I Think I'm Off My Rocker...what A Mess!
Lounge By sweetcravings Updated 11 Sep 2009 , 5:13pm by sweetcravings
Well, as many of you know the kids are back to school. I have to say i was a bit sad my son wouldn't be around the house to chatter all day. 
That's until the CRAZY part of me decided to make a to do list!
This afternoon I had some time and figured..hey, i'm gonna go clean out the hallway linen closet. I haven't really gone through that in years. In fact I pretty much avoided it all together, since i could barely close it. I rolled up my sleeves and jumped right in. There were sheet sets everywhere, but i was able to get rid of alot of stuff that we didn't use anymore, to make room for the stuff we do. Now this is when i think i went off my rocker....."Hmmm now that i've done that maybe i'll start the spare room".... 
My brain was saying..."stay far away!" and "you don't want to even get started in there"...BUT, i did anyway.
OMG, i have a disaster everywhere. You see that room was the old 'baby' room. We still had the crib up, and the closet was basically unreachable because there was soooo much stuff in there. I hadn't even gone into that closet for probably 7years. I still had all my son's baby clothes, bath etc.. in there. We had always hoped to have another baby but after two consecutive miscarrages we decided to accept the situation and moved on. Well, i never touched anything because well, ya know, you never know. 
This room had also become the catch all space, and my 'cake' supply room. So, i've carefully managed to move all my cake stuff from that room to the dining room/kitchen. I can now open the closet, but now we have to decide what to do with everything. I hope to get the baby stuff out, so that i can move the cake stuff in. We have to remove some old trim in the room, spackle, paint...ugh, i'm getting overwhelmed! WHAT DID I START?? My Dh came home and is less than impressed with me. I'm starting to think he has a point. Maybe it would've been easier to just leave it. 
What started out as a minor task has turned into a major to do.
I cleaned the house yesterday and now i don't know why i wasted my time. The upstairs is a complete disaster.
I just had to come here and take a break from the insanity. Thanks for letting me vent.
Man do i wish i had just sat down after that linen closet..ugh.
Suzanne
I've certainly learned my lesson the hard way. We have cleared the closet, we can now see the carpet...BUT...our dining room/living room has been consumed with 'stuff'. I just want to get the holes filled, room painted so that i can have my house back. I'm afraid this is going to take alot of time to finish. Thankfully, i had nothing to do this weekend because i just found myself something to do. 
I swear i almost feel like i'm in an episode of the show 'hoarders'. 
I have sooo much more cake stuff then i thought. I'm feeling very overwhelmed and anxious about emtying this room. Maybe it's the finality of getting rid of the baby stuff, maybe it's the fact that it's such a huge task..ugh, i dunno. I sure wish i knew what to do with all the baby stuff. We are going to move much of it into the garage (my side of course) until we can decide what to do with it all. Most is almost like brand new being it was only used for one child.
I should have taken a shot of the room before i started to show you all the mess.
Donate the baby clothes to a womans shelter or clothing donation drop off.Same with all the rest of the stuff that is still useable but not for you.I have decluttered my house 3 tines in the last year and we just did the basement..Feels good!!As a matter of fact I have had my stuff out on the doorstep all day to be picked up and they didn't come 
second time in 2 weeks they haven't shown up..Starting to get really annoyed.I think I am going to call another charity tomorrow...
Sounds like a mess!!!
I never have that problem though, I tend to get rid of everything quickly. I just can't stand clutter, so our whole house is clutter free (note I didn't say clean..lol).
Going to my moms drives me insane, I just want to rent a u-haul and drag everything to good will. But she won't let me....I keep trying though. She has so much crap, there is something in corner, she thinks if there is an empty spot she must fill.
Well good luck and remember if you haven't used it or needed it in all that time, then get rid of it.
Going to my moms drives me insane, I just want to rent a u-haul and drag everything to good will. But she won't let me....I keep trying though. She has so much crap, there is something in corner, she thinks if there is an empty spot she must fill.
Sad part is that you'll have to do that EVENTUALLY. That's what drives me to de-clutter, even if it's just a little bit at a time. When my sister died a couple of years ago, it took 4 of us all day to clean out the ONE nursing home room that she lived in. As I'm going thru all of her stuff, I keep thinking, "I can't make my kids do this. I've got to clear out all of the junk I've got."
Maybe you could have a big yard sale or ebay the stuff. I'd probably just donate it though. It is a lot less work and you can count it on your taxes too. Good luck with it all. I only have one cake next weekend, so next week will be like this for me.
Having a garage sale is great. I kept everything stored in the garage until I thought I had enough for one. When I finally had a garage sale I made over $500 in one day. Well worth it to me.
One thing you might do is find a young family who had a real need for the baby stuff...I find it easier to get rid of stuff if I know it's going to someone who needs it badly. Most of the time when I give things away, I find someone on craigslist who's offering to pay a little bit for things and then just give it to them instead. I'm sure there are dishonest people out there but I have never had someone come pick up stuff who didn't look like they needed it more than me.
Otherwise, the easy answer would be a garage sale! Make some money for more cake stuff, or for storage for the cake stuff you have (maybe bins and shelves lining one wall?)
i'm in the process of doing this too! i started the other day organizing our pathetic excuse for a pantry...which is a tall cabinet that the other owners, for whatever reason,decided would suffice as a pantry...too bad i don't have xray vison to see through the wood shelves to know what the heck is stuffed behind the first 3 inches of the front of the shelf.
anyway, i pull out all the canned and boxed goods and put them on the dining room table and floor, decided to make the two bottom shelves for seldom used items like food processors, crockpots etc, so i had to empty out a whole other section of cabinetry. then i realize that a few things are under my sink, so i empty that out also...i now have a dining room floor, a dining room table and a large majority of my kitchen floor covered with crap.
since i'm doing all this with a 7 1/2 months pregnant belly jutting out, i'm quite slow...i'm also worried about putting all those chemicals back into the cabinet underneath the sink, since the baby is coming soon and time will fly, so i now need somewhere to put the 10 bottles of chemical poison...off to the hallway closet where the hot tub chemicals and more cleaning supplies are...then i think "well, if the chemicals are in the laundry room (right next to the hallway closet) they would be up higher and safer, RIGHT? so i pull out all the chemicals from that closet, completely emptying it out, and then on to the laundry room where i start moving around my detergents and stuff to make room for the chemicals.
in one day, i managed to "tornado-ize" my dining room, kitchen floor, kitchen cabinets and countertops, edge of my hallway, floor of hallway, and laundry closet. yay for me!!! my husband comes home from a convention, and just raises his eyebrows and makes a quick exit!!
though not completely done, i now have a wonderfully organized pantry (labels and all...god help the fool that puts a can back in the wrong place!), a spacious SAFE area under my sink, a clean dining room and decorated table, organized snack,breakfast and bulk item cabinets, 2 organized lazy susans, and clean countertops...still working on the corner closet and laundry rooms, so until it's finished i just have a pile of chemicals sitting in the edge of my hallway.
what can i say in my defense? i'm nesting???? yeah...that's it!!
moral of this long rambling tale...i feel your pain, but boy will you be proud of yourself when it's done!!!!!!! 
[quote="veronica720"]Sounds like a mess!!!
I never have that problem though, I tend to get rid of everything quickly. I just can't stand clutter, so our whole house is clutter free (note I didn't say clean..lol).
Going to my moms drives me insane, I just want to rent a u-haul and drag everything to good will. But she won't let me....I keep trying though. She has so much crap, there is something in corner, she thinks if there is an empty spot she must fill.
Well good luck and remember if you haven't used it or needed it in all that time, then get rid of it.[/quote
Sounds like my mother-in-law! She lives in a 3-bedroom rancher, by herself, and has filled every closet, plus racks with clothes. Not to mention the many kitchen products she buys, also sitting in one room. Oh yeah, did I mention she doesn't cook, cause she can't cook? Shoes stacked in the hallway, attic filled, shed filled, etc., etc. I all ready told my husband when the day comes I'm not cleaning out that house!
[quote="veronica720"]Sounds like a mess!!!
I never have that problem though, I tend to get rid of everything quickly. I just can't stand clutter, so our whole house is clutter free (note I didn't say clean..lol).
Going to my moms drives me insane, I just want to rent a u-haul and drag everything to good will. But she won't let me....I keep trying though. She has so much crap, there is something in corner, she thinks if there is an empty spot she must fill.
Well good luck and remember if you haven't used it or needed it in all that time, then get rid of it.[/quote Sounds like my mother-in-law! She lives in a 3-bedroom rancher, by herself, and has filled every closet, plus racks with clothes. Not to mention the many kitchen products she buys, also sitting in one room. Oh yeah, did I mention she doesn't cook, cause she can't cook? Shoes stacked in the hallway, attic filled, shed filled, etc., etc. I all ready told my husband when the day comes I'm not cleaning out that house!
[quote="veronica720"]Sounds like a mess!!!
I never have that problem though, I tend to get rid of everything quickly. I just can't stand clutter, so our whole house is clutter free (note I didn't say clean..lol).
Going to my moms drives me insane, I just want to rent a u-haul and drag everything to good will. But she won't let me....I keep trying though. She has so much crap, there is something in corner, she thinks if there is an empty spot she must fill.
Well good luck and remember if you haven't used it or needed it in all that time, then get rid of it.[/quote Sounds like my mother-in-law! She lives in a 3-bedroom rancher, by herself, and has filled every closet, plus racks with clothes. Not to mention the many kitchen products she buys, also sitting in one room. Oh yeah, did I mention she doesn't cook, cause she can't cook? Shoes stacked in the hallway, attic filled, shed filled, etc., etc. I all ready told my husband when the day comes I'm not cleaning out that house!
i'm in the process of doing this too! i started the other day organizing our pathetic excuse for a pantry...which is a tall cabinet that the other owners, for whatever reason,decided would suffice as a pantry...too bad i don't have xray vison to see through the wood shelves to know what the heck is stuffed behind the first 3 inches of the front of the shelf.
anyway, i pull out all the canned and boxed goods and put them on the dining room table and floor, decided to make the two bottom shelves for seldom used items like food processors, crockpots etc, so i had to empty out a whole other section of cabinetry. then i realize that a few things are under my sink, so i empty that out also...i now have a dining room floor, a dining room table and a large majority of my kitchen floor covered with crap.
since i'm doing all this with a 7 1/2 months pregnant belly jutting out, i'm quite slow...i'm also worried about putting all those chemicals back into the cabinet underneath the sink, since the baby is coming soon and time will fly, so i now need somewhere to put the 10 bottles of chemical poison...off to the hallway closet where the hot tub chemicals and more cleaning supplies are...then i think "well, if the chemicals are in the laundry room (right next to the hallway closet) they would be up higher and safer, RIGHT? so i pull out all the chemicals from that closet, completely emptying it out, and then on to the laundry room where i start moving around my detergents and stuff to make room for the chemicals.
in one day, i managed to "tornado-ize" my dining room, kitchen floor, kitchen cabinets and countertops, edge of my hallway, floor of hallway, and laundry closet. yay for me!!! my husband comes home from a convention, and just raises his eyebrows and makes a quick exit!!
though not completely done, i now have a wonderfully organized pantry (labels and all...god help the fool that puts a can back in the wrong place!), a spacious SAFE area under my sink, a clean dining room and decorated table, organized snack,breakfast and bulk item cabinets, 2 organized lazy susans, and clean countertops...still working on the corner closet and laundry rooms, so until it's finished i just have a pile of chemicals sitting in the edge of my hallway.
what can i say in my defense? i'm nesting???? yeah...that's it!!
moral of this long rambling tale...i feel your pain, but boy will you be proud of yourself when it's done!!!!!!!
OMG this is sooooo like what happened yesterday! You wrote that perfectly. I started the linen closet, which led me to the spare room since i had sheet sets, pillows, blankets in there. lol
I am happy to report the room is now empty. The decorative molding around the room removed too. Today i will be removing a wallpaper border, spackling, sanding..with hopes of painting either tonight or tommorrow. I want this sucker done by the weekend.
I can't see my dining room table and much around it but i guess it had to be done.
I have already donated the majority of my son's older clothes to the ST.Vincent De Paul society, so i may just donate the rest of them to there as well. I thought about a consignment shop, but it seems like alot of work for little money back. Most won't take more than 25items at a time, and in the end you might only get 35% of the sale price. Garage sale, thought of that..DH hates 'em! He wants to put the baby furniture on kijji, and maybe group the other big stuff with it as a group pkg.
I can't wait to finish up. I plan to use the closet for all my cake stuff. There are lots of different kinds of shelves in there. I also plan to put a couple of those stacking bins in there as well. In hopes to keep most of the cake stuff out of sight.
Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. 
I'm sorry to hear you made so much work for yourself too. I'm glad to hear it worked out in the long run though. Sounds wonderful..wanna come help me since you are sooo organized now.
Thanks everyone for listening to me complain. I can always count on Cc to bring me down a few notches so that i can breathe again.
Have a great day everyone.Off to work....
Suzanne
I've returned from 'the room' and just finished sanding all the patchwork i did. I am covered in dust, my shoulders are soo sore from reaching above my head, and my feet are aching from all the standing..and it's only 2:40pm. I'm gonna wait till my husband gets home to have him inspect the patching up of the walls and sanding. I don't want to take any chances that i missed something and the finish product look cruddy.
Plans for tonight...wash down the walls of all the dust, tape the floor molding(it's white) and if i'm really ambitious paint the ceiling.
Calgon take me away.
Calgon take me away.
My best friend Robert Mondavi does a MUCH better job!
I have no clutter. Don't get me wrong, it's not because I'm saintly or due to any virtue! Our house is over 100 years old, and I guess, by golly, back in them days they had one suit of clothes? We have three closets in the entire house, two of which are about 36x14. I kid you not. A standard clothes hanger gets pushed upward on one side when you close the closet door! The larger hall closet has been made into a glorious pantry ( check out easyclosets dot com sometime... wonderful stuff and service!).
Anyway, if we haven't worn or used something in a week or so, it either goes to the basement or in the Goodwill box. About a year ago during a casual phone conversation, my older son said, "Mama, what are y'all going to do with all that stuff in the basement?" (such a nice boy...) to which I answered, "Heh. I'm NOT. What are YOU going to do with it??"
I was more amused than he was.
How the painting going you ask... !
Well, last night i managed to get the first coat on the ceiling. This morning second coat on ceiling done. Primed the wall...ah but a problem....the area where the molding (chair rail) was is still very visiable through the primer. I'm starting to freak out a bit. I asked my husband about it last night since i noticed that the area wasn't flush. You see we put the molding up first and then painted the walls. So the area directly underneath where the molding was is basically just white paint. When he took it down, i sanded the area but still i could see the difference. He figured when i prime it would disappear...well guess what? IT DIDN'T! I'm hoping a few more coats of primer will do the trick and bring that area up to the level of the other paint..i'm praying.
Do you think it'll work? Then maybe a few extra coats of paint over that area. Ugh.i'm stressing. I'm not pulling out that sander again! If worse comes to worse we'll put up molding again even though i'm not thrilled about it. The holes that i filled look pretty good, it's just the edge where the molding was.
I'm pulling my hair out with worry.
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