Monday, September 20, 2010

Hoarding and Flying



I've talked with two bloggers this weekend about clutter.  They were short conversations, but it was a tangent that I thought needed to be talked about publicly.  I think I'm thinking about clutter because I went shopping this past week and brought home a few things.  I rarely go shopping and when I do, I rarely buy anything, so maybe this whole conversation really started because I brought some items home.

I didn't need anything, but that bowl.  I really did need the bowl!



Have you ever seen any of the TV shows on hoarding?

I find it amusing that I watch these shows and always think - "well, at least I'm not that bad."

I know that I'm not a hoarder, but I also know that I have those tendencies.  It's kind of scary to say it out loud and seriously.

I love FlyLady and I learned a lot from her.  If you don't know about FlyLady, she's a woman ( and a business) that helps you learn how to keep your house clean, among other things.   I think that one thing she reinforced with me,  was to keep my bedroom free from clutter, laundry baskets, non bedroom items, etc.   My bedroom is just that.  A room for my bed.  No matter what the rest of the house looks like, my bedroom - the master bedroom - has very little in it. It's truly a blessing to wake to a room that is peaceful.

My kitchen is clean, the counters washed daily, the dishes washed at least once a day if not more, the fridge cleaned out several times a week.  A FlyLady must is to have a shiny sink.  Funny thing is that's another thing that I have done forever.  I enjoy doing dishes, so my sinks are completely clean and clear when I go to bed each night.  I wake each morning to a clean sink, clean bathroom, clean bedroom.

(This was my kitchen table area when we first moved in a few years ago.  My husband has now completely consumed the area and it's now covered with paperwork.  Many years worth of office stuff on the table, the chairs and the floor.)

The livingroom, dining room, two spare bedrooms and laundry room are a mess. No lie.  A mess.  I have piles of stuff, a coffeetable that I rarely see the top of, a chair that no one can ever sit in and a spare room that is just full of stuff.   Actually, now that I'm looking at my laundry room, it isn't a mess.  Inside the bins that are on the shelves, those are a mess, but the laundry room itself is quite tidy looking.

 That orange bin isn't on the dryer anymore, but that's pretty much how it looks. I do love my laundry room and the washer and dryer.  I heart them :)

Maybe hoarding isn't the right term for me because I'm really very good about giving stuff away and throwing things away once I start going through the clutter.  It's the getting started part that needs to happen.

Thankfully my house stays in the same state of disarray and rarely gets worse.  The biggest problem is that when I get it all cleaned up, it immediately returns to the previous state.

I need to get back to the "I can do anything for 15 minutes" mentality.  That's a FlyLady theme and it means that you can get your house clean 15 minutes at a time.  You can also learn a new language, get fit, eat right, clean the car, whatever it is that you want to accomplish you can do it, even if you only have 15 minutes at a time.

I'm not brave enough to show my clutter, but now that I've publicly talked about it, I bet a fire will be lit under my rear end.

Now, about that 50 pounds I'd like to lose.

Have a great week!
Kristin

8 comments:

Ruth Ann said...

It is soo funny that you posted about clutter. I was going to do a post this week about clutter and organizing...and how I find it ironic that I found two of the same organizing books! If I was organized I would know what books I have! lol I watch hoarders too and it wasn't until last week did I think I have problems. I don't know if you saw the episode of the "clean" hoarder. Clean meaning there wasn't any feces or garbage laying around. She was the one that didn't have her family over to her beautiful house in like three years!

I didn't know there were clean hoarders! I have a serious shopping problem and I am beginning to be close to being a clean hoarder!

But everything this lady said was "me!" She said that she loved her children so much that she wants to buy them everything! That is totally me! I do not go to the store without buying them some toy. They have soo many toys that they do not appreciate what they have and it's serious problem that I've created! I really need to learn to simplify...over the next few weeks I hope to accomplish that!

Have a great week!

j said...

I watch Hoarders too and it scares the boogers out of me. I know I have issues. I can hardly turn down a sale and thrift stores are like a drug to me. They feel SOOOO good!

I have issues. I come from a family with issues. I just don't want it to ever take control of me like it has on that TV show.

I love your honest Kristin.

Maria said...

I'll have to do something about my clutter. It's way too much. But getting around to clearing it up - I'd need to take a year off life like cooking food and washing the clothes to do that! Great post.

Isn't it great about Unknown Mami? I know she'll be fine now. Thanks for stopping by my blog via Saturday Sampling...

j said...

I want you to know that I have spent hours on the Fly lady website. HOURS!

This week I will be focusing on my master bedroom, closets, and adjoining bathroom... which is good because it has become one of the most cluttered places in my house. I should be doing babysteps (I am going to clean my sink tomorrow, get dressed first thing in the morning, and dedicate 5 minutes to my garage) but I wanted to dive right in.

You continue to be a good influence on me :)

Ann in the UP said...

I hear ya. "At least I'm not that bad!"

There are places here that get regular attention, and pockets where stuff accumulates because nobody goes there to get things, so they never get cleared out. Paper, books, and magazines are the problelms I recognize. But there are others I ignore, (to my dismay).


But this is the month to pitch stuff and I'm getting at it. You can't organize clutter!

LAC said...

I did some cleaning and decluttering this weekend. Even if it was more of moving things to other rooms. I figure if I do a little each weekend, it will eventually get done. The hard part is trying to find the time. I don't ever want to choose cleaning over spending time with the Baby. And sadly, even though he is home everyday, I get no help from the Hubby unless I NAG and leave notes. I just don't want to be THAT kind of wife. I need to learn to accept that there will always be cobwebs, that the dust is ok. That a few piles of crap are acceptable! Does the Fly Lady have a 12 step program? hahaha.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

You, you are not anywhere near being a hoarder. I know your all about organization and the fewer things the better. I am not one either put I do save more then I should but it's all hidden. I haven't been over to Flylady in a long time. I think I need a refresher course. I like a clean sink too! Thanks for the reminder.

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

I can't watch Horders. I watched a marathon one weekend and got so freaked out and depressed about how helpless those people were on the show. Then I recycled some extra empty glass jars I was saving to fill with stuff for Christmas and finally remelted some old wax candles into new wax candles so at least it was sorta productive.

I was on the FlyLady bandwagon and then fell off. I liked getting the schedules via email but I didn't like the yelling to do something like I was a kid. Oh yeah, and the constant Do a 5 fling boogie of needless things but buy my lint collector window clings!