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Yard sale is chance to relieve pack rat tendencies
6/9/2010 9:58:14 AM
By Jennifer Ferrero
Liberty Lake Voices
Squirrels gather nuts when they are plentiful, packing them away for the winter. Toddlers become possessive over their toys, stockpiling them for security. These are both examples of hoarding. However, neither the squirrels, nor many people, were even familiar with the term until recently.
The TLC show, "Hoarding: Buried Alive," really has brought hoarding into the spotlight. You grab a Coke and a piece of pizza and casually sit in your easy chair next to a stack of bills and magazines to watch. You wanted to grab a blanket from the closet, but when you opened it, a stack of 1963 encyclopedias tumbled out with a gaggle of used candles. "Oh well," you think, "I'll get that organized later."
The show is compelling because it is a hold your mouth open in shock kind of program. "How can people live like that?" you think. It is a good question, and is probably better answered by psychologists due to the spectrum of the disease.
But what about the folks that aren't really in that bad of shape? Maybe like me, you find that you have a couple of old computers and some artwork stuffed in closets. Perhaps you've held onto a stack of your college textbooks and notebooks for 20 years - just in case. So where is the line drawn with regard to hoarding? Many of us believe we can never have too many shoes or coats. Or maybe we save piles of magazines just in case we may get to them some day. After awhile though, closets become piled up, and stacks of things start lining the floors.
Teresa Mathers, child and family counselor, concedes, "Many hoarders might look like collectors. People who appear very organized with every purchase remaining in a box. But you open a room and see stacks of boxes of items that are stored and never used." Advertisement
If this sounds like you, this could indicate a problem. The Mayo Clinic states hoarding affects emotions, thoughts and behavior. Signs and symptoms may include: cluttered living spaces; inability to discard items; keeping stacks of newspapers, magazines or junk mail; moving items from one pile to another without discarding anything; acquiring unneeded or seemingly useless items, including trash; difficulty managing daily activities, including procrastination and trouble making decisions; difficulty organizing items; perfectionism; excessive attachment to possessions, and discomfort letting others touch or borrow possessions; limited or no social interactions.
According to the International OCD Foundation, which studies and educates about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, there are levels of hoarding. The base level is OCD hoarding which is associated with people who have irrational fears about the stuff in their lives, from contamination of items to superstitions that bad things will happen if something is discarded. OCD hoarders do not take pleasure in securing and keeping the items, the foundation notes, but what they desire and what is kept in the home are sometimes two different things.
Treatment for mild hoarding
If you are holding on to things in order to avoid any of the above situations, you may need to talk to a professional - you know who you are. Or if you find that you hold onto items not for sentimental or useful value, but simply to keep them "just in case," you might need to start with awareness and maybe some organization.
1. Start by looking around your home and cleaning out closets and drawers.
2. Assess items you've kept for many years or multiple items of the same thing and determine if it can be recycled, sold or donated.
3. Keep only the items that will be used within a certain time frame - six months to a year.
4. If it is overwhelming, seek the help of a friend or professional organizer.
Again, these suggestions are for mild cases. (In my case, just writing this article caused me to clean out eight bags of unused linens, towels and baby supplies.) If you take on more products than your house can hold and it affects basic daily functions like walking through the home, cooking, entertaining, cleaning, getting ready for work and other things, then you may need to seek help. It's not uncommon for hoarders with a serious disorder to be oblivious to the problem.
"For many, it's a control issue. They gain control in one area of their lives - by shopping for example - but then it gets out of control when they bring the things into their homes," summarizes Mathers.
If you find yourself preparing for the winters of your life like a little ground squirrel, let this motivate you. The Liberty Lake Yard Sale is Saturday, and there are people coming who would love to buy the unused stuff in your life.
Jennifer Ferrero lives in Liberty Lake and writes for the Mermaids of the Lake e-zine she cofounded. This article was adapted from a piece that originally appeared at www.mermaidsofthelake.com.
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