Posted in Organization 101
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While reading another blog, I came across this link. It is just a sad commentary on the extreme danger of hoarding.
That report reminded me of the couple of times I visited my grandmother's friend many years ago. I could hardly step into the house for there were little hills of old newspapers and flattened-out cardboard boxes everywhere! The whole place also reeked faintly of something rancid. Outside the house were retired articles of all kinds. It was such a heart-breaking eye-sore. This dear old lady was living with her daughter and family. Her daughter had the hoarding disease and I, as a young girl then, remembered being totally mystified by her inability to throw away things she didn't need.
But sadly, I now understand a little of her mentality for I too am a bit of pack-rat myself. I am what you call a selective hoarder. Maybe I don't hoard old newspapers, but I do have stashes of old magazines and Reader's Digest that I know will never be re-read . I confess to hoarding a big box of old silk-screened tee-shirts. At least 25 of them. Horrors, some are more than two decades old! To think I actually shipped them over in a container when I moved to Huntsville 10 years ago! What was I thinking? Actually, I know. Childless then, I had already dreamed of showing each shirt to my future children and sharing with them the history of each event the shirt commemorated. Then maybe one day, I might even make a quilt out of all the old tee-shirts. But am I being realistic? Experience tells me no. I guess I could take pictures of all the tee-shirts and then use them as rags or something. I might give them away, but I doubt anyone would care to wear them. Then I have clothes that belonged to my single days, clothes you won't catch me wearing now...but they too have joined the Sterilite community of huge plastic boxes in the overpopulated attic. I'm so frightened the attic above us will collapse one day while we're having dinner.
Whether it's a bad habit, lack of organizational skill or sentimental attachment, I cannot make myself throw away some things I really don't need to keep.
Why, they may come in useful one day.
Why, I spent money on them; what a waste to dispose of them.
Hey, that's something from my aunt. I cannot part with that.
And those boxes of Christmas cards (including those from the real estate man and the insurance guy) ?Well, don't you know I still have cards from my elementary school days in my mother's house? I just don't throw any kind of card someone has spent the time and effort sending it to me.
But this year, I'm going to systematically give or trash things. No point hoping to organize a garage sale. Too much work and I rather give away a nice (but useless to me) item then to sell it for a quarter! For those that have sentimental value, well, I'll think of something to preserve their memory even if the objects and I have to part ways.
So far, this year has been good. I'll write more, when time permits, about a couple of practices I implemented since the beginning of the year and how they have helped control some clutter around in the house. I just felt I had to write something about hoarding when I read this sad article.
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Posted by Anonymous