You know us as Ava Von Snarky & Mr. Von Snarky. But what you don't know is that we have a double life. I am also know as the Nagger and Mr. Von Snarky is known as the Horder. Mr. Von is a recovering horder. See, he makes the mess and then I nag about it until he wants to shoot me.
I should have known that when we first met that it was an issue when I went to his apartment the first time and I could not walk in it. Everything in the apartment was filled with crap to waist high level. There was a small and narrow path to his bedroom, to the kitchen and to the bathroom. You couldn't move anywhere else due to all the CRAP! He said he had just moved in (which he had) and I bought it.
Needless to say that the hording got so bad that our house was filled and we had 2 20x20 storage units, filled with CRAP! We couldn't find the crap we really needed because there was so much CRAP! I knew that he had a problem and we figured it out. It took 5 years to clean out all the crap. Every week we would have a 64 gallon recycling bin filled to the brim - for 5 years. Our garbage and recycling man hated us. I used to tape tips to the cans to ease the pain. We eventually cleaned out the house on got rid of the two storage unit.
How did it get so bad? I didn't realize how bad it was in the first place and it took over the house before I knew it. I was unable to organize that amount of mess. That and our house had no closets - and that complicates things when you have CRAP and nowhere to hide it. Well soon I went from the Enabler (living with it) to the Nagger. I the Nagger was taking away his precious CRAP and therefore I was the enemy. It has been a long road back to organized and clean, but we have gotten there. We have no storage unit, and if we buy something new, three old things go out.
I can't say how proud of I am of Mr. Von Snarky for coming as far as he has. When he is not paying attention, he starts to hord and we have to put it in check. So after getting rid of all that crap we are left with a lot of projects. We can't get rid of more CRAP until these projects are completed and these projects take a long time to complete. However this weekend, we went into the office to dig him out again. He has been hording around his desk again. What was supposed to be a quick clean-up turned into us gripe fest between the Horder & the Nagger. The reality that we have quite a ways to go before the mess is over was quite a blow.
However the Horder has been very diligently chipping away these projects. His dilligence is astounding. It it was up to me I would have loaded everything into the car and taken it to the electronics recycling center - A LONG TIME A GO! But since he has gotten rid of so much and worked so hard my only choice is to help him. So I can't be the Nagger with the foul tongue, I must transition to the helper and do it his way. After all he has complied with me 150%.
Monday, April 7, 2008
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2 comments:
That's so great! I have a bit of hoarder in me (although I don't buy much; I just keep piles of crap to "go through later," and then I never do, of course). I also have a strong slash-and-burn component, so every once in a while I get medieval on my bad self and throw away bags of stuff. I did that Sunday in my daughter's room. We're all happier.
Now for my closet, sigh.
Nice to see you back, Ava!
oh my gosh I am still in the "Clearing it out" stage of our attic. We have a large walk-up attic in our old house and it was packed with stuff right up to the DOOR. I have FILLED two 15-yard dumpsters and there is STILL STUFF UP THERE. *sigh*
I'm about to order my 3rd dumpster, at $400 a pop, but it is SO FRIGGIN' WORTH IT to me to just get RID of it. There's 30+ years of crap up there. Good grief.
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