My grandmother used to collect everything she thought was useful and always kept saying those things are for later use. She never let others throw anything away. But a lot of those things were left unused. Even to this day, we still have piles of items in our house, most of which are not usable. This is a phenomena called hoarding; which is widely regarded as a problem owing to its adverse effects on our lives. If not managed, hoarding can give rise to many issues. Today we will dig deeper into the topic and discuss why do people hoard, the negative impacts and effective measures to manage hoarded items.
Why do people hoard?
First off, this is not an uncommon trait. In fact, anywhere from 2% to 6% of adults have hoarding issues, as reported in an article on the Harvard Health Blog. There are many reasons as to why people hoard. For many, it is the sentimental attachment or association that they feel with certain objects that are seen to represent their identity in a very important way.
Or it can be because of their sentimental attachment to certain possessions. For instance, it can be a souvenir that they got on their first trip abroad which they fear if lost or thrown away, they will lose the memory or the experience of. For other people, like my grandmother, they see the usefulness in everything.
Negative impacts
As we mentioned earlier, hoarding can give rise to a lot of problems which may lead others, who live with a hoarder (people who hoard), to bear a burden. Hoarded items can make a space cluttered. And in a compact space, life becomes really difficult. As the heap of hoarded items grows, overall mobility and agility throughout the house get hampered. And as dust can collect on them, it leads people to various respiratory diseases. It also contributes to other health-related hazards including insect and rodent infestation and fire hazards. Besides, it takes an emotional toll on people who are associated with a hoarder. These are the reasons why effective measures to manage hoarded items are crucial.
Effective measures to manage hoarded items
Now let’s talk about how you can manage hoarded items effectively while keeping the ones that you actually need and make optimum use of other items that you don’t need. But before we begin, we need to do the hardest job of deciding which one to keep and which one not to. But we will do it by sorting all the items into one of these three categories-
- Items to keep
- Items to not to keep
- Items that you are not sure what to do with
It should be fairly simple at this point. If you have a pile of hoarded items, see what items have a place in your house. Once you have sorted all your items into these three categories, you should have an easier time managing them. That being said, here are some effective measures to manage hoarded items.
Reuse
Off all the items that you are left with, see if you can reuse some of them. For example, if you have lots of glass jars, cans, and containers, you can reuse them as storage for dry food or to store other small items such as paper clips, toothpicks, and so on. All you need to do is clean them properly.
Upcycle
Upcycling can be another alternative solution if you can’t think of reusing them in their original condition. Upcycling basically means recycling an item but creatively. This way you can turn any item into a functional and useful thing that would otherwise be left unused. For instance, there are literally thousands of ideas on Pinterest to upcycle unused or dysfunctional CDs into something more useful and attractive. You just need key rings or paper clips.
Sell
Another way you can downsize is by selling some of the stuff that other people might make use of. Look for items that you can put up for sale. It can be anything from antique items or furniture to posters and gift cards. There are lots of online marketplaces that you can use to sell your unused items. Or you can use Facebook to advertise your stuff.
Donate or gift
We know some items can hold sentimental values for you and can be very hard to let go of. But if you are not using them, they are not being able to serve their purpose. Which on the other hand underprivileged people might find really helpful to have. Also donating or gifting some of your stuff to someone in need can give you a sense of satisfaction.
Managing and organizing hoarded items are not easy and can take a lot of time to completely organize. Since a lot of people hoard because of sentimental reasons, they might not always recognize the negative impacts that come with it or may not be comfortable talking about it. But with an organizational system in place, hoarding can be managed fairly well.
