How I Stopped Being a Hoarder

Hoarding is clutter out of control. 

Hoarding is a mental disorder that affects all aspects of a person’s life. Being a hoarder has severely affected my quality of life. I’ve almost pushed myself out of my upstairs. 

I come from a long-line of hoarders on my Mom’s side. I dealt with it with my Mom growing up. So, I know there is an underlying problem or problems that cause my hoarding. Below are some of the ways I’m using to stop hoarding. 

For me, like my mom, I love to shop. Shopping, Shopping, Shopping. And I love to getting a bargain. I always had a lot of collectibles growing up that my Mom bought me, but I lost everything in a fire in 2009. 

That gave me lots of money and my own computer to stay up all night and shop for bargains. Or better yet find free items. 

My bedroom and attic are each 13’ x 26’ once rebuilt and I have managed to fill them both and the hallway. 

What do I hoard? 

Books and journals-mostly blank. I can’t pass up a pretty journal or notebook. I also told myself that I may not have the money in the future to buy these things. 

Not only do I have print books, but I also print up ebooks and put them in binders.  

What I'm Doing To Not Collect More

I get paid at the beginning of the month, so the first thing I do is pay all the bills and buy everything I’ll need for the month. I drain my bank account. 

I’ve never been good with money (bipolar OCD=shop till you drop). My brother, Ronnie who I live with, takes my bill money and pays the bill throughout the money. He then buys food and such through the month. 

This has worked out well for me. Without money, I don’t get obsessed with needing to shop. I allow myself to buy a few fun things at beginning of the month, then must wait until the next month to buy more. 

The second thing I did was get rid of my printer. I was obsessed with it for years. Printing every ebook, journal, workbook and worksheets I could get my hands on. 

I always claimed I printed the ebooks because they were easier to read. But my upstairs is more of a fire hazard then ever before. And I’ve had enough fires in my life. 

My Plan

From now on I will only buy what I truly need and maybe a few $1.00 items for fun (my crafts). I will not print any more pages to add to collection. I will plan to declutter, starting with the hallway. 

I will work on one small section at a time. I don’t want to burn myself out. I will ask help from my brother, sister-in-law and roommate. 

Being a hoarder has had a profound effect on every single part of my life. I’ve decided on two ways to stop hoarding. And I’m working on discovering all the underlying problems of why I’m a hoarder. Now I will declutter a small chunk at a time.