The 'Sulcs Domino Effect' versus the 'Domino Theory'!

Hi Guys,

I have news of much importance. 

Both sad and glad mixed in there together. 

My daughter and her boyfriend announced to us the other day that she will be moving out earlier than anticipated, which was meant to be in January next year.  Hence the sad and glad. 

The race will be on and out of the blocks.

So why is this important you ask. 

Well! 

This means the 'Sulcs Domino Effect' is about to take a tumble.

As Eisenhouser related the 'Domino Theory' to what can happen with communism ... and see how that worked out for them back then.  Conspiracies abounded and all sorts of antics to thwart said invasion.

Well, instead of  'Theory' mine will be the 'Sulcs Domino Effect' in reverse. 

Once this happens in September, I will have to take advantage and paint the room, which is much needed.  Then I move into said room and then paint my room, hence the domino.  Then we get the last items from my neighbours garage and can use the table for the new computer room.  The computer moves from the Dining Room table to the computer room.  All paperwork gets placed into said computer room to be sorted, discarded and dealt with and only what is important goes into the filing cabinet.  No more, no less.

And it just keeps on going.  Items will be moved, which makes more room elsewhere.  Gotta love this!

Now when I deal with the last of my boxes, I will be able to trully get more ruthless with discarding as I know what I want where.

I can hear some of my pals laugh at me stating that I will be 'ruthless'.  Oh, ye of little faith!  But you shall see the results in the end with a partee to end all partees!  This will be my reward at the end for me and all my supporters and helpers.  Something other than decluttering to look forward to.  A reward that is pleasurable.

This move forward will be welcome, as this means this Christmas we will be using the Dining Room for the first time since Mum died in 2007. 

She will be pleased that at long last all this is starting to take shape.  Mum knew the mess she had left me with and kept apologising to me over and over again the last few months of her life. 

I didn't want her to feel bad, but rather proud that she had achieved so much with a life that traversed continents, experienced war at the epicentre and suffered losses beyond comprehension and still made a family home and 3 well fed and loved children, 2 of which appreciated her fully at the end.  I reassured her I would be fine.  But she knew.  She was no fool.  She even warned and prepared me for my one sister.  Surprisingly, Mum was 100% accurate about this.  A mother knows her children and you cannot hide from that.  I knew Mum had been working her way through the 'stuff' herself, albeit much slower and had not intended to leave the bulk of the work to me.  Cancer robbed her of 15 to 20 years off her life.

Here we are in the lounge room.  I love this shot as Mum looks so good and we all look goofy.  Behind us on one side is a Stereo Unit from the 60s that I still have that is one of the items in the neighbours garage and plan to keep.  The other you will spot a 60s lamp which has a table lower down that looks very the Jetsons Cartoon era and takes pride of place in the Dining Room.  Very retro!

Here is a shot of us about a year or so before the worst hit us like a ton of bricks.

You work all your life and you would expect to be of reasonable health afterwards wouldn't you!

Not for my gorgeous Mum.  A chemical she worked with gave her liver cancer that slowly kills you.  Very like Asbestos does to the lungs this particular chemical goes straight for the liver.  To think you work to make a life and the very company you work for for years knowingly lets you work with a chemical (carbo tetra chloro ethaline) without any protection of any kind that then robs you of your twilight years of around 15 to 20 years.  Beggers disbelief. 

This chemical shortens your life dramatically and the end is not peaceful or kind.  Just freaking revolting.  To say I am mad as hell is an understatement.  However, there is little we could do as Mum had to be alive to make any legal battle stick and we only had months left by the time we found out what had happened and been done to her.  The said company executives knew all those years ago and even went off shore to avoid litigation like the asbestos guys... let's hope karma weaves it's work its way to those who decided to ignore.

But these were the cards we were dealt with and we just have to play what we got the best way we could and knew how.

Also, update on the hard rubbish.  All gone as of 3 days ago.  First the chairs got taken.  Secondly the airconditioner went.  Thirdly anything metal went.  Funny thing is as I mentioned before my mound grew a chair, keyboards, gloves and so forth.  But it all went.  Feels good. 

Next as you know will be getting the garden back into shape. 

I will be one busy gal with both inside and the outside to contend with.  It will be all worth it in the end.

In amongst all this, I still need to move the lounge room around to work better for easier flow through.  All fun, but still means more work. 

One good thing is we now have a functioning laundry, which is really working well as to how I have currently set it up.  Will have to still rejig as we go, but that can go on the back burner for now.

The last bastion to tackle will be the Kitchen/Dining Room. 

I think I will get my house whisperer Kim to come back to assist me with ideas as this area is still very much ruled by Mum's presence and does my head in.  I will let Kim know how I would like the kitchen to be as she seems to be able to translate your end thought very well with what is there and still get rid of much.  But till we get through all of the above that will just have to wait also.

Being that we now have hot water and proper heating it would be nice to have a stove that works propery as well.  Boy, am I wishing for alot!  Again, this will have to wait till I save some much needed dosh for it.  Something to work towards though.

As you can tell the 'Sulcs Domino Effect' effects everything and is forever ongoing and relentless and always has offshutes to other things to get done.

More than likely there will be many mini posts over this flurry period. 

And am going to love and hate it all at the same time. The process that is.

Learning to 'let it go' is never easy, but the pain is certainly worth it.  I am just glad that I decided to be kind to myself by going at my pace as time and energy allowed and let it all hang out for all to see. 

It isn't as bad as one would think.  People knowing that is.  Many have come up to me at all sorts of functions and places and say and always quitely how much they admire my openess about 'clutter' and about 'hoarding'.  I hope in some way I am destigmatising this.  But like Mental Illness we feel compelled to hide it as we 'think' we will be shunned. 

To me this is a one day at a time situation.  People in general will either be kind or not, which just tells me more about who they are.  Very revealing if you ask me.

One day you could be rich and the next day lost it all.  Who is still at your side after that?  Amazing what one finds out when it happens.

Since starting this blog to 'let it all hang out' and also keep me motivated through the mountain of stuff  that was Mt. Everest huge and also to help destigmatise the word 'hoarders' as well, I haven't looked back or felt put down ever. 

Not all hoarders are to the severe end of the scale.  But no matter at what end you are it can be done by just taking it in your stride.

After this next flurry I still have mountains of boxes to go through.  These are all in the shed and in the attic.  The shed first and attic last.  Then and only then am I done.  I predict at least a few more years of 'stuff' to get through. Yeesch!

Oh well, I will just keep on blogging then.

This was going to be short, but I got sidetracked.  Apols for that.

Till next time guys.

Cheers
Anita