When is enough enough?

[Brengirl]

From the moment I wake till bedtime I want to make or do something. Maybe it's the nurturing side of me. My large ice'cream freezer is jam packed with joints of meat, frozen veg, homemade bread, sauces etc. The 6' freezer in the kitchen is filled with homemade ready cooked meals, pastry etc. I know I have gone over the top and my OH is so patient with me. How do I stop this hoarding addiction?

[its hilly]

Start making patchwork quilts instead? Then sell em.
Seriously though I do sympathise. Due to being permanently skint for more years than I like I'm terrible for hoarding stuff that could come in useful, like timber and lengths of drainpipe etc at my field. trouble is its never what is needed, and just sits there. And every time I decide to have a good sort out most of it gos back. Wish I knew the answer.

[Flummery]

I can tell you with some authority that making patchwork quilts does NOT stop you hoarding! I've made over 100 and you have to keep replacing your fabric stock. If you make what are called 'scrap quilts' as I do, with as big a variety of fabrics as possible, then you really fear running out of fabric choices, rather than simply fabric as such. So you just have to buy a bit more, don't you?

So I'm not a hoarder, I'm a scrap quilter. Excuse. Sticking to.

[Pies]

You are allowed to eat the food,

[annacruachan]

Move house, Brengirl! It's the best thing I know for getting rid of junk. Of course you are not only hoarding junk, are you? Can't you have a shopping-free fortnight or two and eat up all the things in the freezers? They won't keep for ever in any case.

[Jeanied]

I think you should have a party, Brengirl! That would empty a few shelves for you.

[Brengirl]

I think you should have a party, Brengirl! That would empty a few shelves for you.

Yeh Jeanied, we do have parties but what do I do? I make fresh stuff!!
I am incorrigible. Need putting down

[rustylady]

You're not the only one Brengirl. I only have a small freezer as I live on my own. I dare not buy a bigger one. I got a real shock today when I looked through the cupboard I keep my home-made jams and chutneys in. Far too much for me to eat, in spite of having given loads away. I just love making them.

[Creemteez]

Don't beat yourself up, Bren! If you enjoy what you do, can afford the ingredients and, as you say, lots of people benefit, why stop?
(Just remember to FIFO (first in - first out) your stock!)
You must have lots of very contented nurtured friends.

[Glutton4...]

*Sets Sat-Nav for Dorset...

[Two_Sheds]

My freezers are full to bursting too, like you Brengirl. And my cupboards are full of chutney like you Rustylady.

I also went a bit mad on the winemaking: I have 10 demijohns that will need to be bottled soon - that's 55 bottles of wine.

Like you Flummery, I have a fabric stash. I used to only buy one fabric per project, one at a time. Now I don't have a fabric store nearby, I stock up when I do find one (but I've just entered a Bust Your Stash competition, and I've made 4 dresses so far this month).

I just like making stuff, and being busy !

[FionaH]

I hoard food too. After a few years of being a single mum with two sons and not enough money I became utterly paranoid about running out of food.
No longer single and no longer that skint, I still get twitchy if the freezer has gaps.
MrH laughs at me but I just can't help it, it's my security blanket

[Bren In Pots]

Brengirl if its something you enjoy doing then i can't see why you have to stop, just think of it as another hobby.

[Florence Fennel]

Move house, Brengirl! It's the best thing I know for getting rid of junk. Of course you are not only hoarding junk, are you? Can't you have a shopping-free fortnight or two and eat up all the things in the freezers? They won't keep for ever in any case.

This is what I do! I buy more and more every week for the freezer and then buy again to eat. Every so often, I challenge myself that we'll live "out of the freezer" for a week, which gets the stock down a bit. Also my daughter does "a bit of shopping" from my freezer, so she benefits from my stock!

[Two_Sheds]

We are living out of the freezer at the moment (in preparation for all those broad beans). It's actually quite fun, especially if you have a totally blind lucky dip.

Tonight we have sausages, bacon, pasta and lentil dhal