My first real post is on "Do I help or don't"; could any of you experienced people, look at my post and comment? And should I post on the Daily chat from now on?Thank you so much, I love reading all the posts, especially from new like me!! And experienced who have been there and are still keeping up the good fight!!

I found my reply on Do I help or don't? I'm so confused do I talk on both those sites?? Help, I'm a Newbie to this!!

I wrote a thesis on this message board somewhere and now I can't find it!! Any ideas of what I did wrong, for sure??!!

Tat, I must have been typing when you posted. Thank you so much for your kind words and making me feel welcome. It is appreciated, along with everyone else who has made effort to do so as yes I do feel very overwhlemed being new and tackling or trying to figure out where to start and how. Big enough challenge right there! Miss LR lots... Hope she is back soon.

P.S.-Good idea about the new thread 🙂

Peace....

Hi Everyone,

Got a few things on my list done today, although there is more that MUST be completed before sleep tonight. There has been power outages where I live causing extra stress and straining, although while I is easy to get stuck in being overwhelemd am working very hard to keep moving forward and hope to complete at least the most necessary tasks and goals tonight.

Tat, Sometimes we need to take rest and keep attention on the things we have accomplished. Sounds like that day for you is today 🙂 Be gentle to you and I hope you have some good self care tonight. See what unfolds tomorrow. Little by little you can do it!

diane, There seems to have been alot of distraction going on aside from focussing on what we are here to work on. No one here should be having to deal with or put up with anybody else's issues, although I guess it apparently happens at times. So we forgive and move on, as we are all imperfect and shall have different views/experiences/truths even. Learn what we can from it and move forward in as positive way possible that works for each of us while supporting others as a group. The minute that stops or hurting has begun, we are all wounded as issues can then be allowed to become bigger than our mutual goals.

Have a great night and awesome day tomorrow everyone!!!

Peace...

Diane I hate to admit this but after reading all that stuff on the boards, I am discouraged and have lost some of my oomph. Together we can get back on track. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose Tillie. She is a ray of sunshine. I miss LR and everyone else. I am trying to follow your and Tillie's lead by being welcoming and open. I appreciate EVERYONE here. We are having terrible struggles, in more than one area of our lives. Poor G mentioning a tragedy, your struggles, Tillie's struggles. None of us came to hoarding "pure," we all have other issues that fostered our hoarding.

I am starting a new thread, for all of us, called today is a new day, with the hope that we can close this most recent upset and all focus on what we can do to help each other. We can work on hoarding! And take it from me and others here, we can do it best by doing it together. When I first came here I was shocked and upset and dizzy and sick to discover that I am a hoarder. Everyone here helped me to turn that into positive action. Just hearing Tillie say Hooray or LR remind me to drink water, got me to where I am today....well on the road. And Diane, I feel close to you. You are a dear.

I look forward to hearing from G and Sandy and Dianne and Whew and Roxie and Karl and Bitsy--everyone. So let's see what we can accomplish and how we can do it together.

Much love.

hi tat, your post gave me a reason to post tonight. You are doing great, you are honest, all the ups and downs. It is difficult to accept how long it takes to change our situation. It is ok to take days off and to have slow days.
Earlier today I read the posts on here then read the new board that people referred to in their posts. I was so upset and disappointed about all the posts. Thought I was done with this site.
Tillie has been the one constant on this site for years. She has continually shown acceptance, kindness and encouragement. She was in private chat helping me accept my short comings and not give up, then to see all that has been posted, really sad. I hope she will return here, but we were both very hurt and sad with untruths. I have tried to just let it go, but after reading what was written, brutal, I hope you will do all in your power to let Tillie know how much she has contributed to your life and this site and not just toss her aside because someone made up a story to get us "in trouble". Tillie is not paid to put up with all of our crap, and she deserves to be respected and appreciated.

Hello everyone. I haven't done any of the things I said I would yesterday or today. I am feeling very tired and worn out. Am taking tomorrow off from work and will take care of things then. I am hoping I find the strength to go to my storage spot and get something accomplished. Just going to imagine how good that will make me feel. Hopefully with that thought, and your support, I will get there tomorrow.

Will stream a few hoarders tonight-- they are available for free on my roku. (I don't have cable).

Hi Guys!

Today I will work on tidying up some in the kitchen, getting some dishes done, laundry and as ready as can be for a trip out of the city I will be taking in a few days.

Where I live we have had some tragedies in the last 24 hours and while there are some things I must do related to helping make damage better, will have to wait till I am get back to address.

So focus is to get prepared and ready for out of town necesssary trip and fingers crossed hoping all the needs to get done to be succesful can happen in the next few days.

Dianne,I too posted on the other thread after reading your post and seeing what has transpired.

Have a great everyone and happy decluttering and well with accomplishments!

Peace...

Rather than repeat everything here I have posted an apology on the Welcome board. Thank you to Karl for planting that seed of disturbance in my heart.

Bitsy, so glad to hear your son is feeling stronger. We all feel out of place at times. I am tired and discouraged and negative daily. It takes tremendous effort to get thru a day and at the end sometimes cry knowing I have to get up and do the same things the next day. Spiritual reading a.m. and p.m. help me. Just the fact that you try and keep going shows your strength.

Got some laundry done tonight while watching the grandkids at their house. So I was able to stay out of kmart. After I put it away it'll be some playtime for little cats and Laura will handle getting the dogs settled in. Then to bed. I am beat. Good night all ~~

Good work on the kitchen, Diane! I hope G and Sandy have had some success with their kitchens too! Be sure to let me know if you were able to get started! It's hard. Luckily I had very few food items and the ones that I did had expiration dates from as long ago as 2003! Not a failure, I told myself. I hope you and others here made some progress and that you feel welcome and supported.

I didn't make any progress on house tonight. But I am going to take my change to bank tomorrow. Last week I took my "closet change" (change found in my Dreaded Closet that I only recently started working in) and it was just about $30. Tomorrow's change is all in a tin, where I put my change from purses and pockets. We will see how much that comes to.

I am also going to quickly identify some stuff for my sister to take on Thursday. Hopefully she'll feel like going to my storage space with me but if not, I'll just choose some stuff from here.

Hope to see you all soon. Special regards to Bitsy--how nice that your son is doing better.

Tat, got the dishes done and counters clean, realized some of clutter was stuff that belongs in garage, on kitchen counter, but when it sits there for more than a couple of days, it confuses me what to do with it, so thanks for reminding me that when kitchen is clean life is better, I even heated up some soup I made and froze, once the pan was clean, and could fill it on counter. Also, the floor mats for the car are clean and dry, sitting by gate, going out to put into car now, you are a big help. Once stuff is out of your trunk and you only return what is suppposed to be there, you will love it.

Diane!!! It is the only place not suffering from clutter creep. The kitchen and my dining room table. I'm not kidding you, I run dishwasher, clear it out, then put dishes in. I wipe down sink and everything! I don't mean to boast but honestly, my life is so much easier. Since I've significantly changed my cabinets, everything has a home the second it's clean.

I need to follow your lead and get my car cleaned out. It's okay (not great ) in passenger areas but trunk is just another pile of hoarded stuff. I'll make a list when I finally go into it so we can laugh, or cry, about it.

Much love.

Tat, thanks for describing your process of cleaning all cabinets. I did similar process last year, except counters have not stayed clean many days. Your post motivated me to go to kitchen and clean counters.
Today is a new day

Good to hear from everyone. I recently de cluttered my kitchen, one cabinet at a time. If you've read any of the past posts, I have a terrible hoarding problem with dishes, china, glassware, etc. some family stuff, some antiques, some vintage. Very tough decisions but I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets one at a time, then washed down with soap and water. I didn't have shelf paper (and was going to use that as an excuse to stop-- or even better--not start!) but instead went to linen closet and used linen and cotton napkins. I have a million of them. After I did all the upper cabinets (and trust me, my heart was breaking-- turned out the top shelves of each cabinet was pretty much filled with adorable little boxes such as jewelry boxes and Christmas boxes) I put what I was keeping away and in a logical place. For some of the dishes, I decided to keep just four of each sized plate, which allowed me to have my cake and eat it too. I went to goodwill nearly everyday with my donations, since I felt that keeping them here might lead to backsliding. There was NO usable food in my cabinets. Then I worked on my counters. Not sure but think I completed everything in under two weeks.

My kitchen has remained absolutely clear and clean since then. All dishes are put away, nothing on counters. For the first time ever I have counter space. And when I use stove or oven I don't have to move a thing. I will admit that I had a friend visit and she further scrubbed down the cabinets and completely cleaned my fridge. That was unexpected and very nice. She also taught me some things re keeping kitchen clean.

That's my advice on the kitchen. I am not exaggerating when I say I must've donated 20 cake pans and pie pans. It was wonderful and good and I do not have regrets. I most certainly have regrets with some other stuff I've gotten rid of in the last two months, but the kitchen stuff is out of sight/out of mind. If anyone needs some support or tips on kitchen clean up, I'll try to help. And if you have any ideas, trust me, I need them.

Welcome and love to my fellow hoarders, both old and new. TODAY IS A NEW DAY!

Nice you are letting go of anger about chat. I had a one time only private chat and will not do that again. Chat is for everyone and should be safe. I will not be in chat on Sunday again, so please let it go. I plan to continue to post on here because I feel close to many people on here. I have made mistakes, hope to learn from them. What was done in chat stays in chat, no names on message board of what was said in chat. What if a woman said private things in chat about her worthless husband, we named and quoted her on message board, which is permanent, her husband signs on and sees it.
Today I got up, took care of some business, vacuumed, then back up on roof. Scraped several areas and coated them, like you Dianne, preparing for winter, almost done.
I have always used the patch stuff from can and today used patch in tube with caulk gun, so much faster and less messy. I used the whole thing, only a little left to finish. Have clutter creeping out of garage from my fixit projects, that I plan to put away today.
Dianne, I am grateful you are posting again, and that you have a clean house, sorry about your sweet pooch going down hill. Tat, happy you are posting your progress. karl, you are so right, communication problems happen. I am so sorry I have adhd and can not be in groups whether in person or online, I learn so much from groups, but due to my inability to stay calm when distractions happen. I want you to have a safe place so will not be in chat, so please forgive me and let it go. Think of me as a handicapped person that is begging for understanding rather than condeming me.
Bitsy, your post was so touching. I totally understand your post about feeling old and not as able as others to get things done. I will be 66 y.o. soon, and see how tired I get. Please know we understand all you are going through and do not give up.
Tillie, have to say hello to you, you have helped all of us, and hope you are feeling better.
Welcome Sandy, sounds like you are doing great and able to put things into perspective

Dianne, I don't know how you get all that done.

Time is going by so fast! Already almost the middle of September. It is a little cooler. nice. but just a reminder that before we know it it will be really cold and harder to do a lot of things.

I have not done anything about the NE house and property. My son is getting stronger and yesterday we went to the SE house and got five bags of trash and four bags of recycling out to the street for pick-up today. So today my back is really hurting and my stomach is upset so we won't be working there today. He is adding up all the hospital and related bills he has received so far. very depressing.

Roxie. I hope you are doing better every day.

Chat room.. Too fast. was a new experience for me. I felt out of place. Even on the boards I feel out of place. Everybody seems so motivated and gung ho. I am old and tired and discouraged. I try not to be negative but it is hard. I try to keep going anyway. Sometimes people here give me hope. At least I know I am not the only one who struggles with this. I wish there had been something like this 25 or 35 years ago.

We have to go to store and run some errands, Bye.

Getting back on track ~~

Keep up the good work everybody!

Dianne, Thank you for clarifying the two nn's and big "D". It is nice to hear anothe person happy for my choice to stay, as well as the warm welcome 🙂

Look forward to working with you and making lots of changes in life working this site and the great people here like yourself, Jar :ady, Beverly, Karl, LR etc etc etc...

Hey G,

Wish there was a window for private chat or a way to put someone on ignore(not that that is ideal, although at leas a way to control and remove someone else's negativity if they are bent on it).

Looks like Sunday was not the first nor the last. Wish I had been in there, as I would have helped this "Suzie".

Cory is who owns the site right? Maybe he can access the chat logs and get to the bottom of what is going on here and who is all causing the troubles? Maybe this has been going on for a long time Diane?

Sorry I did not post to your post Tat, although am getting ready and heading out the door for some errands. Will check back later.

Wishing everyone well with accomplishments today!

Oh no Diane!!!

That is horrible. I have no idea who was even n chat yesterday as after Sudnay night decided to take a breather, so cannot be of help. Between what went on Sunday meeting and hearing that, maybe we need a moderator? Karl is usually in there...

So, maybe he knows? Sad...very sad as this is a support site and well everyone who comes here needs support. Is hard to feel it when negative things happen or people are not kind 🙁

Oops! As I was composing my post two other people posted--not ignoring you! Will read and write later!

Hello everyone! Glad to see you are up and at 'em, Sandy! I am at office today but did get dishwasher emptied from last night's run. My sister has agreed to take some of my mother's things, notably her beautiful antique wine and champagne glasses so I will see that they are ready for her before she comes in on Thursday. Having my sister as a support system is new for me! Very excited about her visit!

Have a good day, everyone! Nice to meet you Sandy. I'm ready for the real challenges! Best wishes to you all.

Karl, Great advice and perspective. Thanks for sharing. Am wiling to chalk it up to "communication failure" and move forward without hard feelings here.

Annonymous, Excellent words of wisodom, as well as important points to be honoured for this site and interactions to be kept positive/supportive 🙂

Jar Lady, I too find your input and presence to be highly valueable to myself and can tell, others in chat do too. You have a lightness and humor that makes it easier to share(amongst several other positive qualities). Appreciate your support around what you saw despite being new as well. Your words were so sweeet, they made my day...maybe week or month! Yep, I am staying for sure and thanks for being a friend here who has made me feel welcome and clear that I provide positive support in your chat experience.

Sandy, Not sure either how anyone could find bad mouthing or untiing against others fun(nevermind why anyone mature would do it), although do recall it from junior high. At any rate, I am here to focus on improving my environment and supporting others doing the same. Thanks for your support and welccome to the board. Hope you get lots done in your kitchen today! 🙂

Today will be my first day posting here about what I am going to do and am excited to be part of this community not only in chat, although now the boards. Am very optomistic about the support and believe working with other people dealing with similar issues, will be of great help especially on the days that are more overwhelming. Am relatively new, although guess I will just jump in here too!

I shall work on some areas of clutter in my kitchen as well today.....the thought of it is completely overwhelming as I feel I do not know where to start and that areas which had improved have backslid, although am commited and going to slay that dragon slow and steady.

Peace...

Not sure what's going on here.......

Cory set up this site for everyone.

Hi guys, why all the talk about the past, what are you doing today to solve your hoarding problems? Easy to focus on a problem instead of doing work on your hoard. Focusing on negative people or behaviors of others is a good way to avoid cleaning up your side of the street!!! Look at your part in any situation and improve yourself. Bad mouthing others is fun and uniting but not a good way to live your life.
Today I am going clean kitchen. Look for things I can throw away. Please write about your accomplishments today. Lets stay focused on success.

Hi! I just wanted to offer my support to G, who I feel was unfairly ganged up on at the last meeting. G and I are both relatively new, and I am relieved to hear that she is not discouraged from continuing to attend. G's input at meetings is friendly, positive, empathetic, and very encouraging to me and others.

Whether on message boards or in chat this is a support group. There will be people we like or don't like. But respect must be paramount. This isn't the first time conflicts have arisen nor will it be the last. At the very least, apologies are always a good thing. It acknowledges that mistakes were made, intentional or not.

It is important that newcomers never feel excluded. Everyone comes here looking for help. Today's newcomers are tomorrow's mentors. Keep calm and support each person.