| The sheer disarray insults my eye, my intelligence | | | | Reading around the subject of clutter, psychologists |
| and my being. I feel buried under piles of paper, tools, | | | | sort and classify these behaviours in to personality |
| computer parts, building materials and discarded | | | | types. These personality tendencies are labelled as |
| furniture. It overwhelms me - I feel paralysed by the | | | | the Perfectionist the Sentimentalist, the Deferrer and |
| clutter at times. | | | | the Rebel. Thankfully suggestions are offered as to |
| Is that how you feel? Do you live with a hoarder? | | | | how to lead each type to your desired result. |
| You may have lived day to day for a lifetime and not | | | | My question would be: What to do when they |
| given it a second thought. Keeping your head down | | | | appear as all four rolled into one? |
| and focused on your own interests itis possible to | | | | Hoarding, it seems may be attributed to a lack of |
| operate in a less than optimum environment. That's | | | | something in childhood or emotional support in |
| how we manage to put up with clutter in our lives. | | | | adolescence. Leastways it connects with a need to |
| To the hoarder they are our lifetime memories, our | | | | build up a reserve of resources in case of times of |
| treasured possessions - our nostalgia. Past | | | | lack. |
| experiences instil the behaviour to hang on to those | | | | When we come up against conflict in our thinking we |
| memories - it is not enough to carry them within | | | | can try to understand the other person's viewpoint. |
| yourself. These experiences set up behaviours in | | | | However, had it been framed as storing the harvest |
| which they feel compelled to gather and collect. They | | | | for the winter, would that not be prudent? |
| are seemingly the sum total of our lives thus far. | | | | When you get down to analysing and searching for |
| What need is served by owning (among so many | | | | an answer to 'their' hoarding tendencies, you might |
| other things) 25 electrical extension leads and 300 | | | | end up turning the spotlight on yourself too. |
| assorted pens and pencils in this compulsive hoarding | | | | What do you struggle to part with? |
| behaviour? Chances are that the extension leads are | | | | What do you easily throw away? |
| at the bottom of a huge pile of assorted jumble in | | | | What decision making process do you employ? |
| the spare room and most of the pens are so old | | | | What might your ability to throw things away easily |
| they have dried up when you come to use them. | | | | say about you? |
| The preferred scenario, to my way of thinking is a | | | | Do you need more order, space, clarity and energy in |
| spare extension lead in the 'emergency spares' | | | | your environment ...or your life? Then you need to |
| cupboard/closet and a few writing implements in the | | | | adopt the right mental attitude to get the job done |
| office drawer or desk. | | | | and take action. Personally I am well on my way to |
| The fact is somewhere inside each of us I suspect | | | | de-cluttering my space, my life and my thinking. It is |
| there is a hoarder - and yet somehow we claim that | | | | only a small part of maintaining my goal of happiness. |
| our own obsessions are different. | | | | |