![]() Duplicates? Of course, there will be duplicates in a hoarder’s home! There’s no point in trying to convince a hoarder to let go of duplicates. Why the ‘get rid of duplicates’ rule doesn’t apply to hoarders. And, let’s face it, expecting someone with a hoarding disorder to NEVER bring another item into their home simply isn’t realistic. They’d need to change the math to zero-in-fifty-out in order for decluttering to be effective. Why the one-in-one-out rule doesn’t work with hoarders. The reality is, most hoarders have piles of items that haven’t seen the light of day in a decade or more, so asking them to give up their ‘latest’ treasures is bound to trigger their anxiety which will shut down any decluttering attempts. Why the ‘if you haven’t used it in a year, donate it’ rule doesn’t apply to hoarders, packrats, and clutterbugs. ![]() The standard decluttering tips of one-in-one-out, get rid of anything you haven’t used in a year, and remove duplicates simply won’t work with a hoarder. Hoarders face unique challenges and obstacles with it comes to organizing and decluttering their homes. The fairy-tale scenario of removing all of one’s belongings from their house and neatly stacking everything on the front lawn, while a cleaning team flutters about scrubbing the empty home, and a team of professional organizers, therapists, and junk removers help declutter and sort the curated piles before expertly organizing the surviving treasures back into the home all within an hour’s time only works in tv land. UNIQUE CHALLENGES HOARDERS FACE WHEN DECLUTTERING Hoarders experience elevated levels of stress and anxiety when faced with discarding items this anxiety, coupled with a crippling fear of making the wrong decisions about which items to keep versus which to discard, often results in homes filled to the brim with clutter in the form of trash, neglected collections, mountains of clothes, and countertops full of expired food and dirty dishes. Other people begin hoarding in response to a traumatic life event such as the death of a loved one (where they often inherit their belongings), a divorce, or a sudden loss of one’s personal possessions due to a natural disaster. out of fear that if they were to part with the item, then the information would be lost forever. Some people hoard information in the form of books, papers, receipts, etc. Fear that they may need a specific item ‘one day’ and when that day comes, they worry that they may not be able to afford to replace the item or that it won’t be available for them to purchase. If you or someone you love suffers from hoarding disorder, I urge you to seek treatment today. Please do not take the information contained in this post as medical advice. Disclaimer: I am neither a doctor nor a mental health professional.
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