They went away! I can breathe easier now. I don't mean that metaphorically, either.Today Tara took most of the National Geographics away to her house, to see about integrating them with her own collection. I personally think that's crazy, but, well, that's her business (and her house). My mother took the remaining three piles of duplicates out to her art studio, where they can sit on a shelf out there for years if she likes, since that is her space and it does not affect me, unlike the house. At any rate they are no longer in here, sitting around being dusty and moldy and contributing to the allergies I 'mysteriously' developed a couple years ago.
I'm sorry I didn't get any before and after shots; my camera is rather on the fritz. Lately it's been taking pictures that look like this:
As you can see, not very helpful. (Luckily it's a known problem with one of the chips in it, and the maker will repair it for free, though it's long since out of warranty. They even sent me a pre-paid UPS label to put on it, so I don't have to pay postage.) You'll just have to take my word for it that there is now an empty space on the living room floor, an empty spot on top of one of the bookcases in the living room, and three large empty shelves in one of the bookcases in the piano room.
And I already know, despite my worries about what to do with them, that I won't miss them for an instant.
Now on to the actual books.
5 comments:
Thank you for writing this blog…
I know it is difficult, frustrating and enraging sometimes to deal the all the stuff left behind.
I am glad I am not alone in feeling anger and frustration with the hoarder in my life.
Especially when the hoard controls the house and the person responsible for it will not make any effort to change.
It’s extremely difficult trying to explain to others the real, day-today frustrations this problem creates for the people who have to physically and emotionally deal with the MESS…
Until you experience it firsthand (what it’s like to LIVE in it)…it‘s hard for most people to grasp.
It’s the “secret”, shameful life… you hide from everyone …even though it is NOT your mess and NOT your fault.
Bravo to you for finding a way to rid the house of the majority of those blasted National Geographic’s! I cheered when I read they were gone.
It is almost impossible to describe it to other people. When I first met my coven (a group of very smart women who were all really quite astute) and I tried to tell them about my father, they were all like, 'Did you try this?' 'What about this?' 'How about asking this way, or doing this, or approaching it like this?' and I was just like, No, you don't get it. None of that works. Nothing works. You cannot talk a hoarder out of, or reason a hoarder into, anything. Of course the word 'hoarder' was not known at the time, and so I didn't have any way to describe it even to myself. I spent so many years just completely baffled by my father.
And actually in our case it was never a secret, unlike how I understand it is for most children of hoarders, where the 'clutter' (and isn't that just the most egregiously inadequate word ever) is inside; because our father hoarded junk cars and filled the yard up with crap, everyone in town knew about it. It was shameful and there was no hiding it.
I simply admire you immensely.
Thank you Michele, that's very kind of you.
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