Cleaning & Organizing
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Hubby is a Packrat - HELP!
I have been trying to clean out our home and get rid of just...junk. But I am not getting anywhere because of my hubby's crazy amount of just random stuff. He doesn't want to get rid of it because "I might use it someday." Really? It's a computer game from the 90's and you haven't touched it since then. Are you REALLY going to start playing it again. I feel like I am traped in an episode of hoarders. HELP. Anybody have any suggestions? My MIL has tried to talk to him (she's delt with it her whole life) and isn't getting anywhere.
Re: Hubby is a Packrat - HELP!
It took leaving H's crap in totes in the basement for 5 years before he finally admitted that he would never use it. We just went through it and got rid of 3 or 4 totes full of junk.
He still, however, refuses to get rid of the old gaming systems.
We did find out that Duck Hunt does not work with a plasma TV. His solution rather than getting rid of the OG Nintendo? Buying an old TV to set up next to the plasma for the sole purpose of playing Duck Hunt. I shot that idea down pretty quickly.
We have a PS1, a PS2, Sega, Sega Saturn, Nintendo, Super Ninetendo, Game Cube, and Xbox. We don't have any gaming systems that were produced in the last 10 or so years because we don't play games, but yet we have to keep all of these systems and the games.
Playing the original nintendo recently was fun for about half an hour, but having to blow on all of the game cartridges to get them to work got really old after a while.
Sounds like my husband when it comes to his clothes...I finally told him "if you can't fit your clothes in half a closet, a dresser, a set of plastic Target drawers, AND a set of suitcases, you have to throw something away." He was kind enough to go through his clothes and get rid of a little bit.
Also, hi. Lurker. Ex-Bumpie.
H had so many pairs of snearkers it was ridiculous so I lined them all up took a picture and posted them on facebook. 15 pair of just sneakers, not including the 2 pair he had in his car and the 2 pair he keeps at work.
That got him to thin out the pack a little. I think he has about 8 pairs now.
The clothing is also an ongoing battle. He has so many ripped up t shirts from high school and college that have sentimental value to him for one reason or another. I just start slowly, one nasty t shirt a month or so asking if we can get rid of it.
My Dh is the same way. He won't get rid of old clothes that do not fit him and never will, he's no longer a starving grad student, kwim?
It's a battle, but every few months I toss a bag of crap, he's never noticed.
Sounds like we could have the same husband! We have a bookcase full of video games and a bin in the garage.
If the problem is limited to video games, I'm inclined to say let him have his thing. Display the most important stuff in a tasteful way and store the rest. If he's "hoarding" everything, that's a whole other set of problems!
We moved once a year for three years, and you get rid of a lot of stuff fast when you have to pay to move or store it - or go through the effort of hauling it around yourself!
Cortlandt Place - My house blog
Definitely try the trick of "if you haven't used something in a year (or 2 years), we need to get rid of it." If things are stained, broken, or unusable, toss it.
Also, the best solution will be to try to give your husband a space in the house for his stuff, if possible. My husband isn't a hoarder (although my FIL is), but he's a bit... messier than I am. I have a bit of clutter, but I tend to go through it more often and pick it up better than my husband. Anyway, we have a guest room/den/office where H has a desk where he can do work from home. I'm a bit less anal about the state of the den than the rest of the house. When we have guests, yes, he cleans up. But normally if the clutter is bothering me, I can just shut the door.
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