What is up with clutter?

Clutter, junk and messes are not always what they seem.

Hoarders/Hoarding can be defined as: a person or persons who have many seemingly useless possessions which make their home cluttered and difficult to live in.< p>

A hoarder will not want to discard any of their unused things.  Hoarding can cause impairment to basic activities throughout the home such as cooking, cleaning and sleeping.  A hoarders junk can sometimes occupy up to 80% or more of their home.  Sometimes called a "pack rat" a hoarder usually will not admit that they have a problem. 

It is not clear whether or not compulsive hoarding is a condition in itself.  Many believe it is a type of OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  Studies have shown that the desire to hoard can be shared by multiple family members as well as be passed down from generation to generation.

Do you know someone who hoards things?  Is there a person in your life whose clutter is more than just a mess?  Is useless junk affecting you and your family? 

I married into a family of hoarders.  My mother and father-in-law are hoarders and so is my grandfather-in-law who is the father to my mother-in-law.  I believe that my grandfather-in-law's hoarding is what helped teach my mother-in-law to collect things as well.  I think my mother-in-law followed his example but also, I think hoarding could be some type of disease that the two family members share.  In the case of my father-in-law he is the only person in his family who hoards.  I believe that after 39 years of marriage to my mother-in-law he too has become a pack rat.  I guess you could suggest that he is "going with the flow."  Maybe he has given up on another way of living in his home.

I would guess that approximately 65% of my in-law's home is filled with clutter.  The clutter has caused many rooms of their home to become unusable.  Although they have paths leading to each of the exits in their home the junk lying around is a huge fire hazard.  It is very hard for family members to bring their kids to my in-laws house because there are so many things lying around for children to get in to.  Also, with so many miscellaneous objects everywhere it is nearly impossible for them to child proof their home for their grandchildren, and other young family members.

I would like to share with you some of the examples of my in-law's hoarding. 

The types of items you can find in their home include; 5 lint removers, hundreds of rolls of toilet paper, 10 pair of the exact same color and brand of summer shorts, hundreds of plastic grocery bags, a hundred empty plastic containers and cardboard boxes, many framed pictures some are hanging and some of them are stored away, twenty large plastic tubbies of paperwork from my mother-in-law's teaching career, old microwaves and room fans which no longer work, and two refrigerators completely packed with food.

My husband and I have discussed these habits with our mom and dad to no avail.  They have admitted that they have a problem but will not do anything to correct it.  Each time we visit their home we notice new types of items being collected and we foresee the problem getting worse.  I guess you cannot help person who does not desire to be helped.  Ourselves along with my brother-in-law worry for the day when we become responsible for their mess, also we worry about their well being in this type of environment.

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