Do you feel a strong need to keep every single thing that you own? How about the things that were given to you as gifts? Do you struggle in letting go of old clothes or books? Do you invest more in storage or do you allow things to pile up in your room? Lastly, are you struggling to keep your house clean and in order? Well, if you have answered yes, then that means you are more than just a person whose love language is receiving gifts. You could already be a hoarder.
Keeping things for a long time is not necessarily bad. Honestly, it is a very admirable trait because that means you see the value of things. You could also be a person with a strong sense of financial responsibility because you know how hard it is to earn money to buy the following material things. From clothes, books, appliances, and other miscellaneous, it is understandable if you don’t want to check out recycling solutions or you find it hard to hire an onsite dumpster rental service and completely get rid of stuff you no longer need. After all, no one can tell when you would need these old things again.
So, if you want to confirm if you are simply a practical person or already a hoarder, this article is for you. Here are the signs that you could be the latter:
There is consistent clutter in your house
If you have so much stuff in your house, storage and maintenance could be challenging. See, there is nothing wrong with insisting on keeping all your belongings from childhood and bringing them to your flat or apartment. However, you know it is too much if these things do not have proper storage or they are eating too much valuable space.
For example, if you have already allotted a shelf and a whole room for your record-breaking book collection, and somehow books still pile up all over the place, that means things are going out of hand. If there are books in inappropriate places and your daily activities are already limited, then you are no longer a bookworm but a book hoarder.
There are already hazards present in your clutter
Let us continue with using books as a metaphor for clutter, for a clearer situation. So, you like reading, and you find happiness in your book collection. No one could ever dictate to you that what you are doing is wrong. However, when your beloved book collection is already looming over you and blocking your pathways at home, they are no longer just a source of happiness but also danger.
See, some clutters could potentially endanger you and even cause health problems. In this case, your books could fall over you and cause an unfortunate accident. What could be worse is if these books, when untended to, could attract and house termites, bugs, and other pests that could cause infestations and health complications.
Family and friends are concerned
Following the point above, if your family and friends have repeatedly voiced out their concerns about you and your “unmanaged stuff”, then perhaps it is wise to listen to them. It is these people who could provide you with a fresher perspective. They could point out the harsh truth about you probably just collecting books for the sake of it and not reading them anymore.
Friends and families are the ones who could help you out and see that you have taken things too far. You shouldn’t harbor any ill feelings towards them, as they only want what is best for you. They could also point out things that you don’t need anymore, and they could even help you sort things out when you hire a specialist to take care of your clutter.
You feel anxious thinking about getting rid of them
Lastly, if you feel strongly against getting rid of things, then that’s the final confirmation that you are a hoarder. If you have already fought with your family member who wanted to intervene and help that means your judgment is already clouded. You could even have an unhealthy attachment with these things you are hoarding, even if they are a mixture of different miscellaneous clutter. Should this be the case, you need to let people in so that they could address the root cause of your hoarding.
Perhaps you meant well, wanting to keep things forever. However, there is always a line that indicates enough. People who hoard usually have issues that they need to address, may it be behavioral issues, hygiene problems, and even psychological ones. So, if you happen to know someone like this, always remember that there is always a way to sort cluttered things out, both literally and figuratively.
