Cleaning an 8-Foot Hoard From MY OWN Garage!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.พ. 2024
- #autistic
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One of the real strengths of these videos is your narration. Of course, your voice is a real asset, but I am more impressed with the quality of what you have to say. It is logical, thoughtful, and easy to understand. You explain without talking down to the audience. And you come across as confident and measured. My background is in education, and I see you as a born teacher. Good job!
Yes-the voice is amazing! He could have another whole career recording audiobooks.
I heartily concur!
I'm in possession of a hardwired teaching gene myself, and I can recognize it in others. You DEFINITELY have it in spades! 😊
Also, I am a card-carrying hoarder with ADD, so your videos are an absolute necessity for me.
Thank you!
@@lucystrider728yes! He would do such an amazing job-I can see him doing it well, without overwhelming the narrative with unnecessary flourish.
word.
I just love how the humour seamlessly sneaks into the narrative. It keeps me laughing. The world needs more of this!❤
I’m watching an autistic dude cleaning his garage and I’m taking notes on his life philosophy. I am so here for this.
I absolutely abhor “ why don’t you just … “ questions. I hear them most often about my depression and anxiety.
Yes!!!
You know, the "Why don't you just.." advice Mack gives by saying "just don't because most likely they have already seen it done it and tried it" can be used for ALL areas of giving that kind of unwanted "advice" to others. Sometimes people need to just let others be and do things their own way, in their own time. ❤
I get why people get irritated at those comments but I always think “Maybe there’s that one person out there that’s reading these comments that HASN’T tried a certain thing and this could be the advice they’re looking for.” That’s why a lot of times I try to be generic in my comment’s “audience”. My comments aren’t always to the video creator. Most of the time they’re just there for whoever reads them and may need them. If it’s nothing someone needs then they’ll just keep scrolling.
me too, or when some a hole compares me to some one else
The first 2 minutes and 11 seconds has already explained the depression spiral of How Could It Get Like This better than anyone I have ever heard.
Yes! Thank you for acknowledging the validity of "I'll deal with this later" as a thing that can happen to anyone. People tend to see a mess like this as either hoarding or laziness and nothing in between, which isn't helpful for those of us struggling to keep up for other totally legitimate reasons.
That validation, plus practical advice on how to move on and address the mess instead of beating yourself up, is what keeps me coming back here every time I need some encouragement.
Sure are glad you decided to keep Jason!😂😂😂
Hey Mary 🌹 good day to you and also how are you feeling today?
I remember doing a clean-up at a place where I was volunteering, and somebody saying, "All this stuff could be used! It shouldn't
go in a landfill." I said, "Better it go to a landfill than we turn this place into a landfill." There's a time to just throw stuff out.
This is the mindset shift that has been the biggest help to me in getting rid of stuff I haven’t used or in some cases even seen in years. If it’s not donatable and I’m not using it, it’s already trash. It’s just in my house instead of the dump. I still feel some guilt when I throw things away, but this helps a lot. And the guilt reminds me to buy less so I don’t have to go through the same thing again.
That's when I reply "so you take it all to YOUR house and dump it there :)" because that mindset will keep people in shame about hoarding. Glad those people had you to help steer them clear
But don’t forget that donations don’t have to be sellable, nice stuff. Homeless shelters can use lots of stuff as long as it’s clean. When you serve a populations of hundreds or thousands of homeless people, they don’t really care if a shirt has a hole or a stain. The whole “landfill/donation” issue is a great reason to just have bins or boxes in a home that you can just toss items in as you see you don’t need them and then when the box is full, drop it off. Most homeless shelters have their own thrift stores so they’ll take just about anything ❤️
@@xradelox There was only one homeless shelter in the area where I was living at the time and they did not accept shirts with holes. They only accepted things that gave their residents a sense of dignity, so nothing stained or ripped.
Most thrift stores/op shops/homeless shelters don't take just anything. Some things should be thrown away.
"When the pain or discomfort of keeping it the same, becomes greater than the pain or discomfort of making change, THEN the change will happen". We tend to deal with the biggest discomfort first.
Worst thing for me is the "no one's gonna see it anyway" disease. Coupled with the "it's still good" mentality it makes for a one two punch of clutter in every corner and on every flat surface. I have been trying to let go of more things but man it's a tough cycle to break. Watching you helps a LOT. So, thanks man.
It's also helpful to stay strong in not buying any new stuff. Unless you really really really need it.
@@e.k.4508Now that we've regained a little space, I too try to think of it like, do I really want to bring this in our space... will I use it, where will we put it? Do we really need it? Will it pile up and fill the space I just decluttered? Seriously, I leave alot at the store these days and just do without some things too, I think, geez, I have other things at home that we can use instead of getting another similar but different...want to keep regaining the space for now...😂
@@e.k.4508 I always like to think two things, "do I NEED it or do I WANT it?" and "where is it gonna go if I bring it home?"
@allapshichenko9916
When you have to continually buy the same thing (insert the name of a tool, or utilitarian object you use frequently, but often misplace) over and over again because you can't find the one you used yesterday... it's time to declutter!
In 1880, English textile designer William Morris said "have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or beautiful"
Shoot, hubs gotta go.
@@lauriekerze3461 my first thought was "I had better pack my bags",lol.
@@lauriekerze3461 hihi, your comment made me chuckle.
I love William Morris textile designs
👍👍👍👍
"I'll deal with it later syndrome" combined with "it has potential syndrome" has made so much of my life harder in more ways than I can say. Thanks for teaching us to have compassion for ourselves and spinkicks for our stuff.
Really enjoyed watching this video, you have been the inspiration to get rid of 21 years of old paperwork. Burned and shredded 11 file boxes, condensing important papers down to 4 boxes, I feel that was a great accomplishment. Thanks for your videos. Be blessed.
That is a great accomplishment! Congratulations! I love the feeling of accomplishment when I do something exciting like that and my husband knows that praise keeps me motivated so if that is also the case for you I wanted to say you did great!
For me, the key element in getting this done would be the hiring of the skip/dumpster. I know if I was paying a good few bucks to have that thing there for a couple of days and I had that deadline, I'm going to make sure to fill it as much as I can. I have mild to moderate hoarding tendencies and had become really stuck and things were getting bad and I was doing nothing to help. Last week, on a whim, I rang my local charity shop to see if they would come out to collect boxes of good quality china and pottery and they agreed to come less than a week later.
I individually wrapped each item and ended up filling 14 really massive boxes and more smaller crates and they are now gone from my home. Had I not had that very close deadline I would never have managed it on my own and I thought it was going to kill me to let go of those things but I already feel lighter and know that I won't miss any of them. I held on to 7 very small items that I really cared about and got rid of hundreds. Make a collection appointment. Order a dumpster. Book help to come over. Put some kind of mild pressure or deadline on yourself and it is amazing how it can get your wheels in motion. Thanks Mac.
Well done - it is hard !
Completely understand everything you said about the deadline. I’m just this week finding out that we are going to be moving at the beginning of May, but my job has me out of state until the end of April. My wife is hustling to get organized so we can blitz through clearing out and loading up. Our silver lining is that we are only moving 2 miles down the road, and have 3 weeks to get it done after I get back!
We are finally dealing with all of our "later" piles and the stress lifted with each clear space is amazing
I once heard "whatever is in your home, is in your head. How much do you want to carry around every day?" and "to organise your thoughts, organise your cupboards".
Don't get me wrong I'm not tidy, most surfaces are cluttered, but its all manageable & easily tidied. My cupboards though are amazing!! It really does make a difference doesn't it, to get rid of the built up junk?
I wish you happy de-cluttering and relaxed shoulders :)
I live in a town where the Tip or Dump set up a second hand shop. They clean and refurbish a lot of things to sell back cheap to people. It's such a good way to recycle and keep the environment free and to reduce gas emmission on destroying it.
I love this!
I have a cat named Archer.
I bought a house six months ago and gave myself some grace about getting rid of boxes. I wasn't using my living room so they ended up there. After a while I no longer even saw them -- they were just part of the scenery. Then I realized Grace wasn't pulling her weight so I dragged them the whole 20 steps to the recycle bin. Now I try not to put boxes in the living room and get things out to the recycle bin as soon as they come in, so much so that I have opened boxes at the curb and dumped the box in the bin right there. (I don't have a garage -- or a yard, for that matter. Just a house and cardboard boxes.)
One cleaning channel, gave a good idea. I thought, just touch it once. Junk mail goes right from the mailbox to the recycling bin or garage.
@@mavahuth5044 Very smart! I always throw away junk mail immediately. Part of it is because I am so pissed off that they would even have the audacity to mail me!! 😂
Who's Grace?
@@nomoretwitterhandlesI try not to let it even past the front door. It too goes in the recycle bin. I guess I'm lucky that the bin sits by the mailbox and is a big old thing with a cover :)
Ok you’re comment scared me for a second 🤣 You mentioned your cat then you started talking about how you took all your boxes out to recycling and my first thought was “Oh god she threw the cat away in one of the boxes!!!!” 😅
When my elderly father was moving, his basement was full of boxes. They were all empty...I was so happy. Broke the boxes down in 30 min.
I love the way that you deal with people in trouble and turn their life around.
My favorite part of these videos, aside from the cleanup, is the contrast of your deep voice followed by sped-up chipmunk conversations
I think I enjoy listening to you talk almost as much as watching you clean! "Petting your mother in-law's metaphorical moose" had me in stitches! You're sensible, compassionate, hard-working, hilarious. I hope your family really appreciates you!
Love the Deadpool mural. I would come over to steal it from you, but I would be too tired after swimming across the Pacific Ocean from Australia and running across country to your house to fight you then, swim the wall back again afterwards. 😂😂😂
Yeah, and watch out for his spin kicks! 😊
Uhm, I'm pretty sure that's painted directly on the wall. ;)
@@karencox3235That’s why they said they would swim the wall back
Your willingness to narrate your video postings take your site to a whole new wonderful level. I had just watched Jason's members only post and I kept waiting for a comment that gave information about where he was cleaning, etc. The information you gave about keeping items because of some imagined potential is the conversation my Husband and I have regarding items that have BUILT UP in our basement. I hope I can get my Husband to watch this particular video because he is beginning to be able to hear these kind of practical positions. Again, thank you so much for your willingness to share, its what will get you to 1 million subscribers (and then some).
With a broken back (broke my T8&T9) O am trying to clean up my nightmare basement because it's really bad and I basically have no help at all. I have to mental motivation, it's the physical part I'm having difficulty with. You guys are all awesome, hope the wife is doing better! ❤
Be careful. Basements can wait. There is a real gap in human services when people are ill. More billionaires need to pay their share of taxes so needs can be met.
@@sisterpamopthis. I am also disabled due to a SCI as well as lupus. I also had no help. When I moved, I ended up being scammed by literally the Chicago mafia, but even had that not happen I was still out so much money I didn’t have because of having stuff packed that probably could have just been tossed and paying for the space to move and store it, as it’s charged by amount you have. I had asked a local church for help and they said they’d send the youth group to help me, but then at the last minute said that it would be the men’s group. I was fleeing a very abusive situation with a man and one thing he was abusive about was the house. It caused me instant anxiety. The very idea of a house full of men going through my stuff made me literally breakdown in tears, so I didn’t have them come. How can you do that to someone who’s been abused? I know not all men are abusers, but when you are just fresh out of being severely abused by a man to then even suggest a bunch of men I don’t know or trust to come to my house is ridiculous to even suggest. How clueless are they about abuse and people dealing with cPTSD and being triggered.
I only do a few minutes at a time- believe me, it adds up in the end!
You're in real trouble if you are trying to tackle that with a broken back. As a person with chronic back pain myself I try to make sure I am doing as much as I can from a sitting position so if you have a light weight, fold up chair that is easy to move around it is amazing how much you can tackle while sitting down. It is also very important to take regular rests which you should even put on a timer on your phone because you will be tempted to keep going. The problem if you don't rest is that you will cause any inflammation that is there to flare up and you won't feel it till the next day when you are unable to move at all. Make sure you are taking any pain medication you have been prescribed and make sure to drink plenty of water as you go. Also make sure to give yourself a nice reward for doing all of this under very painful circumstances.
I didn't realize how much I missed the cleaning chipmunks!!! Emily looks good, I hope she feels that good!! I feel better just seeing you do all that!!!
I need you to understand how your advice has directly affected my life. Over the past year, I've had to grieve the loss of two family members and a childhood friend. Spent months cleaning out one of the relatives' houses on the weekends. As you can imagine, my own house paid the price, and I'm just now getting my butt in gear to deal with it all. This is the first time I've done a cleanup without beating myself up over it first. I'm taking regular breaks and focusing on small areas, and I'm stupidly happy to see my place getting tidy again. THANK YOU!!!
WhoopWhoop! So excited to have a video tonight! Thank you. Hope Emily is doing well.❤️
Love the drawings on your garage wall!
You and your channel are a great remedy for depression! 😅 Can't tell you how many times after watching your videos, I feel uplifted and grateful. Somehow, seeing you and Jason do what you do to help others who can not do the work themselves, just makes me feel less overwhelmed by the cray cray of the world. And not to get all woo woo, it's just that whatever you do for the residents of all these homes, also has a positive impact on your viewers. Hard to put into words, best i can say is,"Wow, that guy is awesome!"
Thank you for being so candid about your own life and how even for you things sometimes pile up. You're so relatable. Also, I hope Emily is doing well. =)
Love seeing Dakota at the kitchen door checking on you ♥️
Great job, Mack! My hubby is a perfectionist and he is a firm believer in clear plastic storage bins, a magic marker and industrial shelving. Electrical has a bin, plumbing has a bin, paint supplies, etc. all are marked on the end with what kind of contents and put on the shelf. Heavier bins go on the bottom shelves. It works really well for us and I’d be happy to send a starter set, if you will, to get that going for you. Shoot, I’ll even come put it together for you to free up your time! Love your videos, Mack. Your talks about depression makes so much sense to me and has helped me through many a “moment”. Thank you so much! God bless you and your family.
Wow! I sure wish my husband was more of a perfectionist. I have tried to get him to do that for years.
I always full out belly laugh at least a few times in your videos (“that’s where we found my oldest son Jason”), such a great mix of humor and wisdom ❤
I cracked up with he used the "live mongoose" as an example of what you might come across that you know where to put. lol
Every flat surface in my room is piled with papers, pictures, cards and well, you name it. I finally sorted and cleaned off my desk so I could get the quarterly taxes done which was two weeks late because, you know why. I found a greeting card that hadn't been open. Just had the letter 'T' on it. I opened it up and found that it was a Christmas card to my daughter, Taylor from my Dad from his last Christmas. It had a crisp $100.00 bill in it. She'll be happy to get it when I see her next. Long story, but relevant.😉
If you ever have to stop cleaning, you could make audiobooks! Your voice is very pleasant to listen to and very easy to understand.
Watching that was difficult for my ADHD brain to process but was very motivational
I am currently trying to clear my child hood family home and dealing with the memories is a huge hurdle.
I'm a throw it away person, hubby is a keeper. A few years ago I said "I wish I had a ......" (forgot what), he went into his shop and came back with the item I had thrown away. He had removed it from the trash and kept it. So, now I just hand the stuff to him and he can decide what to do with it and as long as it's out of my sight I'm okay with that. Great Job!!
Love the art on the garage wall!!
Im pretty sure Mack made it!!👍🏻
Good thing for the spin kick classes. You spin kicked that stiff out of the garage real fast.
I went through this when my elderly parents passed away in 2022. They had accumulated so much stuff in the 63 years they lived there. It motivated me to get my own home organized.
lol, poor Jason.
so glad you found him under that pile....
I love the momentum of cleaning, because every little bit of effort you put in makes everything else go smoother and faster and it picks up pace as you get close to the end.
So glad that you all get along and are a team. I am dealing with ex in law issues that seriously bothers me and is getting criminal even. You have a blended family and everyone respect each other. So nice to see.
You have the best personality on utube. I enjoy you and your family. You inspire me to clean and organize.
Your narrations make literally anything interesting 😂 I think this is the 3rd garage clean out I’ve watched on your channel and I’ve enjoyed each one ❤❤👊
Great tips on dealing with "I'll do it later" syndrome. So important to recognize potential vs reality. Also nice seeing family working together - say hi to Emily! Always good watching you motivate others to conquer clutter.🙏🏻
Thanks for the new video
You do amazing things!
Glad your lady is up and around! Hope the recovery is as comfortable as possible!
I love the relationship you have with Jason. It’s pretty awesome.
The way you describe how to clean is exactly how I've always cleaned!!! My family always asked me how i ended up with a bigger mess when I'm in the middle of cleaning/decluttering my room. I'm just making piles of my stuff! When I'm done its all nice and organized and my room looks nicer than anyone else's in the house lol
What I like about your videos are 1. No music 2. No overblown drama. Just clean, sort, and done.
I just wanted to say that I know how attached we become to our 'stuff' and how incredibly hard it can be to even think about getting rid of it. I wouldn't be here, subscribed to this channel if I didn't have a big problem. I have been drowning in it more and more over the years. But recently a woman I knew who was a compulsive hoarder all her life, passed away, and her husband has also passed so her two adult children are now tasked with the mammoth job of clearing out that house which is going to cost them thousands of Euros/dollars in dumpster fees and paying for help to get rid of these mountains of things that this poor lady didn't even know she had as well as the damage they caused to the structure of the home. I have one 17 year old daughter who will eventually inherit my home and after I heard what happened to this other family, I owe it both to myself and my daughter not to leave things as they are and that has finally got me motivated and started on my clean up and clear out.
I have a huge Oak dresser in my kitchen which is overflowing with things and one day for fun I asked my daughter, 'If I was gone and you had to clean up that dresser, how many of the things there would you keep?' She took a good look and said 'four' and they were four things she had bought for me lol. I have so often over the years held on to something I think is precious because I think my daughter will love it just as much as I do one day. It is just self-fooling BS and a reason to justify holding on to things. I have a few things that my late mother gave me that I love but nothing compares to the mountain of memories I have of her, nothing does. And the time does come when you have to ask yourself, what do I love more, my family and myself or the 'stuff'. It should be a no brainer but sadly it isn't always until the time is right for you. But it is a question I think we all need to keep in our mind because some day it may be the question that gets you started on making the changes you wish for so much. Very importantly though, don't turn it into another guilt trip that you start beating yourself up about. That's not going to help. It is simply a suggestion of how we can think of a bigger picture and how that might help to motivate us.
And the biggest tip of all is that if you are thinking of getting started, watch these videos and listen to Mac who repeatedly tells us to break things down into small steps and tackle these small steps one at a time. They really do all add up into something significant over time. I can truly attest to that and that Mac got me started from doing absolutely nothing for years into now having two major rooms fully cleared of clutter with a good bit still to do but I just keep doing those small steps every day no matter what AND I have ADHD too and chronic back and leg pain so if I can do this, truly, just about anyone can.
I did the garage purge 10 years ago. Hired 2 young fellas and they backed in with their trailer. I sat at the garage door and said 'keep or toss' at anything that came out. They took 2 trailer loads out and I had a very small pile of keep. They put up insulation and paneling (from previous remodel) and closed in the walls. I had a new garage to organize and make into my space. Husband had passed and no children so it was all my space now.
I totally relate to the "I'll deal with it later". The number of boxes must be even crazier when you run a business.
I know that this is totally unrelated, but if you're able to remove stickers and tape, those boxes are an excellent addition to the garden. They help block weeds if you leave them whole or in big pieces. If you tear them up and throw kitchen scraps with them, it makes a wonderful compost. They need to be just brown cardboard or very minimal color & not glossy. It's a great way to get rid of all the extra boxes, it's good for the environment & helps your garden at the same time.
We do this with larger boxes... we even sometimes get some from a friend who regularly gets shipments in large boxes. The only thing is, where we live it gets fairly windy and we have to make sure we weigh them down with something or they'll get blown away.
@@karencox3235 I tried paper the first year & even keeping it soaked, it went everywhere, lol. With the boxes the only way I've been able to wet them enough is to soak them in large buckets or ideally leave them out in a good rain. Once they're good & wet, I put them in the garden & usually put wood chips on top. That usually keeps them in place.
Thats such a big difference. 😮 Im always impressed with your work. 🤯
I've watched this twice.. Just such great narration and tips. REALLY helps. Momma died last Mother's Day & my Birthday (day before actually), and we needed to move from where we were into her house (46 years for her household and 11 for ours.) So all our stuff is stashed in the garage and in every room of the house. We've been tryin to combine, donate or sell stuff like crazy, since there are more options her), but we're STILL overwhelmed with stuff. So listening to your tips and reasonings really motivate to Purge.. Thanks for all you're doin! Love from Bigfoot Country! 💛🖤💛
I'm almost 68 and still working (because I have to). On days that I'm not working, I watch your videos and feel like I've done the work myself😄. Keeps me from feeling lazy. I truly benefit from your advice and attitude towards cleaning/life. Thanku. I had a cleaning business when I was younger and stronger and loved it
It sucks that you still have to work. I hope you can retire soon
That was a fantastic job completed. The cars can finally go back in. Thanks for talking about the potential of stuff that’s one of my big issues. It must drive you demented having to explain every time why you can’t donate, put stuff on kerbside, garage sale, etc but I do appreciate the reminder of how fortunate I am to be only 10 miles from charity shops and 15 from recycling centre.
Glad you kept Jason in the find. Delighted to see Emily up and about. Hope she’s well on the road to recovery. Have a great week. Mary, Joes wife 👏👍💪🙏💐🦮
Just got off of work, and felt motivated to clean, as I too have “I’ll deal with it later” syndrome with my borderline adhd. So happy to see a new video, as your videos help me stay on track while I clean my house. Thanks for being my “cleaning buddy”!
I have watched enough of your videos that I can say: you have a very beautiful way of seeing the world and the people in it ❤ I love that someone has the energy, patience and resilience to explain these misunderstood things to the internet 😌 I will now raise my hat to you wise man 👒
When we moved into our current home about 25 years ago, I told my husband that we could store things in the huge basement double car garage but both cars had to fit in there all the time. So far that has been the case. We have decluttered the garage several times over the years and it needs it again now. LOL But the cars still fit into the garage. We can only store what can fit with both cars parked inside the garage.
!!!Thanks for another bit of Midwest Magic!!! A couple of tips people might find useful is as follows: First thing each morning do one short job (5 or 10 mins) that does not require any decision making - as a result you get the dopamine hit easily that sets a pattern for the rest of the day ( brian says 'lets do that again!'). Also you can make a job easier to start if you set it up before hand ( i.e. the evening before or such like) - e.g. if you have a case full of clothes you need to sort through, get it out from the back of the cupboard the night before and put it somewhere where it is easy to access so having to 'shift stuff' does not get in the way of starting the job.
I guess I'm the weird one then because i always break down Amazon boxes right after opening them and throw them away. So i never have and build up anywhere. I always put everything up after i use it so i never have a big mess to clean up. I will rearrange the garage every 2-3 years, but that's just the shelves in there that i straighten. Then, if i haven't used it in the last year, i toss it or take it to the thrift store. I do that throughout the house. At 57, i always have extra room in my closets. They are never full, and i never have big messes to clean up. I'm just weird that way. I also have a small house and small, one car or no car garage so it's necessary to keep it all organized. I did used to have a cleaning and organizing business. It's just natural for me. Thanks for all your videos.
Our son was helping clean out some “stuff” and I noticed him doing the symmetrical stacking thing. He hardly ever cleaned anything when at home so I guess his wife taught him. Or maybe engineering school? I was hedging on whether to put something in the dump (we are in a rural area that has an attendant that is a pain in the butt). It wasn’t dangerous. I was trying to be “considerate.” He said Mom, put in in a black bag. Tie it up and toss it. Wise words. Thanks for some great tips and inspiration.
Why don't you just give yourselves a pat on the back for all the hard work and effort you put in. HA! got ya!
Real talk your channel has been a huge inspiration and has taught me so much about helping declutter and keep decluttered, you give me motivation, hope and a laugh along the way. 1million gold plaque let's go!
The old entertainment center used as a paint storage cubby.. is FANTASTIC 👏🏻🤩
How does watching people collapse their empty cardboard box mountain help, when you also have an empty cardboard box mountain that you're not dealing with - because you're happier watching others deal with theirs. And there it is - your channel makes me feel happier. Plus I feel a lot less grotesque and isolated by my poor mental health and my empty cardboard box mountain, so huge 'thanks'. Good to see Emily up and about post op 👍🏼 ❤
New subscriber here, as valuable as the video is, the commentary is equally valuable. I am seeing why I bring things in and drop them in the garage and they never make it into the house or into the trash. It's like a huge neglected transfer point. Now I see what's happening and I can start to resolve the issue, thanks so much!
I love you so much Mac that I am going to give you a bit of advice from one of your elders, me, a retired old nurse. This mess is a fire hazard. You are a wonderful caring person and you tend to go way beyond the call of duty and often it literally makes you sick. You will recall the advice flight attendants give to passengers. First put the oxygen mask on yourself, then take care of others. If you are struggling for air, you can't help anyone without hurting yourself. Mac, you are brilliant in helping people understand mental illness. But you suck at caring for Number 1, you! Get your own house in order, then take on what you can comfortably take on without self-harm. Sending you and your brilliant family tons of love and prayers.
For this woman, the look of a brand new organised tool box is one of the greatest things in the world.
"For a guy, the look of a new organized toolbox is one of the greatest things in the world." I was today years old when I realized that I'm a guy! 😅😂
I had to retrain my brain to let go of "potential" items. I saw your clothing rack and I was like "I want that. That's a nice item." I literally have NO need for it. I don't even have enough clothes to fill up my closet. My parent's raised me to keep stuff "just in case." It's taken years to break that habit in my brain.
I don’t have a lot of space given the moose sanctuary in my apartment 🫎🤗 but when I’m feeling good, I get the garbage and recycling out regularly. The amount of stuff that builds up is a good indicator for me as to my mental health. Sometimes, it takes looking at the amount that has accumulated for me to realize it’s time to evaluate how I’m feeling and what I need to do to take care of myself. Wishing everyone out there good health. 😀
Love the commentary and cleanup. I chuckled when I saw the fish tank. We just donated a 50gallon to Salvation Army....and many other items. Then we went through all paperwork, cards, and kids school projects. Not counting hundreds of photos. My shredder ran all week. Organized the basement. My driving force was one of my younger sisters. We did one project at a time until it was done. It would have taken me forever. This happened over the course of two weeks. What a burden off my shoulders. My husband is going through all his stuff too. When the weather warms up it will be clean out the garage time. ❤
Yeah! You're back! That must mean things are going well!?!! 😊❤
I did a huge decluttering in my house almost ten years ago. Almost all of my stuff I gave away or it was going to a thrift store. I didn't had the energy or mood to sell it. I wanted the stuff out of my house as quickly as possible. It is so annoying to deal with your stuff for days, weeks or even months any longer when you only want to get rid of it. I moved 4 months ago to a smaller home. And I did it the same way. I drives me crazy when stuff stands in the way. I wanted to get my new house organized as soon as possible. Your garage looks so much better now! Well done. Irma from the Netherlands.
Even living within a neighborhood where people will go to yard sales, they will nickel'n dime you, or wait until you put things by the road. We stopped due to how much precious time is wasted. We donate what is good, the rest we trash, although we now pay for our trash bags. But, we are looking at doing a big clean-out where we will hire a dumpster. Much easier.
This is awesome! I have just rented a dumpster yesterday to clean out my inherited hoarder house garage and surrounding garbage. What a coincidence to find this video of yours today. You rock! So encouraging.😊
Pitting everything in a dumpster is good when time matters and even better when we learn from it and learn not to let things build up again. Thos is my experience. My own declutter many years ago shocked me so much ill never let things pile up like that again❤😊
Oh lord, you just described my life! "I'll deal with it later", mounts up to overwhelming "where do I start?" I have been taking stuff to charity shops, but it is only a miniscule amount. I have stuff from my parents, stuff belonging to both my sons and loads of stuff I have to keep for another 2 years by law from my company that has now closed. I just wish I was young enough to do a spin kick. Keep at it Mack.
Great cleanup! Now Beans has even more room to half-attempt escape with.
What you said about donations is so true- I though the same watching but realized that plant stand looked good from the camera shot of 12 ft but was prob kinda crappy close up. Alot of my friends ask me why I don't sell my clothes online- and the answer is I don't want to spend the time- I just want it out of my house. So glad you are organizing your space the way you like it. Inspired me to clean out my garden shed when the weather gets nicer.
Great vid !!!
Glad to see your wife up and feeling better!! Love when y'all post!! Your son is such a hard worker it's very clear he was taught a great work ethic!!
I'm pretty tidy and organized as a rule, but I have watched your videos and added your approach to my routine and mentally gridded off wherever I am cleaning and give my attention to that area. It's not mental stress but physical challenges so I give myself little timed rests but I clean each part of the grid before I rest so I stay on task. It takes me a long time to do simpler tasks but I get it done on a little schedule.
It’s wild to me that people leave comments of “you should…”. Of course you are going to make the decisions that are best for you with what’s available and with what makes sense in your area.
Great video! Need to make sure hubby watches this one for sure. Thanks for sharing ❤❤❤
Your comments on letting go of things that “have potential” really helps me. I tend to do this but feel so much lighter and happier when the clutter is gone. Thanks for this!❤
What a welcome sight to see a video on your channel today-and it was AWESOME. One of my favorite kind of transformations. And it must have felt great to just chuck stuff in a dumpster. I understand that due to where you live, it isn’t feasible to get rid of it any other way. And sometimes even if you do have another way, you just need to get the stuff OUT. Thanks for another realistic clean out.
Holy crap! That was a super satisfying transformation. Well done! 👏🏼
It was great to see Emily up and about. Of course Jason had to show up to help since he’s the best!
That wood paneled garage is pretty impressive!
Looks better once you removed those white slider doors. 👍⭐️
This was the inspiration I needed to start back de cluttering. But a little at the time, because it's easy to get overwhelmed. Hope your Emily is feeling better each day. Thank you for this video. Looked really great. Have a great weekend family!!
That’s not a garage, that’s a whole studio apartment. Lol
It looks good all cleaned up.
I have found that the only way I can control my junk is by using plastic storage containers and placing them on wire racks. The cost is high but it makes me think is the items worth putting in a storage container? Then when things are in containers they are marked to find it fast. If I have over flow I have to toss something to make it all fit. The plastic containers help keep items clean and if the items aren't worth the price of a storage container it could be time to toss them.
My first rooms to clean are the kitchen and bathroom, then the living room and bedroom. I then do the sun room and the craft room. The garage is the last one. This is the order of clean to dirty.
Interesting to see what works for you!
I had the same issue when I had to clean my Fathers house, which is in a small New England town and we don't know where any of the donation centers are. Nor did we have time to look for them so I just had a dumpster dropped off and we packed it with everything form a stove to furniture to washer and dryer ,clothes and various other appliances. So of the neighbors came over and took some stuff but the majority of went into the dumpster. We were not taking any of it 1200 miles back to Chicago.
Happy to see Emily up and about. Nice seeing Dakota check in to see how progress was going. Funniest was watching you go to dumpster and just chucking stuff in. Jason really has it going on though. A wheel barrel full at a time. 👍👍 Wishing you all well.
I guess i do have one good habit. I break down all the boxes. It doesn't matter if it goes in the trash or I'm keeping it. Large or small. Cardboard or paper. Looking at your pile there is why I call it a good thing.
Now if my boxes wound up like yours, I wonder if I would even attempt to take care of it.
My love to ya. You have a lot more drive than I do.
I edited because i forgot to say - GOOD JOB MAN!
The potentiality vs usefulness discussion really hit me. There are several things that I've been keeping because they are good rather than because they are useful. I might need to have a yard sale when the weather warms up.
I just cannot get enough of your videos! You do an absolute phenomenal job with cleaning, and keeping things organized!
I am so ready to watch the next hoarder house cleaning video or episode!
❤️❤️👊
“We ended up keeping Jason, which turned out to be a benefit for everyone.” Are you ok, Mack?!?! Filth wasn’t mentioned ONCE in that sentence.
Final pictures of Dakota with a declutterred, clean & functional garage are soul soothing. It made the $800 crate worth it because you can enjoy your space as a family again. Watching this also helped me tackle the deal-with-it-later recycling pile. It happens to us all ~ thank you for addressing these pertinent issues in your videos, Mack. Glad you’re feeling much better. ✨🤗💙🩵 We’re journeying with you all the way. ✨🫶
In my apartment building, the garabge room is located next to the laundry room, so I am there at least once per week anyway. I just flatten my boxes and bring them down when I do the laundry. I have nowhere to store empty boxes.
The garbage room also has a "free" shelf for people to dispose of good but unwanted household items. I have left numerous small items that I no longer had need of. It is so much easier than driving across town to a charity shop.
The only thing that is currently accumulating is beverage containers. The return value will double in April, so _everyone_ is holding on to their empties at present. There needs to be a minimum size load to justify the time (and gas) expended to take then to the recycler.
I hope your Wife is recovering well and feeling better 💓