Trila
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- North Central Arkansas
It's the start of a new year.....may 2026 be kind to all of us!
2026 - my ups and downs
- Thread starter Trila
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It's the start of a new year.....may 2026 be kind to all of us!
Trila
Well-known Member
- Location
- North Central Arkansas
No New Years resolutions for me! I believe that self improvement is an ongoing event, throughout the year. That being said, about 2 weeks ago, I had a sudden insight as to what I needed to do for my personal health and well being! Since then, I've been doing major PT on my knee and on my foot. I think I've started to make some progress. But it's slow, and I have a long, long way to go!
I had a nice New Years Eve, yesterday. In the morning we went out for coffee and cappuccino. For dinner, I roasted a whole chicken. Right before bed, I partook of our one and only tradition....I played "Same Ol' Lang Syne" by Dan Fogalberg.
Today? The only plan that I really know of, is that I bought a shrimp platter to munch on. So far, it's a good start to the new year!
Aunt Bea
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āJust do the best you can. No one can do more than that.ā - John Wooden
Trila
Well-known Member
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- North Central Arkansas
You are absolutely right! I do tend to take on more than I can handle, then get stressed out over it! That is great advice!
Trila
Well-known Member
- Location
- North Central Arkansas
Today is the first day of roller skating for the year.
Let the good times roll!
Trila
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- Location
- North Central Arkansas
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hollydolly
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- London England
I think your mother is probably my long lost real mother lol...... I have the same probelm every closet and drawer full..well at least until the other day when I cleared 4 drawers out..... and as for the shoes... I believe i have small 3 closets full... seriously
Let me just say that her house is bigger than mine, and only has one person living in it.....yet every closest is packed full! There is no room for the multitude of boxes of Christmas decorations.
Every time I suggested something to donate, I was met with "Oh, no....I still want that!" We (meaning ME) did some major closet rearranging, and at the end of the day everything had a place!
At one point, I showed my Mom a shelf in one of the closets. She has 15 boxes (yes,15!!!!) of high heeled shoes that she hasn't worn in over 30 years, and will never wear again.....but she won't get rid of them!And that is just one example of every closest in her house!
As you can imagine, I was totally exhausted when I finally got home. Of course, my day wasn't over....I still had to make dinner, walk and feed, wash dishes, etc, etc. I did take a short break to watch a TV show, but otherwise I was constantly on the move! You can bet that I slept well last night!
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Trila
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- Location
- North Central Arkansas
My Mom is not a hoarder, but she is what I call "a saver".... one step before hoarder! LOLI think your mother is probably my long lost real mother lol...... I have the same probelm every closet and drawer full..well at least until the other day when I cleared 4 drawers out..... and as for the shoes... I believe i have small 3 closets full... seriously
My Dad was a saver, too. So were my Grandparents. So am I. I think it's a gene that gets passed down.
hollydolly
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- London England
I'm not a hoarder either.. everything has a place.. and it's not on the floor lol.. but I'm like your mum..I'm a saver in many ways. Comes from having nothing..I mean zero... when I was young !My Mom is not a hoarder, but she is what I call "a saver".... one step before hoarder! LOL
My Dad was a saver, too. So were my Grandparents. So am I. I think it's a gene that gets passed down.
horseless carriage
Well-known Member
What man do you know has over 40 pairs of shoes? Should I be proud, or ashamed?and as for the shoes... I believe i have small 3 closets full... seriously
oscash
Senior Member
- Location
- Sydney - Australia
I only have 3 pairs of shoes.
horseless carriage
Well-known Member
Only three? I do hope that they have memory foam insoles, they are brilliant.
No more forgetting why I walked into the kitchen.
Teacher Terry
Well-known Member
When people have too much stuff even if itās nice stuff this is what happens to it all because itās overwhelming for the family. On the other hand when people have less stuff, their family members can go through it easily to sell, donate or give away to other people so it doesnāt end up in the landfill.
I have emptied relatives homes that were stuffed to the gills because I hate to send stuff to the landfill. I took the time to sort it, etc. but most younger people wonāt even deal with it.
I have a friend that downsized from 3000 ft.Ā² to 1800 ft.Ā² and I helped her get rid of many things. Eight years later, her house is stuffed again and she told me that it doesnāt have enough storage. Only two people live there and that is not the problem at all. The problem is definitely too much stuff. I remember reading that most people only wear 20% of their clothes.
Trila
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- Location
- North Central Arkansas
Exactly!
My Grandparents lived through The Great Depression. I understand how important it was to hang on to everything, because you might need it one day.
This way of thinking was passed on to my parents, who lived in an era where it was prestigious to have an abundance of "things". EXAMPLE: My Mom's house has at least 10 telephones, including 1 in the crawlspace and 2 in the garage....there may be more than that.
Once again that's just one example! Unfortunately, they have passed this trait on to me and now that I see it, it stresses me quite a bit. If I get angry at myself (I mean REALLY angry!), I start getting rid of things. Otherwise, I'm in that same trap of my Grandparents.....thinking that I might need an item some day.
It's sad actually.......Most of the things my mother kept were broken. Funny, though, she knew what she had. She was soooo focused on her fish trap. A fish trap. She would frequently ask, "Where's my fish trap?" Once, I asked her if she had ever used it. She said once, didn't catch anything.
There is a room next to the garage that was originally finished out to be an office/guest room. Never used for that and became a store room. It was packed from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. One evening she asked me to take her to see it. She wanted to handle her things. She was wheel chair bound and it is up more than a few steps. Managed to get her there, opened the door, and she said, "I can't get in there, it's too full." I replied, "Right." I managed to open one box for her and a mouse jumped out. It was a mouse haven.
I would spend weeks with her in summers. It was an anxiety ridden time; all this stuff everywhere. When I would return home, I would do a purge; made me feel better, lol.
There is a room next to the garage that was originally finished out to be an office/guest room. Never used for that and became a store room. It was packed from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. One evening she asked me to take her to see it. She wanted to handle her things. She was wheel chair bound and it is up more than a few steps. Managed to get her there, opened the door, and she said, "I can't get in there, it's too full." I replied, "Right." I managed to open one box for her and a mouse jumped out. It was a mouse haven.
I would spend weeks with her in summers. It was an anxiety ridden time; all this stuff everywhere. When I would return home, I would do a purge; made me feel better, lol.
hollydolly
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- London England
All my things are nice things, all good condition, mostly mint condition... all stored on shelves in cupboards and closets.. tidy, neat.. however too much stuff. ..which is why I make regular trips to the charity shops with donations, as I did again this morning.
trying to reduce my things so I don't leave it for my minimalist daughter to sort out.
hollydolly
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- London England
I understand it totally. My great grandparents came from ireland to Scotland during the great potato famine.. which devastated food crops so they were starving , and migrated to Scotland with nothing. They got themselves a little croft in the Highlands , and worked it growing food.. and the Scottish land grabbers stole the land and they and hundreds of other families were left with nothing, no home, just what they stood up in.Exactly!
My Grandparents lived through The Great Depression. I understand how important it was to hang on to everything, because you might need it one day.
This way of thinking was passed on to my parents, who lived in an era where it was prestigious to have an abundance of "things". EXAMPLE: My Mom's house has at least 10 telephones, including 1 in the crawlspace and 2 in the garage....there may be more than that.
Once again that's just one example! Unfortunately, they have passed this trait on to me and now that I see it, it stresses me quite a bit. If I get angry at myself (I mean REALLY angry!), I start getting rid of things. Otherwise, I'm in that same trap of my Grandparents.....thinking that I might need an item some day.
The City of Glasgow housed them in Horrific slum tenement conditions.. at the end of the 19th century. They had their children, ( my grandparents) and struggled to make eds meet and feed their kids.. no-one had any shoes...
It was a horrific story of abuse .... Highland Clearances - Wikipedia
My grandparents coninued when thy were grown to live in tenements and have their children, then came the first world war, and half the men were killed and women had to raise their children alone, there was no social secuty benefits in those days.
What little things they owned they repaired over and over
Twenty years after the end of the war.. a second more devastating war.. and their homes and many of the work places were bombed to smithereens... leaving them again with nothing..no homes, no jobs...... and that's how my parents grew up... saving every little thing..picking up a stick in the street... a screw.... a piece of board... because it ''might come in handy one day''...
They both worked in minimum wage jobs and had more children than they could afford... and altho' they improved their living situations compared to their parents and grandparents, and lived in nice houses...it was all fur coat and no knickers .. so I too went to school with holes in my shoes.. and hungry...
It breaks my heart when I think of them... and of me as that little person... freezing cold because my coat was torn and too small ... ad walking through snow and ice with only a piece of ceral packet lining my shoes
..... but even tho' I'm richer now , and more wealthy than any of my ancestors ever were I cannot rid myself of ensuring I have plenty just in case like them I lose any of it
Apologies , for this being so long
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Teacher Terry
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Hollydolly, thatās really sad about your family and all that they suffered and endured. Europe was destroyed twice by the world wars. We were so lucky not to have the devastating experiences that they had.
hollydolly
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- London England
yes not only twice...bombed to pieces...but within just 20 years ... when hardly anything had been rebuilt from the first war... nd people thought that the first war was the war to end all wars, and there never would be another like it. Little did they know a short 20 years later they would lose their sons, husbands , fathers, to the war... and their homes.. and remember of course there was no NHS then, so no money meant no doctor for those who were sick.. and babies died in ther thousands...
My paternal grandmother lost 5 of her children in this way...
I cam along 10 years after the end of the war.. and there devastations till. The govts of the day couldn't afford to rebuild... in many places..
Amazingly many of the slums still stood.. and they ended up being our playgrounds....
We didn't live in them.. but my grandparents did.. so when we visted at the weekends, we kids would play with the slum children ....in the back courts, full of mud, rats and the stink of rotting vegetables
This was the 1960's..
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Teacher Terry
Well-known Member
Hollydolly, your story and picture is heartbreaking. Very different than how I experienced the 60ās. My grandfather fought in World War One and my dad and uncleās in World War Two but all made it home. Still nothing compared to what Europe experienced.
hollydolly
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- London England
People outside of Europe are often shocked when we show them what we lived through... they really had no idea how bad it was for the ordinary , people... who were not actively fighting in the war,
Trila
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- Location
- North Central Arkansas
No, it was not too long!
It was hard times, and sad times. They need to be remembered, and honor given to those who were strong enough to endure!