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Help! I’m a hoarder!

September 12, 2013

There is something that some of you might have suspected already, seeing the amount of shoes and clothes I display on this page which is that I have a tendency towards hoarding. Ever since I was a kid I loved collecting. Stamps, postcards, cute stationery. This evolved into shoes, deer and cat figurines, old books, you name it. Anything I own, I have more than 1 or 2 of the same. I don’t know what the problem is that makes me crave so much variety, but that’s the way it goes. This wouldn’t be much of an issue if I had a huge house and people to clean it for me. It is not the case. I am currently in a house share and my storage space is somewhat limited. Thank god my housemate let’s me put some stuff in the garage or the loft…

At this point I really need to get a grip on my collecting! Other than seeing a therapist, I was thinking about ways of dealing with all the junk I have accumulated and I have come up with a list / action plan of things I can do to get my life back in order:

  • Turn that pile of not so good magazines into scrapbooks with just the things that I really like/ inspire me.
  • Archive the issues of Vogue and other somewhat better quality magazines in a nice box in the loft. I won’t be reading them every day.
  • Sell all the cds and dvds  and opt for online music listening/ tv series and film watching.
  • Give away all the novels to my friends after I have read them – unless it is something extremely special, I don’t think I’m going to read them again.
  • Sell some clothes online or donate them to a charity. I normally prefer to just give them away as selling them is quite time consuming but I might try to give it a go.
  • Or just make a big pile in the living room and have my friends come in and take what they want. That could turn into something fun!
  • Archive my Summer clothes in boxes until next year. Do the same for Winter.
  • Stop holding on to that piece of crap I’m thinking ‘might some in handy some time’.
  • Avoid the knick knacks. If it cannot be helped, have a designated area for them – like some shelving or cabinets.
  • Stop buying crap. ‘But it’s a bargain! and it’s beautiful! aaaargh!’ (shut down my Ebay account!).

Do you have the same problem? What are your coping strategies? I’d love to hear them!