Contrary to popular belief, there is a world of difference between an avid collector of themed merchandise or keepsakes and a compulsive hoarder. It is vital that you identify, recognize and acknowledge the difference if you feel in danger of becoming the latter.
1. Identify The Difference
Collecting a certain type of item, product or range of merchandise from your favorite movie or television series involves displaying your collection, taking care of your collection and actively seeking like-minded enthusiasts with whom to discuss, share and even swop your passions and products with.
Hoarding, although often referred to in jest and viewed particularly lightly by many, is actually a medical concern and a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder and there is no organization or pride in what is hoarded.
2. Ask Yourself Some Honest Questions
There are numerous helpful and relatively simple ways to check if you are displaying signs of your collecting habits transforming into the unhealthy obsession of hoarding. One of the most important is to ask yourself when it was when you last threw something away in the garbage. Throughout a week empty packets, old boxes, stained clothes and smelly dishcloths are naturally thrown away, but if you tend to keep such items, you could well have the beginnings of a problem.
3. Start Small
The first step to clearing your home of any potential piles of hoarded items is to start small and dedicate a couple of hours during a free afternoon to thoroughly organizing and streamlining just one cupboard in your home.
Have a garbage bin and a charity bag with you and meticulously go through each shelf only putting on the floor what you need to keep, or anything overtly sentimental and everything else needs to go to the bin or the bag.
4. Open Spaces
At first glance, striving to keep each room and floor space as clear and minimalistic as possible seems to be a blank canvas in which to store more useless and randomly sourced items. However, if you maintain these strict standards consistently and never allow anything to encroach on a table, in a corner or on the floor, this will significantly help keep your potential hoarding instincts at bay.
Delve deeply under the bed, under the furniture and between the furnishings and cushions on sofas and throw away everything you find: if you didn’t need it for the months on end that it has been hidden, you certainly don’t need it now.
5. External Storage Spaces
If during your initial proper clear out of your closet and cupboards, you find yourself unable to throw things into the garbage, a cost-effective and similarly effective solution is to invest in an external storage space. Safe and secure 10x25 storage units will ensure your belongings are protected and your home can still become clutter free without losing any of your possessions to charity or the garbage truck. You can then assess over time if you have used it or missed it.