Hoarding

Hoarding has been a popular topic lately.  Oprah has shed some light on this topic in the past few years.  Many believe it is a disease much like alcoholism or obesity.  I consider myself a pack rat, but my obsession with keeping magazine clippings and little collections don't even come close to the trash and piles of objects some families have in their house.  Some people can barely walk in their house because of all the piles of things.  I recall one family who never ate off their kitchen table because they couldn't find it. Their houses were literally health hazards.  On a much smaller level I can understand how people can become overwhelmed by stuff.  I sometimes feel like my stuff controls and stifles me. Although some people would say I'm organized, there a lot of days I don't feel organized.  I like to know where everything is and would love to have closets like Martha Stewarts.  I often don't use some of the things I own because I forget I have them.  Now that Spring is upon us, I am motivated to start decluttering.  Organization expert, Peter Walsh, is a regular on Oprah and has said you should get rid of things that you no longer love or value.  My goal is to do a little bit of spring cleaning every day for the next month.  It is people that matter, not things.  I'm still not willing to give up my books and shells, but I'm sure I could donate some of my books.   However, it probably doesn't even come close to Oprah's collection.