Chicken lady
2-6-15, 6:46am
and I'm a hoarder.
not that I would qualify for the show, I've come a long way. but I'm not there yet and every day is a struggle. You could probably clear all the beds and chairs and tables and corner piles in my living space in an hour - but you'd have nowhere to put the stuff away. And the basement - well, there are paths and you don't have to turn sideways and everything above my shoulders is on a shelf and very unlikely to fall unless we had an earthquake.
The process was complicated almost two years ago when my grandmother died, leaving behind a huge house packed full of really nice things and only 5 households inheriting - two already in their 70's with full homes. That's the side of the family the hoarding gene comes from and it took until this past christmas to finish clearing the house. the emotional trauma is still pretty raw and all tied up in the stuff.
I live in the country in a medium sized house - it sort of has four bedrooms, except one is a 7x12 enclosed and finished porch and one is a half story finished attic. I also have two really messy barns. And three grown children - two still in and out for college, who are storing all their stuff here, including former 4h projects that still have to be fed.
I work part time as an art teacher, so I always have a use for anything, and I love thrift stores. "chicken lady" is a nickname I got from a junk dealer at one of the thrift stores. because I was deliverinng eggs to some of the employees.
So I'm working on finding a new balance in my life as an empty nester, and trying to actually empty the nest. I've been reading for a couple of months and I'm hoping to find some support in the organizing section for those days when I need positive reinforcement for normal behavior like throwing out worn out shoes - the people in my real life are pretty sick of the whole process.
not that I would qualify for the show, I've come a long way. but I'm not there yet and every day is a struggle. You could probably clear all the beds and chairs and tables and corner piles in my living space in an hour - but you'd have nowhere to put the stuff away. And the basement - well, there are paths and you don't have to turn sideways and everything above my shoulders is on a shelf and very unlikely to fall unless we had an earthquake.
The process was complicated almost two years ago when my grandmother died, leaving behind a huge house packed full of really nice things and only 5 households inheriting - two already in their 70's with full homes. That's the side of the family the hoarding gene comes from and it took until this past christmas to finish clearing the house. the emotional trauma is still pretty raw and all tied up in the stuff.
I live in the country in a medium sized house - it sort of has four bedrooms, except one is a 7x12 enclosed and finished porch and one is a half story finished attic. I also have two really messy barns. And three grown children - two still in and out for college, who are storing all their stuff here, including former 4h projects that still have to be fed.
I work part time as an art teacher, so I always have a use for anything, and I love thrift stores. "chicken lady" is a nickname I got from a junk dealer at one of the thrift stores. because I was deliverinng eggs to some of the employees.
So I'm working on finding a new balance in my life as an empty nester, and trying to actually empty the nest. I've been reading for a couple of months and I'm hoping to find some support in the organizing section for those days when I need positive reinforcement for normal behavior like throwing out worn out shoes - the people in my real life are pretty sick of the whole process.