I think I have convinced myself that I am a HOARDER. Maybe a less severe hoarder, possibly a pack rat? I never intentionally meant to do this, but I am starting to think I am one of the two. A mix of both? Not like things are out of control, I’m not in any health concerns about keeping the things I’ve kept and my social life is perfectly fine. Though, while in the process of apartment hunting with the boyfriend anxiety did arise. The anxiety then turned into embarrassment and the embarrassment then turned into shame. I’ve shamed my own self from something I thought was normal.
I have all my binders intact from that Fashion Merchandising program I started in 2006-the time of graduation in 2008. I have the same from my Fashion Marketing program from 2009-2011. I have stored them in my kitchen, in case if I had to reference back. Well, I haven’t yet referenced anything yet and it is now 2012. I have some in Rubbermaid bins at my mother’s house with more school papers, for “just in case” I had to reference back. With that being said, here’s a quick list of the “no-no’s”:
1.) Binders of old college material cataloged for later reference use. I haven’t had to yet, but….
2.) Clothes. Sensitive subject because you know how that goes. Sure I have a lot of clothing with the tags still on them and shoes I’ve only worn once. But there really IS a perfect time when things can be worn. I think what I need to do is stop purchasing items that have to wait for that time. More functional pieces when purchasing.
3.) Boxes of stuffed animals. Large Winnie The Pooh & Friends, giant Hello Kitty, etc. I want to SEE what they are in case if I want to keep anything. Then donate the rest.
4.) Rubbermaid bins 4 of Kid Robot and other various companies of collectible vinyl toys.
5.) Sneakers. So not even into these anymore.
6.) Barbie collection. I have a large assortment of collectible Barbies starting from 1989 that have continued on for a whole decade. Even after I outgrew Barbies, I was infatuated with collecting. They were never going to be taken out of the box to be displayed or play with. They were just going to stay in the box…for, well who the fuck knows why. Also See #4.
Other than the list above, I cannot really thing of other items I unintentionally collect/hoard/pack. So I got to searching online to know the difference and I came across this site with some information I felt was useful to help me learn more about this.
How “Hoarding” Differs from “Just Clutter”
We all generally have some clutter in our lives, whether it be the pile of clothes we forgot to put in the hamper, the opened envelopes we forgot to discard, or the pizza box that fell behind our bed last weekend and is now starting to slowly grow mold…Anyway, the point is, we can all be a bit of a “pack rat”.
So, how does a hoarder differ from a pack rat? Well, most “pack rats” collect things that are of use, though they may not use them often. But, as mentioned before, a hoarder collects/hoards things that are generally of no use, i.e. old newspapers, wrappers, etc.
Then I read this:
- Hoarding generally stems from OCD.
- There are types of hoarding, such as bibliomania, in which one collects/hoardes so many books it begins to affect their social relations and/or health. (Generally the books are of no use to the collector/hoarder.)
- Hoarding can kill you. (Yes, it can affect your health, but there are those who have died from their piles of crap falling down on them.)
And sort of started freaking about #2. I don’t have a use for these things, I just fucking keep them. Though, I feel things like the Barbies and art toy collectibles can be purchased. Maybe I need to get the damn things on Ebay. Oh, not to mention the 3 vintage Celine blazers I bought that no one has yet made bids on to purchase.
So the final conclusion, I am a collector turned hoarder. I admit it. This year, spring 2012 I will rid myself of the old college binders for sure, start selling items so when I move in with the boyfriend he doesn’t think I’m in deeper than he sees or I say. Oh, and babe, if you’re reading this…HEH.
