novaboy009
Well-known member
Sell 17 trailers = water heater + a good start on a furnace, even @ $100 a trailer in scrap prices. You have assets Bill! Liquify the assets into cash and then you can afford to get your life back!
Grunge Garage
- Thread starter bczygan
- Start date
- Status
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
STINEY
Well-known member
While I am glad to hear you are STARTING to consider throwing out "perfectly good things like floppy discs, please try to start considering that kind of stuff for what it really is.
They are trash. Seriously. USB memory sticks are nearly obsolete today, and just one of those that you could wear on your necklace or stuff in your shorts without major discomfort would hold ALL of the info on thoses discs, if there were truely any useful or for that matter retrievable info on them. Those discs are so obsolete they are the computer equivalent of a flat-earth map with dragons at the edges.
"About to do some wholesale disposal"
"Worry less about sorting"
"Staging area for basement"
"Reroof withing a year"
"Then time to purge basement"
"Dumpster MAY be necessary"
These phrases all say one thing to me, still not serious enough. Better, yes by far, but still not serious.
The stuff from the basement does not need "staged". That filth needs to go straight into a large real dumpster, not handled 3-4 times and strung out all over the place in hopes of finding something recoverable or unruined in it.
"May" be necessary? Seriously? How do you figure it will possibly NOT be necessary? Be honest with yourself here, please.
Reroof within a year, then time to purge basement. Hmmm......that puts the reroof job from next March 23rd to present.
So you have an out to not address the basement which includes running water and heat and sewage cleanup for another year, because the roof comes first?
That basement should have been done months ago, its actually the easiest because as you already stated, EVERYTHING down there is completely ruined. Lots of trips with armloads of stuff straight to a real dumpster, two 8 hour days with one person, TOPS. Couple of guys helping, one afternoon, TOPS. You don't need to rent a large dumpster for a month here, its a 2 day deal, and those are very reasonable.
Bill, I don't mean to come off harsh here. I truly understand and in fact am in AWE that you have made the progress you already have made. Its amazing to me, and I give you much credit for making the turnaround and heading in the other direction. But its like you are lost in the forest and are having trouble finding the pathway out. I'm just trying to help clear a trail to the pathway so you can help yourself more effectively.
Good luck.
Kevin,
That didn't read right. The roof can wait. The basement can NOT. I MUST have water heater in the next month and heat by fall. I have mentally let go of the trailers. I can't keep them any longer. They will go up for sale.
Floppy disks went out with the trash and were picked up yesterday.
Today I'm throwing out 3 boxes of VCR tapes.
When I said staging, I meant a clear path for hauling things out.
Yes, a dumpster will be necessary.
Today I'm putting a mahogany table and chairs on the curb.
Today I'm taking all the boxes I have in the back yard, that are on the back walk, and putting them in the trash containers.
Today I'm clearing the path for taking things from the basement to a dumpster.
The basement just went to the head of the list.
That didn't read right. The roof can wait. The basement can NOT. I MUST have water heater in the next month and heat by fall. I have mentally let go of the trailers. I can't keep them any longer. They will go up for sale.
Floppy disks went out with the trash and were picked up yesterday.
Today I'm throwing out 3 boxes of VCR tapes.
When I said staging, I meant a clear path for hauling things out.
Yes, a dumpster will be necessary.
Today I'm putting a mahogany table and chairs on the curb.
Today I'm taking all the boxes I have in the back yard, that are on the back walk, and putting them in the trash containers.
Today I'm clearing the path for taking things from the basement to a dumpster.
The basement just went to the head of the list.
Last edited:
Red Leader
Well-known member
EDIT: post was made before I saw Bill threw out the floppies. Good job, Bill.
Bill,
Its not that we don't want to celebrate the small victories with you - we do and perhaps getting that living room clean was an important milestone, but if you really want to make those goals of having a clean, non-rat infested, septic filled, trash piled home so you can get back to what you original created this thread for...your garage, it is going to take something more.
I know it didn't physically take you 7 months to clean that room. More like a weekend, right? Now picture that. Picture cleaning up a space like that (96 sq ft) every weekend. If we use the same estimate as before (3000 sq ft), then it would take you about 32 weeks to clean everything up.
That is less that 1 year.
But that is without this back and forth nonsense of "should I keep perfectly good floppy disks?
Bill, to be frank, the time is ticking on the rest of your life. You don't have time to worry about the floppy discs. I really hope that you can get to the point when you can finally experience the joy of a clean living space before you die instead of teeter-tottering back and forth and having your last days on earth be ones of toiling under the sun when your fighting these mini battles of trying to decide to keep perfectly good trash.
Whatever it is that is creating this 6 month brick wall for you before you get in there and actually do things needs to be gone, now. If it is psychological, then consider counseling. Do whatever it takes, RIGHT NOW, because none of us want to get up on a Saturday morning and sip coffee while reading your thread, 18 years later, and see that you are STILL taking trash can loads out. And even that is being generous on your house's impact on your heath.
You have to do this right now Bill, or else like I said, you won't make it. Whatever it is that will get you to that point.
Just DO IT, Bill
Bill,
Its not that we don't want to celebrate the small victories with you - we do and perhaps getting that living room clean was an important milestone, but if you really want to make those goals of having a clean, non-rat infested, septic filled, trash piled home so you can get back to what you original created this thread for...your garage, it is going to take something more.
I know it didn't physically take you 7 months to clean that room. More like a weekend, right? Now picture that. Picture cleaning up a space like that (96 sq ft) every weekend. If we use the same estimate as before (3000 sq ft), then it would take you about 32 weeks to clean everything up.
That is less that 1 year.
But that is without this back and forth nonsense of "should I keep perfectly good floppy disks?
Bill, to be frank, the time is ticking on the rest of your life. You don't have time to worry about the floppy discs. I really hope that you can get to the point when you can finally experience the joy of a clean living space before you die instead of teeter-tottering back and forth and having your last days on earth be ones of toiling under the sun when your fighting these mini battles of trying to decide to keep perfectly good trash.
Whatever it is that is creating this 6 month brick wall for you before you get in there and actually do things needs to be gone, now. If it is psychological, then consider counseling. Do whatever it takes, RIGHT NOW, because none of us want to get up on a Saturday morning and sip coffee while reading your thread, 18 years later, and see that you are STILL taking trash can loads out. And even that is being generous on your house's impact on your heath.
You have to do this right now Bill, or else like I said, you won't make it. Whatever it is that will get you to that point.
Just DO IT, Bill
Last edited:
Homerr
Well-known member
Holy moly Bill, those pictures of your kitchen almost make me vomit. I don't want to see bathroom pics.
What exactly is your end goal and timeline? How do you evaluate what to toss out? What is your thought process on this? I ask because of the way you reply about the microwaves and refrigerators.
I mean for me if I was entering your house with the goal to clean it out and live there I'd have the following in mind:
Goals/timeline - something like this...
1. Camper trailers will all be gone within 20 days. Clear them out, advertise them, use funds to help with a real dumpster or drop-box.
2. Kitchen, bath, master bedroom: cleaned out (only basic furniture, appliances left) within 5 days; wall/cabinets/fixtures/appliances wiped down and floors mopped (carpet ripped out and tossed?) within 8 days.
3. Basement emptied @ 12 days
4. Basement cleaned, services fixed @ 20 days
3. Secondary rooms emptied within 25 days
6. Yard debris/piles gone @ 35 days
....
16. Garage emptied @ 50 days
...
19. Interior walls deep scrubbed TSP cleaner @ 60 days
20. Paint primary rooms @ 62 days
21. Paint secondary rooms @ 64 days
...
30. Landscaping trimmed back @ 90 days
...
40. Have a house party for all family and friends in a clean house.
etc, etc. - you fill in the blanks.
Throwing stuff out - what is the psychology/rationale....
1. Do I need this item? If no, then throw all out. If yes, then...
2. Are there multiples of this same/similar item? If no, put item in room it belongs in to be eventually cleaned. If yes, pick the best one and throw all others out. And by throw out I mean throw out, if pickers want to sort the junk at the curb then let them.
How about starting a regular ad in the local paper and/or CL for every Saturday morning a "sale from 9am-10am, all items go - make offer" for all the stuff that you don't think is outright trash? Throw anything left at 10am away.
Anyway, it might be helpful for you to type out here exactly what your plan is and what the timeline is. It can be modified at any time. Get your wife in on this, you're both up to your eyebrows here.
This is a moonshot you're doing here. Gotta start thinking beyond what color to paint the fins on the rocket and pick a landing date and a plan how to get there.
Edit: p.s. I support your endeavor, think big!
What exactly is your end goal and timeline? How do you evaluate what to toss out? What is your thought process on this? I ask because of the way you reply about the microwaves and refrigerators.
I mean for me if I was entering your house with the goal to clean it out and live there I'd have the following in mind:
Goals/timeline - something like this...
1. Camper trailers will all be gone within 20 days. Clear them out, advertise them, use funds to help with a real dumpster or drop-box.
2. Kitchen, bath, master bedroom: cleaned out (only basic furniture, appliances left) within 5 days; wall/cabinets/fixtures/appliances wiped down and floors mopped (carpet ripped out and tossed?) within 8 days.
3. Basement emptied @ 12 days
4. Basement cleaned, services fixed @ 20 days
3. Secondary rooms emptied within 25 days
6. Yard debris/piles gone @ 35 days
....
16. Garage emptied @ 50 days
...
19. Interior walls deep scrubbed TSP cleaner @ 60 days
20. Paint primary rooms @ 62 days
21. Paint secondary rooms @ 64 days
...
30. Landscaping trimmed back @ 90 days
...
40. Have a house party for all family and friends in a clean house.
etc, etc. - you fill in the blanks.
Throwing stuff out - what is the psychology/rationale....
1. Do I need this item? If no, then throw all out. If yes, then...
2. Are there multiples of this same/similar item? If no, put item in room it belongs in to be eventually cleaned. If yes, pick the best one and throw all others out. And by throw out I mean throw out, if pickers want to sort the junk at the curb then let them.
How about starting a regular ad in the local paper and/or CL for every Saturday morning a "sale from 9am-10am, all items go - make offer" for all the stuff that you don't think is outright trash? Throw anything left at 10am away.
Anyway, it might be helpful for you to type out here exactly what your plan is and what the timeline is. It can be modified at any time. Get your wife in on this, you're both up to your eyebrows here.
This is a moonshot you're doing here. Gotta start thinking beyond what color to paint the fins on the rocket and pick a landing date and a plan how to get there.
Edit: p.s. I support your endeavor, think big!
Last edited:
novaboy009
Well-known member
This is how perfectly rational people attack a project like this, including many people on this forum. We see a big project, we jump on it and go go go until it's done.
Bill is working towards being that person, but I get the distinct impression he isn't quite there yet.
Homerr
Well-known member
Hence, my suggestion to suggestion for him to try it out - the rational approach, that is.
4t64rd
Well-known member
My late mother was a hoarder, but without the means to get rid of it once she collected it, it was never addressed until she died. This was before TV shows.
As her children, we had to deal with the mess she left behind after she died... We also had to deal with the fact that every picture we ever had of us kids, and of her was destroyed because of leaking roof or bugs/mice eating and crapping on our baby books, all the family albums of pictures, and every other memory of her.
I can't give you any advice other than life is short. You aren't going to use your last breath to say "I should have bought more stuff".
As her children, we had to deal with the mess she left behind after she died... We also had to deal with the fact that every picture we ever had of us kids, and of her was destroyed because of leaking roof or bugs/mice eating and crapping on our baby books, all the family albums of pictures, and every other memory of her.
I can't give you any advice other than life is short. You aren't going to use your last breath to say "I should have bought more stuff".
"Bill is working towards being that person, but I get the distinct impression he isn't quite there yet."
Boy, you got that right!
I can see that piecemeal isn't making it.
The schedule above is kind of scary, but if no specific goals tied to a timeline I won't ever get anywhere. Funny thing, I used to schedule construction jobs. Tonight I will start working on a timeline using the above one as a guide.
No one took the VCR tapes so I threw them away. Filled 2 trash cans. Not enough progress. Stacked up a pile of brush and put away 15 rakes and shovels. Raked a pile of leaves. Trimmed bushes and cut up and put in trash.
Shaved and dyed mustache (Just for Men). Fixed the second meal for in our new dining room. A Hungarian dish. Blood Hurka, red potatoes and sauerkraut. You take a few red potatoes and mike them and slice them up. Take a large frying pan and brown a couple tablespoons of caraway seeds. Add a few pats of butter, about 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, a large can or jar of sauerkraut and a bottle of Michelob Amber Bock. Cover and simmer until the beer is almost soaked up. Add the Blood Hurka (Blood Hurka is a rice and blood based sausage)to a well in the middle to heat it up. Turn once. Add potatoes and mix with sauerkraut. Serve with sour cream, salt and pepper, a wedge of lettuce and a bottle of the same beer.
Yum!
Boy, you got that right!
I can see that piecemeal isn't making it.
The schedule above is kind of scary, but if no specific goals tied to a timeline I won't ever get anywhere. Funny thing, I used to schedule construction jobs. Tonight I will start working on a timeline using the above one as a guide.
No one took the VCR tapes so I threw them away. Filled 2 trash cans. Not enough progress. Stacked up a pile of brush and put away 15 rakes and shovels. Raked a pile of leaves. Trimmed bushes and cut up and put in trash.
Shaved and dyed mustache (Just for Men). Fixed the second meal for in our new dining room. A Hungarian dish. Blood Hurka, red potatoes and sauerkraut. You take a few red potatoes and mike them and slice them up. Take a large frying pan and brown a couple tablespoons of caraway seeds. Add a few pats of butter, about 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, a large can or jar of sauerkraut and a bottle of Michelob Amber Bock. Cover and simmer until the beer is almost soaked up. Add the Blood Hurka (Blood Hurka is a rice and blood based sausage)to a well in the middle to heat it up. Turn once. Add potatoes and mix with sauerkraut. Serve with sour cream, salt and pepper, a wedge of lettuce and a bottle of the same beer.
Yum!
It's pretty unusual for someone to be able to be this honest even with themselves, but you are able to do it with a whole bunch of people in an audience. I think it's pretty healthy.
It is NOT easy.
But there IS a payoff.
The support/goading I get is what I need to get going and keep going.
I've been through counseling before so I know the social support can help me, but only if I try hard to be honest with myself and my support group.
I count on those with normal thought processes to call me when I get off the track. But I also bear the responsibility to respond and be open to the change they recommend and deal with it.
There is a lot of trust involved in both directions. But this is a kind and generous group of people. They've helped me get this far. I will get well and learn to think normally and live normally.
Right now I'm facing a lot of fears. I am in the middle of making a list of tasks and putting them in the appropriate order to get to my goals. Next I will assign time amounts. Then schedule the entire job and figure intermediate and end dates.
Scary to look at the whole thing, but I must do it.
I was once told that fear and excitement are the same emotions but with different thoughts motivating them. It's why one sky diver is thrilled and smiling while the other is crapping their pants... it's all about how their managing the emotion, which is nothing more than a few chemicals in your brain.
Red Leader
Well-known member
Bill,
It is okay to be angry. You should be - the 'stuff' and the 'junk' has had complete control of you and it is really hard to fight back. Let that anger turn in to a positive force to get stuff done and refuse to let it control you any longer.
I think from your perspective, you're doing plenty and you're doing a great job because this is something you've never done before and your finally fighting the urges and making some progress.
From everyone else's perspective, you're not doing enough because everyone else can see that it would take you years and years and YEARS to get done, moving at your pace and continuing to refuse help.
It is important for us to acknowledge just what a physical and mental breakthrough for you this is. We can do that. It would also be wise and prudent for you to see from our perspective as well. And our perspective is that it is absolutely incomprehensible that a huge semi-trailer dumpster was not placed in front of your house 6 months ago, that the sewage problem, the HVAC problem and the running water problem were not the absolutely first-on-the-list priorities.
Again,
Your perspective: You're doing great because you've made personal changes and things used to be a lot worse
Our perspective: You have no heat, water, plumbing. You have (literally) tons of trash, rats, and raw sewage and you are okay with it because you have refused help that would have shed YEARS off your progress. It is worse that 3rd world country living.
I think for a lot/most/all members here, it is hard for you to be taken seriously until the extremely serious level 1 priorities are dealt with and with a real sense of urgency. I am happy for you that you are making real change in your life and some progress yet at the same time I am not happy for you because you are comfortable doing it an a pace in which you might never get done before you die.
And therein lies the conundrum.
It is okay to be angry. You should be - the 'stuff' and the 'junk' has had complete control of you and it is really hard to fight back. Let that anger turn in to a positive force to get stuff done and refuse to let it control you any longer.
I think from your perspective, you're doing plenty and you're doing a great job because this is something you've never done before and your finally fighting the urges and making some progress.
From everyone else's perspective, you're not doing enough because everyone else can see that it would take you years and years and YEARS to get done, moving at your pace and continuing to refuse help.
It is important for us to acknowledge just what a physical and mental breakthrough for you this is. We can do that. It would also be wise and prudent for you to see from our perspective as well. And our perspective is that it is absolutely incomprehensible that a huge semi-trailer dumpster was not placed in front of your house 6 months ago, that the sewage problem, the HVAC problem and the running water problem were not the absolutely first-on-the-list priorities.
Again,
Your perspective: You're doing great because you've made personal changes and things used to be a lot worse
Our perspective: You have no heat, water, plumbing. You have (literally) tons of trash, rats, and raw sewage and you are okay with it because you have refused help that would have shed YEARS off your progress. It is worse that 3rd world country living.
I think for a lot/most/all members here, it is hard for you to be taken seriously until the extremely serious level 1 priorities are dealt with and with a real sense of urgency. I am happy for you that you are making real change in your life and some progress yet at the same time I am not happy for you because you are comfortable doing it an a pace in which you might never get done before you die.
And therein lies the conundrum.
Nighttrain
Well-known member
Bill, don't let us (yourself) down this weekend. No time off for you, get another room done. I have to ask a ?... Have you tried to sell something, say one of your BP mills or campers? would this get you the high that you get when you buy something? Just wonder if doing this would replace the high you get when buying something ( a deal) . I would guess there would be a feeling of loss but if you turned that in to a feeling of gain of $$$ that you could turn back into your house. Just throwing that out. I want to see you beat this monster that your living with. Stay in the fight Bill.
Grandad
Active member
Red Leader, a very good summation of the situation. Well done.
Need4racin
Banned
I hate material possessions. I don't even buy anything other than automotive things and food. If I can't eat it or make money off/with it; I'm not interested!
Red Leader
Well-known member
I really want Bill to know that most of us support him, but it is frustrating to feel happy about everything when, if we are being sincere, it feels like so much effort is being spent on something that has very little to do with the root of everything.
Yet it is also hard to write in a critical/condescending tone that risks belittling or ignoring what is for Bill true and meaningful progress. Do we say 'Great job Bill! Keep up the great work!" all the way up until his life ends (hopefully many years from now) still buried in trash and sewage, knowing that in his mind, he is still happy making some (if minor) progress? Or do we say, "Bill, you aren't serious at all, quit wasting time, throw everything out, and stop playing games!" It is a hard tension, and I'm sure even harder for Bill.
After seeing some pictures and seeing what he is writing, if I were to take him at face value, I would say he is serious about changing and his progress, both mentally and to the house, is significant. However, his 'serious' and our 'serious' are two very different things, viewed through 2 very different lenses. He feels great about seeing the first empty room in his house in probably many years, and we see him never getting done because of how long it has taken him.
Honestly, I think both perspectives are true. Bill has made some great progress and should feel very accomplished about that. On the other hand, if he continues just at this level of activity, I don't ever see his dreams reaching fruition.
At some point, his dream will have to become more important to him than his reality and that 'holding on' for him to swallow hard, cowboy up, make some phone calls, get some help and dive in head first to the rest of his life. Right now it is not, and he knows it. And we know it and we see it and we yell at him for it
Someone sure had it right a while back. This isn't about Bill trying to maintain control over his life and stuff. This is about his life and stuff trying to maintain control over him. That is the total irony of this entire thread. When that finally sinks in and the switch is flipped, I think we'll see the change. We can only hope and pray that it does happen, because until then all we'll see are posts about a few trashcans going out, several boxes going to the donation pile, stuff being moved around, etc.
-Dave, hoping and waiting...
Here's what happened yesterday that has me frustrated.
A lot of the boxes from all rooms of the house went outside without sorting through them. This was to make maneuvering space in all the rooms of the house. First they went on the porch and then they were put on the side of the house and finally they were stacked on the back walk. at each step some of the things in them were thrown away and some things were organized by putting like things together. Some of the discarded things were ruined things. Some were usable things I didn't like or want or see a place for. This is good, as I have found it hard to discard this type of (Usable) item. I have to sort all boxes because they contain all sorts of things, some very valuable to me, some useful and some just junk. As an example, yesterday I came across an envelope with the history of the Michie family of VA (William Michie of Michie's Tavern is my 4th great grandfather), sent to me by family genealogists. In the same box was paperwork on a 95 Suburban that was stolen and documents sent to get insurance coverage. Also flyers and old advertising mail from 8 years ago and old Fine Woodworking magazines. I kept the Michie folder, happily discarded the junk mail and old paperwork, and grudgingly discarded the magazines. I can't throw away things wholesale because trailer titles and important papers are mixed in. But sorting is slow. And the more I sort, the less I want to throw away. Although I did make progress on books. Books are something I treasure. Yesterday I threw away a bunch of them.
It took all day to bring the boxes out on the sidewalk to work on them, do the work and then put them back. Part of this was because I had to take breaks to try to control the panic attacks I was feeling about throwing things away. I stacked the VCR tapes and a blender on the corner with a free sign. The same blender I had done this with before and then retrieved to keep for some possible future use. They took the blender but not the tapes, which I later threw in a trash container. I discarded a perfectly good 4 head VCR as well. I still feel a sense of loss over these items and an urge to retrieve them is in me. I will be glad when they are picked up next Thur. and gone without reprieve. I don't know if these feelings of panic and loss go away with time. I don't know if it gets easier to throw things away with practice. I hope it does. Right now is he hardest time to part with things. Things are security to me. They are items with plans for the future attached to them. They say to me that I have a future because they are here waiting for me to do something with them. Right now, with our health in decline, our financial house of cards about to collapse and everything in jeopardy, is a time I need those things the most, and it is the hardest to part with them. I am in turmoil!
But I am tired of being a slave, and a self made slave, to these endless boxes of books and papers and things that I haven't even seen, much less used, in many years. I've tripped over them too many times, and been prevented from using my house too long. I used to take a long hot shower every day. I miss that.
I had to cover the boxes last night because of rain. This is too slow! And the back walk is still blocked! I don't really have space ready elsewhere in the yard for them. And I don't want to keep moving them around.
So today I am determined to go through them ruthlessly and pare them down to what is final keeper items, and then put those items where they belong, not just stored, but where they will be used. There will now be enough space in all the rooms of the house, that all future sorting can be done in place, without bringing unsightly piles of boxes out on the porch or sidewalk.
This will finally open this pathway to the basement. With a few removals from the back porch and hall I will be able to start on the basement. A very big deal. Then it will really be real dumpster time.
And I've got one more admission to make to myself and you. I am afraid that my mania for collecting tools and machines is just like my mania for collecting books and kitchen tools and equipment and electronics and trailers and everything else I have too much of. It's all part of the desire for security in possessions. I don't really have any specific plans for them. Just want to "have" them. If I have a perfect shop set up, what then?
It may be that I will be happiest just having a normal amount of basic tools and spend my days doing other things.
In any case, I see a big job just purging this place. I am now starting to want to get rid of the piles of wood and aluminum I have stacked in the yard. I've always wanted to keep it for "Some future use". Now I feel like if it isn't a specific use, I want to be rid of it. Same with the stacks of lumber. Use it or lose it. I feel like I've just started.
A lot of the boxes from all rooms of the house went outside without sorting through them. This was to make maneuvering space in all the rooms of the house. First they went on the porch and then they were put on the side of the house and finally they were stacked on the back walk. at each step some of the things in them were thrown away and some things were organized by putting like things together. Some of the discarded things were ruined things. Some were usable things I didn't like or want or see a place for. This is good, as I have found it hard to discard this type of (Usable) item. I have to sort all boxes because they contain all sorts of things, some very valuable to me, some useful and some just junk. As an example, yesterday I came across an envelope with the history of the Michie family of VA (William Michie of Michie's Tavern is my 4th great grandfather), sent to me by family genealogists. In the same box was paperwork on a 95 Suburban that was stolen and documents sent to get insurance coverage. Also flyers and old advertising mail from 8 years ago and old Fine Woodworking magazines. I kept the Michie folder, happily discarded the junk mail and old paperwork, and grudgingly discarded the magazines. I can't throw away things wholesale because trailer titles and important papers are mixed in. But sorting is slow. And the more I sort, the less I want to throw away. Although I did make progress on books. Books are something I treasure. Yesterday I threw away a bunch of them.
It took all day to bring the boxes out on the sidewalk to work on them, do the work and then put them back. Part of this was because I had to take breaks to try to control the panic attacks I was feeling about throwing things away. I stacked the VCR tapes and a blender on the corner with a free sign. The same blender I had done this with before and then retrieved to keep for some possible future use. They took the blender but not the tapes, which I later threw in a trash container. I discarded a perfectly good 4 head VCR as well. I still feel a sense of loss over these items and an urge to retrieve them is in me. I will be glad when they are picked up next Thur. and gone without reprieve. I don't know if these feelings of panic and loss go away with time. I don't know if it gets easier to throw things away with practice. I hope it does. Right now is he hardest time to part with things. Things are security to me. They are items with plans for the future attached to them. They say to me that I have a future because they are here waiting for me to do something with them. Right now, with our health in decline, our financial house of cards about to collapse and everything in jeopardy, is a time I need those things the most, and it is the hardest to part with them. I am in turmoil!
But I am tired of being a slave, and a self made slave, to these endless boxes of books and papers and things that I haven't even seen, much less used, in many years. I've tripped over them too many times, and been prevented from using my house too long. I used to take a long hot shower every day. I miss that.
I had to cover the boxes last night because of rain. This is too slow! And the back walk is still blocked! I don't really have space ready elsewhere in the yard for them. And I don't want to keep moving them around.
So today I am determined to go through them ruthlessly and pare them down to what is final keeper items, and then put those items where they belong, not just stored, but where they will be used. There will now be enough space in all the rooms of the house, that all future sorting can be done in place, without bringing unsightly piles of boxes out on the porch or sidewalk.
This will finally open this pathway to the basement. With a few removals from the back porch and hall I will be able to start on the basement. A very big deal. Then it will really be real dumpster time.
And I've got one more admission to make to myself and you. I am afraid that my mania for collecting tools and machines is just like my mania for collecting books and kitchen tools and equipment and electronics and trailers and everything else I have too much of. It's all part of the desire for security in possessions. I don't really have any specific plans for them. Just want to "have" them. If I have a perfect shop set up, what then?
It may be that I will be happiest just having a normal amount of basic tools and spend my days doing other things.
In any case, I see a big job just purging this place. I am now starting to want to get rid of the piles of wood and aluminum I have stacked in the yard. I've always wanted to keep it for "Some future use". Now I feel like if it isn't a specific use, I want to be rid of it. Same with the stacks of lumber. Use it or lose it. I feel like I've just started.
Last edited:
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
15 rakes and shovels!!!!! I have 2 or 3 at the most. You need to take at least half of them and put them to the curb for free. VCR tapes and a VCR Player. The VCR went out years ago. Items DEPRECIATE. A VCR Player can be bought for a couple of dollars IF A PERSON NEEDED ONE. Today, they are mostly useless. Pick the best two rakes and the best two shovels and keep those. You and Julie can't use more than two at a time if you are working together anyways. Send the rest to the curb. Dig out all the titles for the trailers and keep those. Anything else in the boxes, you haven't cared about it anyways or it would not be in shoved in boxes under other piles of trash. IF you cared about it, the items would have been out where they are useful and served a purpose.And quit raking leaves. You have raked leaves every week since last fall. Raking leaves is a one day job, tops, it doesn't take weeks to rake leaves.
If it were me, I'd start stacking usable items that you have multiples of at the curb, put a FREE sign on them, then get on Craigslist and put a FREE ad in there also. Let someone else haul the "Free" trash off. Stack metal into a pile, then let a scrapper come and pick it up for free. Use those type of people to haul your trash. Don't look at things as having worth and as money you spent to get it. You abused it and now it's trash or was trash to begin with. Nows the time to purge. All of that scrap wood you have been saving...shitcan it. To the curb for free. You aren't going to use it. If you were, you would have had doors on your cabinets by now. Once everything is gone, then maybe purchase what you need. Old computers, old floppies, old monitors, shitcan them. They are not worth anything. If you have personal stuff on them, smash the hardrive then shitcan them. A GOOD used computer can be had for a few dollars. Your old ones are not worth anything. Not the drives, not the memory in them, not the case. They have depreciated to nothing. Throw them away. The majority of people, I'll say 99% of the people on here, could clear a room a day easy, by their self, and not give it a second thought about tossing items. One room a day, not a room a week, or a room a month. Box after box, after box, of papers.....they should all go to the trash. The only papers you need are your most recent bills, and any deeds or titles. The other stuff you have let get ruined, so shitcan it. Personally, if it were me, I would not keep one thing that had mouse or rat **** and piss on it. But that's me. If I had rats in the house, everything is coming out, including the rats. I would not live in the same place with them.
One room a day, not one bite at a time.
Fueler
Well-known member
Right now the perfect shop for you is an empty one.
Homerr
Well-known member
Ding-ding-ding!!
Bill, it's great to hear you work through the mental shift that you're experiencing. With time the panic will subside, and then fade. Everything will work out just fine.
Keep up the great work!
Need4racin
Banned
Bill when it comes to cleaning up your property you talk more ******** than the mayor of detroit and rest of the people in charge. All talk, yet nothing still gets done. And it goes on month to month, year to year, maybe decade to decade.
Action is what makes things happen!! Cleaning out this place costs you almost no money, but makes you money!
Action is what makes things happen!! Cleaning out this place costs you almost no money, but makes you money!
Last edited:
hotsam
Well-known member
Do you have running water yet?
...and why haven't you rented a dumpster yet?
I mean one of these:
...and why haven't you rented a dumpster yet?
I mean one of these:
Last edited:
sam 8
Well-known member
Bill I have watched you sputter along, guys giving good advice and you making a genuine, albeit inconsistent start at this thing that should have been done months ago. 7 ****** trash cans a week is not gonna cut it. You know it and so does everyone else.
You want this done? Really? I mean really?
Get the damn dumpster delivered. Do it now. By Dumpster I mean the big roll off model, not one of those little ones.
You have made some first steps but it is time to speed this process up by about 200%
Get the kitchen cleaned out...throw the junk in the dumpster.
Get the dumpster hauled off. Send the fridge that don't work with it.
Get another one delivered.
Get moving in the basement.
Get moving in the basement.
Get moving in the basement.
Basement trash goes in the dumpster.
Basement stuff goes to the free pile for one night on the curb..
Next morning, it goes in the dumpster, because if someone else won't take it and it is free...it is trash
Get rolling in the basement. Put stuff on the curb. If it ain't gone by morning it goes in the dumpster.
Perfectly good 4 head VCRs are just like perfectly good 2 head VCRS.
THEY ARE JUNK. All that stuff is e-waste, call an e-waste guy. MAKE IT GO AWAY.
Put the stuff you need to go through to find the titles and paperwork on the trailers and stuff in one place. Spend two hours after dinner going through them. Do this after dinner so you don't get sidetracked and waste another whole day.
Every time you find a title put a for sale sign on the rig in question.
If it ain't gone in a week, call the scrap guy you might be surprised at what he will give you for them these day. Make them go away.
You know how to do this, Bill...you know exactly what the heck needs to be done. Quit B.S.ing yourself and make it happen.
You want this done? Really? I mean really?
Get the damn dumpster delivered. Do it now. By Dumpster I mean the big roll off model, not one of those little ones.
You have made some first steps but it is time to speed this process up by about 200%
Get the kitchen cleaned out...throw the junk in the dumpster.
Get the dumpster hauled off. Send the fridge that don't work with it.
Get another one delivered.
Get moving in the basement.
Get moving in the basement.
Get moving in the basement.
Basement trash goes in the dumpster.
Basement stuff goes to the free pile for one night on the curb..
Next morning, it goes in the dumpster, because if someone else won't take it and it is free...it is trash
Get rolling in the basement. Put stuff on the curb. If it ain't gone by morning it goes in the dumpster.
Perfectly good 4 head VCRs are just like perfectly good 2 head VCRS.
THEY ARE JUNK. All that stuff is e-waste, call an e-waste guy. MAKE IT GO AWAY.
Put the stuff you need to go through to find the titles and paperwork on the trailers and stuff in one place. Spend two hours after dinner going through them. Do this after dinner so you don't get sidetracked and waste another whole day.
Every time you find a title put a for sale sign on the rig in question.
If it ain't gone in a week, call the scrap guy you might be surprised at what he will give you for them these day. Make them go away.
You know how to do this, Bill...you know exactly what the heck needs to be done. Quit B.S.ing yourself and make it happen.
Last edited:
synergy321
Well-known member
My hard opinion? Without some serious professional help, either counseling and/or some kind of clean up crew, this "project" will never be finished. You're fighting your own self, and losing. Prove me wrong.
I would go the dumpster route, I have 2 of them courvilles, They are good for everyday trash, But in this case that ain't gonna cut it. My Uncle and I need to clean out "our" garage. I am thinking at least a Bagster, That would be better then hauling out a few courvilles a week.
Lookin4'67Galaxieconv
Well-known member
I gotta say you inspired me to clean up my garage today. And it wasn't even that cluttered! 
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
Over the months, there has been positive remarks and there have been negative remarks and there have been a shitload of excuses for different things. Personally I look at some mental problems and addictions differently than others. I look at situations the same as a bar fight, and it's no different. If you keep having this nagging person on your back you have to draw the line from talking about it. Someone that gets the beer muscles wants to pick the fight. You can talk and try to worm your way around things to avoid the fight. But the more the other guy drinks the more he doesn't like you and the more beer muscles he gets. The plain and simple thing to do is bust the sumbitch right in the chops.
No difference here. Bill....it's time to face what bothers you and not mamby-pamby around it any longer and bust the sumbitch right in the chops. One dumpster, one week. Purge and get rid of the nagging **** going on. It's time you change your mindset on things. You talk the talk, but now it's time to walk the walk.
If others want to pitch in on a dumpster as you were offered before, I'd pitch in also. But like I said, it's time to bust the sumbitch in the chops before he beats you down lower than what you are. Stand on your own two feet and face it. No one goes into a fight to lose, only to win. And to win at whatever means possible.
No difference here. Bill....it's time to face what bothers you and not mamby-pamby around it any longer and bust the sumbitch right in the chops. One dumpster, one week. Purge and get rid of the nagging **** going on. It's time you change your mindset on things. You talk the talk, but now it's time to walk the walk.
If others want to pitch in on a dumpster as you were offered before, I'd pitch in also. But like I said, it's time to bust the sumbitch in the chops before he beats you down lower than what you are. Stand on your own two feet and face it. No one goes into a fight to lose, only to win. And to win at whatever means possible.
SiGmA_X
Well-known member
And win it you can, Bill. Its just going to take some more work, and a dumpster.
Where is the post-weekend progress report!
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
Any updates?
Last weekend was a bust as it was a 4 persons family birthday celebration.
But:
One SHED cleaned out and back walk half cleared (Can get through it now). Dining table and full size painted 4 poster bed put on curb (Julie will be angry but I don't care. No place in any room for it.). Plastic storage closet on curb. Boat shrink wrap on curb. Gathering aluminum for metal recycler. 5 trash cans put out for trash day yesterday (Full of magazines, books, plastic ware etc. IE: things I'll never use). Another filled today. Raining now. Working inside.
But:
One SHED cleaned out and back walk half cleared (Can get through it now). Dining table and full size painted 4 poster bed put on curb (Julie will be angry but I don't care. No place in any room for it.). Plastic storage closet on curb. Boat shrink wrap on curb. Gathering aluminum for metal recycler. 5 trash cans put out for trash day yesterday (Full of magazines, books, plastic ware etc. IE: things I'll never use). Another filled today. Raining now. Working inside.
Last edited:
SiGmA_X
Well-known member
Good, discarding stuff is excellent. Keep it up. Have you made progress on downsizing the camper collection? I bet those can get some money, useful for household fixes and dumpsters!
Selling stuff takes too many hours and the campers are 60 miles away (Except 3 of them). Right now I'm dealing with stuff that is right in front of me and disposing of it as fast as I can. When I get a minute I'll list these 3. Got some other stuff to list too. Next month I will go out there and start hauling them back for sale.
Just paid 2 months hangar rent. Money not a problem right now, but will need cash for fixes and dumpster as you said. Still in disposal mode for now. I am running out of trash and doing mostly unneeded things. Clearing space. Every area cleaned makes it MUCH easier to work on things and remove and dispose of even more. Finishing clearing the back walk is number one on the list. Back hall and basement next in line. At that point things will start to get exciting. Here's some photos of the back walk as it was a few days ago when I started. It was really bad. Piles of stuff taken out of the dining and living rooms and stair. Photos when I finish.
These before and after photo shoots really help me to set the task up and then show me the progress after.
I'm getting to the point where enough areas are cleaned up, that I can start putting things right where they belong, rather than shifting them to a storage area first. Makes it a lot easier.
Looking forward to eventually totally emptying the yard and all the storage sheds except maybe one. Sheds will be disassembled and the materials used to construct a shop.
When the basement becomes a clean zone it will allow not just furnace and water heater, but also washer and dryer. And it will add hundreds of square feet of usable living space! So looking forward to doing that. Can almost taste it. I remember when it was a usable space.
Just paid 2 months hangar rent. Money not a problem right now, but will need cash for fixes and dumpster as you said. Still in disposal mode for now. I am running out of trash and doing mostly unneeded things. Clearing space. Every area cleaned makes it MUCH easier to work on things and remove and dispose of even more. Finishing clearing the back walk is number one on the list. Back hall and basement next in line. At that point things will start to get exciting. Here's some photos of the back walk as it was a few days ago when I started. It was really bad. Piles of stuff taken out of the dining and living rooms and stair. Photos when I finish.
These before and after photo shoots really help me to set the task up and then show me the progress after.
I'm getting to the point where enough areas are cleaned up, that I can start putting things right where they belong, rather than shifting them to a storage area first. Makes it a lot easier.
Looking forward to eventually totally emptying the yard and all the storage sheds except maybe one. Sheds will be disassembled and the materials used to construct a shop.
When the basement becomes a clean zone it will allow not just furnace and water heater, but also washer and dryer. And it will add hundreds of square feet of usable living space! So looking forward to doing that. Can almost taste it. I remember when it was a usable space.
Attachments
Last edited:
Red Leader
Well-known member
Bill, I'm still sensing an incredible upside-down list of priorities. The two posts above illustrate that better than anything else. It's time for you to get serious. How many times has that been repeated?
In addition to the suggested counseling for the hoarding, I may also suggest some money management classes.
DFW-LSX
Well-known member
One thing slowing you down is the three page responses on here, thats prolly an hour lost of cleaning each time. I think at some point its better to throw EVERYTHING away and not pick through it. K, roger, got it...some stuff has "personal info" but I ask how much of it is relevant information? Contact Hoarders, they will hook you up for free.
The money problems are as serious as the hoarding. I realize that. It is good news that we can pay the hangar rent ahead a month. I am also going to start putting money aside. I have a $200 cushion right now. Soon to be $600. Want a cash cushion. Then I want to deal with the CC debt and start paying off back RE taxes so there is a cushion there too. Then, after the house is well in hand, I want to find some income producing opportunities.
I know what you mean by serious. Order a dumpster and get a crew to haul everything off. a few days of manual labor by a bunch of people and bang.....empty house and yard.
But what I am doing now IS VERY serious......for me.
I'm trying to come to grips with the idea of scrapping a pile of aluminum I got from disassembling a greenhouse. I have all the glass and framing and even a door. That is serious for me.
And to the person who suggested that posting here takes time. Yes, it does. It is perhaps the most important thing I do to further my recovery.
RVDan
Well-known member
is fifteen rakes and shovels a lot?
I sent at least fifteen with my parents when they moved out, I've come across at least that many more.
I love this thread. It makes me feel better about myself, and verifies that my Dad is indeed a hoarder, the **** I'm clearing out that he has accumulated mirrors the **** that Bill is trying to get through.
I sent at least fifteen with my parents when they moved out, I've come across at least that many more.
I love this thread. It makes me feel better about myself, and verifies that my Dad is indeed a hoarder, the **** I'm clearing out that he has accumulated mirrors the **** that Bill is trying to get through.
- Status