Yesterday I was wiped out! This past week has truly kicked my butt. And for me to sit down and turn the tv on in the afternoon is unheard of. Why? Because I'm wired and there is always something that needs to be done. I think today my body was telling me to take a break. So, I happen to turn on the Bonnie Hunt show on, and she had on this woman that was a "hoarder". Now, the stuff she hoarded wasn't the coolest stuff, but none the less, there was just too much. The photo above is a bench on my front porch. Now come on, do I really need ten watering cans? Seriously. So, since I have hoarding on my brain I start looking around my house.
My mom & dad had this lawyers book case for years in there house. You know what, I don't even really like it! I'm now beginning to understand why it is in my house now, I was an "emotional" hoarder after my parents passed away. Now look at the eight pictures below of each of the little sections in this bookcase!
I don't even like a lot of that stuff either! I'm not a glass person, or a cat person. I like real cats, but not ceramic ones. And some of the stuff in there was my grandmothers as well. Actually, the only thing that I added was the Market Basket name badge. It is a reminder that I was robbed at gunpoint without being shot! Seriously, I did get robbed but I was fine. I look into all those cubbies below and I wonder, am I a hoarder?
I know "this" type of hoardering is the nature of the business I'm in. But damn, I don't even really care for most of this stuff. So, with all that said, I'm trying to de-hoard my house. The one really good thing about being an antique hoarder is that you can at least SELL the stuff you've hoarded! The problem, however, will be not replacing it with a new bunch of stuff you've hoarded! At least I'm not a trash hoarder, yet ;0}
Yesterday I was wiped out! This past week has truly kicked my butt. And for me to sit down and turn the tv on in the afternoon is unheard of. Why? Because I'm wired and there is always something that needs to be done. I think today my body was telling me to take a break. So, I happen to turn on the Bonnie Hunt show on, and she had on this woman that was a "hoarder". Now, the stuff she hoarded wasn't the coolest stuff, but none the less, there was just too much. The photo above is a bench on my front porch. Now come on, do I really need ten watering cans? Seriously. So, since I have hoarding on my brain I start looking around my house.
My mom & dad had this lawyers book case for years in there house. You know what, I don't even really like it! I'm now beginning to understand why it is in my house now, I was an "emotional" hoarder after my parents passed away. Now look at the eight pictures below of each of the little sections in this bookcase!
I don't even like a lot of that stuff either! I'm not a glass person, or a cat person. I like real cats, but not ceramic ones. And some of the stuff in there was my grandmothers as well. Actually, the only thing that I added was the Market Basket name badge. It is a reminder that I was robbed at gunpoint without being shot! Seriously, I did get robbed but I was fine. I look into all those cubbies below and I wonder, am I a hoarder?
I know "this" type of hoardering is the nature of the business I'm in. But damn, I don't even really care for most of this stuff. So, with all that said, I'm trying to de-hoard my house. The one really good thing about being an antique hoarder is that you can at least SELL the stuff you've hoarded! The problem, however, will be not replacing it with a new bunch of stuff you've hoarded! At least I'm not a trash hoarder, yet ;0}
I did the same sort of thing after my parents died. I kept lots of stuff that I didn't even really care for, just because it was theirs. Then I de-hoarded a year or so ago. Anyway, YOU don't hoard, YOU collect. The Hoarders show gives me the willies, but it's motivating.
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of the same thing. My parents passed away and I inheirited a ton of thier belongings. A lot of it was my grandmothers belongings as well. My grandmother was an antiques dealer and I have a lot of her antiques. I am an emotional hoader and I've been working on it for years and I've managed to give away most of the non-antique things. It's hard because you feel like you're giving your family away. I have an antique dresser in my bedroom that was my grandma's and I really want to paint it white but for some reason can't bring myself to change her dresser. Which is silly because it's now my dresser and it's not like she's coming back for it. I can't help collecting more stuff though, because I love yard sales and swap meets. As a matter of fact, I going to some this morning! I got that from grandma, she took me with her to Goodwill and yard Sales and I just love doing that. But now I'm getting better at letting go of stuff. BTW, I think your watering can colletion is great! Take care, Mary :O)
ReplyDeleteMoving so much in my life my hoarding days have had their ups and downs. I have become a binge and purge kinda girl now.
ReplyDeleteI have come to recognize the issues and I now walk around the shops I am in and talk myself out of a lot of things. I am scared to watch the show hoarders it gives me a weird feeling, like my body knows I could be that person if just one slip up happened.
PS loved the comment about the Bud Light! When you grow up in St. Louis theres not much else at parties to drink.
Hope your weekend is better than the week you have had.
Amy
It's amazing how we hang on to things when we lose a loved one. I lost my mom in 1976 and then my dad in early 2006. A few months after dad died I started purging my life of the things that I was hanging onto for no reason. I came to realize that I didn't need the things because I have the memories. And the photos. I started doing my family tree a few months ago and this has proved to be a wonderful experience. I feel more connected to them than any things could ever provide.
ReplyDeleteI have the same issue with my bedroom furniture as Boogeyboard has with her dresser. I've resisted painting the set but I am ready now. Now I just need the time to do it!
Don't feel like the lone stranger. I'm afraid hoarding is the nature of the beast of antiquing.
ReplyDeleteI too am a emotional hoarder. I have...ugh...brown furniture that was my family's and Danny's. Can't get rid of it (he won't let me), yet it looks so out of place. I guess I'll just continue to be the keeper of the cr@p!
Debbie
our stuff/treasures/crap are investment money we can enjoy till sold!!! - making our abodes warm and personal. i watched one of those episodes on hoarding - we are nothing like them! - at least for now.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I began my antique business 12 years ago with my friend Ann - we couldn't keep it all or we found better ones! I've gone through the rose phase, the Victoriana phase, the glass vanity box phase, the hat pin and hat pin holder phase, the hair receiver phase, the blue and white phase, the needlepoint pillow phase, the red and white transfer phase. I sell what I no longer decorate with and make someone else happy. Sometimes I break even, sometimes I make money. I'm working very hard right now to have the spend time with friends and family - don't sweat the small stuff phase. Jenn
ReplyDeleteI held on to my Mom's lipstick just because it smelled like her fragrance for about a dozen years - I'd get it out when I was cleaning my dresser drawer - open it up - smell it - smile, remember her, picture her, remember a day out to Bamberger's (now Macy's) with her. When it was ok for me - I let it go. Jenifer
ReplyDeletegood luck...seems like every time I declutter...I find later on that I could have used what I got rid of...oh well never ending battle...keep it or get rid of it....
ReplyDeletethe Hoarders show gives me the willies, but it's motivating.
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