Small box not big box

[Anonymous]

We keep our passports in the bedside drawers. Or in a file marked “legal documents” in the filing cabinet. They are not allowed to live anywhere else. When we need them, we make sure we look for them a day early in case they are mislaid.

We only need two remotes (TV, DVD player). Is it possible one of them is really for a game unit? That might make three. I can’t think why you’d need more. Try pressing power on each of the remotes in turn and see what really comes on. If nothing comes on, it’s likely a spare and can be stored somewhere else.

We do have a lot of old remotes for OLD VHS players, DVD players, and old TVs, but they don’t clutter up the livingroom. They’re in a basket in the basement 🙄 I guess I could box them up with the old units and get rid of them, but we keep them because you never know when the good unit will go on the fritz and we just can’t live without an evening of movies or old tv shows (we don’t have tv reception).

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[Curlymoe115]

Just saw a Yahoo video of a family of 3 moving into a 320 sqft home. We currently have 1500 sq ft of hoarders paradise. They bought their home free and clear for under 20,000 and pay 145 a month for lot rental and they have a 320 sq ft work space beside the house. So for $20,000 pl $145 a month they have 620 sq ft of space. Now if I write them and ask for the builder do you think that I can buy a few of their units to store my extra junk. I could buy 3 of these babies have 1860 sq ft spend 60,000 bucks plus 435 a month for rental. I can use these as my storage bins and the family and I could move into 1 lot. I could have one with the kitchen living room bathroom and the other could house 2 bdrms and a loft, along with a sm washroom. The other two of these babies can be set up to store our junk or we could have 1.5 for junk and the other half can be set up as a guest quarters. We could add a bdrm and a kitchen living room bath if people come to stay. They never need to enter our unit. Sounding better and better all the time. Check it out, http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/downsized–family-lives-mortgage-free-in-320-square-foot-home.html

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[Anonymous]

Curlymoe,

I just watched the video about the small house. This home reminded me of another one that I’ve seen. This man designed a much smaller home that has only one room but it had all the same features (without the bedroom or loft). The guy is an architect but wanted to come up with a home that could be built quickly (vital for its original intended purpose for providing housing for people after natural disasters) but the home would also be able to use ‘forever’ if required.

He actually had been living in one for years. His version was very modern inside and there was not one extra bit of clutter anywhere, even in the form of pictures on the wall. Some of the other ones he showed were more like the one in this video, country-ish in decor.

I really liked them because they were so self-contained with no room for amassing ‘stuff’. On the way back from my doctor’s appt this morning I chewed my DH’s ear off because he has begun collecting ‘stuff’. He really isn’t a collector of junk but his extreme work hours are tiring him out so when he comes home he has started piles of ‘stuff’ that he intends to file or deal with when he’s not tired.

Unfortunately, if he doesn’t change his work habits he’s always going to be tired. Work, eat and fall asleep. The clutter drives me crazy because it just makes me dizzy looking at it.

Personally, I’ve got my own big clean-up to do because I brought home tons of my kids’ schoolwork to mark for repcards and it is now in neat subject piles throughout the house. Repcards were turned yesterday before I left school so this weekend I want my house back.

My youngest daughter teaches in AB and she would die if she found out that I’ve covered her piano with an entire term of math tests (all neatly graded/sorted) and her old bedroom has a been decorated a la ‘Language’. The guest room? Well, that bed has been done with a covering of Soc Studies and Science assessments. If I didn’t have all those huge flat surfaces I wouldn’t be have brought any of this stuff home.

So like I told my husband earlier, our house is way, way too big for us especially since my other daughter moves out at the beginning of July into the house she just bought. We don’t usually even see her because she lives in a suite on our lowest level. That suite was put in by the builder for the home’s original owners mother! Way too much house for two workaholics to even use or clean or heat!!

I’d be out of here in a flash and into a condo if we didn’t have two dogs. They’re small, but one of them is barky. Waaaay too barky. We’d never get him in the doors of a condo before a meeting had been convened by the condo board to oust us from the building.

I loved the little home that architect had designed but it would never have worked for us with our kids. The ‘boy’ as we still like to call him is over 6′ 6″. With the huge height comes huge shoulders, long huge arms and even bigger feet. Being ADHD, he was a jumpy bouncy kid (still is at 28). A favourite pastime of his while watching TV was rolling around the room, arms and legs a-flailling. In the little house I could have just wedged him into the loft and he would have needed to stay there until someone came to pry him out! 😆

I’ve told DH we have to downsize because we have too much stuff. I love to read and was initially horrified when I read about ebooks. Then I realized I was drowning in books. I’ve given away all but a few of mine but DH likes to ‘keep’ his. All of them. I finally realized that maybe ebooks were made for people like him. He can have all of ’em and we won’t need to have shelves and shelves of them. Just think how little dusting I’ll have to do if he has a reader? Probably better for him since he’s got asthma/allergies to dust! It sounds like a win-win situation to me.

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[nellie]

Well I dunno Curly, whatcha gonna do when they’re full? That’s a lot of math there, but sounds good to me! Although, I think houses are like purses, the bigger they are the more stuff you put in them.

And no_dopamine – I forgot – some must be for the satelite and cable box. Another must be the dvd player. I’m getting closer to figuring it out! As for turning them on and trying to tell that way – have you ever seen the episode of modern family where the husband teaches the wife to use the remote? It’s pretty funny if you haven’t . It must be online – will have to find it and post the link. I swear that show so captures our some of the stuff in out household! As for the remote, although I’m generally a techie, just can’t grasp my husband’s crazy set up!

As for the passports – only his disappear’s all the time. Mine and the kid’s have their designated place ( for obvious reasons!)

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[Curlymoe115]

Whatcha gonna do when there all full, buy more. Or I can go back to plan A and just give away all the stuff and the kids. Course talked to my dad and he said all I really need is a gas can and a match and voila instant emancipation. Course I would just collect more stuff. On the other note no one else in the family knows how to work the DVD recorder with the game system attached. It is too technical and they don’t even pretend to listen anymore. But for years DH wouldn’t touch the computer/printer. Then this winter after talking to a bunch of autograph collectors, he decided that it would be cheaper for him to print off copies of his own pictures for the players to sign rather then paying 10 bucks a copy. So after I showed him 100 times he is now able to print his own copies and with a little help find them on the website. And he did this to the tune of 350 prints. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Now it is just a case of unteaching him. LOL

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[nellie]

Curly,

Holly cow 350 autographed prints? DO you have to frame them all?

zsazsa,

I think e-books are great for people who love to collect books. I discovered this a while ago and although there’s nothing like a real book to hold, let’s face it,not all books are meant to be kept but somehow it’s hard to get rid of any. So now started with the ebooks. I actually thought I’d end up spending more money but somehow I’ve managed to be selective. Not sure why I haven’t been more impulsive, perhaps the tactile nature of paper is removed so it becomes just another object?

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[Anonymous]

I’m new here … both to ADD and to the forum. Prior to the diagnosis I was being treated for anxiety but we realized that was a symptom of the symptom so … I digress.

What I have started doing is to listen to a book on CD (or my iPad) called “Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?” by Peter Walsh. Remember him from the TLC show Clean Sweep? He’s done several books but he’s realized that the clutter isn’t a stuff thing but rather an inner thing that needs dealing with first. He’s really helped me to see things in my home differently and to actually move items out that I thought were very important only to realize they are really just junk.

When I need a pick me up I listen to the book and realize I’m on the right track.

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[ericajb]

I am a year into an ADD diagnosis and finished a year of counselling in July. Included in this was a short course on dealing with my life and home with ADD. Short and sweet….It is the excruciating task of setting up a plan for a project that scares me (because it is so challenging somehow) but if I pick a small project (organize my filing) and actually write out a detailed plan and follow it I am VERY likely to succeed. I could easily get mired in emotions and distractions…but I am so done with not having what I need when I need it! I know when I am frustrated I can stay that way for a really long time, and I choose to ignore the voice that keeps telling me how hard it is! Of course it is hard, that is why I have to do it ;O) The reality of a job finished, not perfect, just finished, is so rewarding! The most amazing book I have ever read (Organizing for ADD, author: Pinsky) keeps me at it.

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