As a professional organizer, I’m highly interested in the science of what makes us surround ourselves with stuff. And what is the limit, I mean, when do you reach that tipping point and consider it hoarding?
I recently watched a few YouTube videos about this compulsion and learned a lot more about Hoarding.
- Humanizing Hoarding – Jennifer Hanzlick – hoarders need our empathy
- Is your stuff stopping you – Elizabeth Dulemba – sold her possessions to accomplish her bucket list
In the first video, Jennifer does an excellent job of explaining where hoarders are coming from. We can choose to judge or choose compassion. There are 15 million people in the US suffering from hoarding, 2 to 5 percent of the population, hiding, silently in shame. But they need assistance because it’s difficult to treat. They may also be suffering from anxiety and depression. We tend to think of people as weird, lazy, dirty, sad — or do you wonder if it’s you.
The definition of hoarding has these four areas …
- Excessive accumulation of stuff
- Difficulty discard possessions
- Unusable living spaces
- Causes of distress or impairment
This is a community problem. There are many government agencies that are called in when the problem is extreme. Our taxes go to these agencies. Instead of shaming, we need to help those under this affliction. Listen to her video to hear her story about someone helping her when she was younger! People are judged and misunderstood.
In the second video, Elizabeth is not a hoarder, but she explains how her stuff was holding her back. I think this is why I’m interested in organizing people’s craft rooms, because I see the value in having an inspiring room where you want to create. She tells a wonderfully uplifting story about accomplishing the items on her bucket list, including traveling to Europe.