How to become an executive hoarder

Candy Hoarding

2011-11-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

An Executive hoarder will keep candy from last year Halloween and when its thrown out will go through the trash picking out what candy was thrown out that is "still good" because "sugar doesn't go bad"...but does it? I think it does but I could be wrong so correct me if I am wrong please so I don't feel I should down the candy just to get it done and ate so the end of battle of what is good and whats is bad...I know when candy has spots that is obviously gone bad and I threw those out and anything opened was tossed as well but pixie sticks were rescued and things in wrappers and gum that hasn't been opened but unknown date when it was obtained but yeah OK I won't argue it was like we never had it but yeah waste not want not right?

OK enough venting about the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed hoarded in my life, thought I had seen it all on the show hoarding but I stand corrected lol...and I totally flashed back to the show with the fit he was throwing sifting through the trash salvaging the still good candy...anyways yeah...whatever I allow it cuz he allows my hoarding of other catagories LOL!

Alrighty but the root behind this hoard I would think that there was starving children some place in the world that would love to eat year old candy or something along that line LMAO

Anyway ttyl

Update Nov. 2, 2011

2011-11-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I updated...so....Been kind of out of commission because of dizzy spells then my back went out, but we got a lot done lately so I thought I would update and brag about it...OK not a lot to most people but to me its a lot...so there!
We took out the queen bed from our oldest son's room and took it to my husband's parents house for my father in law to use as their bed cause he isn't able to sleep since his stroke and knee replacement (prayers are welcomed thanks), and we traded out the toddler bed in our youngest son's room too. We went to a garage sale and scored twin frames two of them the first one was by chance and the second was just a blessing that was hidden :-) see I went up to the lady having the sale and asked saying you probably don't have a twin bed frame do you? and she said yes down in my basement actually and I was like wow really? and she said yeah you can come on down and look if you want I went and looked and it was beautiful! so they tore the bed frame apart and called me the next day and we went to pick it up and the husband spotted behind some stuff the other matching twin bed frame and we ended up getting both for 20 bucks :-) awesome! no fights they were the same so yeah that was awesome! OK then we got rid of some clothes, shoes, sandals, and some food we won't use and some food that we thought a family in need would enjoy, which we had a friend of this family in need come and get them who was a friend of a friend of a friend so yeah complicated more than how I found out about the situation, Facebook post posted by one of my friends...anyways got the clothes and food to them and they were very thankful...my friend is supposed to get to some clothes and give them to me to give to them too...but not sure when that will be...they are very busy. Anyways, the boys rooms look better. I put four tubs of toys in my youngest son's closet so his room doesn't have a tower of tubs that scared me cause they were so tall...anyways glad that's resolved, our living room is still cluttered our kitchen is still cluttered and dinning and entryway but we got rid of some more stuff and every bit helps right? someday we will have a clutter free home right? baby steps as Flylady says with her great program that does work its the applying it that I struggle with...I am guilty of being a SHE you will have to visit www.flylady.net to figure out what a SHE is. You probably are guilty of being one too ;-)
Anyways, just thought I would update you. I have a tip to add from experience with my executive hoarder husband...I am just as guilty as being as bad but yeah...lesson was learned on my part...anyways ttyl
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

my progress as of 09/07/2011 or should I say digress?

2011-09-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well pretty much things are at a stand still...though we did get rid of ONE box of stuff to the DAV so I guess that is a little progress but we did tend to splurge the other day for Jack's birthday this weekend. He is going to be 6 this year, but we found the Clearance isle at K-mart and got a bit more than we probably should have...it all having thoughts to be Christmas gifts but they were such great buys we couldn't say no...ugh! I hate this way of thinking in the moment of shopping...so I have to get into Over Haul mode and down size before the mother load hits this Christmas otherwise I will never get on top of the toy situation ever!
The weather has been awesome and I really should be going through the garage to get rid of more stuff or better organize it (ha ha who am I kidding you can't organize clutter!)...anyways...just been too busy with the kids to really do any of that...we had plans of cleaning the garage the other day and ended up spending the whole day going to pet shops then ended up at the animal shelter to get a Guinea Pig for the boys...just what we need a pet that I am no doubt allergic to...ever since we got it, I have had a runny nose but it also might be the seasonal allergies kicking in but my eyes really burn in the house now...so who knows...anyways...I have a lot of hopes and dreams but I just can't seem to convince myself to just gun ho and get to it...its like the motivational fairy has just passed me by and I really need her to come and beat me with her wand! ugh! Once I get started I tend to keep going and going and going...its just the getting started part that I struggle with...and once I hit a bump in the road, like something I don't know what my husband would want to do with it so I put it in a box and then that box gets full and I am like wow this is really going no where cause I am just moving it from one place to another and really not making head way...and feel like I am running my wheels in the mud...but anyways...I do clean at least once a week with the sweeping and the mopping and dishes get done every other day to every day and the laundry maybe once or twice a week...but lately with my stomach hurting I have to admit my husband has been doing all of that...
That's another thing, I have something going on with my stomach, it hurts so bad I am doubled over and I went to a specialist and he is doing a colonoscopy on me to make sure nothing else is going on than IBS as he suspects it to be...I hope they find something and it is an instant fix and all will be well and it won't be all in my head as many people around me I feel treat me...anyways enough about me.
I just really need that motivational fairy to come and beat the heck out of me and get this party started...with the kids being in school all day I can accomplish things if only I could get started ugh!

Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

Update Aug. 15, 2011

2011-08-16T00:30:00.000-07:00

Well guys, today was kind of a hard day for me it was my daughter's who was adopted out birthday she turned 11 today so that means 7 more years until she is old enough to come and find me. I miss her terribly bad and her sister who turned 12 back in March. But today I tackled my kitchen counters. I am going to leave the hoard in the garage that is out of sight out of mind there until I can get the hoard inside my home under control and well able to be used as its intended or get rid of what can't be used or whatever it is I am trying to say and do lol.

Funny how I just move my clutter around cause nothing really has a home yet...I really need to figure out where to put the things that I really do need to keep hold of cause I do use them often instead of letting them float from one hot spot to the next...because thats what I do with everything move it from the counter to the stove to the top of the microwave to the dining room table to the entertainment center table that is just cluttered with stuff without electronics on it to my desk to my couch even! Ugh! Stop the madness! But how? I am still trying to figure this out and soon as I figure it out, you know I am going to be posting it here on my blog.

Anyways I worked long and hard and boxed up all the clutter that don't have a home yet, but are needed to be saved for my husband to go through later, I wasn't partial to hardly any of it but he might be so I kept it all for him, not to step on his toes. Anyways, I cleaned the counter with green works and paper towels I wiped down the coffee maker, the microwave on the outside and underneath the toaster, microwave, and coffee maker. I still need to unload the dishwasher and reload it, so I can better scrub the sink with cleaner products cause I don't want to use the products with dishes in the sink because I'm paranoid about the cleaner sticking to the dishes and making us sick. So yeah. The way I got started was the www.flylady.net way by starting my timer I set it for 30 mins which since I am back in shape I believed and successfully did two 30 min sessions without a hiccup though now I am stuck in front of my computer blogging to you guys :-) but I am enjoying sharing with you all my accomplishments.

I also cleaned the electric can opener with a toothbrush and cleaner then rinsed (unplugged of course) with water (and the part I rinsed was detachable) Anyways, it looks brand new! That reminds me I still need to clean the inside of the Microwave too, and the front of the cabinets and dish washer :-) then that half of the Kitchen is done. But this will probably have to wait till tomorrow sometime, since I am already ready for bed.

Anyways, I just thought I would update you all on my progress.

Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo D
P.S. we didn't get pregnant this month at least so the pregnancy test 5 days prior to my expected monthly said no...but we will keep trying :-)

Update July 7, 2011

2011-07-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

Well I moved everything out of our house well not everything everything but most of it and put it in the garage for later sorting through...(yeah remember that thing I said about this plan and how it will probably sit there for a whole year before I go through it again lets hope I ain't right about it)...Anyways I am glad I set that expectation cause then if I don't end up doing that and actually do what I intend to do...vs what I set myself up for doing...which is to put it off for a year...so my expectation isn't too high and if I beat it then I feel more accomplished....kind of like my mom making her dream life was her being a bag lady...so if she made it more than that she was well off...which is actually a good way to do it set your expectations low so if you get anything more than that expectation you can pat yourself on the back :-)
So anyways I did a flight of the bumble bee dash to get the stuff moved because my friend and her family was heading over for a visit later that day...but ended up coming the next day so I had a little extra time to do stuff and mopped and swept which felt really good...Anyways the house is looking better...Garage not so much...but I promise I will at least go through one box a month (again not setting too high of expectation so if I do more I am doing real good :-) at least thats the plan) Anyways...I just thought I would update you on the progress...I still have a ways to go but its coming along nicely I think...
Anyways I will talk to you all later...
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo
P.S. I have invested in $4 tubs at Walmart to help sort the things I do want to keep (um yeah not the stuff you probably are thinking...its more like bedding and coats and seasonal clothes) Anyways...I just thought I would add that...the necessities things with having three beds and soon four beds when we get set up for baby that we are going to be in the process of making soon...and have to store 5 peoples winter/summer clothes when seasons change...so yeah thats the game plan at least...and I am trying to keep them minimal as far as how many sheets fitted and not fitted, anyways I am trying to down size really I am...next task at hand is the kids toys again...gotta downsize those quick...they are really out of control...so yeah thats the plan...will be probably just in time for another kids birthday XD but I will get it done soon I hope

Update June 28, 2011

2011-06-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well D.A.V. came and left with a truck full of goodies and we gained one slab of concrete in the garage. I would like to rearrange the garage to make paths to be able to get to stuff easier than hurdling over things and risk avalanches or hurting myself or my husbands self...then move what stuff in the house that I can't get rid of just yet nor put away just yet because I need room to be able to build places for stuff to go...THEN move it back into the house (uh yeah that's the plan right?). You and I both know it won't work unless I stay motivated and then when I am done building places to put stuff and run out of places to put stuff I will still have a garage full of stuff I can't part with...and have to re-evaluate what I have and get rid of more stuff and hopefully by then I wouldn't have accumulated anything more than what I already have today...but that's probably doubtful...
I do have to say the one thing that is good about this depression is that I have no motivation to do anything including but not limited to shopping XD...only good thing about it...bad part of it is that I am not motivated to do anything including cleaning so I just sit here with my mess without building it higher though so that's good I am stable at least not adding to my mess right? Anyways.
I am trying to get things in swing so we can get ready for a baby before we get the baby in the making...so we are ready long before he or she gets here...anyways...
Also I want to note that my horrible mess maybe something no one else think its as bad as I think...I am my worst critic and I have to tell you readers this so you don't get the wrong idea bout me...my hoard isn't filthy its clean I can't stand filth I just have stuff...and its clutter...too much stuff not enough storage space or display shelves or something...the floors are swept and mopped more often than anything...and dishes and laundry do get done...if my husband has to do it he does it...which lately my funk I am in he has been the only one doing anything around here...I feel bad about it but what can I do about it? I lost another baby and I am really just in a funk and I will get through it like I always do...and I am planning on snapping out of it...since my depression is not chemically induced (why pills don't help me) its circumstances and I just gotta work through the problems...there is nothing I can do to change what happened...I just gotta learn to live with the facts that these things happened...and move forward...accepting them....its not easy...but I hear it can be done...so I am going to try very hard...cause pills just make me worse I think...
Anyway...talk to you all later
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

Update June 15, 2011

2011-06-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well the sale went great the first day second day was too windy and third day I didn't even mess with it...I made a grand total of 90 bucks I guess...so that was good...tons of people got great deals on my junk cause I wasn't in the mood to really argue with anyone...I hate people...I am far from a people person...especially stupid ones...and most the visitors were stupid...I didn't punch anyone so that is a good thing...next time won't ever happen next time cause we wont be doing a yard sale ever again...ya its nice to try and get something out of our junk that we been storing for all these years to someday maybe get use out of them...but in the long run it was so not worth the hassle if we ever do it again it will be a Thurs. ONLY sale not a 3 day or even 2 day sale...thats it one day and thats it...
Tomorrow DAV is coming to pick up the rest of our sale items so today I need to better organize the pile that is going to them so it will be an easy unload of the garage to the truck...I really hope someone gets use of my moms quilt light table thing...hope a church can get it real cheap and help support the Disabled American Vets...at the same time...and I hope they don't throw it out not knowing what it is or thinking it wont sale...anyways....I just can't think about that possibility because it sends such anxiety over me it makes my stomach churn....
That I think is the main hoarding problem the anxiety of the thought of all these years wasted holding on to this for someone to just see no value in whatever and just throw it away but it cost so much when we bought it years ago or our loved one bought years ago...ya there is up to date more high tech stuff out there but some people enjoy the old stuff because it works just as well if not better...the stuff they make these days is easily breakable and hardly sturdy at all...breaks easy and wow you know what? batteries don't last as long these days as they did back in the day...my laptop of a year has a battery that is dead now...wont hold a charge at all...yet the other battery that I have had for years is still holding a charge...yes cheaper to make to keep prices down but causes us to have to buy many over the years instead of investing the time and money into a great product...anyways...
After we get the pile that goes to DAV gone tomorrow we will be able to move stuff from inside our home out there so we can function in our home instead of piling stuff from here to there to use stuff...anyways....I am excited about that...but I don't want that to be a permanent home for the stuff we move out there...I still plan to go through stuff and get rid of more stuff...just in time....it sure didn't get this way over night and it isn't going to get fixed in one day either...its going to take time and great discipline but I am up for the challenge on my own since no one seems to want to help me...ya I asked all my friends in town to come help me with my garage sale...um...no one...well my aunt patty came to help...and my sister in law sent her friends son to help which helped a lot....but not exactly what I had in mind...just as what I had in mind when we went to move...I expected a convoy of people lining up to help me and we get most of it in one load if not two loads and be done...but ya that didn't happen and here it is a year after we moved and we I think have just half a shed worth of junk and maybe the top shelf in a garage still at our rentals but that stuff will come when we get more room over here obviously...its not hurting nobody being where it is right now...anyways...
Once we get rid of the overwhelming cluttered mess out of our house I can focus on deep cleaning and reclaim our home finally...and keep on top of it cause I don't want it to get this way ever again! of course Lord knows it may slip here and there and hopefully not get too far out of control...I just know I gotta try to keep up with it...my mom did it with 4 kids why can't I with only 2? and I am going to be trying to add a 3rd in Aug. Sept. going to try again....anyway...my health isn't doing too great either so hopefully that won't put a damper on my ability to clean and keep up with the house once the clutter is gone I don't see it being an issue...minus the new junk coming in the home (mail, etc.) Anyways I will definitely be enforcing fly lady way of living every day because I can't do it any other way...anyway
That is the update for now...do a one day sale if you want to do a garage or yard sale...don't ever sign up for a 2 or 3 day sale...you think you will drag out your ability to sale stuff...but honestly I made maybe 3-10 bucks on the second day of my sale and didn't even bother putting the sale out on the third day...wasn't worth it....too hot and windy...if you are having an estate sale and its in the home sure no problem...stay cool enjoy the company that comes and goes...but if its gonna be outside...forget it don't do more than one day elements of weather, and stuff is hard to guess what its going to be doing...anyways....
I must go reorganize the pile thats going tomorrow to the DAV (we frantically had to throw everything back into the garage and its strewn all over the place because of the rain that was starting to pour down on us)
Anyways talk to you all later
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

my progress as of 05/27/2011

2011-05-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well today we took a big bite out of our hoard...went through half of our double car garage got a good pile of sale items for the garage sale next weekend...about half of the stuff we went through is going into the sale...thats encouraging...tomorrow we plan to go through the other side of the garage and put all the sale on that side and put the rest of the keep on the side we went through today and the sale on the side we will be going through tomorrow if that makes any sense...anyways...I am hoping to have more help tomorrow but I guess I gotta call everyone individually and ask them one by one and be turned down by each one by one cause I know they can't do it for one reason or another....which is fine I understand its kind of last minute but its the last weekend my husband can help me and so I am trying to make it count...I know I have a week before the garage sale I just want it done this weekend so I can be sure of what he wants to keep and what he wants to get rid of...so I can not have to bother him during his work week...anyways...I hope our nephew can at least help keep the kids busy so they don't fight all day like they did today...ugh no wonder why I did 80% of the work...Daddy had to referee and had to take the car to the car dealership for an oil change...anyways...thats the game plan pray for weather to allow this to happen and pray for someone to be able to come and help cause I really don't want to do this alone...and pray no one asks us to go to their house for whatever reason or something breaks at our rentals or something that makes us have to do something other than what we have been trying to do since we moved here a year ago...but every weekend my husband was off till now he has or we have had to work on our rentals or had get together with family or friends...anyway I am hopeful for tomorrow :-)
Talk to you later,
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

my progress as of 04/17/2011

2011-04-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well as most of you know my progress has been put on a stand still due to my losing our son who was stillborn March 18, 2011...it came as a shock and I still am having problems with admitting that it happened I guess...I really want to have a decluttered home but I am so not motivated now that I lost my motivation (a baby on the way) And with the possibility of trying again for another baby hanging up in the air until we know about my health which I have a 1cm lesion on my liver...which is causing me to be sick to my stomach, lack of appetite (feeling of being full all the time), Severe pain in my abdomen, and fatigue...they are the ones that are most effecting me right now...anyways...I am kind of beside myself as to wanting to get anything done in the house...
I am more wanting to get a memorial garden in place and NO ONE IS WILLING TO COME AND HELP ME and its very frustrating to me...the two shovels I had broke...and I dont know where my spades are so I can at least do some of it by hand...and I keep asking people to come over and bring their shovels but no one seems to see me anymore...its like everyone who came out of the woodwork and came forward in sympathy have suddenly worked their selves back into the woodwork and again I stand alone...I keep thinking maybe I am not grieving properly and thats why they just ignore me...because they don't think thats what I should be doing with myself at this point in time...of course thats probably just my borderline getting the best of me...but still I am alone...people asked me if there was anything that they could do for me...which is what is now obviously just something people say and don't mean it sincerely just like that question "how are you?" which is inquiring for a casual "fine" remark not a life story word vomit type response that I often give the inquirers...I have never been good with being reserved and keep things to myself...and if you didn't figure this out yet...now you know...

Anyways I just thought I would let you all know I am at a stand still with my progress...but I do have a box of donations to be delivered this week at some time that I decide to do so...its on my to do list...anyways
Talk to you later.
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

My progress as of 03/9/2011

2011-03-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

I got rid of 4 or 5 boxes of office supplies the other day by donating it all to the school my kids attend...they were over joyed with all the post it notes, stackable shelves, binders, filing cabinet dividers of many kinds including folder type, as well as many different print outs for different types of hand outs for homework and stuff that my mom wrote my name on each page of and I am sure she intended for me to do them but we never got around to doing them for some reason or another, as well as staple removers, desktop tape dispensers, totes for like pens and arts supplies...anyways there were 17 of those stackable plastic shelves total...so that saved a lot of space as well as the boxes that were taking up space...of course the space was over at the rent house where we easily moved a whole truck full of stuff from my sisters before she moved out of state...anyways...progress just not where its needed which is here at home...though I did get rid of some stuff and I have a box that is being added to...that is going to be donated...I just want it full before I drop it off cause I don't want to waste the box I am limited on having at this point...anyways...I am getting there slowly but surely....its just hard to get rid of books...especially those of value when you know you have something worth something but not having the connections to sell the collector items sorta thing....yeah
I have less than 3 months to be ready for baby to come home and we keep having to work on our other homes our rental properties instead...and other type hoards that don't really belong to me but I am pretty much looking through my mothers stuff and saying oh I remember this and dismiss it and donate it or throw it away depending on if its of worth for DAV to sell...anyways I am nearly buried in my mothers books that she has collected over the years...as well as inherited from different people she lost throughout the years...and some are worth something but finding someone who holds interest in them and willing to pay what is worth is very tricky process...I just may put them on ebay starting at .99 and hope someone doesn't end up getting such a great deal that they rob me of its worth and hopefully I make enough money to help pay for my braces that I desperately need so I can close my mouth and chew my food properly because my teeth don't meet anymore due to having TMJD surgery, then getting a splint to correct my bite and now I need braces to finally be pain free and able to chew properly and thus solving issues I have been having with my digestion process...anyways...long story there...
Anyways, just thought I would update on my progress on my hoard...
I will try to keep you all up to date on my hoard and I hope it is helping...I am sorry I am slacking off but my health hasn't been up to par lately and I am coming down with something yet again...just got over something and now I am coming down with something else grrr...will I ever not be sick? will I ever feel good?
Anyways talk to you later please comment so I know I am loved and someone is out there reading this...thanks
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

My progress as of 02/26/2011

2011-02-26T21:53:00.000-08:00

My work on my hoard at my home has been put on a hold because we had an unexpected disaster happen with our rental house with some pipes freezing and then unfreezing and ringing up a $218 in an electric bill because of the electric water heater running full time for only God knows how long....and having to clean up all that water and having to clean up our unexpected abandoned apartment thats damaged which I am hoping we can get up to par before the beginning of this month so we can get someone to rent the place then...but who knows what will happen with that...because my husband has every other weekend off and working after he wakes up from 3rd shift and working on it then is impossible with two kids who need constant supervision because they constantly fight or try to get the other in trouble or hurt....soooo....ya....its so great NOT. but we will get there...probably not on my schedule cause its not this weekend my hubby is off its next...but oh well...maybe April we will get someone in there....who knows....we still have to paint and get rid of the nicotine stains and smell bleh! coming from an ex smoker I dont know how I could stand that ugh!

Anyways, I have nit picked at my hoard though and got rid of a truck load of stuff to the DAV, 4 or 5 trunk, back seat and floor board and front seat and floor board of stuff to the DAV as well and a couple more boxes to add to that mix....so I have gotten rid of a whole lot...but a lot of it was stuff that just had came into the door because I also am having to go through my mothers stuff who passed away which is what I want to do because I don't want to miss the memories that go with each item and remember then get rid of it...I know I am weird...but I been doing really good about the getting rid of bit...there is lots of stuff I wanted to keep but I keep thinking to myself WHERE WILL IT GO? if I cant think of some place in my home I have now as to where it could possibly go and if it was safe to have there when the baby is toddling around....then its gone...cause I just can't risk my babies safety just because I have a hard time letting go of something that probably wont ever serve a purpose in my lazy life....so anyways...I have made progress sorry I haven't been updating for over a month well almost two months now huh? sorry bout that...I promise I will get better at it I just as I said had a lot happen and also had to focus on getting the old house up to par so we could move someone in and get it rented so we weren't going too far into the hole every month...which it helps...we are now only going about 350 in the hole every month...so when we rent the apartment for 350 a month we will break out even...unless something else goes wrong which I am praying it doesn't but I expect it because of the way things have been going...I much rather it be those type things than my baby being sick or something...which my baby has a healthy heart yeah! anyways...

I will try to update more in the mean time to get your hoarding fix and help with your hoard go to www.flylady.net and http://www.shelterpop.com/2011/02/22/hoarders/?icid=maing|aim|dl8|sec1_lnk3|46706 thats a very interesting article which I live by those things without even have read the article till just a little while ago...I have to add though to their list:

You'll Never Be on "Hoarders" if you....Keep asking yourself "If I keep this where will I store it?, When will I use it? and how often will I use it? is it blessing me? or am I slave to it? (do I have to dust it a lot because it just sits there?) and if you keep going back through things and questioning them over and over until you feel you have really for sure gotten rid of everything you can....then work on storage for the items or display for the items....now if there is stuff you haven't used or warn for a year-10yrs sometimes even....I don't think you need it so get rid of it...if there is a box in the attic or garage that you haven't been in for many years...go through it and say oh yeah thats where that went I bought a new one of those cause I couldn't find this one...and get rid of it...sure its nice to have a spare but really you don't need spares of anything...stick to one of each and replace them when they break...its hard to keep track of many of the same thing than to just keep track of one...its no wonder we lose stuff...we get careless when we have multiples...we think its ok I have tons of that size of wrench or whatever...if we only have one and know it we tend to make sure we put it where it belongs and take better care of things....Craftman for instance if you break it you can take it to sears and they replace it no charge....so its like you have a never ending supply of the darn thing so you best be taking darn good care of them but not sweat it if it breaks ya you may have to stop what your doing run to the store and replace it to finish the job your working on...but in the long run....I know its a choice you won't regret just because you won't have to dig through as many wrenches to find that one size you want and need...or whatever....as far as clothes go....those clothes you plan to get into someday again....ya those...that are sitting somewhere in the back of the closet...(if your pregnant this doesn't apply to you)...you can go and reward yourself with a whole new wardrobe from the DAV when that day comes when you need that size clothes....having it there taunting in the back of the closet I think doesn't help speed the process but rather may make it stand still because every now and then you try them and they still dont fit dang it which can lead to depression and thus keep your wheels turning to keep you where you don't want to be...isn't it fun to notice hey my pants aren't fitting right lets go shopping and try on some clothes and trying to figure out how many sizes you lost and surprise yourself that you are actually in that size you wanted to be in?! I mean common! get rid of it someone out there can use those clothes right now....your not using them and they are just sitting there...being depressed and sad and lonely and cold in that closet...let someone else warm them and keep them from the moths and dust bunnies :-)

Ok thats my two cents on that blog lol
Anyways talk to you all later I will update more often I have 98 more days until I have this baby (June 5th due date) so I have to really buckle down and get my hoard downsized pretty quick or at least get it somewhere so its not so in the way...for when we have the baby and bring him/her home....yes a surprise even though we wanted to know at our last sono the baby didnt cooperate and had a foot, and all the cord and was breech so it was very hard to see...anyways...I really do need to buckle down...I may try to send a few text messages to the blog they will be 150 characters at a time...but they are something right? I will come back and edit them sometime but not sure when....anyways I will talk to you all later

Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

*****UPDATE********
we got the water bill its $1,668...there is no way we lost an Olympic pool amount of water in the short time that it could of been broke before we found it...I think the meter is broken...the water would have been pouring down the driveway into the street and there would of been water everywhere outside as well as inside and that just wasn't the case at all...it wouldn't of been but a few days that it was busted and it was just a small hole...they are supposed to call us and tell us our adjusted bill which last time this happened which it happens every year since we had to remove the gas powered floor furnace so my friend could move into the place with her daughter due to her throwing a fit and wanting gas company to inspect the place and they ruled that to be capped...so thank you Becky! Anyways yeah last time it happened it rang up a good size bill but it wasn't like this! holy moly! but last time they gave us 30% off our bill which if they do that to this bill there is no way we can pay it and we will just have them put it on my husbands credit because its not correct of an amount....anyways they can take us to court...my mother in law had stopped by the house prior to the freezing of the weather and nothing was wrong then...and that was the day before the deep freeze then after it unfroze my husband went over to check and found the leak so it couldn't have been unfroze and spraying for longer than a day...and it spewing enough water to fill an Olympic sized pool in that short amount of time...there is no way it would of went unnoticed by the neighbors over there...which they call us whenever anything happens that they see...anyways just thought I would update on that irony of the situation...anyways ttyl

Update 12/9/2010

2010-12-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

I got rid of 2 boxes worth of stuff today via throw out and via give away yay! I also combined some boxes to save on space so technically I got rid of 4 boxes (even if two of them just were emptied into other boxes lol) Tomorrow I will attempt to go through those boxes I combined and try to get rid of more stuff out of them and combine those boxes into one instead of two or whatever...anyways...slow process but being pregnant has benefits as far as memory goes I have pregnancy brain fog so I don't remember what things are so its easier to get rid of but it also has its difficulties...so tired...and aches and pains make it hard to do much but it will work out I am sure...I will get through the whole room I have to get through and hopefully start to go through the garage before baby gets here...I probably should do the garage first so we have a garage to put our car in for the winter so we dont have to scrape windows...anyways...thats my update thanks for checking in on me...I just thought of another thing to post as far as hoarding thought processes...I may post that soon...not sure when though...anyways...talk to you later.
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

Progress as of 11/27/2010

2010-11-29T19:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry I didn't get a chance to update the day this progress happened but I at least am posting an update right? OK.
So I spent 6hrs cleaning I cleaned the bathroom (prolly for 30 mins) I took a few breaks cause I am 3 months pregnant and its very exhausting to do much of anything...but for the rest of the time I cleaned the boys room...I got rid of many buckets of toys and downsized to a few bins that fit under their beds...swept and got things cleaned for my son's birthday party the following day which was a success...My husband went through the living room and back door entry way which looks like a whole new house and also the dining room table and kitchen counters as well as the stove...the pantry is still cluttered a little...and the baby's room is now packed full...but I plan to go through one box a day...(at least) I have 6 months 6 days as of today till my due date is here...long as the due date sticks which from the sounds of it they maybe moving it a week before that due date...(June 5th)...anyway I have been doing really good as far as getting rid of toys of sentiment...now that I have the boy's toys under control I get to tackle my own hoard and get rid of the things I planned to do something with many years ago but never have done anything with...which my husband had found some of these type things while going through the entryway and dinning room...and I proudly told him ya I planned to do something with that yrs ago...lets just toss it so I am very proud of myself! Yes there was the anxiety there which made me angry...but it isn't his fault for asking a simple question about do I want to keep this or get rid of it?...its not his fault...I kept telling myself this and thats what got me to be able to tell him toss it...on a few things he did run across...some things I did keep...I have to admit...but they were little things I am not ready to let go of just yet...I will but not right now...I got rid of 98% of the stuff he asked about...anyway...
I am doing good...my husband on the other hand...I want to get rid of the books on ebay...and donate some of the profit to different foundations that have been apart of my life...the books are from my belated mom's belated husband's aunt...and many of them are first editions and my husband wants to keep hold of them incase someday they are worth something...and the national geographic magazines I also planned to do the same on ebay and he wants to keep those as well...oh well...anyways...he did throw away a whole lot while going through boxes while I went through toys...anyways...I am proud of him...just some of the stuff kept don't make sense to me but of course my keep pile probably don't make sense to him either...oh well...we will end up getting rid of a lot of stuff and gain two car garage, and baby's room before we know it...just baby steps...one box at a time...as planned...and if feel up to it more than one...and only work 15 mins at a time...and drag out so much stuff that it takes longer than 15 to pick back up and put back away for later looking through if have to halt on the task...anyways...I think we are making progress and keeping these things in mind throughout my doing the going through is helpful...as well as it helps to say to myself I want a house to live in to entertain family and friends in...and raise my family in...not a storage unit...and that keeps me going...also it helps that I have a clock to go by...I have to be ready in 6 months for the baby...so that helps...set a date I would suggest as your "due date" when you want everything in order 6-9months down the line would be good...so that way you have a dead line...or set it for a holiday that you want the family over for dinner or whatever...even if its a yr or two away even....long as you have a due date or a dead line...you can do it I believe you can! just believe in yourself!
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo
P.s. Comment your progress I would love to hear about your progress in your hoard and tell me if I am encouraging you or not? I am doing this for free I am not trained...its just what I gathered from the hoarding shows and my personal experience as far as whats going on in my head and anxiety and all that...anyways I hope it helps someone...and I hope it encourages someone...if not a whole lot of people as I hope...anyway ttyl

My Progress as of 11/22/2010

2010-11-22T21:13:00.000-08:00

Hello guys and gals, Beka here. I have been going through toys, I have a big huge black plastic trash bag full of toys! Go me! Only one set back...I was getting tired and dumped trash toys and dog hair and dirt swept up into the darn bag and now I have to dump it out and sift through it and get all the good toys back out and throw away the bad ones and then fill the bag back up with good toys to be donated to Good Will or D.A.V. or we have a place called Y.W.C.A. Treasure Chest its for D.V. victims and their families (the profits help fund the shelters) Anyway...the bag has been sitting for 4 or 5 days now waiting for me to go through again...and suddenly I lost my motivation again...I still have loads of toys to sift through that we still have in the boy's room. Tonight we started going through the boy's room again, and got quite a few more toys added to the trash and the bag to be gone through again lol...It is so hard ya'll...There are so many toys my mom got my boys and its very hard to get rid of them, even if they are broken! WHY?! She just Died in 2009 This Jan will be 2 yrs...maybe that has something to do with it...I just don't know. Then there are the toys I got from my mom that were my child hood toys that I just can't part with...which is again stupid cause I had them for many years and for some odd reason my kids destroyed most of them in a matter of moments with them...guess that is the difference in 4 girls and 2 boys...I don't really know...lol...Anyway I am trying to get places with my hoarding and fast...we have a week to get ready for the birthday part for our oldest son. (next sunday is his party yikes) I am probably going to be trying to rearrange the garage to make room for the stuff in the house and move it all out there until the party is over lol...then go through them maybe a little at a time bringing things back into the house one box at a time or something so its not so overwhelming...Anyway...its a process and its so overwhelming of a process I kind of wish I was rich so I could afford a professional to come in and help me...though I have good days and I have bad days as far as energy goes, and my health goes...I have headaches some days, I have nausea others...sometimes I have both...and most of the time I am just totally exhausted and cant hardly do much of anything...just doing the necessary things are impossible for me at times....like go to the school and drop off our youngest at school, then later in the day pick up both boys from school...that takes the life out of me completely most days...I don't understand why I have energy some days and not others, but I am too young to feel this damn old is a definite conclusion I have came to realization of. Maybe its pregnancy, but its been this way for a long time long before pregnancy...to come think of it...I been like this since Teen years (yes Aunt Flow began)...but no one but me puts the two and two together...usually when I am pregnant I feel the most normal far as mental goes...the physical becomes a challenge with my unbalanced body forming...lol...but I am tip top shape in the head minus the pregnancy fog and memory problems and well OK its not tip top...but my depression is minimal...but this go round...it hasn't hit that point yet...its like I just skipped that part and went straight into postpartum depression...which is very odd...anyway back to the hoarding.

I got rid of a easter basket my mom got my son's (well there is two I just don't know where the other one is...the boys used it to carry their gerbils in so it had pee and poop inside it and it was just gross...but I dusted off the dog fur and dust bunnies (cause it was found under the bed) I took a picture of it and chucked it...wow...that was hard for me...but it had to be done!

I think my main thought problem is what if someone could use this instead of wasting it and throwing it in the landfill and wasting space there why not give it away...and its so hard to throw away good stuff that could be cleaned up but I have no desire to clean things up...but I don't want to donate them dirty like that thats just gross and how embarrassing and they would probably throw it away anyway...and if they found it and said oh this whole bag is full of stuff like this and just throw the whole thing out...that fills me with so much anxiety its stupid!!!!! I am the kind of person who thinks of all the possible outcomes and analyses everything cause everything has to have a reason for existing or being in my life or whatever...stupid I know I am just that crazy I guess..and its just so hard to get over my anxieties its insane....

So for me, hoarding was the easy part, now the getting rid of things to make room for US not hopefully new things to replace things (though I know my son's birthday is bringing toys, and then Christmas is around the bend too) UGH I will feel like my wheels are turning in the mud but hopefully it wont keep me from keep on going through stuff and get this hoard down sized to bare minimums and essencials and be able to enjoy our home and have people over and not be embarrassed...then when the baby gets here...not be so anxious about the baby coming home to this home! I mean its not that bad its not filthy clutter its just we have alot of stuff...and no place to put it now that we lost our basement and 1,000 square feet of our home (ya we downsized the home now to catch up with all our stuff thats the trick) Which we have downsized considerably but still have a bit a ways to go and its a slow process especially given my day to day health...Anyway I am getting tired...going to drink some warm milk and go to bed.

I will do my best in updating this blog as often as I can...I have it open up each day when I check email and stuff so I am reminded of it every day so it shouldn't be hard to remember to drop you guys a note saying hey this is an update whats going on with me now...and get it done and hopefully come and find comments to read to encourage me going through my hoard. I appreciate it and if you would like encouragement hit me up I am on facebook look on the right of the page its right there add me and say who you are so I know to add you to my blog friends so I can send messages to all of the friends involved with this blog...so that way we can keep in touch more often and I can even get apart of your lives and encourage you back...I know how hard it is...I really do...and I am hoping to encourage those out there to get through their hoards...and hopefully get through mine in the process of helping others....cause if I can do it...anyone can I am telling you!

Talk to you all later,
Happy Cleaning,
5-15 mins at a time www.flylady.net it works if you apply it :-)

Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

A change in my blog from now on next introduction

2010-11-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

Well I plan to blog my updates as to what I am doing with my hoard. It will be sporadic and not on a schedule like you have seen over the past few weeks...but I plan to keep it pretty much updated as to what I am doing as far as going through stuff, thoughts that are stumbling me from completing tasks at hand, my thought process through this whole process...including but not limited to my anxieties. lol. If I can do it then anyone can do it...some need professional help...others just need motivation via comments on a blog (which would be me hint hint) I have an update to announce so shortly after this posts I will post an update on what I been doing here lately.
Anyway thank you for following my blog and please keep coming back and checking in on me and please do comment my blog so I am encouraged to keep going...I appreciate it cause I need all the encouragement I can get!

Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo

Introduction to this blog

2010-11-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

In this blog you will find the many motivations behind the hoarding lifestyle so maybe those who are not hoarders can understand the mind of those hoarders in your life you just don't understand. Also for those Hoarders who don't know how they got their house to where it is. I am going to be comic about it...forgive me. I know this is a serious illness I have a mild case myself but I am starting to get a hold of it before it gets too out of control. My husband also is a hoarder, and a lot of my material will come from the way he and I think, and also his mother the professional hoarder of the family. My mother also was a hoarder probably the executive hoarder of the family, God rest her soul she is no longer with us. But I grew up with a hoarder also, so I have many insights to this disease and I hope to entertain through comedy relief on such a serious subject, educate by showing the world the thought pattern that leads to a hoarding lifestyle, and I also hope to get feedback through comments since, it will be what motivates me to keep updating the blog.

Thank you I hope you enjoy my blog,

God Bless,

Sincerely,

Rabeka Jo D

The creator of this blog
p.s. I am not sure what this blog has in store...it maybe a day by day walk through in my shoes as a hoarder going through my hoard trying to downsize and get my life in order...but I cannot say until I feel comfortable with such a commitment I might just stick to weekly updates though I might send 150character messages via my cell phone to the blog to update my progress throughout my day I just don't know yet...I really wish I could have this blog from oldest to newest order...but you have to post date everything to follow today starting from oldest to newest on down and that would get time consuming after a while...especially if I do update via my cell phone cause I would have to come on here at the end of the day and edit all the small tweets and fix the dates so they follow the same pattern....so ya probably not sorry guys...it will just have to be newest first...I will try to keep introduction at the top best I can though so new visitors can see that hey there is a introduction that explains this blog...and then they will findout they have to read from the bottom up to get the full effect (so those who are new to the blog thats what you have to do thanks :-) lol) Anyway who knows I am pumped up though cause I have captured more than I thought I would already as far as followers and interested individuals so hopefully this will go farther than any other blog I have started, and can't seem to complete cause I get stuck or discouraged cause no one is following it or commenting it...I am a real sponge when it comes to comments and stuff I eat them up and it keeps me going...of course the negative comments can be left off my blog...there is really no need for abuse and proper actions will be taken for harassing or abusive comments...anyways...thanks for reading my blog...I hope you do enjoy it...I hope you find it funny, amusing, or educational ANYTHING?! lol I appreciate the feedback even if its just a click of the different ranks thats something and its better than nothing so thanks!

Toy Hoarding

2010-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Your children have way way way too many toys, but a lot of them were given to them by your late mother so you cant seem to part with those just yet. But its getting out of hand like extremely out of hand. You can hardly walk into their room anymore cause they don't pick them up but where would they put all the stuff? they dont hardly have enough room in toy bins and those take up most of their room...what do you do? Your kids wont let you get rid of any of it either...you tell them if they leave the toys in the living room you will throw them away...but you cant seem to bring yourself to throw them away cause you know how much they love to play with them, so you cant keep your word on that. So your kind of going around and around and having a hard time trying to get rid of the massive pile that just wont go away on its own. Its so frustrating to see the kids live like that but what else can you do? you are partial to lots of toys they are not, then when you say you are finally going to get rid of a toy that your late mother gave them they point out that you dont love your mom cause your getting rid of the toy she gave to them...how horrible of a thing to say...and you try to explain to them that no honey it don't mean I don't love them it means I love them enough to move on with my life and let them go. But you end up stashing the toy away in a box somewhere cause your kids really struck a nerve you thought you got rid of...then you know they love to play with certain type of toys but how many is too many?

When do you say enough is enough? That is a hard thing to think about cause you know they play with all the stash of cars they own cause you see them all strung out all over the back yard, or the house, or where ever they decide to play with them at...and most of the time its nice and neat rows of all the cars. You don't even want to count and see how many cars they actually have cause you know its a ridiculous amount of cars so you don't want to even know. If its girls its Barbies or Bratz...what ever you decided they like a lot and you bought a lot of and had family and friends buy a lot of lol. Lego's for instance when is there enough? and what is too much? but look at how much money you spent on all them legos! its enough to make you sick to your stomach to think that you would get rid of any of them for whatever price garage sale goers would pay...most likely little to nothing! ugh! the horror! So you keep them all, and wonder why your kids cant play in their room (because there is no room to play).

Good thought, back outcome.

Ebay Entrepreneur

2010-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

So you heard you can make money on ebay from all these books out there and you want to tap into that wealth but how? You find you go to garage sales find items for cheap and ask to come down even farther than the asking price and then turn around and put it on ebay for just above what you paid so you at least get a small profit. You also shop thrift stores for these finds. Finding antiques that could be of value if placed on ebay for the avid hunter to stumble on. Among other can't pass up type bargains. So you buy and buy and buy and stock up a room full of stuff and then you have to figure out a place to take pictures of your items with perfect lighting and everything to make it presentable for ebay users to want the items. Finally you get a set up that seems to work, but your camera doesn't seem to be making the pictures you thought they would, so you gotta save some money to buy a new camera before you can get the items up on ebay. But you still go to the garage sales each weekend to hunt great buys to sell on ebay, and end up spending your savings for that camera you need to be able to sell the items you are buying. So you can kind of see where this is going. You don't want to miss out on all the bargains that could be flipped into mega bucks on ebay if only you could have a camera that took pictures that showed off your prizes in their best form.

Good thoughts, bad outcome.

Clothes hoarding

2010-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

You can't pass up a good bargain you find at a store that allows you to fill a paper bag full of clothes, and all you pay for all the clothes is 5 dollars! How can you not buy clothes at that price? So you shop around and find all the clothes you would wear or would "like to" wear (you know those goals you want to fit into a size 10 instead of size 16 or whatever the case may be) so you stock up on the motivating clothes that you absolutely love and also some that you can wear now and just in case you end up going in the opposite direction even a few larger sizes than you are in now. Wow! They have maternity clothes! You plan to have a baby some day, so you snatch up some of them too, along with baby clothes of both sexes just so you have 'em whenever you end up having the baby. Then you also find some clothes for your nieces and nephews thinking they are the size you are finding but later find out that you were off on sizes so you save those for your kids you someday will have. Boxing all the clothes you can't wear and the clothes you don't need yet, because you don't have the baby, you aren't even pregnant yet, wow! How crazy is this? But it's OK, you will someday be a size 10, you will get pregnant, will have a baby girl, and maybe even a boy later or visa versa.

Good thought, bad outcome.

Free stuff hoarding

2010-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

While online you stumble upon a site called freecycle and think-wow I can get rid of all my stuff to people who really want my junk I don't feel right throwing away because someone may get some use out of it. So you join and see posts for free stuff you could use "someday" so you email a response and they email back with where to pick

it up. So you go pick up your new treasure. What a thrill! You actually were the first to respond and you won-so to speak-the item, and you didn't even have to spend a dime, wow! Suddenly your intent of joining to get rid of stuff goes immediately to the back burner, because all the items you someday will use may go to someone else.

You may end up watching the message board all hours of the night and day to be the first to respond to get the items that you may someday use. I mean you know those things that may come in handy on odd occasions, yeah, those things.

Just to think, you now have a garage full of free stuff you someday will use, but the original intent was to get rid of your bedroom full of stuff that you've come to realize you won't ever use these items ever again, yet you seemed to increase the pile 3 times the original size. Because your double car garage is now a storage unit without the outrageous monthly charges attached to the handy building that keeps things out of sight and out of mind.

Good thoughts, bad outcome.

Quilt Hoarding

2010-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Your family member whom you adored passed away. While the family goes through their belongings, they find many unfinished quilts and sewing projects, along with boxes upon boxes of material and thread. No one seems to want any of it so you say you'll take it all, with the thoughts of finishing the projects plus you find some patterns you wouldn't mind making. So you take these boxes home, may even sort things, even put it in a priority system of which ones you want to do first. But you ended up as over whelmed as your lost loved one must've felt and you decide to just box them up for a later date. You feel guilty throwing out your loved ones's hard, unfinished work, so you keep it, in the hopes you can finish it someday. But it just sits stored in boxes in your home. You may even go to garage sales and find boxes of material for a great buy-even bags of cut squares for quilting and you just cant pass up these great buys. So you add this to your already overwhelming heap of material and hope to someday be able to finish the quilts and then eventually start your own quilt.

Good thoughts, bad outcome.

Yarn Hoarding

2010-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

So you decide to teach yourself to knit and crochet. All those years ago when your grandmother sat you down and taught you or rather tried to teach you come rushing back to you, you remember the toys, blankets, sweaters, pot holders, slippers, socks, and many other things your grandmother made and you remembered how special it made you feel to received these "slaved over" items. You decide that's what you're going to do for your family and friends.

You buy all the pattern books and magazines you can find, when you stumble on a good buy on yarn you buy it, and when you see a skein of yarn and the color stands out to you as being the perfect color for a certain pattern in that one book, you of course, buy it. Before you know it you have boxes of yarn, even the ones heaped together from garage sales you couldn't say no to. A full, even over-flowing box of perfectly good yarn that just needs sorting through for 5 bucks-thats like 40 dollars worth of yarn right there! So you buy it too. Before you know it you have boxes upon boxes of patterns and yarn. Do you disagree? OK then, you have had time to start projects but they too are boxed up unfinished, or even in a tote you carry around from time to time so you can work on it here and there.

Or maybe you have finished projects but the people receiving the gifts don't seem as thrilled as you remember yourself being when your grandmother gave you the same sweater with a corded telephone knitted into it. OK, maybe its outdated since now we use cordless phones, but you spent hours on it and they should appreciate your hard work whether it's outdated or not.

Good thoughts, Bad outcome.

2010-10-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

This company came out with a gadget that takes broken crayons and melts them into new crayons. How neat! you think, so you buy it take it home, even try it out and it works! How exciting! Then you put it in your closet till you gather more broken worthless crayons.

Five Years later you accumulated a shoe box or two full of worthless crayon pieces. Do you have time to sort them and use that handy gadget you bought 5 years ago? Possibly. Have you forgotten about it? No doubt you did, minus the second you stumble upon a crayon piece you quickly place into the shoe box with its other friends, during of which you don't have time to sort and make new crayons and decide you'll do it later, but never get around to doing. But you keep right on collecting those crayons and hope someday to be able to sit down and sort through all the bits and pieces so you can make new crayons of same colors and then finally make some use of the gadget you purchased so long ago. See this is how it goes a lot of the time whether we find the gadgets at garage sales or on sale at the store, you just can't pass it up when it saves the planet in some way.

Good thoughts, bad outcome.