- This topic has 24 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 2 years ago by
Nana.
-
Posts
-
chaosqueen
This sounds like great progress! I am very excited for you! I had a bit of a break through moment myself today. I am cleaning out the kitchen cabinet. The baking stuff is always hard for me. Today I managed to throw away a package of decor roses. I told myself if they have been in my cabinet long enough to have been expired for more than 4 years, chances are I am not using them any time soon. I even threw them out without checking if they are still good. I also tossed out some yeast. It expired in 21 (where was this stuff during the lock down?) and lately pizza and other yeast dough was hit and miss which was frustrating and added a lot of time to actually baking stuff.
So there. Nothing huge, or visible, but a shift in mindsets. My time and success when baking is more valuable then 6 packages of dry yeast. The kids are off for a short Easter break and they were all put to work in their own rooms and around the house and backyard. I see progress and it makes me hopeful!
Keep us posted please! Reading about the success of others always motivates me to do something myself!
Nana
Things are still ongoing.
As I can now reach more bookcases I have been going through the books and getting rid of a lot. It was very difficult at first, as there were so many large and – in their day – expensive reference books, text books accumulated over the years – but these days they are just obsolete items, so I struggled through the first few shelves, and now it seems to be making a big difference to how things look.
The shelves are being filled up with things as soon as they are cleared, of course, but things are being discovered and returned to where they should be, some things bought and never opened or used are also being unearthed and there is more floor space plus it takes less time to find things when they are needed.
Putting all the books on one subject together can also trigger the realization that I have a lot of them and maybe do not really need that many, and also show up where there are duplicates to dispose of.
It really is worth the initial struggle to get a few inches of space in which to work or a foot or so of shelving to be able to gather up a set of items and have them together as it is so satisfying mentally to put a large toy train on display or pose the mannikins in a family group when before they were just scattered in the heaps.
They might not be there next month or next year, but they are definitely part of the process of altering myself from what I had sunk into.
My husband is joining in too, and has been doing a lot of sorting out of his belongings and things around the house in general so we really will not know ourselves by the end of the year.Oddsocks
I am very impressed- well done! Good to know that it can happen!
I am in the same situation of having a lot of books, but have only removed a few. I’ve taken some to a charity bookshop if they are in good condition. Helps me know they could be making some money. But still hard! I tell myself you can get information about anything online.
I need to calculate again how many novels I would actually be able to read. 75 if total if I read 5 novels a year until I am 80, 15o if I read 10 (less likely). And if whether have actually read/checked out all the factual ones. I could always borrow books from the library if I actually didnt have enough.
Finding treasure is great! Sometimes I have to find something. Other times its coming across something. That has included my family jewellery and my birth certificate!
You are doing so well!
-
This reply was modified 3 years ago by
Oddsocks.
Thank you – it is still hard to let go of some things, but getting access to shelves and cupboards is rewarding. Sometimes I find empty space so that things can be put away, or just hidden for another day’s sorting.
Just this week we were told that the social worker will be visiting again next Thursday, and we have had contact with the receivers of a company we invested in to let me know that the original investment will be returned. No interest or bonus but the full amount invested.I am rather shaken today, though. last night at dance practice one of the dancers had a heart attack.
Luckily there was an ambulance on the scene in a few minutes and he was brought back by cpr – he is conscious today.Wow! That’s a lot that is going on. Good news and scary stuff! Glad the dancer seems to be on his way to recovery!
Good news about the invested money!
Regarding books: Since I have decided that a book is only serving it’s purpose when it is being used I have had no qualms about letting them go. Also. People dump books on me on a “regular basis” so I am not worried that I will ever run out of books to read.
So inspiring to read about the progress. I am seeing more and more that it really is about keeping it up. The big clear outs do have it’s merits and are necessary occasionally, but for me the magic started when I just constantly and almost casually let go of things. Like always making sure that when I clean up that I keep my eyes open for things that I can part with and have a bag for donation and a bin ready for trash all the time.
Lets keep it up and keep sharing!
Well the clearing is going on, but the contact about the return of the money was just another scammer who tried to get us to pay out yet more money to ‘get the investment returned’ so we are obviously on some list which is being sold to pass on our information to those hopeful of easy money.
The dancer is out f hospital and recovering at home, and we hope to see him again when he feels up to coming out again. There has been mention of his joining the band.
The visit of the social worker was without problems, but he wants to come back with someone who will advise on the use and layout of the rooms of the house – we have been here over 40 years so I doubt that there is anything we can learn about how to live here – but if it keeps him happy in his work I suppose we can put up with it.
I moved some of the furniture around.
The carpet is gradually appearing in the middle room and I am collecting up toys and all sorts of bits and pieces. I found some balls of yarn and have made a few little jumpers for the grandchildren, made a beret for an American re-enactor with a Scottish persona and posted it off so will be getting a bit of money for that in the near future.
The blitz on books continues. All the charity shops on the local main street have shut, and all those I have seen are inundated with donations whilst their sales are down quite significantly.
I plan to collect up all my knitted clothes and store them in a blanket box which has been empty for a long time. There is quite a bit of unused storage around the house as it was impossible to get to it, but that is changing – only gradually, but of course once one jam is breached things get put away in the cupboards or on the shelves.
Some of the old plastic things are falling apart – some storage boxes were impossible to move when full and the things had to be lifted out, then the old boxes could be broken up and disposed off.
I have managed to stop biting my nails, mostly. I have 8 normal nails now and I am surprised at how strong they are.I am so impressed how you two are doing! So different to me. I need to use it to motivate me- that it is possible.
This is a bit waffly!
I think its awful when people give you things they dont need now, to get them out of their house, by moving it to your clutter!l I had that with someone’s clothe
It is hard about trying to give things to charity and they dont have space! More arent selling books anymore either. Oxfam has a specific bookshop, but a limit to 2 carrier bags at most. Sometimes they are full. I emailed before visiting and they said there was space. Went there (bit of a journey) 2 days later and they were full!
(There is selling things on ebay but that’s not something I would do- too much hassle)
CQ: a change in mindset sounds good
Nana: Terrible to be treated like that by a scammer! I know that they are busy, but in the UK you can try Citizens Advice about the investment? Might be more informed on legal things than social services.
I’m normally good at avoiding scams, but was fooled by one and gave them £200! I got caught out as it was from an aunt’s email address, and the first message wasnt asking for money! Looking back there were some obvious signs which I missed
-
This reply was modified 3 years ago by
-
This reply was modified 3 years ago by
We have yet another contact claiming to be able to repay the money – they are going to call some time this afternoon. They are really persistent.
On the home front we went to visit my son and took a box of toys I had collected during my tidying up.
The little one was delighted by a wooden roller with a bell inside, and a rocket ship with buttons to press to make noises.
Here at home, bit by bit there is more floor space, and things are back where they belong so they can be found.Somuchstuff
Hello Nana. I hope it is alright to ask questions. Your thread says A new source of help. Do you mean social services or your husband?
How did social services find out you were hoarding because you got scammed? I am thinking it is your house if you have lived there 40years, so what can they do if you don’t make it better? Do you have to have these visits now?Was being told how to use your rooms any use and have social services offered any other help?
You sound like all this has been a good thing for you which unless it has made your husband do things he wouldn’t before, kinda surprised me.
Scammers are horrible people. I wonder what they think if it is done to their Grandmothers.
You seem to be doing very well even though all this is happening to you. I don’t think I’d be managing!
Well – it turns out it is my husband.
He wanted to make the ‘investment’ and I didn’t, but they kept calling and he kept on and on, and we lost the first lot of money, then there were more calls and he sent more money.
We were visited by the police and they called in social services as my husband would not be told that the people calling were scammers. Our daughter and son in law were called in to help as well.
The person sent in as a helper doesn’t seem to be much use. She doesn’t want to do anything but rummage through cupboards, doesn’t even clean the shelves off even after I explained that I can’t get down onto the floor more than a couple of times a day.
My husband put up a rail which goes all the way up the stairs when I asked if it might be possible. It is such a help – the original rail is shorter than the stairs and this new addition is a good thick one, well fixed in place, and it has helped both of us I think.
I had to deal with yet another scamming phone call this afternoon – I gave him a bit of a dressing down and he rang off.
The kitchen is looking a bit clearer now. I had too many pots and pans around, so I have reduced them and put the remaining ones in cupboards. I opened up an old fashioned chest brought from my husband’s parents and intend to keep all my knitted things in there, but we had a bit of an emergency today with a leak from the water pump which pressurises the hot water. It has made a damp patch on the ceiling, but it is now isolated and can be repaired in the near future. There is never a dull moment around here.It must have been awful to see your husband insisting it wasn’t a scam when you could see it was. I guess the police decided it was a safeguarding situation when he wouldn’t even listen to police that it was criminals stealing money off him. I hope your family are helping you, as well as telling him.
At least he does seem to be listening to you now and doing things to make a better situation.
There is a phone guardian device that screens calls to stop you having to deal with scammers if there are too many of them calling.It sounds like the helper might be there to assess the situation and progress, and make suggestions or encourage, not get involved with doing it. Do you know what they are supposed to be doing to help, or is it more up to them to decide what you need?
How annoying to have your water pump break down just when you managed to make progress with your kitchen! I hope you still have hot water from somewhere and you can get the pump fixed soon.
The lack of hot water at the sink is not all that much of a problem. I can heat up water in the kettle, coffee has its own percolator, the dishwasher does almost all the washing up and I don’t yet need the two winter weight duvets waiting to be washed – they are too large to fit into the washing machine so have to be done in the bath. I used them in the camper van and they need freshening up.
Luckily I have investments made quite some time ago and can call on those to compensate for the loss. Good old Prudential to the rescue.
I’ll have to have a chat with the social worker and see what the situation is exactly. Things are being sorted, and there is visible progress, so I can’t really see the point in having someone come in to cause disruption rather than helping with what I find delaying.The parts for the pump did eventually arrive, though in stages, and there was some difficultly with the electricity – the wiring was rather old and needed to be renewed, but it was done, and the system improved for the future. We now have everything back to what it should be, with the added advantage that the pump is quieter. The ceiling in the middle room downstairs is drying out and the damp patches are much smaller.
I am happy for you that you have your water pump fixed. Knowing you have safer wiring is a benefit, and you have got everything sorted out so quickly.
A helper who is disrupting and delaying doesn’t sound very helpful, but maybe social services think having someone there seeing what you are doing is motivating you. Do you think knowing someone is coming and can see progress or not, might be helping at all? I know when my friend looks at what I have done, she makes me feel judged.
-
This reply was modified 3 years ago by
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.