I'm a Hoarder(and if you make it through this post there is a little contest at the end)

Did anybody see Oprah last Thursday or Friday? I only saw it on Friday, but both days were devoted to people who hoard. Now, before I go too far, please know that I am not a hoarder like these people are. My mom is. My mom believes that if you have one you should have all. Too much is never enough. If you like it, buy it. If it is on sale, buy it. Good yard sale deal? Buy it. Somebody might need this for their home, apartment, car, camp, dorm room, you name it-buy it and save it.  You like it in green?  You'll love it in red, blue, yellow and tan. Never mind that you will forget you have it or never find it if you do remember, you can never have too much. The hoarders on Oprah had gotten to the point that they couldn't even navigate the rooms in their homes. Oh, there were paths to travel, but there was no place to live. The basements were crammed full of stuff, as were the extra rooms, garages, kitchens and all living spaces. My mom has spots in her home that are like this, the rest is stored at her workshop and in storage units. Well, in my opinion, nobody is enjoying it there. One of the Oprah hoarders had an intervention done. It took weeks for professionals to clean out her junk, clean the house (because she hadn't been able to for years there was mold and mice nests and all kinds of wonderful things that needed professional cleaners to sanitize the place) and turn it into livable space. If I remember correctly they threw away something like 75 tons of trash. That left a 10,000 square foot storage area of stuff to tag sale. I loved it when her son asked, "If this is 10,000 square feet, their house is like about 3200 I think...."  She had something like 3,000 pairs of shoes and 3,000 handbags. The professional quipped, if each of those cost only $10, there is a 60,000 dollar pile of shoes and bags. Yep. Even my mind is silent in amazement over that one. (We can just take a minute here.)

There was a time when I collected a bunch of different things and had them displayed all over the place. Then I got to the point when I had so much that I needed to rotate the collections.  The only problem with that is I am not the most organized person.  Too much stuff leaves me overwhelmed and stuck.  So the basement started filling up, the cupboards, the corners, closets, garage.....  It felt clogged.  No energy could move in the house and no energy was moving in our family.  One day I decided to get rid of it.  It took me a week of eighteen hour days (no, I won't deny being a bit manic at times) and I threw away bags and bags and bags of stuff.  I sold a bunch of stuff on ebay or in a yard sale.  I kept most of the yarn, most of the teapots, most of the holiday decorations (but some of them are on the way out) and decided that sentimentality should not apply to most physical things.  A basement you could not walk in became a tv room for the kids.  Tons of space, a futon, bookshelves, the tv.  It's great.  The storage area went from an over-packed and disorganized mess to a place with empty shelves, even with everything in its spot.  I felt free and energized and truthfully, after that a lot of wonderful things happened for my family.  We were new.

Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect.  I don't buy little knick-knacky things anymore.  Every time I'm in a shop and picking something up that would look so cute with or on or next to something I stop dead and try to envision the future of that item in my life.  I mean, really honestly, knowing who I am and what I do, I take a good hard look and almost always the item ends up back on the shelf.  I don't want to have to organize it, dust it, pack it........  And, it leaves more money for the things I really do want.  Yarn, fiber, drop spindles, and tea come to mind.  Now, the tea.  Here is where I may have a problem.  I cannot resist trying a new tea.  All of them.  Here is the evidence:

My name is Terry and I may just be a hoarder after all

I'd like to tell you that's all of it. Not so. The teas spill over onto other shelves. The cabinet is so perturbed with me it sometimes throws tea tins at me when I open the door. I kid you not! Containers of tea come flying and if I'm lucky none of them open as they hit the floor, sending tea leaves (sometimes expensive ones) all over. At those times I just leave teas out on the counters, afraid of fighting the tea shelf.

This is where the contest comes in!

You are wondering where on earth I am going with this aren't you?  I thought it would be fun to reward somebody for putting up with my drivel every day for a month.  I'd love to give you all a prize for coming back here every day.  So as I was attacked by the tea shelf the other day I decided it has come time to organize and I should give myself incentive to do it. It is sucking energy out of my life. I'm sure there are lovely teas in there that I have forgotten about. You'll see that I have purchased teas that I already have. Your challenge is to make a stab at how many individual containers of tea I have.  This means that I have to take them out, examine them and come clean with myself and the internets how bad my problem is. They are all in there and most of them are on that shelf. I guess I'm going to have to organize the whole cabinet to get an accurate number, but I don't think I'll find a ton on the other shelves. Here is part of what I know I will find:

Teas I got because they were in fancy packagingMultiples of the same tea
My defense on this: I like loose at home, but bring bags around with me. That's a good excuse!!Big bags and little onesBig tins and little onesTeas I bought because the tin was pretty. And blue.
Hey, the tea inside is pretty good, but I'd have gotten this one anyway.

A little info to help you out. The measurements of that shelf are: Width, 26". Height, 11 1/4". Depth, a staggering 26". There is some coffee in there somewhere and some coffee filters, but the majority of that shelf along with stragglers on other shelves contains tea.

Think it over, throw dice, use a random number generator, whatever and then leave your guess in a comment to this post by midnight here in the east on Monday, November 26.  On the final day of November, the beginning of my next blog break (just kidding!) I will announce the person closest to the correct number and award a prize that will probably have tea and something else to be determined.  Don't worry, the winner will get new, fresh tea.  Promise.  Now I have to get counting!  And you guys, thanks so much for reading, kidding me, encouraging me, and being glad to hear from me.

November 19, 2007.  No, I won't be counting balls of yarn I've hoarded.

Comments

[maryse]

i'm going to guess 93. that number just popped into my head.

[PumpkinMama]

Phew - for a minute there I thought contest was that we were all going to have to bear our own little hoards for the world to see!

Guessing tea tins, thats easy! my guess is 143.

[Susan]

I'm going low at 54. And then I'm going to put some water on for tea!

[margene]

Now you've done it. Can't wait to see the newly organized and ready to drink Terry Teas. My guess is 194

[Kim]

Hmmm........I'm guessing 224

[Karen]

My guess is 125.

[Stacey]

198. I know that you can cram a LOT of stuff in little cabinets. Don't ask. ;D

[Vicki]

Were you blogging when you did that week-of-18-hour-days purge? I vaguely recall something of that nature over here.

I am near the breaking point, myself. I definitely feel the weight, the energy being sucked right out of me -- it takes a lot of energy to ignore all the stuff.

My guess? 133. Terrific idea for a contest.

[Norma]

234. I have a lot of tea, too. Ridiculous amounts, since I don't really drink much of it. And I'm SO READY to disgorge the crap. My husband goes in and pulls stuff out of the recycling and garbage, so it's an endless battle. I will be on the rampage soon.

[Paula]

Wow, that's a deep cupboard! My guess is 225, and if I win I'll share with Margene.

[ann]

I will guess 78!

[Betsy]

My guess is 195!

[Carla]

97!

[brenda]

65!

[Manise]

I was originally going to say 50, but nah! I'm guessing 100.

[Carole]

82. And I saw Oprah both days and found it fascinating and horrifying. I'm pretty good at keeping things streamlined but Dale could use an intervention on the garage.

[Faren]

45? Sounds good anyway.

[Marcia Cooke]

68?.....I have no idea! I did watch the Oprah show, too, which opened my eyes to, cough, a certain person who also lives in this house. We battle all the time, and I have certain inherited hoarder tendencies myself. In a way, those people were lucky Oprah came in and did all the work....they never could have afforded it themselves! (Keep up the posting, dear, even after this month is over...you're GOOD!)

[Danielle]

I'll guess 113 containers of tea. I'm with you on trying to streamline. Our goal for our new house is to get rid of things that don't bring us pleasure, and to keep and display those that do. We may not exactly see eye to eye on how to accomplish that -- I think that skeins of handspun on the coffee table constitute a collection of things of beauty that bring me joy. Hubby thinks that they are clutter that belong in a drawer in the craft room. Hmmm ... what if I put them in a decorative basket in the living room?

[michelle]

I fight that tendency to hoard almost everyday. Moving allowed some major cleaning out, but I still packed many things just because...Craft supplies are my own personal weakness - it doesn't matter that I have not done that particular craft in over 10 years, I may still need whatever because you never know. I hate that.

I'm going to go lower with my guess - there's some really big numbers here already - so my guess is 57.

[Joanne Richardson]

Oo, my guess is 47

[Theresa]

I did count the number of balls of yarn I have, and now I can't sleep at night. At any rate, I think you have 112 boxes of tea.

[Karen]

That's a BIG shelf. 150 is my guess. Now I feel better about my tea shelf... it used to throw boxes at me too, but I painted the kitchen cabinets last year and went through it all, threw out everything past it's expiration date. Lately the baking shelf is thrusting bags of candied fruit and cocoa powder boxes at me, though...

My dad is a hoarder, if he did not live with my mom (who is not, and limits him), he would have one of those houses with a path through it. I struggle constantly against my inherited hoarding tendencies. Yarn, books, and kitchen stuff are my vices. ("Condiments," says my husband.)

[Lynn]

127.

And I bet you have a lot more than 127 balls of yarn, too, while I'm at it!

[Dave`]

Ooh, fun! I'll guess 137. And no, I won't show you my tea cupboard.

[katy]

145.
And OMG, I think we have the same mother! ;)
I am in a not-too-manic cleaning/throwing out phase here; I have to fight packrat tendencies and both DH and I are "pilers", and it's been a bad year, so my house is feeling overwhelming and awful. I am tackling one pile per day.

[claudia]

218

Hey, when you come down here (as you continually threaten to do) bring me some old tea. I'd love to try new teas (black tea only) and have pretty much just one tin in my tea cupboard.

[Dianna]

My ex is an obsessive-compulsive acquisition sort. He will be one of those people in the news who are killed by a pile of their stuff falling over on them. I told my kids when he dies, they can hire a psychologist and a cameraman and make a PBS series analyzing the man as they sort through it all....

[Alison]

119. Good contest!

[Beth S.]

72. It's a big number, but not horrifying... ;-)

Good luck counting and cataloguing! Be strong! :-)

[Jessica]

That Oprah show really hit a nerve for me. I'm not a hoarder but I have definite packrat tendencies with a side of complete slob. I've already gone through my bedroom and bathroom and threw out a bunch of stuff, recycled a bunch and packed up a box to give away. If I keep this up my home will be manageable in about three years.

I'll guess 73 for the tea.

[Elizabeth H.]

I'm not a hoarder - except yarn, but I'm married to one! We have a perpetual contest. Can I throw it out faster than he can bring it in - or vise versa?
I'm guessing 123. Not sure why - that number just popped into my head.

[Julia]

I like tea, some teas, not all. I had not idea that there were that many. Or that tea could be considered expensive, guess I don't shop in the right places. I would be amazed if you had 97, so amaze me. Oh, and if you wanna send me allittle tea to help lighten your load, pick one for me...I like English Breakfast Tea if that helps.

[sandy]

So, Miss Terry, what is your FAVORITE tea?
wondering..

[Laurie]

How about 76?

[BeadKnitter]

182. Just a wild guess. I only have 3 kinds of tea in the cupboard. Some new tea would be nice.

[Lucia]

Hmm... 167. (No reason, I just closed my eyes and that was the first number that appeared.)

I fear I may be a hoarder. I know my daughter is. Now that you talk about energy flow, I may be motivated to get rid of some of the boxes, the baby toys, the clothes that will never fit me again. The wool stays.

[Diane]

68. I have a friend who has decorated her house in the Danish Modern style. Visiting her regularly helps keep my home uncluttered.

[Suzanne]

81. I saw Friday's show with the 10,000 square foot tag sale. It makes me determined to clean some stuff out of my room. Some to consignment, some to goodwill, some to the trash man.

I will admit to being a tea collector, too. I like iced tea best but can't stop when I see something new and different. I have kept away from Adagio since my little binges last year.

[susan]

I'm guessing 81. I like that number.

[The Feminist Mafia]

Although my first thought was 222, I'm going with 199. This is fun.

[Rossana]

158. =)

Now I'm REALLY curious as to how many you really have!

[Shari Schneider]

I "stumbled" upon your blog and I am glad I did! I will guess 87---probably low, but the number just popped into my head! I enjoyed your post. I also watched the Oprah Show last week. One of the most important thing I took away from it is that I have to STOP shopping. I am addicted to using my Michaels, Joann's Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, etc. coupons. I am going to stay out of the stores. I threw the coupons out this week. I will visit your blog often.
-shari

[Debi]

173 :)

[Helen]

One of my brother commented several years ago the "If some was good and more was better then too much was just about right." Can you tell I come from a hoarding family? My father has his piles (discretely camoflaged for the neighbors) of scrap metal, parts, tractors in renovation and wood. Don't try to look in his garages( Yes plural). My mother has her cabinets of fabric, glass (for stain glass work) and beads and then her office, which she describes as "five pounds in a one pound box". I will need to move next spring and have tried to unload fabric and other craft projects with moderate success this past month. Unfortunately I've purchased yarn in about equal volume to the objects I de-stashed. I figure its a trade-off. At least the boxes didn't grow in number. As to your tea collection...drink on in good health. How about 111?

[Bonny]

84, but I'm not sure I should be guessing since my own tea cupboard looks eerily similar, and I recognize almost all of those tea containers. Off to drink 5 or 8 cups of tea...

[Annie]

I've enjoyed your blogging everyday:) I'm going to guess 212. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Louise]

Its 108. I just know it is. Or maybe that's the number of packages of tea on *my* shelf. After all, I went to Mariage Frères last weekend.

[Marie]

I am guessing 243. but then don't ask me to count mine.

[Amy]

I guess... 58. I love my tea also! But I'm a little too scared to count my stash (tea and everything else!).