Hoarders

So after a long day of cleaning, mowing, weeding, laundry, chasing the dog, grocery shopping, and endless other duties, I crawl into bed and need a moment of mindless TV to wind down. Last night I turned on the TV and got sucked into a show about real people who hoard. OH DEAR.....this was so unreal to me. Their homes are PACKED to the top with STUFF STUFF STUFF and more stuff.....garbage, old rotting food, and junk. One guy had so much stuff, his bathroom was packed to the ceiling and he had to go to the Y every day to take a shower. Food in the freezer was bulging and they still refused to throw it away. Many are faced with eviction unless they clean the place up. A team of therapists and cleaners go in and help them work through the stuff and they help them get rid of things. I seriously felt my skin crawling as I watched. These people really can't help it ....I mean they have deep seated emotions that go along with the hoarding, but the condition of their homes made me seriously itch all over.

I have the total opposite disease.......throw everything away disease. I'm almost OCD about clutter and organization. I get a little anxious when things are messy and when their is clutter sitting around. I'm ashamed at some of the things I throw away......seriously, you would not believe it. Perfectly good clothes, shoes, stuff......... One time I accidentally threw away our TV remote control because I was on a mission with a black garbage bag to clean up and I go on these rampages and start tossing stuff......oooops. My husband has asked me more than once to stop throwing away his golf magazines. ( I hate when they pile up.) I'm the FIRST ONE people come to when something is missing, they assume I've thrown it out (usually I have.) I get defensive about it. :)

I try to be less wasteful now, when I go on a cleaning rampage. Our Goodwill store has a drive up window which makes me very happy. I pack up stuff I want to get rid of and drive through. This week alone- I took a perfect computer scanner and copy machine to the Goodwill. We don't use them and I couldn't stand to let them sit in our storage closet.....it bugs me to have stuff we don't use sitting around. So I took them to Goodwill. At least it is a tax write off.

Other things I can't take to Goodwill- I simply put down by our garbage can with a FREE sign on it, and I'm not kidding you......usually it is gone within an hour. It is almost a game we play....one time I had our kid's old bikes down there, and before we could even walk up our 200 foot driveway from the garbage can, someone already stopped to pick up the bikes. Yesterday I put my son's old mattress down there and within ten minutes it was GONE. I can put ANYTHING down there and it is always gone. Furniture we don't want, an old swing, old bikes, a dresser mirror. Probably the hoarder people coming to get my stuff. We help each other.

People make comments all the time about my clean and freakishly organized home, I'm not bragging about that.....because seriously sometimes being a freak cleaner stinks. I don't have the OCD thing that makes me wipe doorhandles 500 times a day, or scrub until my fingers are bloody, but I have a strong need to have things constantly organized and neat. I can live with some dishes in the sink off and on and my kid's toys laying around.....it is the organization thing that gets me- not having clutter and stuff laying around. I can never rest until things are clutter free and organized again.

I remember being little and making my bed really slowly and neatly and running my hands over my fresh made bed to get all of the wrinkles out. I also remember always needing to have my stuff neat and "just right" in my room. My grandma had a mild case of hoarding, and I remember always feeling like I needed to clean after being at her house. She would have coupons laying everywhere......papers, bags, magazines, just stuff all over the place, packed in every inch of her space. Her basement was like a treasure hunt, she had so much clutter and stuff down there.

I'm so bad, I even need to keep my Recycle Bin on my computer cleaned out, and I always delete all emails I receive and send......it bugs me to have my inbox filled up with junk.

See.......I'm sick. Maybe soon there will be a show on TV about people like me.

Goodbye Summer

Where did August go? It is coming to an end and I barely remember it.

I've been purposeful about my time on the computer. I get so much done when I don't get sucked in by a good news story, blog, or email. I get on, check mail and get off. I hope to keep to that pattern as fall approaches and we get back to school, and back to all the activities.

There is so much to do in a day. I've been trying to make healthy meals, exercise as much as I can- I'm so thankful, because I really do love to exercise, it makes me feel so energetic and I can tolerate the ups and downs of life better when I sweat. We have been busy staining our huge deck, what a chore!!!!! My son started his first year of football last week -they have practice four nights a week for 2 hours each night. We all go as a family and sit and watch him. He is really loving it, and I'm so proud of that. The coaches work them hard- they run a lot and do so much conditioning, yet he never complains and he looks forward to going back each night. I'm so thankful that even though we homeschool, we have the opportunity to be involved in things like this. It is good for boys to be with other boys, roughing each other up and having coaches who inspire them but work them hard.

We will start our homeschooling the day after Labor Day. This is our 7th year. It will be a hard transition after a long summer, but being more scheduled will be good for all of us.

Our puppy has started to go on my 4 mile daily walks with me, he does great. He seems to really like it. I started him slow, going 2 miles the first time, 3 the next, and now he does 4 miles no problem, even running at times. It wears him out, but he needs it.

That is the update-busy days, mowing, yard work, keeping the garden weeded, keeping the dog from chasing the cats, playing with my kids, watching movies with my husband. Life is good.

Kelly

Weekend Events

Sorry for the last cranky post. :) I'm better now.

However........I should have added buying our puppy the MOST annoying squeak toy on planet earth......as part of my things that make me go grrrrrr. It needs to have an unfortunate accident today. (They toy not the puppy- he is a keeper.)

Braden my 11 year old son and his friend, our neighbor boy, set up camp in our back yard all day yesterday. We live on 3 acres, so they have plenty of room. They set up near the fire pit so they could have a bon fire. They ran flashlights out there, then bug spray, sleeping bags, games, treats....it was a whole day of work. Last night my husband started a very small bon fire for them, so they could roast marshmallows-they did that, but then started running and jumping over the fire.....WHY??? Boys LOVE fire.....they threw everything they could find into the fire, sticks, toys from the yard (hey...should have had them throw the squeak toy in there), cans, his sister...okay, no he didn't.

Anyway........the campers made it about 2 hours and were back in the house by 9:30 complaining about mosquitos. So much for that. They camped downstairs while watching "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel. Almost the same right?

Today it is raining which messes up several of our plans-Brooklyn had a swimming party to go to (moved to tomorrow now) and we had a golf outing fund raiser for our friend with cancer. Instead we are going to watch a family movie and camp on the couch. YAY!!!!

Happy weekend!

Things that make me go hmmmmmmm

Hi, I'm alive- in case anyone wondered.



We are on the last days of summer count down....I feel it slipping away-so I've been FORCING myself to slow down and enjoy quiet, slower days. I've said no to things, even if they were fun. Because of it, my kids have been able to play outside for HOURS AND HOURS, run, play in the sprinkler, play with the puppy, make up fun outside games with the neighbors, swim, and it has been priceless.



So- things that make me go hmmmmmmmm (more like grrrrrrr)



1. Dying of thirst after a long walk and going to find someone drank up the last grape low cal Gatorade that I was dying for and didn't put anymore in the fridge. :(



2. Taking my puppy out potty, he goes, we come back in and 5 seconds later he pees on the floor. Hmmmmmm ????



3. The people who let their pet bunny go outside-I assume because they were tired of caring for him and now he is hopping all over their yard looking for food. I put a bunch of our bunny's food in a ziplock and snuck over there and dumped a bunch of food in their yard so he could eat. GRRRRRRR



4. The credit card company that just called me trying to sell identity theft protection-after nicely saying, "No thank you I'm not interested" she kept going on and on and on....and at the end said, "If you have any questions call 1-800-bla bla bla bla...." REALLY FAST....like why bother to tell the number...am I writing it down- NO ---- do I memorize numbers-----NO!!!! Do I care.......NO!



5. The economy bugs me.



6. I was out shopping for a dress to wear to a wedding and all I could find was either- 1. Grandma dresses with big, ugly flowers and bold prints, or 2. Teenie bopper dresses that were 5 sizes too small, skimpy, and short.



7. Drunk Drivers who drive with their children in the car- drive down the wrong side of the highway and kill themselves and their children. (In the news today)...REALLY BUGS ME!



8. People who ask you a question, you start to answer, and then they start looking away, uninterested, while you are answering them.......why???? Why ask? RUDE!



9. When you put yourself out there-ask for a prayer request to a friend, and they never ask you about it again......like to follow up and act like they care. Hmmmmm



10. I'm a clean freak and have an awesome Dyson vac.....it has a clear container that catches all the gunk you vac up......I vac 3 or more times a week-yet have to empty the canister every time, because it is FULL of gunk....where does that stuff come from? GROSS!! (Maybe I don't want to know the answer to this question.)



That is good for today- just a few irritations on my mind this morning. :) Happy Wednesday to ya.