Perhaps you’ve been through some significant emotional trauma lately. Whatever the case, your home is a mess with junk piled in every room. You have taken medical advice and are one of the hoarders on the mend. But now you face the unenviable task of tidying up your home.
Things May Not Be As Safe As You Think
Perhaps you should pause before you jump in, and review the situation. If there is clutter everywhere, you run the risk of tripping and falling. If you have not put out the rubbish every time, you may have a hygiene problem. So you do need to apply your logical mind, and tackle clearing your home as a project.
Classic Problems Hoarders on the Mend Must Confront
People with hoarding syndrome often have persistent difficulty discarding possessions they no longer need. When they try to do so, they become trapped in a swamp of indecision and disorganization. We wrote this article to help hoarders on the mend everywhere, get rid of their clutter.
Your First Step Is To Decide To Make a Change
The first step in a journey can be the most difficult. The biggest problem many hoarders face is deciding to address the issue. One way to solve this challenge is to focus your mind on the benefits of a tidy home.
Imagine how proud you will be when you can entertain your friends again. Then compare this with continuing down the hoarding slippery slope to where the social welfare becomes involved. Are you committed to taking the first steps in the right direction? Let’s get started!
How Hoarders on the Mend Confront Their Fears
Step # 1 Do the Easiest Tasks First
This one sounds like a no-brainer, however it’s remarkable how many hoarders on the mend tackle the most difficult things first. One way to approach this is to create an avoidance hierarchy in which you rank your clutter according to which items you feel most closely bonded to.
Begin with the items you honestly have to admit really are junk. Don’t just push them into a corner. Pack the smaller ones into plastic bags. Put these and the larger items somewhere outside the house, which is protected from the rain but easy for council to collect. It’s not that difficult is it? You simply have to make a start!
Step # 2 Introduce a Decluttering Program
You’re almost always more productive when working according to schedule. So set yourself small but achievable goals, and allocate a particular time of day to work away at your clutter. But do not be hard on yourself, you want to preserve your energy so you reach your final goal. Try not to shuffle things around endlessly. Try to follow the rule of ‘if you touch it, do something with it’.
Step # 3 Learn To Make Firm Decisions
Your difficulty in disposing with things means that you will struggle with indecision. At the end of the process you want to have two piles which are “keep” and “get rid of”. Try your best to avoid having a third pile“decide later”, because that simply moves the problem.
Rather ask yourself a few straight-forward questions. When last did you use the item, do you have a plan to use it in the near future? Is it practical to keep the item, do you have room to store it? And finally is the piece important to you, really and honestly.
Step # 4 Hoarders on the Mend Stop Collecting
You also have to change you underlying behaviour, if you want your efforts to have long-lasting benefits. Try to remember asyou work through each item, what caused you to keep it. Identify the triggers that keep you collecting and learn to manage them.
Once you answer these questions about a particular item, they may help you realise you no longer need it anymore. At the end of the exercise you want to understand why you acquire things you don’t really need, and how to control the urge.
Don’t Be Shy to Ask for Help
Hoarders on the mend often follow a lonely, depressing path as they shed the things they no longer need. A trusted friend or relative could support you emotionally through the process, while also lending practical assistance. Don’t be shy to ask. A problem shared often is a problem halved.
You may also find it useful to call in the help of a professional house cleaner, who can clear away the worst, and advise what to do with unwanted items of real value.
Avery Associates offers a confidential house clearing service. We go through contents carefully, and sift out anything of value. Then we prepare the rest for recycling and deliver it to the council depot, before giving the home a jolly good clean.
