English: Compulsive hoarding Apartment Deutsch: Wohnküche eines Messies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hoarding is now recognized as one of the problems that has severely affected the society. Compulsive hoarding is when a person accumulates excessive quantities of clutter. To make things clearer on how it has turned out to be a problem is that these clutters that are being accumulated by the sufferer usually use the entire area of the house to the extent that it is no longer conducive for living or staying.

The areas of the house are usually occupied with the entire muddle and the people living in the place could no longer move freely because of it. But the disturbing situation is when the condition has already turned out to be a safety of health hazard.

Many house fires have been attributed to keeping clutter that triggered the fire and many illnesses and health conditions have also been linked to accumulation of clutter in the home that becomes a venue of bacteria and other disease-causing pathogens.

Hoarding lean towards to become worse over time but the problem is that the hoarder himself does not have a clue that he is suffering from such a condition. The hoarder usually sees their habit as something normal thereby rationalizing every hoarding activity they do. This lack of consciousness makes the situation even worse.

One way we can help a hoarder deal with his condition is by allowing him to realize and be made aware of his certain habit. Awareness has to be brought to the person. When a hoarder becomes aware that the habit is no longer healthy for himself and the people around him, he will acknowledge the need for a change and help. There are many ways a hoarder may be made aware of his doings; if a loved one or a family member has to do this, a gentle yet firm talk will do, or if the hoarder pays rent for a certain place, the owner of the house or the apartment may call the attention of the hoarder and reprimand him, this will result to the hoarder taking steps to avoid getting kicked out of his place. These interventions are usually enough to get the attention of the hoarder and have them implement lifestyle changes. However, if the condition is severe, enforcement by housing authorities may be done in order to avoid causing probable dangers to other people.

There is actually no outright cure for compulsive hoarding but therapeutic interference targets to reverse the hoarding progression until such time that it develops controllable; and the person is already able to retrieve his home and the space surrounding it that he had once lost due to his hoarding habit.

Compulsive hoarding may be controllable and easier to deal with if you get the cooperation of the person; and one sure way to get his cooperation is making me understand his condition without judging him. A hoarder needs all the support he can get from his family and loved one as this condition could be difficult and stressful for him.

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You’d probably want to go somewhere else after a busy day at work if you only have clutter waiting for you at home. The home is designed to be a place of rest, rejuvenation and recharging after having gone through all the stress at work. However, as much as we do not want to accept it, clutter is inevitable in our homes. Sometimes, we cannot find the time to wash the plates after breakfast as we might be late for work, so same plates greet us when we get home in the afternoon.

But there are areas in our homes that we can control the clutter. The basement, for example; you probably don’t visit it every day and it had turned out to be a junkyard for all the stuff you haven’t been using lately. When you allow this type of clutter to accumulate, you might not be able realize it earlier, but you are actually giving way for your clutter to get the best of your home.

Here are some tips that may help you declutter your home:

Get Rid Of Things You Are Not Using. Clutter in the house actually begins when you hold on to things that you believe you still need when in reality, you haven’t used them for over a year! Assess your home and start throwing or giving away things you do not regularly use as this will only contribute to more clutter in your home.

Take One Step at a Time. If your house clutter is quite overwhelming, do not attempt to clean the clutter in one setting. It is always best to deal with it one step at a time. Try to categorized your task and deal with it little by little everyday, say taking 15 minutes every morning to do so. Cleaning your clutter in one setting will only get you burned out that may result in an unfinished work (and you do not want this). Doing it little by little everyday does not only ensure finishing the work but it could also serve as a routine exercise on your part. You’ll likely find yourself cleaning up your house everyday even after your huge decluttering project is over.

Keep Organized. When you do not practice to organize your stuff, you will most likely find it difficult to locate the things you need. Practice putting everything in its proper place, you might want to designate boxes for smaller stuff to avoid clutter.

Stop Purchasing Things You Do Not Need. Before purchasing something, think if you really need it first before finally deciding to get it. Things that are not used in the house only contribute to more clutter and you may only be wasting your money for buying another thing that you won’t be using – you might just be collecting trash for all you know. So to avoid indirectly collecting trashes think first before that next purchase!

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People who find it hard to let go of things and decide to hold on to them even if they have proven to be of no use at all are known to have some fixations. According to Freud, those who cannot let go of things and collect a lot of stuff even if they aren’t as useful, are fixated to the anal phase in his psychosexual theory.

Decluttering your life in any form may mean more than simply throwing things away out of your home. Letting go of things could mean you are learning to let go of other matters in your life – habits, relationships and even attitudes.

When you learn to declutter your home in small ways, you are actually translating it to your personal life; you’ve probably learned to make changes in your life and by doing so, you are actually giving more room for improvement for yourself.

Deciding to let go of old clothes gives you an opportunity to get new ones with more updated sense of fashion that can similarly get you that confidence you have been working on for quite some time; getting rid of old books give you more room for newer ones inviting newer learning with them. Throwing away an old photo frame that was given by your ex-lover may be a symbolism that you have moved on and are ready for new relationships. You are actually doing symbolisms when you learn to declutter!

The deed of letting go involves clarifying what it is you love about the things you are about to let go. Very frequently this conveys the reasons and justifications for keeping things. Letting go makes you decide on which things are important and unimportant. This is probably the reason many people find it difficult to let go of things as they find themselves emotionally attached to those things. However, desiring better efficiency in your life requires a clutter-free surrounding.

It is important that people understand the relationship of decluttering one’s space to letting go of certain issues in one’s life. When you understand the real reasons for holding on to certain things in your life, you’ll also understand why you are having a hard time letting go of these things; once you’ve linked the connection of things to your ability to let them go you’ll understand the rationale for your actions.
Decluttering your home may be difficult for some to accomplish, but it is surely possible. Especially if they understand the art of letting go too. Cleaning clutter changes vitality and relieves your mind forming an optimistic attitude and outlook that allows you to begin to realize the chances and opportunities that are actually waiting for you.

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NEW PORT RICHEY, FL – JUNE 26: Doreen Ferrilo opens the door to her flooded home to salvage what she can before she must leave under a mandatory evacuation order by emergency management officials on June 26, 2012 in the Mill Run area of New Port Richey, Florida. Her homeowner’s insurance was recently cancelled due to faults in the roof. According to local news, two area rivers have converged and surpassed the 100-year flood plan. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

The best reward one can have after a long day’s work is going home to a clean and clutter-free home and finally getting a dose of the much deserved rest. A clean home makes your mind relaxed and free from stresses you’ve acquired earlier at work.

Unfortunately, this is not the scenario that happens to most people. Their home is the last place they would want to go; they prefer to go and relax somewhere else and finally get home to just sleep and wait for the next day. This is because of the clutter that greets most people. The place becomes more of a stressor rather than a place where they can finally relax and enjoy.

If you are one of the people who experience this situation, it is about time you do something about it! Find ways to declutter your home so you can declutter your life.

Here are simple ways to declutter your home:

1. Plan to clean and stick to your plan.

Decluttering a home requires strategic planning, that is, if you want to succeed cleaning your home. If you declutter right away without planning, you are most likely to get frustrated as you will find it difficult to get things organized. Therefore, the primary action you need to have when deciding to declutter your home is to plan.

Plan on what you want to do: do you want to throw away things? Would you rather sell them? Or donate them to charity perhaps? Do you want new physical arrangements done in your home? What do you plan to do with those things not frequently used? What room do you want to clean first? How much time do you intend to spend decluttering one room per day?

Your plan will be your guide in decluttering. It will guide you on what to do next and where to go next. This will be your checklist and all you’ve got to do is follow it.

2. Decide on what you want to do with the clutter.

It is always important to decide on what you wish to do with the clutter otherwise, it might still be in your house, just relocated. There are a lot of things you can do to your stuff aside from throwing them away. Giving them away is always the first option. Think of people who would want and see those things you are throwing away as useful and give it to them instead. Or, if you wish to earn money, there is cash in trash, you can always sell your stuff, and there are people who buy used things. Just make sure you designate a proper place for your garage sale, if you wish to have one.

3. Act on your plan.

If you plan on cleaning for 15 minutes each day, you better stick to it. Most people fail to accomplish their goal in getting a clutter-free home because they are simply stuck on the first step. Planning requires implementation; therefore you need to see to it that your checklist actually gets those check marks!

However, hoarding is another story. Unlike people who collects stuff who only keeps those that are appealing and useful for their collection, people who hoard cannot distinguish the different between the two. They keep everything within their reach even if it is useless.

So what about those animal hoarders? They are similar to other hoarders, only that they hoard animals; cats, dogs, birds, and other kinds of animals. Freaky as it may seem, they find gratification and their anxiety is relieved when they do this.

There is a particular law that tackles about animal abuse and maltreatment and this is indeed punishable. While many people perceive animal hoarding as something that breaks the law, the matter of fact is that, it isn’t. Animal hoarders do not maltreat the animals they collect; in fact, they have the noblest motives of collecting them – that is, providing shelter, food and family to these animals that they consider family/friends.

However, since animal hoarders usually have too many animals hoarded, they fail to provide the necessary care all the animals need such as food, clean shelter, water and vaccinations for certain diseases that animals could bring to humans; so the end result is, both (animals and the hoarder) become a threat to each other.

So should animal hoarders be charged guilty for hoarding animals they cannot take care? While most people believe that they should, animal hoarding is a psychiatric disorder that needs proper medical and personal intervention. Since the hoarder is most likely unaware that his habit has become a hazard to people around him and himself, a professional help (if the family cannot handle the problem any longer) is required.

Most animal hoarders get attached to their animals to much that they do not dispose of them or bury them when they die. And you will see that similar to other hoarding disorders, the house of the animal hoarders if literally filled with animals including their wastes, food and dirt. You can just imagine how that smells!

But regardless of these hoarders condition, they shouldn’t be treated as outcasts or worse, criminals by the society, simply because they are not. These people need the support and help they could get from love ones and family.

Every hoarder has a deeper underlying reason for his action, and an important part of his treatment is to understand the reason for his or her hoarding disorder. Most people, who hoard animals, find comfort in the fact that those animals are there for them as companions. The best intervention you can give to your loved one who has this disorder is to give them the assurance that the family and you are there for him/her and that animals are not needed to keep him/her company.

Cat watching cat (Photo credit: gillicious)

When asked to create a mental picture of a person who collects cats, you’ll probably have a lady in mind, probably an old spinster with her cats surrounding her, with some resting on her arms and shoulders and the others on her head.

Cat hoarders are those people who over-collect cats to the extent that they can no longer provide the proper care and nutrition to their cats because of their enormous number. And researches show that most cat hoarders are indeed women. Women are more drawn to cats than dogs because cats a smaller and cuddlier than dogs, allowing a woman’s small arms to carry them easily.

But there is still more with the connection of women and cats; cats, like women are known to be mysterious animals, they are usually difficult to please; with these attributes, they are frequently compared to women. This could be one of the many reasons mostly women are drawn to cats.

This crazy cat lady who loves to hoard cats cannot seem to get enough of her collection. She picks up every homeless cat she encounters along the way in an attempt to provide the poor thing a home, which is unfortunately the same home of several other three hundred plus cats! This lady cat hoarder also cuddles each of her cats, if time allows her to cuddle every one, and cares for them by stroking their fur like how a normal pet owner would.

Worse case scenarios of cat hoarders is that they eat the same food with their cats, take a bath altogether (as if cats aren’t hydrophobic) and sleep together. Yes, it is indeed weird. However, not all cat hoarders experience crazy cat lady’s experience, as there are still others who live normally. But for those for are not lucky enough to control their emotional and mental attachment to cat hoarding, they mostly exhibit personalities and behaviors much like of a person with a mental disorder.

Cat hoarders, like other hoarders have their own reasons for choosing cats as their collection. And similar to all hoarders, they have deeper issues that need to be addressed with the help of a professional that might actually help on the treatment of her hoarding problems.

But aside from therapy with a professional, the most important thing to consider is the safety and health of the hoarder. She might be getting nutrition deficiencies or worse animal-induced diseases that could be detrimental to her health. These need to be addressed directly once hoarding problem is established.

Some family members deal with this problem by contacting animal control to take over the cats and getting the hoarder to a facility that can further study the reasons for her behavior and eventually come up with appropriate therapy to battle the disorder. This is very doable for people who have the means and money; however, this seems like a very impossible thing to do for people with financial constraints which unluckily have put the hoarder’s life in the line.

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1. Do not bring your credit cards all the time (especially in the malls)

Admit it, having your credit card with you boosts your confidence when you enter a mall or an area where paying is almost possibly present. It’s amazing how those little plastic cards can give you such purchase confidence – the very reason you need to leave them at home. People tend to spend more when they use their credit cards because they don’t actually see the money slipping out of their hands, so there is very little or no heartbreak at all. This is the number one rule if you want to stop your splurging.

2. Budgeting 101.

The problem with shopaholics isn’t the actual spending or shopping but rather, the excessive shopping and splurging that they do. So instead of depriving yourself to shop (which is highly impossible), give yourself the permission to splurge once in a while, just don’t overdo it. The technique is by allocating a certain budget for shopping; once the budget has run out, you no longer have the shopping privileges until the next pay day.

3. Bring someone to shop with you.

People tend to splurge more when they shop all by themselves. The presence of a companion allows you to limit your purchases as you tend to feel embarrassed about spending too much. This technique is also best if your shopping buddy is vocal enough to reprimand you if you’ve spent too much.

4. Give it a day.

When you like something so much in the mall, combat impulsive shopping by giving it a day. When you do not respond to shopping impulses, you tend to develop more control over your urge to splurge.

5. Consider your emotional state when shopping.

People tend to over-shop when they are in extreme emotional states: too happy or too sad. Very happy people like to believe a need for a celebration which could be an excuse for over-spending, while people who are emotionally down find solace in shopping for things to comfort themselves. They want to believe that shopping fills the emptiness they are feeling. So if you are in either of these emotional states, staying at home is the better option.

Shopping is a good therapy; it is a proven de-stressor to many people as long as it stays within the normal limits of spending. When you run out of buying because of shopping, that’s when it becomes an addiction. When you show poor control over your splurges, that’s when it becomes an addiction. A lot of lives have been destroyed by this addiction, as enticing as shopping may appear, it is similarly a very destructive habit when not done in moderation. So give yourself the permission to shop and enjoy every minute of it, and when the budget is no more, learn to stop and control and delay the gratification until the next time it permits you to visit the malls again.

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People who hoard animals usually develop an attachment to each of the animal they collect. In fact, they even give all of them names. However, due to the number of animals they collect, they tend to create an absolutely unsanitary environment full of animal waste products – this is where the problem begins to affect other people, which are primary concerns of citizens living with or near to people or persons who hoard animals.

Another issue mostly tackled about hoarding animals is how they (the animals) might possibly become a danger to other people in the neighboring places. When you decide to keep a pet, you have certain responsibilities being the pet owner like ensuring your pet has been vaccinated or maintaining the area of your pet clean. These tasks are obviously not done by an animal hoarder simply because he has too many animals to attend to. These basic responsibilities that are not done accordingly by animal hoarders put the safety of other people around them at risk.

Animals might be far from our minds when we think about addictions, but the fact is, this type of addiction does exist. And it brings with it serious health hazards to both the animal hoarder and the animals.

Contrasting certain problems concerning animals and their possible maltreatment and exploitation, animal hoarding isn’t deliberated as animal cruelty for the reason that there’s no malicious intent involved. The animal hoarder usually has good intentions of collecting animals – mostly wanting to give them care, food, family and home; however, these intentions are not met. Animal hoarders also develop an emotional connection to the animals they are collecting; they mostly see them as pets and animal members. But no matter how noble the motives of the hoarder may be, it still does not change the fact that the life of the hoarder and the people around him could be greatly affected, in a negative way.

The hoarder could get diseases from the animals as most of them often fails to get vaccinated; aside from that, the hoarder’s social life could similarly be affected as some people find it rather weird while others fear of acquiring diseases from the animals or simply because of the unbearable animal smell that has been the result of failure to provide proper care to the animals.

Animal hoarding is a serious problem in the society and people involved in this habit need intervention quickly before further damages could result. One report showed a case of animal hoarding where 376 cats (87 of which are dead) were found in a 2-bedroom house. Animal hoarders develop too much emotional attachment to their animals that they do not bury them even when they have died. This truly demonstrates the need for support from family members and friends to deal with this disorder.

Try assessing yourself by checking out these symptoms that characterize an Oniomaniac/shopaholic:

• You go to the mall and shop when you get upset, disappointed or lonely
• You don’t feel confident when you don’t have your credit card
• You feel elevated that you can’t explain it every time you shop
• Shopping has caused emotional distressed in your life like being unable to sleep because of credit card debts
• You feel guilty after shopping
• You  have stuff that still has its price tag after months of purchasing it
• You get into fights or arguments with your loved one because of shopping
• You prefer using the credit card rather than paying in cash
• You lie to others about what you bought or how much you’ve spent for a purchase
• You always think about money, even before you sleep
• When you get your pay, you immediately think of what to buy with the money
• You get upset when you can’t buy the thing you’ve been crushing on in the department store
• You borrow money to buy what you want and promise to pay it on your pay day
• You spend  a lot of time juggling your bills

If you’re seeing yourself agreeing to most of what is written above, follow these tips to minimize overspending:

• Do not bring your credit card with you all the time
• Avoid the habit of “only window-shopping” as this will give you the urge to spend
• If possible keep only one credit card which may be used only in cases of emergency
• Make a shopping or grocery list when buying and strictly adhere to what is listed
• Avoid bringing too much cash with you; bring just enough for the day’s expenses
• Do not participate in SALE or discount shopping
• Bring somebody with you when you do your shopping
• Set a certain budget that you can enjoy and stick to the budget
• Do not go to the malls when you’re feeling too happy or too sad
• Stop browsing online shops on your free time
•  Stop browsing product catalogues
• Deposit your cash to the bank and leave your ATM card at home; bring only sufficient amount of cash with you

Controlling the urge to spend when you are a shopaholic is a difficult thing to do; but not impossible. Do not easily get discouraged if you happen to give in to the addiction. Try and try until you finally gain control over your urge to spend. Shopping is a good thing; it is only when it becomes too much that it could create or cause difficulties and danger in one’s life. Being a shopaholic is not something that you should be ashamed of; instead of seeing it as a shortcoming, look at the brighter side and see it as a challenge to improve yourself.

1. Determine Possible Reasons for the Behavior

Studies show that compulsive buying disorder may be secondary to much deeper underlying issues. Take time to reflect on what could be the possible reasons why you do such a thing. What after-feeling does it give you to buy compulsively? Do you find yourself with more worth if you are able to purchase stuff, even if you don’t actually need them? What do you feel if this compulsion is not met?

Some people do compulsive buying because they reportedly gain much self-worth everytime they do this; others feel in control while others feel relieved of the anxiety or the emptiness they’re feeling.

It is important to establish the deeper reasons for your compulsive buying. If you have a trusted friend, you can ask his or her help. Or, if you believe that you need a much more professional help, feel free to consult one. It is similarly important to realize and accept that you are indeed battling with this behavior in order for you to be open to possible help that can do away with the compulsion.

2. Think it over for a few more minutes before finally deciding to buy.

One of the simplest but most effective ways to halt compulsive buying is to give yourself time and space to evaluate and debate (if you need to) whether the purchase is indeed necessary or just another meaningless splurge and waste of money. You may even ask yourself questions like, “Do I need this thing?” “Do I have enough money left for the purchase?” When you learn to debate with yourself, you can find more reasons that may help you do away with the purchase.

3. Do not bring that plastic card when you go to the mall.

Bringing credit cards wherever you go will unconsciously give you the assurance that you can buy anything you want with just a swipe, and this will not help control your impulsivity when it comes to buying. Bringing cash instead will help limit your purchases; when you have none left in your wallet, it means you can no longer buy stuff. So another wise thing to do is to bring just enough cash for food or gas, or taxi fare, otherwise, the purpose of leaving the credit card at home will be useless.

4. Make a list of your expenses (not a mental list).

Keep a jot down notebook or a make a budget tracker and bring it with you always. List all possible purchases and the amount that you have spent for them. Seeing the actual figures you have spent will make you realize how much money you have left and that will help you control the spending activities since you are greatly reminded of the available funds you have left.

Most people who do compulsive shopping usually have their regrets after they are done with it, and there would be no point in being regretful as you can no longer undo what took place. These simple ways will help you minimize the occurrence of compulsive shopping; it may be a little difficult to do at first, but you’ll certainly appreciate yourself for doing so.

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