Ch...ch...ch...changes
The grand move has been semi-completed. Furniture is moved, clothing is moved, the 'rents moved. Senior housing now has them! While the move took place, we were away. As some of you may know, I am a bit controlling. As such, we kept our plans for that weekend, and stayed away from the fun. Of course, that meant I had no control of what went and what stayed.
Dad, as some of you may remember, is a hoarder...he doesn't just have tendencies...he IS one. Moving was especially challenging for him. While the entire space is large in the new place, he was moving items from a storage unit, and items from their room here. The room here was packed to the gills, as used to be said. Under the bed, very top of the closet, very bottom of the closet, packed up dressers (4 of them!), bookcase, external closet IKEA thing (top, bottom) - all full of "stuff".
The bulk of the "stuff" is baseball cards...the ones that are the "money" cards are in a safety deposit box. The others? He can't seem to part with them...so he took them from Lordship to Florida to Stratford to Florida to Stratford and storage. Baseball cards come in sets...like a half a large shoe box. These boxes were EVERYwhere in their room...
Also stashed in the room were frames...with tag sale stickers on them...empty, broken! Some of the frames have, wait for it, SPORTS pictures in them...big surprise. Are you keeping track here? Hoarding trading cards (cause they make them for hockey, basketball, and football too!), and frames.
Next, he collects polo shirts...over 125 of them at last count. What does that leave for Mom? She likes happy meal toys...they are smaller so don't take up as much room...she also saves bags, any size, shape or color. I usually go in the room every few days and toss whatever I can find that won't be missed.
3 big groups of items being hoarded...none of these groups, by the way made the move on moving day! About 50 shirts did, that was it. Looking at the pile of stuff left after the move, I sort of lost my dreamy "just got back from a weekend away" feeling. All of the stuff that hung on the walls, by the way, was still hanging on the walls.
Lots of items in the basement as well..."When do I have to move that out?", he asked...."Today would be good", I shot back..."Well, you have a lot of stuff down there from Meghan and Miah still", he came back with...Kids, what are you gonna do?
How many of you have had young "adults" move out? Well, it was that sort of a post-move thing. I read a Dear someone column a while back. One of the ideas about a post-move clean up was to wrap up what was left, and give it back to the young "adult" as a gift - for birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, just because. There were just way too many boxes of cards, frames and shirts to do that with!
I waited a while before I talked to Dad...then quietly asked him (after HE called) when he expected to get the rest of what was left...yes, I did. I know it wasn't smart, but I did it anyway.
"What? Listen I got a lot of stuff here. I don't know where to put all the rest of it all. You have to wait!!!" His voice got higher and higher, and I thought to myself, I've been in this act before. I soothed him, and said, "I know. I'm just asking because we need to figure out painting and cleaning up." It got a little louder before he finally calmed down.
So I've gone over there almost every day, bought curtains, and other necessary items, like a shower curtain. Hung curtains...figured what outlet in the bedroom works with the switch...tried to get him to get rid of some clothes (succeeded yesterday with that one...worked on it all week!).
They are in, Mom sort of knows she lives there ("Where do you live, Ma?" "I live here, where do you live?"). It's a mix of their Florida furniture, and some new things, including dinnerware (thanks, Jan and Rob!), pots and pans (thanks, folks!). Dad is paying their little grandson a dollar to swiffer the floors. There are boxes of cards in every nook and cranny of every closet...and I just know the closet rod is going to come down...they have those under the bed things for summer clothes (full, never even checked after the pack up from Florida).
Dad, as some of you may remember, is a hoarder...he doesn't just have tendencies...he IS one. Moving was especially challenging for him. While the entire space is large in the new place, he was moving items from a storage unit, and items from their room here. The room here was packed to the gills, as used to be said. Under the bed, very top of the closet, very bottom of the closet, packed up dressers (4 of them!), bookcase, external closet IKEA thing (top, bottom) - all full of "stuff".
The bulk of the "stuff" is baseball cards...the ones that are the "money" cards are in a safety deposit box. The others? He can't seem to part with them...so he took them from Lordship to Florida to Stratford to Florida to Stratford and storage. Baseball cards come in sets...like a half a large shoe box. These boxes were EVERYwhere in their room...
Also stashed in the room were frames...with tag sale stickers on them...empty, broken! Some of the frames have, wait for it, SPORTS pictures in them...big surprise. Are you keeping track here? Hoarding trading cards (cause they make them for hockey, basketball, and football too!), and frames.
Next, he collects polo shirts...over 125 of them at last count. What does that leave for Mom? She likes happy meal toys...they are smaller so don't take up as much room...she also saves bags, any size, shape or color. I usually go in the room every few days and toss whatever I can find that won't be missed.
3 big groups of items being hoarded...none of these groups, by the way made the move on moving day! About 50 shirts did, that was it. Looking at the pile of stuff left after the move, I sort of lost my dreamy "just got back from a weekend away" feeling. All of the stuff that hung on the walls, by the way, was still hanging on the walls.
Lots of items in the basement as well..."When do I have to move that out?", he asked...."Today would be good", I shot back..."Well, you have a lot of stuff down there from Meghan and Miah still", he came back with...Kids, what are you gonna do?
How many of you have had young "adults" move out? Well, it was that sort of a post-move thing. I read a Dear someone column a while back. One of the ideas about a post-move clean up was to wrap up what was left, and give it back to the young "adult" as a gift - for birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, just because. There were just way too many boxes of cards, frames and shirts to do that with!
I waited a while before I talked to Dad...then quietly asked him (after HE called) when he expected to get the rest of what was left...yes, I did. I know it wasn't smart, but I did it anyway.
"What? Listen I got a lot of stuff here. I don't know where to put all the rest of it all. You have to wait!!!" His voice got higher and higher, and I thought to myself, I've been in this act before. I soothed him, and said, "I know. I'm just asking because we need to figure out painting and cleaning up." It got a little louder before he finally calmed down.
So I've gone over there almost every day, bought curtains, and other necessary items, like a shower curtain. Hung curtains...figured what outlet in the bedroom works with the switch...tried to get him to get rid of some clothes (succeeded yesterday with that one...worked on it all week!).
They are in, Mom sort of knows she lives there ("Where do you live, Ma?" "I live here, where do you live?"). It's a mix of their Florida furniture, and some new things, including dinnerware (thanks, Jan and Rob!), pots and pans (thanks, folks!). Dad is paying their little grandson a dollar to swiffer the floors. There are boxes of cards in every nook and cranny of every closet...and I just know the closet rod is going to come down...they have those under the bed things for summer clothes (full, never even checked after the pack up from Florida).
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