My parents' house: Only my mother finds this house comfortable

Hello/Good evening, this is Tonikaji.
As the work site has moved into the living-dining-kitchen area and I've been organizing things, a thought suddenly occurred to me:
"Only my mother finds this house comfortable."

This note is intended as information for those who are struggling with
#cleaning_out_parents_house
, or those struggling with
#obsessive_compulsive_disorder #OCD specifically #hoarding_disorder, but it is also just my own rant note... Let me vent once in a while...

Only my mother finds this house comfortable.

While cleaning, I suddenly realized something.

There is nothing in this house but my mother's belongings.

There is nothing in this house but my mother's belongings.
I can barely find any of my father's things. Since he has been in a facility for a year, his dementia has progressed rapidly, and once we judged there was no prospect of him returning home, I disposed of everything except for one suit.
(My mother is quick to dispose of other people's things. That's also something, isn't it?)

1. Clothes

I have treated my mother's clothes as a sanctuary and haven't touched them at all.
These are also numerous, and I keep finding mountains of things like socks still in their original, crinkly packaging.
My mother's clothes fill the 8-tatami room that used to be my parents' bedroom, and the closet is packed full. She piles clothes in front of the closet, so it won't even open.
There is also a wedding chest of drawers, and that was full too.
Below is the wedding chest behind this tower of gift items. The contents were packed tight to the brim.

Since she can't open the closet or the chest, my mother has made a makeshift closet in the hallway. This is also effective at causing 'arteriosclerosis' of the hallway. It really makes me angry.

2. Handicraft supplies

My mother does handicrafts here and there.
She makes a lot of things, but she doesn't sell or give them away; she just makes, makes, and keeps making them.
There are plenty of materials and a fair amount of tools, but...
The materials are just piled up around the place, often causing avalanches.
And as for the tools, if you ask if she takes care of them, she doesn't.

The sewing machine was unearthed in the hallway.
Who puts a sewing machine in the hallway? And who piles things on top of it?
When I unearthed it and told my mother, she replied airily, 'I had that bought for me during the previous World Expo. It was a present from my father (my grandfather). It's a really good sewing machine.'

If it's that important, take care of it. Why is it sitting in the hallway?

3. Idol fan goods

And then, there is a massive amount of old cassette tapes and VHS tapes.
The VHS tapes were carefully labeled.
We did have a video deck, so when I tried playing them, I found variety shows featuring the nostalgic Hikaru Genji recorded every week.
There are also two copies of every calendar.
She has huge posters plastered in the hallway.
A lot of DVDs also turned up. Even though they turned up, many were still in their original packaging with no signs of ever having been watched.
Watch them. Organize them. If you're just going to leave them unopened and piled in the hallway, you're not going to watch them in the future either, right?

Maybe it really would be better if we lived separately.

When I think about this situation where 'there is nothing but my mother's things,' it means...
'Only my mother is living happily in this house,' and it makes me think that moving back in together is difficult.

Even if I tried to make a room just for my mother, the 8-tatami room where my parents used to sleep is buried in her clothes, and it's impossible to fit her idol goods and handicraft supplies in there.
Even though it's a spacious 7LLDDKK mansion, it's difficult and infuriating for me and my children to live cramped together while my mother occupies the equivalent of 4 out of the 7 rooms.

Please get rid of this mountain of stuff. Please care about our lives too.

Lying spread-eagled on the tatami mat room and looking up at the ceiling,
WAAAAAAH!!!
I am suppressing the urge to scream that and writing it down on note instead
(though sometimes I actually do say WAAAAAAH!!!)

No matter how calmly I respond, I cannot erase the feeling of irritation.

I guess I really do want to live separately, don't I?

However,
as a practical matter, it is difficult to keep renting a place or to clear the surplus land and build a new house.

I have to do it. I have to keep encouraging myself over and over again.

Knowing firsthand that there is light beyond despair is something I learned from the experience of #CleaningUpMyParentsHouse.
My past self is also encouraging my current self
I just have to keep going!!

To my live-update SNS & note readers

I post real-time updates on X and threads. Your support and follows are my motivation.

• Since I want to convey the reality, I sometimes post images of the clutter. If you are sensitive to this, please scroll past quickly.

• If you have any questions, please leave a comment. I will answer them as much as I can.

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• If you give me a tip, I will use it effectively for purchasing cleaning supplies, items for renovating my parents' house, or gifts for my mother. Your support through tips is also my motivation!