Every Monday, millions of Hoarders fans watch the show and get motivated to dig around their own homes and discard debris. Today’s post is a practical list of things that might inspire you to ‘edit’ your closets and cabinets. Most of the things on this list are “no-brainers,” meaning you can toss them with no regret.
Wire hangers from the dry cleaner
Plastic stadium cups
Sweaters with fuzz balls and clothes with holes (torn or from moths) or stains
Cans of dried paint / Cans of paint no longer being used in your home
Broken VCRs / Tape Decks / Monitors / TV / Stereos / Boomboxes / etc
Dishes / Cookware/ Kitchen Gadgets you never use
Keep xx coffee mugs and the rest go (YOU set the limit)
Keep xx sets of dishes and the rest go (YOU set the limit)
Shoes that hurt your feet / are out of fashion / or, no longer appeal to you
Tote bags / Belts / Pantyhose / Other accessories not being used (old cellphones cases & eyeglasses) / etc
Trophies from your childhood
Florist’s vases
Expired coupons / Junk Mail / Greeting cards w/o handwritten notes
Receipts from the grocery store, grocery/shopping lists
Schedules / Tickets / Invitations to past events
Expired warranties / Contracts / instructions to appliances you no longer own
Business cards from names you don’t recognize
Bad photos (out of focus/ eyes closed )
Charity requests
Recipes that are too difficult / Time consuming / Expensive to prepare
Tourist Brochures / Maps / Directions (things easily found online)
Opened or expired food products (including pet food)
Used shampoos / soaps / lotions / makeup / samples
Batteries / Cords & Cables that belong to items that no longer work
I’m hopeful that you will comment (below) on things you’re discarding and let me know if the show has motivated you to buy less or clean more. I’m especially interested in having you post if, after watching Hoarders, you have a slightly better understanding about the people who hoard or their family members. I’ve heard from several viewers that before Hoarders, season 1, the word, “hoarder” was unknown to them. Do you hoard anything?
Are you digging out of a pile of debris?
Comments
Motivation Indeed!
Hi Geralin,
The 1st season of Hoarders just started on cable over here in Singapore and I'm SO glad I caught it! Because after watching just ONE episode, I developed an incredible urge to clean my room and I've been doing it ever since! (It's been a week now and I know that cuz I just watched a new episode of Hoarders on tv today.)
I've already thrown out approximately 3 large trash bags worth of unwanted things from my room alone (I live with my parents) and I feel newly liberated! I intend to move on to the living room once I'm done organizing everything but I anticipate facing a mountain of objection from my mother since she's a semi-hoarder. (Or at least she has said things that were echoed by the hoarders on tv?) I do have to give her some credit where it's due though, because she does try to maintain a slight semblance of neatness with the amount of things she hoards, so it's not as bad...
Well, hopefully, it'll all work out. Thanks a lot for the 'no-brainers' list. I actually spotted more items on there that I can get rid of! A very Happy New Year to you, belated though it may be! :)
Dev
Dear Dev,
Dear Dev,
Singapore? Really? Hoarders has gone international? That is fantastic and I'm SO glad you are watching the show, enjoying AND using it as motivation AND took time to post a comment. Thank you!
My "no brainer list" came about as a result of working with a 'semi-hoarder' or a, "hoarder in the making." She could not decide what to throw out nor where to begin. She was an athlete who enjoyed professional-level competitions and I thought I could make a game out of getting rid of things with the clock running. The challenge was to gather as many coat hangers as she could and I'd time her. We'd count them and keep score. XX coat hangers in XX minutes. Then, we would move to unused computer cables. XX cords and cables, from all over the house, in XX minutes. At the end of an hour we would count how many "things" and tally the time.
The next visit, we would try to beat that record. The 'fun' thing about this is how it proved her memory is much better than she thought. She would remember where she stashed more long-forgotten-objects once she was racing against the clock.
Hopefully, you and your mom will read the blog, keep watching the show and educate yourselves about the hoarder-disorder.
Again, thanks a bunch for commenting. I appreciate hearing from readers near and far.
Geralin
Old Paint, Electronics, Medicine = Hazardous Household Waste
Hi --
I know from personal experience how hard it is to go through and get rid of things. So I don't want to discourage anyone who's motivated enough to try your advice.
I do want to point out, though, that old paint, old electronics (computers, TVs, etc.) and expired medicines and over-the-counter drugs are hazardous household waste (HHW) and should be disposed of properly. Check out your local town, city, or county sanitation department for drop-off sites or HHW round-ups. Flushing old medicines down the toilet or putting them in the trash means that the medication will get into the water and affect animals and aquatic life who consume/live in the water. I drop mine off at my HMO pharmacy for safe disposal.
Thanks for your gentle and understanding approach to hoarding/clutter/disorganization -- it is much appreciated.
Amanda
Show and Motivation
Geralin,
Just watched last week's show that had been DVR'd. With the holidays I got behind. I must say that definitely after watching the show I am always VERY motivated and compelled to immediately start cleaning or seeing what I can get rid of around our house. I am pretty organized but just watching the show makes me want to declutter my life more even more.
I want to tell you that I really enjoy watching you when you are on their episodes and I am inspired by what you do and helping the people on the show. I hope to one day become a professional organizer and help others become more organized. My motto is a home for everything.
Well I am looking forward to another episode tonight and hope you have a great week!
Shelly
Pittsboro, NC
Shelly
Shelly,
Many thanks for watching and posting a comment.
The show, Hoarders, inspires folks to clean and organize their homes--even organized folks! Personally, it has encouraged me to buy less stuff and use everything I have more often. For example, I keep holiday decorating to a minimum.
Hopefully, you are reading as many organizing books as possible, attending conferences and will join NAPO NC. All of those activities will help educate you about the organizing profession.
I enjoy being part of the show and meeting clients all over the country. The next episode I'm on will air on January 4th, 2010 and the client is a warm, creative, enjoyable man who wrote haiku for my testimonial page.
Happy New Year,
Geralin