We’ve all seen the news stories on neighbourhood hoarders and the issues that arise from this problem. It is one of the biggest causes for the need for major rubbish removal Roseville services, and elsewhere in Sydney.

What is meant by the term “Hoarding”?

Lots of people enjoy collecting things; it is their hobby. From stamps to candles; shoes to books; sporting memorabilia to flower pots; people collect for many different individual reasons. But for some people, collecting can transform into hoarding.

Collecting can be a positive thing. Hoarding never is.

Hoarding is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder. It is a mental illness.

Hoarding extends beyond collecting, and represents a malignant and unrelenting difficulty in parting with possessions – even useless junk and rubbish. A person who has a hoarding disorder will accumulate as much stuff as they can, and they can experience pathological distress when faced with the very idea of discarding anything.

As a general rule, hoarders:

• Are excessively attached to material things, even if they have no real value or need for them
• Have difficulty letting go of anything, even old newspapers
• Collect far too much stuff
• Are usually incredibly disorganised (but can occasionally, on the contrary, be obsessively neat and tidy – even to a fault)
• May spend money excessively simply to acquire more stuff

Examples include:

• the person who keeps old computer parts or ancient appliances dating from the 1980s (or prior!) which are broken or unused
• the person who keeps but does not wear clothing from twenty years ago
• the person who always has twenty bars of soap in the bathroom
• the person who keeps piles of newspapers or magazines dating back years
• The person whose garage is full of old or broken tools and old nails, etc – kept for decades “just in case” but which will never be used.
• The ex-student who has kept school and university notes for decades after completing their studies – “just in case”.

People tend to acquire “stuff” in stages:

Clutter refers to accumulated stuff which is easily moved – like simply by being put away properly. If the items are being used and can be discarded easily, there is no hoarding problem.

Clots are cluttered stuff which isn’t used but is also not discarded, in place for longer than six months. These are often messy, but may be kept in a way that is pathologically neat. In any event, they simply take up space. Examples of “clots” include clean laundry piles which aren’t ever put away; boxes from moving years ago that are never unpacked; unfinished projects; unwanted purchases; and abandoned clear-outs.

Clogs are out of control clots. Think of the spare room which is now no more than a dumping ground for unused stuff. The home becomes primarily a storehouse for stuff –  this is a hoard.

Hoarding is an expression of mental illness (be it very mild or very significant) and for most true hoarders, therapy can be of a lot of help. Even small-scale hoarders can benefit from changing their thought patterns and when able, getting rid of all that accumulated trash.

Getting rid of unwanted, unused stuff is incredibly liberating. You will also create a healthier space in which to live. When you are ready to have a big clean out (hoarder or not), AA Adonis Rubbish Removals in Roseville to come and help.