This strikes somewhat close to home because this description fit my grandmother very well while she was alive. She was constantly buying things on sale or at garage sales, and as a child, I remember going over to their house and weaving our way through the piles of stuff in all the rooms. One summer, we grandchildren started digging through everything and discovered two couches buried underneath everything! I wish I had a picture to show you, but the memory is firmly imprinted in my mind.
When my grandmother died, it fell to my dad and his sibling to go through her house. Not only was the house filled, but the large patio area and the backyard as well. The show I was watching showed a woman who fit the very same description. In the show, she had enough stuff to fill a 10,000 square foot warehouse of everything they pulled out. The show also showed what it took to bring her to an awareness of her problem, which was not easy for her family, and extremely difficult for her. Anyone who has been with someone who suffers from an addiction knows how difficult it is to help the person become aware of their problem.
So right after the show, Carrie and I took the next half an hour or so going through and cleaning out some areas of our house. My first area was where I keep my many cookbooks. I enjoy cooking, and have started to become somewhat of a hoarder of cookbooks, as you can see here.
After a mere 10 minutes of pulling out the books, removing the loose papers, and cleaning up the cabinet, here is what it looked like.
From now on, I think Carrie and I will take a little time each week to clean through areas of our house. Thank God every once in a while that we have reminders of things in our lives that can help us change habits that could eventually become addictions. 
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3 comments:
You get the stockpiling gene from both our parents too. Dad saves those little advertising leaflets that come in some bills. Mom has three cabinets and a few dressers filled with fabric. I've got it too. I have a tote of t-shirts that I haven't opened in probably a year, two totes of material for myself, and you've seen the stacks of books. Even after countless trips taking stuff to Goodwill, the entire house is still packed. Passage ways are wide and clear though, so that's something.
You just need to start moving every few years. That will help you get rid of stuff.
Krista- Are you telling me I'm going to be fighting a lifelong battle against stockpiling genes? I'd better hunker down for the long run.
Craig- You are definitely correct. For awhile I was moving every year for nearly 8 years. I didn't have time to accumulate anything. Now I've lived here nearly 5 years, and Scott 7 1/2. That's a lot of time to hoard things, myself include.
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