I have always been a procrastinator and a collector of sorts. I like saving unusual things that can be used in a creative project. I also like to pile up newspaper articles and magazines that I plan to read, but never seem to have the time for the creativity or the reading.

I have to start getting rid of stuff because we will be moving out of state in the very near future. When I start working on the "piles", I do alright for a while. I recycle a lot. I give away things when I can think of someone who I think would appreciate them the way I do.

I want to make progress, but I am so afraid that if I get rid of a receipt, brochure, kid's toy, etc...that the memories I have attached to the item will disappear with the item. I know that this is illogical, but that is why it is so stressful.

I did start trying to take digital pics of some items and then get rid of them. I figured the picture would take up no physical space and would serve as a memory jog.

If I could just clear an area to sort in I think I could get started...but it is all so overwhelming. I am not a lazy person. Why is this so difficult?

Fear? I will need it later. Someone else will.
The biggest culprit that keeps me from going through and getting rid of things are the painful memories that remind me of how my life was before the travail that happened in my life. I am in therapy to deal with that, but I find that when I address my hoard, it makes it hard to move forward, past my daughters abuse by my ex, the subsequent problems with her that lead to her running away....I am talking it out in therapy, but going through a pile of papers and encountering a photo from the time before the event, a notebook from my Masters work that I couldn't finish because of the separation and 5 year difficult divorce.....Dealing with my piles is like being in a room that yells FAILURE,FAILURE,FAILURE.....I hear it anyway....I don't need it screaming at me....

I think hoarding/collecting can be a learned behavior. My father was a 'collector'. His mother was a collector (but everything had a place, and she kept the home spotless) My mother's mother was a clutter-er. She was into all kinds of crafts, and her home was spilling over with supplies. When I was first married, I kept our home so clean you could eat off the floor (I moped almost every day) My son's toys were organized by purpose, kind, etc. I would spend hours, HOURS organizing his Lego collection. I had several fishing tackle boxes and organized every tiny little piece. I think that is when I started to realize I had a problem. My best friend used to joke about the fact that I washed and rinsed my recycled garbage, and that I organized my garbage by color, type. I exercised 6 days a week, and threw up most of what I ate. About 4 years into our marriage, I had to have my Thyroid removed. Then I was diagnosed with severe depression. I have had several periods of extreme depression, attempts at suicide and years of psychiatric counselling. I have been re-assessed as clinically depressed, Bi-Polar Depressed, with no mania episodes (no euphoric high). I am normally in a depressed state, prone to have severe low points. I have been stable for the last few years, with medication that has worked out well, and a doctor that is fantastic. I have a few health issues that are tough to deal with. My grandparents (Father's) died within 3 months of each other in '98. We bought their house, and my parents lived next door. Insert family drama from all sides. In 2005, my Father passed away suddenly, and my grandmother (Mother's )passed away 3 days later. WOW, right? My mother has never recovered. It has been 6 years, and sometimes she still refers to my father in the present tense. Back to the hoarding. What my uncles didn't sell off from my grandparents estate (ie; all the junk) is still in the barn, along with my grandmothers' junk, and my fathers' junk. My mom won't get rid of any of it. And she accuses me of having the problem! ha ha. I've contacted other organizations/companies and inquired about their services. When I mention it to my husband, he refuses to consider it because it costs money. Back to the issue of him throwing everything away, and that is a free service. And that is one reason, excuse (lame justification) why I have this issue with my junk.

Bob,
Thank you for giving us your story. It sounds like you are making great progress! I hope you will continue down this road to a clutter free life and PLEASE update us as it really helps those that see no light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you again!

First of all thank you for the show. Watching the show has helped me deal with my own problems with hoarding. I didn't realize what i was doing.

Thankfully i never reached the depth of clutter some of your clients have. But close. For example i have never been able to park a car in my garage. The mower barely fits. The basement was a winding path to a bulkhead you could not access. Overwhelming.

It began innocently when Sommerville lumber went out of business. During the liquidation sale i began buying things i needed. Things i would resell. bargains that were too good to pass up.

I had big plans that i kept putting off. I did manage to complete a bath remodel but the woodworking ideas, tools and supplies sat and collected dust. Too good to throw away. To expensive to give away. I still have an entire set of kitchen cabinets in the box. More than a decade old.

It continued with craigslist free stuff. Yard sales. Flea markets.

My house is still a mess. The expense of disposal. The procrastination but i at least now can let go.

I sold a lot of stuff on craigslist and e-bay. Gave away items to family friends and the salvation army. And try to keep up with breaking up junk and throwing it in the 64 gallon trash can we are allowed by the city.

PS: Habitat for humanity is opening a store nearby. I plan to give them my unused supplies. I have windows, a door, two shower door sets. They plan to use the store as a place for salvage from homes they work on.

I owe you my sanity. Thank you.

I frequently find myself with a couple weeks worth of trash bags or a giant pile of recycling because my ADD makes me forget to put my bags out on time. Then my fear when I do put them out is that my neighbors are looking at how much I put out, or what I've put out, and are judging me.

I have a variety of reasons that hit me. some come from things having to do with a traumatic accident I was in 14 years ago, not wanting to deal with them or not quite knowing whether I need to keep thing (documents mainly). I think part comes from having a lot of my personal possessions that went back east with my father destroyed by a negligent caretaker of his property.