Less Space Left

Home storage already includes some items we need to function everyday. However, we sometimes tend to keep more items, either as a hobby, or because they remind us of a significant person or experience. For the latter, it can be a gift from someone we love, or it could also be from a person we look up to (such as a celebrity or a famous athlete). As for encounters with famous people, many can go lengths to either meet the celebrity at a concert or game, or win an online auction for an autographed item. Other motivations to keep items can be simple as keeping a travel souvenir. 

It’s hard to let go of tangible things that we place too much importance on. This becomes even more important if what is associated with the item cannot be recreated.

Just adding more to home storage?

For collectors, there is that joy and thrill of acquiring an item, especially if the acquisition process is difficult and can hand you the priceless “bragging rights”. It is often amazing how collectors can even consider a rare factory defect as an important factor that gets the item a higher appraisal. 

Being a collector, or plainly just keeping stuff, is common. However, we should be wary of the tendencies of it crossing the “compulsive hoarding” line.

Keeping too much stuff

An article by Randy O. Frost  in the New York Times states that a hoarding problem starts when a collector is unable to keep possessions organized while increasing the number of items he collects. The number of collections become so big that a specific room, for example, is no longer used for normal activities or its intended function. He even cites that these people can own recently-purchased items that end up being unused.

Healthline.com further states that “hoarders live with their collected items at the expense of their own needs”. The website also describes the people who are vulnerable to hoarding tendencies. These include people who live alone, grew up in a disorganized space, and had a difficult and  deprived childhood. Functional abilities, such as paying attention, making decisions, and categorizing things, become difficult for a person with a hoarding disorder. 

Webmd.com states a couple of reasons why people hoard. First, they feel a major loss if they throw away stuff they have emotional attachments with. Second, they perceive some things as having intrinsic value. Lastly, they  are compelled to save something because of the assumption that that thing will be useful someday.

What can be done?

Both Webmd.com and Healthline.com recommend cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as one of the ways to treat people with hoarding problems. Webmd.com further recommends the involvement of an organizer, along with a mental health professional, to effectively help people with hoarding problems towards understanding the benefits if their habits are changed. 

These encounters are seen in television, and it is very fulfilling to see the hoarder’s clutter finally eliminated. Yes, accessories for organizing your home, or home storage ideas can help a great deal to remove the physical problem. However, no amount of cleaning and space-saving objects can replace the great deal of support, especially from loved ones, to properly address the problem.