10
Nov

The Next Step in a Hoarder’s Life

Hoarders
Photo Credit: http://www.forbes.com/sites/juliabricklin/2012/01/03/monday-night-rehab-aes-intervention-and-hoarders-return/

As a continuation from my latest blog, this is the next step in a Hoarders life.

Now that some time has passed, we have had an opportunity to clear out 4 vehicles (yes, 4) that were full of hoarding items. I would say that 75% of the items were eliminated, trashed and taken away. Items had expiration dates on them that were years old, or just in too bad of shape to keep. There were newspapers, letters and mail that was not opened; drinks and food; CD’s and DVD’s; body wash, lotions, clothes, shoes and socks that had not been taken out of the bag and (ironically enough) lots of cleaning supplies.

Three of us spent 8 hours going through the sorting and eliminating process until we were exhausted.

The next step in a Hoarder’s life – was dealing with the fact that certain items had been donated and/or eliminated.

We were up front and advised this person that we were clearing out the vehicles – which honestly made it so much easier to deal with because she/he wasn’t there with us. Now, 3 weeks later, we are dealing with the aftermath of the loss of her/his items. The strange thing is that the most important items to this person were the clothes and lotions – not at all what I suspected.

The reality is that these were the most important items to this person. The clothes (because they were all “coordinated”) and the lotions because of their dry skin issue. All of the other items that I would have thought were important, actually didn’t mean anything to this person. It was really weird.

So far we have only dealt with the hoarding issues from the inside of the vehicles (and two small storage units). We haven’t dealt with the items inside the house. But I have taken a sneak peak at what I’ll be dealing with.

If you know of someone who is struggling with the following, please get them help:

  1. The need to shop for items that are not necessary
  2. The inability to get rid of items
  3. The inability to see identify with the reality of how much they have accumulated

Being a clutter-bug or a collector does
not mean that you are a hoarder. The difference is the ability to be able to release items and identify their true value. I have always said that in order for items to come into your home or office – items need to leave. There is only so much room to store things.

I posted this article on my Facebook page earlier this week that talks about our addiction to buying – a bigger house needs more things, a bigger closet means that you need more clothes. No wonder the storage business brings in over $2 Billion a year!

Feel free to eliminate…stop shopping for items because they are on sale…and, if you are a hoarder…get help.

If you need someone to talk to who can relate to your situation give Organization Direct a call – 540-220-5912.

Linda Clevenger, Motivator and Organizer

Don’t Agonize – Get Organized