Have you seen Raising Hope? The episode titled "Dream Hoarders".
So much to learn there. And, presented with just enough humor to take the mean edge off.
The Hoarders show has too much of reality. Raising Hope actually gives one hope. But, since I've learned a little more about the Hoarding Mindset, I doubt that the approach of just hauling off the whole garden shed overnight is an effective cure. The rebound effect could be catastrophic. And if Mom is a true Hoarder, she would have probably have not dealt as well as the charater on a commedy.
I did really like the last scene where the Kid/Daddy recognized that some Hoarding Behaviors aren't all that bad.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A moment of Clarity
My dear, dear family and DH don't often understand my Hoarding Issues. And they often ask "Why?", and I've been having a thought on that today......
Some of you may have grown up going to the library all the time. I did not. Our little neighborhood school libraries were a good try, but nothing like what I discovered later.
Some of you may have had a library in your home, and subscriptions to magazines that came in the mail. I did not. Our "family library" was a 3' wide 4' tall bookcase. One whole shelf was occupied by The World Book Encyclopedia. I was a voracious reader and read through the whole thing one summer when I was about 12. There was one dictionary, published before my birth, and one Bible, awarded to a parent for Sunday School attendance in 1934. While I do think I read the dictionary, I'm pretty sure that I haven't read the whole Bible yet.
When I started college, we were expected to know how to use an "index to periodicals". I remember discovering the archived magazine section at the libraries. They had ancient copies of the most fascinating publications; all bound into volumes by year. It was like an archaeological find, only not so much dust. Before then, I had no idea that there were so many magazines on such a wide variety of crafts and arts. I think I "wasted" a great deal of a year or two of college lurking in the depths of those archives. That was before my Hoarding got to be a problem. Everything I would ever need to know was at the library, open almost 24 hours a day, a short walk from my dorm room.
Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe those archives were a contributing factor to the problem. As time went by, I learned that my little college library sold off great numbers of books and magazines at a book sale every year. Their capacity for storage had been reached, and the oldest and least read had to make way for the new and the popular. At 4 books for $1 or $5 per bag, how could anyone let these precious tomes get away? As long as they were in the Library, it was possible to go there and see the patterns and read the articles if they were needed. As they were sold off, they went to live in someone else's stash closet, or horrors! to that new recycling center in the mall parking lot. Then they would be "Gone". As time went by, the big University Library and the Public Library in the University Town started getting rid of their stuff too, and I was always right there to buy and haul home as many boxes and bags of books as I could afford. By the time we set up housekeeping, and I was home with little ones, even the small town local Library was getting rid of periodicals over 5 years old. They were giving them away free! They, too, had a Fund Raising Book Sale every summer. It was for a good cause. And I was giving them a good-ish home. Right?
Sometimes, I've discovered that I actually had 2 or even more copies of the exact same issue. I even spent a great lot of money on magazines on eBay at the height of the problem.
In reality, they stacked up in places inhospitable to paper and decayed away in many gruesome ways. They have taken up space that could have been put to better use. Space that has been expensive to maintain, hard to acquire, never enough of. They have required heating in the winter and venting in the summer. They have been drowned by rising water and roof leaks. They have been nibbled and gnawed by mice and moths and who knows what else.
These collections were read only occasionally. When I did try to find a half remembered article or pattern, it could never be found in the chaos. It became much easier to just make up a pattern than to find the one I was looking for. And now, with the Internet and Ravelry, and all the company websites like Bernat and Lion Brand and Interweave, isn't it easier now than ever to find exactly the pattern or idea that I need? Without the Paper Overload?
This may be a breakthrough moment; wish I had a therapist to talk to about it. Maybe it's time to let more of them go..........
Some of you may have grown up going to the library all the time. I did not. Our little neighborhood school libraries were a good try, but nothing like what I discovered later.
Some of you may have had a library in your home, and subscriptions to magazines that came in the mail. I did not. Our "family library" was a 3' wide 4' tall bookcase. One whole shelf was occupied by The World Book Encyclopedia. I was a voracious reader and read through the whole thing one summer when I was about 12. There was one dictionary, published before my birth, and one Bible, awarded to a parent for Sunday School attendance in 1934. While I do think I read the dictionary, I'm pretty sure that I haven't read the whole Bible yet.
When I started college, we were expected to know how to use an "index to periodicals". I remember discovering the archived magazine section at the libraries. They had ancient copies of the most fascinating publications; all bound into volumes by year. It was like an archaeological find, only not so much dust. Before then, I had no idea that there were so many magazines on such a wide variety of crafts and arts. I think I "wasted" a great deal of a year or two of college lurking in the depths of those archives. That was before my Hoarding got to be a problem. Everything I would ever need to know was at the library, open almost 24 hours a day, a short walk from my dorm room.
Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe those archives were a contributing factor to the problem. As time went by, I learned that my little college library sold off great numbers of books and magazines at a book sale every year. Their capacity for storage had been reached, and the oldest and least read had to make way for the new and the popular. At 4 books for $1 or $5 per bag, how could anyone let these precious tomes get away? As long as they were in the Library, it was possible to go there and see the patterns and read the articles if they were needed. As they were sold off, they went to live in someone else's stash closet, or horrors! to that new recycling center in the mall parking lot. Then they would be "Gone". As time went by, the big University Library and the Public Library in the University Town started getting rid of their stuff too, and I was always right there to buy and haul home as many boxes and bags of books as I could afford. By the time we set up housekeeping, and I was home with little ones, even the small town local Library was getting rid of periodicals over 5 years old. They were giving them away free! They, too, had a Fund Raising Book Sale every summer. It was for a good cause. And I was giving them a good-ish home. Right?
Sometimes, I've discovered that I actually had 2 or even more copies of the exact same issue. I even spent a great lot of money on magazines on eBay at the height of the problem.
In reality, they stacked up in places inhospitable to paper and decayed away in many gruesome ways. They have taken up space that could have been put to better use. Space that has been expensive to maintain, hard to acquire, never enough of. They have required heating in the winter and venting in the summer. They have been drowned by rising water and roof leaks. They have been nibbled and gnawed by mice and moths and who knows what else.
These collections were read only occasionally. When I did try to find a half remembered article or pattern, it could never be found in the chaos. It became much easier to just make up a pattern than to find the one I was looking for. And now, with the Internet and Ravelry, and all the company websites like Bernat and Lion Brand and Interweave, isn't it easier now than ever to find exactly the pattern or idea that I need? Without the Paper Overload?
This may be a breakthrough moment; wish I had a therapist to talk to about it. Maybe it's time to let more of them go..........
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Archived issues on CD's - viable alternative?
I just found out that Interweave Press has Archived issues on CD's for some of their publications. They're not the most current releases, range from 2004 to 2009 for the ones I explored.
Have any of you explored these as a viable alternative to keeping the hard-copy magazines?
Many of the magaizines I had saved have met with sad endings recently, and have now gone on to the Great Recycling Bin. The irrational feelings of loss associated with this kind of event have led me to seek out other ways to assure myself that these aren't completely gone and will be available in one form or another if I need them. The evolution of the internet and web entities like Ravelry have helped me let go of a lot. But, I'm worried that my comfort-zone stretching is getting to the limit right now. I want to be IN the comfort zone for a little while before I stretch more and make more progress.
Have any of you explored these as a viable alternative to keeping the hard-copy magazines?
Many of the magaizines I had saved have met with sad endings recently, and have now gone on to the Great Recycling Bin. The irrational feelings of loss associated with this kind of event have led me to seek out other ways to assure myself that these aren't completely gone and will be available in one form or another if I need them. The evolution of the internet and web entities like Ravelry have helped me let go of a lot. But, I'm worried that my comfort-zone stretching is getting to the limit right now. I want to be IN the comfort zone for a little while before I stretch more and make more progress.
Getting to keep the Grandbaby overnight
The absolutely best reward for getting rid of the junk:
Getting to keep the Grandbaby overnight.
I don't think the kids would have Not ever let us babysit, but my DH was worried about it.
And I know that it's all out of love for everyone concerned. Our house wasn't "unsafe" but it definately was not "baby proof". And toddler safe is a way off still.
So, there are tradeoffs and rewards. Yeah!
Getting to keep the Grandbaby overnight.
I don't think the kids would have Not ever let us babysit, but my DH was worried about it.
And I know that it's all out of love for everyone concerned. Our house wasn't "unsafe" but it definately was not "baby proof". And toddler safe is a way off still.
So, there are tradeoffs and rewards. Yeah!
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