The Hardest Part About Trying to Clean in a Hoarder House

I'm married to a hoarder, albeit a hoarder with taste (well, sometimes). He collects everything if it is older than about 1975 or so. I have a huge 1950's furniture-grade television (nonworking) and a Victrola (working) in the living room. Today, I tried to organize the living room, and I had to move these monstrosities, along with a large set of metal shelves. The problem is that the house is full of crap! So, in order to move these three pieces of vintage/antique furniture, which took all of about 10 minutes total, I had to clear about 20 boxes, repack some of them, vacuum around and under many structures and wipe away the residual dust that didn't respond to the vacuum. The project took about 3 hours, but I can see floor space I haven't laid eyes on in over a year, and I got the HUGE Sentinel television in the corner where it belongs (until the unlikely event of its being fixed). The Victrola is now much more accessible, so I can listen to those many pre-1925 78 records that now sit next to the unit instead of underneath an intricate do-it-yourself clock kit and several items of discarded clothing.

I'm not a neat freak, which is probably helpful when one is married to a hoarder. In fact, I've found the tendency kind of wears off on me. I have far more items of oriental decor than I can ever display in this rather small, one-bedroom log cabin. But I work hard to keep the clutter at bay, and I almost never stop cleaning, unless of course I'm mowing the lawn. But then that's a form of cleaning too, isn't it?

I suppose I'm proud of myself today, because, for once, you can actually tell that I've been laboring all day to make the house look better. On normal days, my activities only succeed in keeping the kitchen free of food waste, the entryways relatively free of the grass, dirt and straw the dogs drag in from outside and the mildew out of the shower. Now I'm exhausted. Just for a small treat, here's a mostly unobstructed view of my now-visible Victrola!

Oh yeah, if you look behind the Victrola, there can be seen the Sentinel television in all its grand, vintage non-working beauty. It's a pretty piece of furniture, but it'd be nicer if it was a working television! For now, it is a lamp stand. Cheers y'all!