Complete Newbie Here, saying Hi.

[chaosqueenParticipant]

Welcome to the forum my dear. First things first. We have to do something about your user name. No good can come from referring to yourself like that! We shall come up with a happier nick for you over time! :lol:

We are in desperate need of active members. Too many of us can relate to your issues with depression, emotional and physical challenges and everything that comes with it. Often that leaves us out of order for any given time and many here seem to draw back when they are not feeling so great.

I am not sure what kind of help you are looking for from us specifically but if you are looking for a drill Sergeant to tell you what to do, that would be me! :lol: Just in case that is what you are looking for this is your first job. Pick out anything from among your belongings that is obviously trash and get that to the bin. If this is not what you are looking for, feel free to ignore it!

So what is the first job that will be done and what needs to be taken care of so it can be done?

[Sad Bint]

Thank you for the welcome chaosqueen …….”Chaos Queen”! :lol: Your name doesn’t exactly conjure up images of rainbows and fairies either. :lol:

As for jobs; I managed two black bin bags today, and that is enough for now. I do try to set myself little easy targets, most of the time I don’t succeed, but sometimes I do and that is what I try to focus on. The other task I completed today was to contact a professional cleaning company to see if I can afford their help; -actually letting them help will be another hurdle that I will need to work on!! :roll:

As I am unable to work money is tight and that is a contributory factor to this place being so run down. Still, I am getting some help now and that will make a massive difference, especially with winter on the door step.

May I ask have you ever been to the meetings in Solihull? Leaving the house is also a bit of an ordeal for me, so I don’t do it often but maybe, just maybe meeting peeps in similar situations might be helpful …possibly even enjoyable!

As for what I am hoping to get from this group; some understanding, some tips on how to control the condition and tips on self healing etc. What do other peeps do to limit how much ‘stuff’ they accumulate! Tips from people that have cleared the clutter and have managed to keep it clear; what helped them –what didn’t. :idea:

Thank you again for your lovely welcome.

[chaosqueenParticipant]

Well there is a reason they shortened it to Queenie for a while. These days I go by CQ.

Well done on the 2 bags! Definitely enough for today. As for what you are looking for. You are in the right place.

I’d have to jump on a plane to get to Solihull, so no, I was never there.

[NanaParticipant]

Hello (waving)

I hope that you will soon be feeling the satisfaction of changing things for the better.

Recently I was able to move a small dishwasher onto the draining board where it is so much easier to get to and now I am keeping up with the washing up, which is really pleasing. I have been able to do more work in the house making things for myself and for sale since I have more space – it does make a difference fairly quickly once you can get a start.

My method was to take out a small bag of rubbish every day, then to do some washing up, and then do one more thing – I called it ‘the power of three’ and it seemed doable and effective.

[bluesyjayParticipant]

Hello and welcome!

I must confess I had to look up what “bint” means on google as not only would I have to take a plane too to be around, but English is not my native language so I have to catch up sometimes :lol:

hope you will find all the support you need, in your “embodied” life out there and in here,

the forum has helped me a lot, I am still struggling, with depression mostly and the rest came along as a consequence and reinforced the depression,

but I am also hopefully making progress on all fronts, even on certain days (like these) when I don’t feel that great,

it is also a matter of riding the waves and remembering that there are ups and downs

is there a specific way we can help you along?

do you feel maybe like posting some small tasks you intend to do in the short term?

great job with the two black bin bags out from yesterday! yay! how did today go?

rooting for you!

[OddsocksParticipant]

(sorry in advance that this is so long- no need to read it all, or carefully!)

It’s a big achievement acknowledging you have a problem with hoarding- many people deny that they have it. It makes it all hard to deal with when you also have depression (like me too), which can make it a vicious circle.

If you browse around some threads you will read some of the supportive and sharing messages we post. There’s no magic solution (what a shame!)

How wonderful it will be to have hot water again! And be warm at home. And also getting rid of the asbestos, and the serious health risk it is. As you say, good from bad! Knowing that you will have that might be something to help motivate you get things ready.

Obviously, I don’t know what your home is like. Mine is pretty full with stuff, but when I have a tradesman (always been men) I can move stuff around a bit so they can access what they need to? I don’t leave it like that as it means problems with the other rooms being overfull.

It would be much better to chuck some of it out of course. 2 bin bags is admirable- that would be difficult for me!

‘ashamed/embarrassed etc etc’ is all too familiar. I tend to apologise about the state of the place when I have to have someone in (eg plumber). Usually they are quite kind with their reply, although others aren’t. But actually I’ve realised that their opinion doesn’t matter, does it? Its not like a boss/parent/judge.

Professional help: You mention a support worker? Do make full use of them and their help! Including them looking for other people/resources to help too? Also, have you checked out the ‘self help’ section of this website? It has some advice from an expert about how to tackle it all.

There is also a resources section on this website with links to other sites. I find it ironic that part of my clutter is books about dealing with clutter! Different people find different books suit them. The one I am trying at the moment seems good, if you don’t mind something long: Buried in Treasures: Help For Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, And Hoarding (Treatments That Work). Mind you, I havent thrown much out yet!

Lots of luck, and do post as often as you like!

[Author]

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