I just watched a new show on A&E called "Hoarders." I want to cry for these people.
Hoarders have a mental condition, this is beyond being disorganized or messy. They need to keep everything.
One person's house had rotting food all over the house and she still did not want to get rid of some of it. The team helping her had to wear face masks, thick gloves, and at one point they looked like a hazmat team.
The other story was a couple who lived in fear that their kids could be taken away because of the mess. Going to the basement was dangerous, not because of rotting, or loose stairs, but because the stairs were full of comforters and clothes. Their hallway was their laundry area. What could be the saddest part was that one of their kids already had the mentality of a hoarder.
It is easy to judge these people and just say, "Get rid of everything and stop shopping!" However, like I said this is a mental condition that requires a change in thinking and behavior, beyond that of someone needing to simply organize.
As an aspiring professional organizer, I would love to have the training and compassion to help these folks.
I use to, and to some degree still do, want to keep everything. I may need it "some day," I wanted my future kids to have it, and there is a lot of emotional attachment to these items. Moving is one thing that has helped me a lot. With each move, I have less and less "stuff" to move. The other is the bible verse that basically says, "Your treasures are not on earth where robbers take them, but in heaven." That verse reminds me what is most important in life - not "stuff" but my relationship with God. Robbers can't take that away from me.
Jen
