Hoarding

Josh and I have been watching “Hoarders” on Netflix, and it’s scary. Not the show… well, it’s scary too. But, no, it’s scary because I can see some of the hoarding thought patterns in myself.

What really worries me are the following ways of thinking that I have:

-         I shouldn’t get rid of something that someone has given me because that would be an insult to them, or it means that I don’t care about them.

-         I shouldn’t get rid of something if I might need to use it at some later time. Or even something that I can find a use for (like using old t-shirts for rags).

-         I shouldn’t get rid of anything that could be used by someone else (I find it nearly impossible to throw away clothes. I will donate them, but I don’t throw them away.)

-         I shouldn’t get rid of something that could be valuable. (The older something is, the harder it is for me to just get rid of it.)

-         I shouldn’t get rid of anything that has any meaning to me (which is a lot of stuff because I’m quite sentimental).

-         I shouldn’t get rid of stuff I have spent money on, even if I’m not using it. (I buy craft supplies all the time and only end up using a few of them.)

I have cards that people gave me that are over ten years old. I have a bunch of old letters from high school. I even have my planners from my junior and senior years of high school. I have my prom dress. I have sets of nice plates that are out in my garage.

I guess some of that may be normal. I mean, that’s why people have attics, right? Somewhere you can put stuff that you don’t use but that forty years from now the grandkids will discover and think it’s amazing.

There are a few things which I think have saved me from becoming overly hoard-y. One, we don’t have a lot of money, so I don’t have the opportunity to buy a lot of stuff.

Two, we move so frequently and I hate packing so much that when we move I end up getting rid of a lot of stuff just so I don’t have to pack it.

Three, I’m not a compulsive shopper. If I am happy with the way a room looks, I don’t buy anything for it. I haven’t bought a decoration for our living room in two months, and before that it was over a year.  I got a little nightlight for our bathroom a few weeks ago, but other than that, it’s been a year since I bought anything for the house.

Four, Josh keeps me from getting too crazy (in more areas than just this one.)

Five, when I see things getting out of hand, I can take action. Which probably means that I am not a real hoarder. Which, quite frankly, is a relief.