It’s been a while since I updated any of my blogs, mostly because I have been busy trying to make my life manageable. For those of you following along you probably realize I am living with a hoarder and that this is only because I have no other real options right now. With that being said it’s not all bad! In the past month, two years since my life fell the fuck apart, I reclaimed a great deal of sanity by cleaning up almost the entirety of my living space – that means I now have a functional bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. A second bedroom, a breezeway, and the back yard remain to be hauled out but I am taking a well deserved break before hitting those!
If you have chronic illness you’ll understand just what a disaster clutter is. Everything has to be super easy in order to keep on top of things and when they’re not… well, you’re easily defeated as everything spirals out of control around you. I have been overjoyed recently at the simplest things! Like being able to keep up with the dishes because I can get to the sink. Things that should never have been a problem.
As I clean I am also repairing the house and fixing things that were never finished. For one I grouted the kitchen floor which was hoarding dirt and completely unable to be kept clean until I did so. This has cut down my general sweeping and vacuuming time a TON. Next I will add handles to the cabinets and drawers so I can have ease of access to their contents! But first I will likely finish putting tiles down in the bathroom so that I can shower, step out onto a clean floor, and make my way to the bedroom, without the need to immediately put slippers on my feet.
I must admit moving back here I felt completely defeated. Having lived here before and knowing what a contentious issue hoarding is I knew that no amount of fighting or pointing it out would ever fix it. So I have decided to apply my positive thinking on this issue too. I bull dogged through my own area, was cut-throat about what I’d let stay down here (hint hint, only my things) and got it done. Now it’s MANAGEABLE. Now I don’t spend all day cleaning and all night stressing about what else needs to be done! I am actually able to relax a little!! I haven’t been able to do that in years!! And the positive attitude is actually working! It’s leading by example and now I can show how much better life is without all the excess clutter my hoarder is actually throwing shit out on her own. No bitching, no fighting, no nothing! And things are improving!
This summer I didn’t get out much and I thought it was a bit of a waste but really it’s not at all. Not if spending my summer making my life sane was the price. Now I can come home and actually be happy to be home and travel because I want to, not because I am trying to escape my own living situation. This has been a huge relief. With the lessening of stress levels I’m more energetic! In fact my mind races in 300 directions at once all the time! Sadly my body has not caught up and may never so I am still subject to crashes and pain, but at least the positive attitude helps me get through those days a lot better than I used to.
***As usual all photos in this entry were taken by myself of other beautiful things in my life that calm and soothe me.