The Hoarder in Me

In my organized dream home...

In my reality...

Items that do not belong here: snow brush for car, dog's leash, body brush,

 body lotion, car keys, duct tape and a gift for a friend...do you see what I mean? How does this happen? 

   Last week I made the mistake of watching Hoarders when I was home sick. If you don't know what Hoarders is, I applaud you and wish I was one of you. But I am not. I have a love/hate relationship with Hoarders; I love to watch it, but hate that I love to watch it. Nevertheless, last week Wednesday, while homesick with a gnarly 24 hours stomach bug, I was lured by the siren calls of A&E network (online of course since we have no cable or satellite - moments later I found myself eagerly scrolling through the episodes trying to decide which one to watch. Its like I was a junkie jonesing for their next fix. It reminded of Intervention (another A&E masterpiece about drug addicts - but that is a whole other can of worms)!

   So there I was enjoying my closet indulgence when I saw something truly terrifying (well aside from the grown woman who collects her own soiled adult diapers) I noticed a similarity between myself and a hoarder! 

WAIT!

   Allow me to clarify, I am in no way living on a 3 foot mountain of trash, I love to purge my belongings frequently and there is a place for everything -whether or not the items make it to these said ‘places’ is a completely different story. 

   Now, I owe another explanation. Two adults and a small dog all exist in an 800 square foot loft apartment. It is a beautiful apartment and I love it, but it is not big and that makes a small mess look big! Upon Google-ing “hoarders and their character traits” I stumbled upon the following checklist. Now, I know I am not actually a hoarder, but I did find it interesting how many of the identifying traits that I related to. But so could many of us...I think...I hope. 

Hoarder Checklist:

Excessive attachment to possessions: No, but I do keep memorabilia. I have already admitted to keeping all my old diaries. 

Extreme clutter throughout the home’s living spaces: We have clutter, but I think a normal amount. Also, just as a sidenote, I hope the word ‘extreme’ is never used to describe my home in any capacity)!

Inability to discard items: No.

Stacking – of magazines, newspapers, junk: I do keep newspapers- Ok, there I admit it. But only articles of interest that I believe will inspire great ideas that I can -fingers crossed- turn into interesting writing. 
*see photo for some of my newspapers accumulation*
                                
                                           

Moving items or trash from one pile to another, without discarding anything:  No. 

Acquisition of seemingly useless items, including trash: I do not collect trash and I think all my belongings have a use- even if that use is to be beautiful, but some people may beg to differ on my lantern collection. 

Organizational difficulty: I tip my hat to anyone who does not have 'organizational difficulty'

Perfectionism: Yes.It is a double edged sword, but I appreciate the drive it gives me. 

Procrastination: How do you think I ended up Google-ing ‘Hoarders and their character traits’

Trouble making decisions: I am always the last to decide what to have at a restaurant, but I don’t think that is really applicable. Or is this just the Denial that Hoarders also love to live in?!

Difficulty managing daily tasks: Don’t we all???

   As I sit here in my little working nook (we don’t have rooms, we have nooks) I look around and although the odd paper piles exist sporadically throughout and a stack of dishes await me in the sink; there is also a neatly organized bookshelf, labelled spice jars in the cupboard and off season clothing in Rubbermaid bins at the back of the closet. So maybe this is just what a lived in apartment looks like. Maybe I just need to stop trying to have every single thing organized and perfect and embrace the pockets of chaos in my life. Maybe I’m not a hoarder, maybe I am just uptight?! And I don’t know what’s worse. 


p.s
If you have never watched Hoarders and wish to join me on the dark side, check out some free, legal, full episodes on the A&E network website. http://www.aetv.com/hoarders/video/
Ssshhhh...I won't tell anyone if you don't!