Keep on Hoarding in the Real World

We’ve all seen the shows about people who are hoarders. Big Edie and Little Edie.  The news story about the guy who was found dead, buried under 10+ years of old newspapers. We shake our heads and wonder how anyone could let things get that bad. How can they live like that, with only a tiny path to move from room to room, no place to sit, no place to breathe.

But they didn’t start out like that.  This is not a problem that happens overnight.  It is years in development.  Which, in a way, is a very scary thought! It could potentially happen to any of us!  And in this modern age, it’s actually even easier! 

I don’t even need to leave my bed to order a buttload of stuff off the internet!  Amazon Prime, Overstock (as in “stock my place until it’s OVERflowing”), Ebay, and basically every other retailer now has an online version where you can shop!  Convenient, yes.  Dangerous … well, also, yes!

I am definitely a culprit of this online addiction of purchasing!!  I now make most of my purchases online.  Everything from electronics to cat litter!  And I’m not the only one.  The package room in my building is brimming on a daily basis!

But do I really NEED it all?  Absolutely not!  I mean, yes, I do need to buy cat litter, and food for the fur babies, and it is definitely much more convenient to do it online, so I’m sure that will never change for me.  But do I need that golden Buddha head statue?  Do I need yet another pair of sneakers? How many t-shirts is enough?

And yet, this new trend (actually, I’m not sure if it’s “new”, but it’s newly popular in the media) of minimalism that is coming out of Japan is an interesting polar opposite to what is happening in the Western world!  I don’t know if I could live with such minimalism myself.  I do want more than 1 plate, 1 spoon, 1 fork, 1 knife, and only 2 pairs of pants and a couple of shirts.  But, it does make one (that “one” being me) think about just how much I already have, and that I really don’t NEED.

Every few months, I do go through my clothes and fill up a bag (or 7) to give to donation.  And it’s a struggle.  I may not have worn something in the last few weeks or even months, but I get nervous that I will need it the day after I give it away!  That, my blog-reading friends, is the real problem!  This attachment to “STUFF”. 

So what do I do about this?  I have to psych myself up to be brutal and get rid of things.  Set myself a goal.  (maybe create a list??) Fill up at least 3 bags of clothing and get rid of at least a box filled with tchotchkes. And then maybe change the password to my Amazon Prime account and not write it down?!  Oh wait, I still need that kitty litter!  Darn it!  Foiled before I even begin!  The frustration of it!  Maybe some shoe shopping therapy will help?!