Order Out of Chaos - How I Escaped Becoming A Hoarder

And oh yes, Garage Sales, Real Treasures! And inexpensive so you can buy more! Heaven, oh yes, the jackpot!

So where did we go wrong?

First, I want you to know my home is beautiful. It is clean and always has been. I am well organized and I can tell you where everything is and everything is in its place. I am not a slob!

But don't go into my basement!

Whenever Jim and I would come home with one of our new treasures, we inevitably cherished it for awhile. It was a part of our home, we looked at it. We marveled at our good fortune. We masters of the universe.

Then something happened. We realized it really didn't fit. We didn't really have a huge need for it. It was in the way. What were we to do? You can't just throw it away. We spent good money on this treasure that may now be a bit tarnished, but still in all, a treasure. Besides, maybe we don't want it underfoot today, but what about some day, what if we find we need it and then we don't have it anymore. Oh how could we face that?

Okay...Put it in the basement.

Yep! Put it in the basement may become inscribed on my tombstone.

Here lies Susan Kaul, She didn't need a burial, we just put her in the basement.

Crass I know, but I am making a point. Everything we didn't know what to do with simply found its way to the basement. And after years of accumulating the basement became full. And after years of this behavior I long ago gave up trying to keep it clean or organized. I was completely overwhelmed. It just kept growing into a monster. A nightmare.

It was so full and unbelievably out of control that it was to the point that torching it seemed feasible. At the end I had one small path that led to the washer and dryer and the rest of the basement was unusable.

It was ridiculous. How could I have let this happen? And now that it was a reality no matter how disgusting, what was I to do?

I saw that show about hoarders on television. It was like instant therapy for me. I had a title for my problem.

I was sick to my stomach. Oh My God, I Must Be A Hoarder!

I couldn't be more motivated. I wanted to resolve the problem and in a hurry. But How?

I was overwhelmed, I couldn't even get into the basement. What should I do first?

Then a dear friend of mine told me, Nobody can eat an elephant in one bite. But you CAN eat an elephant one bite at a time. In other words JUST GET STARTED! Do something, anything! Just get started!

So April 2010 was the start of the solution to my having become a hoarder.

This is stuff pulled out of all the corners and closets and gone through. What to keep, what to throw out, what to sell...you get the point.

This is my husband's closet. It's not even his fault!! It was just another place to put stuff. I was running out of places to cram full. It was really horrifying.

I couldn't bring you this far without showing you the remarkable transformation that has occurred. This is now a very comfortable area that we enjoy coming to for relaxation and fun. We put together puzzles. Watch movies. Exercise and take naps in this room now. In the summer it is wonderful here because it is so cool, and in the winter it is wonderful for snuggling.

My Husband's closet is now organized and used for his clothes and for his "toys". Mine is on the right and is my Craft closet, Wait till you see it! That table is where I do jig saw puzzles and work on crafts and listen to books on the boom box. So cool!!

This is remarkable to me because this wasn't even passable. Really it used to be a fire hazard. And now look how clean it is.

Behind the curtain wall is my washer and dryer. Jim's tool area and the freezer.

At the far end, left is the new food pantry behind two bi fold doors. Huge and completely organized. And the closest left bi fold doors are covering the hot water heater and furnace/AC.

All that you see on this side are my scrapbooking items. I love to go into this closet and sit down and just look at everything. It is so fun to pick out a theme or what book I am currently scrapping and be able to figure out where I left off and continue on to completion. It is wonderful.

I am a true knitter, I must own yarn. Simple as that!

If you are out and run into some gorgeous yarn, you must have it. It doesn't matter if you have a project in mind that you will use it for. It just must go into the stash.

That way, when you have a moment you can go in to your craft closet and touch it and look at it and dream. And of course, eventually put it to use. Any of the knitters out there will understand this.

Or is this just rationalization for hoarding more yarn?

No.... I don't think so...

My kitchen is small. It is fine for just the two of us, but it has never had a pantry. I am so happy to finally have a place to put food I like to buy in bulk. It is so organized.

It has really made such a huge difference. It is actually enjoyable to do the laundry now. While you do the laundry, you can be doing so many other "fun" things while you wait for the next cycle to finish. It is even lovely to sit down a read a book while you wait. Why Not? It is very peaceful.

And Jim can find anything he is looking for without a struggle. Everything really is in its place.