Wish me luck - I am going in..

Sleeves rolled up, wish me luck I am going in.

I did not get a lot of sleep last night.  Went to see the old stick in hospital.  I have tried to broach the subject of a clear out.  He says he realises it has to be done and this was one of his nightmares - 'not being able to clear up and then something happening'.

I had to bite my lip and not mention that if he hadn't gone up the ladder in the first place...

I have finally asked my mates for help on this. I am  pretty sure none of them have any idea of the scale of it.  It will be a shock.  It is not something that comes up in normal conversation - and certainly nothing I like to discuss.  I may have said, on occasion, my father is a dreadful hoarder - I will be greeted with - comments like - 'Yes I know that feeling - you can't move in my garage!' - The conversation ends there.

In his house - you cannot move in the garage, the front room, the living room, the bedrooms x 3, the bathroom, the kitchen or the hallway. Also the shed is full to bursting as is the small coal house.  Only this week has it been possible to open the front door all the way - after four hours of solid sorting by me just to be able to open the door.  If you want to walk around the house then you have to walk sideways. It is a bit like a rabbit warren - with runways from one room to another.  If you trip on the way through then you will knock something over and likely be trapped forever. (OK not that bad perhaps my imagination is playing games with me).  If you need to pass someone - if they are coming in and you want to go out then you will both have to go out as there is no room to pass.

As my dad is in hospital it is possible to show people the house (family/friends/neighbours).  I do this because I want and need help, any help.  While he is out I can and will have to clear the mess.  When I was at the mountain the other day two of the neighbours came over for a chat and offered space in their bins (both his bins are full of wood). They also offered green bags, black bags, a hoover (dad has three - all of which were buried in the clutter years ago and not been seen since), a dustpan and brush and space in their cars (to the tip).  All neighbours expressed their dismay at the level of the mess.  If you look at the house from outside you would not know anything was wrong.  Unless you were to look through the window you would never know - the garden is immaculate.  They all try to hide their shock.  I am not shocked - I grew up in this house but it was never ever this bad then.

I wonder sometimes how I ever grew up sane (my friends and relatives can stop sniggering please).

Today I will tackle the outside of the house.  The house is a dorma-bungalow style and so there is shelter immediately outside the back door. - However there is no space so this will have to be sorted first.  We need space outside to temporarily put the stuff from inside to sort it.  There is no floor space inside to sort anything. I will phone the council to collect a 3 piece suite which has been OUTSIDE the patio doors for seven years.  This sofa needs to be thrown out so I can clear the walkway in order to be able to open the patio doors so I can then start getting stuff out of the house.

Wish me luck - I am going in...

This is the kitchen