Persistence: Anything you do can only be accomplished by taking the time and determination to do the task.
It takes a long time to develop clutter or a hoard.
The same investment of energy that it took to get the stuff in will probably be required to get the stuff out.
Determination: The above is a pretty daunting statement.
It was so easy to get it into the house and it seems monumental to get it out of the house.
Nothing worthwhile comes easily except good looks and inheriting money.
Failing good fortune by dint of birth, we all work hard for all the good things we have in life.
That relationship requires work, those kids required raising and that job takes just about everything that doesn't go into the first two.
Fortitude: When you want to give up, you just have to soldier on through all the mud, self doubt and recrimination.
Perhaps the hardest is the last item in that list.
People who have collections or hoard are thought to be lazy, slovenly or worse.
The truth of the matter is that none of the above is true.
If you are in this situation you need to reframe your situation to fit the reality.
In most cases, hoarding is a disorder like any other disorder and that consideration.
Those that seek treatment deserve respect for the work they are doing and admiration for facing the anxiety that clearing a hoard engenders.
Guts: Speaking of anxiety, debulking a hoard excites the worst kind of anxiety among hoarders.
Imagine your worst fear.
Mine is being trapped in a small space.
When I think about it my pulse quickens, my mind starts to race and I feel so anxious that I can only have more fear about what would happen if I were to actually be trapped in such a situation.
Suddenly I'm snowballing down a slippery slope to immobility.
That's what a hoarder feels like every minute while working on getting rid of stuff.
It can push you into survival mode.
That extreme state where everything feels life threatening.
Forgiveness: Before a hoarder can begin to let go, he/she has to be forgiving of themselves for being in this situation.
Constant recrimination is not a virtue.
It's an impediment.
If you think you're a bad person there is little motivation to change.
If you can look past where you are and value yourself...
well, that's a person who is worth investing in.
That's a person who deserves to have an organized uncluttered home.
It takes a long time to develop clutter or a hoard.
The same investment of energy that it took to get the stuff in will probably be required to get the stuff out.
Determination: The above is a pretty daunting statement.
It was so easy to get it into the house and it seems monumental to get it out of the house.
Nothing worthwhile comes easily except good looks and inheriting money.
Failing good fortune by dint of birth, we all work hard for all the good things we have in life.
That relationship requires work, those kids required raising and that job takes just about everything that doesn't go into the first two.
Fortitude: When you want to give up, you just have to soldier on through all the mud, self doubt and recrimination.
Perhaps the hardest is the last item in that list.
People who have collections or hoard are thought to be lazy, slovenly or worse.
The truth of the matter is that none of the above is true.
If you are in this situation you need to reframe your situation to fit the reality.
In most cases, hoarding is a disorder like any other disorder and that consideration.
Those that seek treatment deserve respect for the work they are doing and admiration for facing the anxiety that clearing a hoard engenders.
Guts: Speaking of anxiety, debulking a hoard excites the worst kind of anxiety among hoarders.
Imagine your worst fear.
Mine is being trapped in a small space.
When I think about it my pulse quickens, my mind starts to race and I feel so anxious that I can only have more fear about what would happen if I were to actually be trapped in such a situation.
Suddenly I'm snowballing down a slippery slope to immobility.
That's what a hoarder feels like every minute while working on getting rid of stuff.
It can push you into survival mode.
That extreme state where everything feels life threatening.
Forgiveness: Before a hoarder can begin to let go, he/she has to be forgiving of themselves for being in this situation.
Constant recrimination is not a virtue.
It's an impediment.
If you think you're a bad person there is little motivation to change.
If you can look past where you are and value yourself...
well, that's a person who is worth investing in.
That's a person who deserves to have an organized uncluttered home.