Hoarding is a mental disorder that involves accumulating clutter in your home to the point that it has a serious negative impact on your everyday life. A messy home can quickly spiral into a hoarding habit without many people realising. Spotting the signs that you are turning into a hoarder can help you to make positive changes before things become too serious. Below are 5 signs that you may be turning into a hoarder.
1) You keep buying items you’re not using
Many hoarders compulsively buy things they don’t need. This could include clothes that you’ve never worn, books you’ve never read or gadgets that are still in their boxes. We all have a few items like this, but once you start accumulating masses of unused items, it becomes a problem.
2) You’re holding onto items of no value
Whereas collectors tend to collect things that are potentially valuable, hoarders have a habit of collecting and holding onto things that aren’t valuable at all. This includes things like empty food containers or magazines and newspapers that aren’t kept in order.
3) You’re finding it hard to negotiate your home because the clutter
Once the clutter starts to restrict movement around your home, it’s a sign that it’s turning into a hoarding disorder. You shouldn’t be having to climb over piles of things to access rooms or not be able to access cupboards because of clutter.
4) You’re losing things below the clutter
An organised collector knows where to find every item they own. A hoarder, on the other hand, does not organise their possessions. This can lead to piles of clothes or paperwork in which items get easily lost. If you’re forever losing things under piles of clutter, it could be a hoarding disorder in the making.
5) You’re refusing visitors because of the mess
Once you become embarrassed about the mess in your home, it’s a sign that you yourself aren’t happy with the state of things. While we all have messy days, most of us are able to clean up this mess before visitors come around. If you’re refusing to invite visitors around because you don’t think you’re able to tidy up, it’s a sign you could be turning into a hoarder.
How to prevent yourself turning into a hoarder
Eventually a hoarding problem may get so serious that you’ll have no choice but to hire professional declutterers to help you. Before it gets to this point, start tackling your clutter yourself.
- Hiring a skip might motivate you to start throwing away stuff. Consider looking into skip hire companies like MW Skip Hire and explore the different skip sizes available.
- Tackle your home room by room – starting with the most cluttered room. If you aren’t able to do it in a weekend, consider setting the challenge of doing one room every weekend.
- Stop buying new stuff you’re not going to use. Take a break from eBay or thrift shopping so that you’re not tempted.
- Allow yourself one or two personal collections, but make sure that you organize these collections and that they are not overrunning your home. Consider trimming down collections by setting aside extra copies of items or collectibles that are broken or worthless – plan to throw away, donate or sell these.
Conclusion
It’s never too late to tackle a hoarding disorder. But tackling it early could prevent it from getting into a debilitating or dangerous state in which you have no choice but to call for professional help. Spot the signs early and take action.
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