When Hoarding Attacks!
January 16, 2008 by Joshua Johnson
Filed under Home & Living
Yup, today’s “deep thought” day. Something I have been thinking about deals with some of my advice a while back. I suggested that junk creation, of necessity, generates a “junk drawer” that can sometimes include a room.
Today’s thought is furthered by a Wikipedia article on obsessive hoarding. The article is here. It explains that:
Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding) is extreme hoarding behaviour in humans. It involves the collection and/or failure to discard large numbers of objects even when their storage causes significant clutter and impairment to basic living activities such as moving around the house, cooking, cleaning, showering or sleeping. Hoarding rubbish may be referred to as syllogomania. A slang term for a compulsive hoarder is pack rat or packrat.
Now, if your “junk drawer” inhibits daily activities–you may want to downsize. I am not making fun here, I have family that tends to keep many too many things–and I love them. However, making things out of what would be considered waste is counter productive if it infringes on life’s normal activities. Please save “junk” with caution!
Am I out of line for saying this?
Not out of line at all! Yes, creating from junk is good. Yes, avoiding clutter is also good.
The big challenge is finding the balance…
No, not out of line. My junk seems to have spilled over the entire house. I just became an editor for a cleaning site, so I need to get back into the swing of things. It’s ironic, a compulsive saver now a cleaning editor.
Though, saving things doesn’t mean you aren’t clean, just cluttered. I really hope people are washing those things they are saving!
haha. I do–and I have my wife to thank for a lot of the un-clutteriness (if there is any). I get “subtle” reminders. I’m not obsessive, though, just possessive, at times.