It’s a brand new year and that means time for resolutions and fresh new beginnings. One thing to say goodbye to right now is hoarding. We’ve all seen the current affairs-type stories on neighbourhood hoarders and the many significant issues that arise from this problem, both for the resident themselves as well as potentially their neighbours. With effective rubbish removal in Clemton Park, this need be a problem no longer.

What is “Hoarding”?

Many people enjoy collecting an array of things as their hobby. From books to stamps, figurines to sporting memorabilia,  vintage clothing to vinyl records to dolls – people have different interests and collect items for many different reasons. But for some people, collecting can transform into hoarding. And hoarding is a problem.

Hoarding is an expression of a mental illness and a form of the obsessive compulsive disorder.

Hoarding is not the same as collecting. It occurs due to a damaging and unrelenting inability to part with possessions – even if they are useless junk and rubbish like old magazines and newspapers.

There are various levels of hoarding disorder, and a person who experiences it will accumulate as much stuff as they can. The very idea of discarding anything causes them great distress.

Hoarders:

• Are excessively attached to material objects, regardless of whether they have any need for them or if they have any actual value
• Collect far too much stuff
• Are often very disorganised (but can, occasionally, be obsessively neat and tidy)
• May spend money simply to acquire more stuff for the sake of having it

Hoarders tend to acquire their stuff in stages:

Clutter is the first stage of hoarding. This is accumulated stuff which is easy to move, for instance being put away in its place. If the items are useful, are being used, and can be discarded easily, there is no problem.

Clots refer to cluttered stuff which isn’t useful or used, but is also not thrown out and remains in place for longer than six months. These are usually messy, but may be kept pathologically neat and tidy. They take up space. Examples of “clots” include things like boxes from moving years ago that are never unpacked; unfinished projects; unwanted purchases; and clean laundry piles which aren’t ever put away.

Clogs are what happens when clots are out of control. This includes things like the spare room which is used only as a dumping ground for unused, unwanted-but-impossible-to-release stuff. The home becomes little more than a storehouse for stuff – and this is a hoard.

Hoarding of any kind is an expression of some form of mental illness and most hoarders will find that therapy can be of a lot of help.

Even minimal hoarders can change their thought patterns and feel good about getting rid of all that accumulated stuff.

Getting rid of unused stuff and rubbish is very liberating and results in a happier, healthier life. When you are ready to have a big clean out, call AA Adonis Rubbish Removals to Clemton Park to help.