools will be used to clean up that property and others in the neighborhood. I will give them to the neighborhood organization when finished with this house.

I learned 2 things while seeing these abandoned houses. First, it's amazing the trash people accumulate and then abandon (And boy, their junk is way better than mine, which means mine is REALLY junk and needs disposing of). And second, these houses, though small, really feel expansive when cleaned out. I'm going to have 20 times the space when I'm finished.

[bczygan]

Here are Dining Room before photos:

[bczygan]

And here are some Living Room before photos:
I can't get to and clean out the dining room without first cleaning out the living room. The kitchen will have to be done in conjunction with them as well.

[fergus]

Bill, I see about five things that are worth keeping amongst the 14 photos above. Honestly.

[bczygan]

If the mini fridge is on your list, take it off. It doesn't work (Won't cool down). I am in the middle of pulling things out of the living room. Mini fridge is outside. Porch is stacked full and 2 Courvilles are full. I expect to have much of the Living Room empty by this evening (Except refrigerator, file cabinet and tool cabinet). That will give me access to the Dining Room for tomorrow and Kitchen the next day.
Back to it.

[JimVonBaden]

I have not posted yet. Not because I haven't read it or do not have an opinion, but because everyone else have said all that needed to be said.

However, no offense, but those pictures show nothing but junk. IMHO, unless there are gold ingots in those boxes, I would call in the junk removal guys and have them haul it all out. At this point there is little left to save except maybe a few tools and appliances.

Good luck, this is one hell of a lot of work to fix, and sorting it, IMHO, will never work. Your natural inclination to keep things will disallow you from tossing them out.

Jim

[fergus]

Well, make that four things! Glad we're on the same page. Keep crackin at it.

[Homerr]

Bill,

I've been pouring over various threads here the last few days looking at great garages. I've spent the afternoon on and off going though this thread waiting for the "payoff" of real progress or even an empty garage. Out of exasperation I have ended up skipping ahead a few times so I have missed some posts.

I see that there has been attempts made, but this thread has me to the point that I feel like drinking beers as Holedgr did after visiting.

This is my first post here on GJ. I'd like to offer that you are putting too much effort in on the wrong front. You've quite wisely acknowledged fear as a huge factor in getting where you are now. I believe the squalor, and it is squalor, that you live in is beyond you fixing yourselves. Yes, you are making attempts - but grabbing items from the lady moving out down the street really shows that you have no power over this.

I'd suggest you and your wife each seeking out a counselor to work on the triggers that have caused this hoarding. Only when you become clear on these triggers and learn mechanisms to cope with them will you be able to really start cleaning.

And we'll know you're making progress when the excuses stop and a half-dozen of these have been filled and taken away:



And if this sounds harsh - I have all my own issues and triggers that I've spent the last 5 years working out and I know that it may take many voices to help get us on our path. Our issues are worlds apart in their nature but I can still see bits and pieces of similarity between us in the way you talk about fear and letting go. It does get better if you work on 'self' and leave the rearranging of the Titanic deck chairs be.

All the best to you.