How to Get Rid of Your Hoarder Mentality

Hoarding has gained a lot of attention in the media lately with television shows focusing on the disease. Everyone has a little bit of the hoarding mentality in them. It can be hard to throw away old clothing, papers from grade school or that broken down car you were going to repair. There is something in us that wants to hold on to things. Couple that with a culture that likes to purchase things, and suddenly our houses are full of junk. There are a few tough love ways of dealing with clutter. They are not easy, but they can be freeing.

Instructions

• 1

  Assess whether or not you are keeping items out of nostalgia. The items may remind you of a person, place or time, but it is not those things. Keeping the item does not bring the beloved back. Try to make a rule that if an item has not been touched in a specific time frame, it has to leave the house.

• 2

  Donate items to charity. Throwing things away can be very difficult for those with a hoarding mentality, so donating can take some of the sting out of cleaning the house. If you cannot use it, maybe someone else can. Donating also makes you feel good and donated items are tax deductible.

• 3

  Make a strict rule that if one thing comes in, then one thing must go out. This way, if you are a compulsive shopper, you will think twice before making a purchase. If you know that something must be thrown out when you get home, it may stop you from bringing back something else.

• 4

  Determine if something is beyond repair or use. If something would be usable "if only," then it is probably never going to be usable. Broken appliances are likely never going to be fixed and used again. Likewise, the supplies for a project that you never got around to are probably never going to get used, either. Get rid of them.

• 5

  Avoid buying for the future. Just because you may use something someday does not mean you should fill your house to the rafters with it. It will only cause more clutter. Instead, rest assured that those items will be available for purchase if and when you should need them in the future.

• 6

  Organize your space by having a place for everything. It will come as a great relief to you to have all of your things in a proper place. You will be able to find things and will know where everything is located. This is a completely different mindset than the hoarder mentality.

• 7

  Prioritize your belongings. Accept that there are some things that are important and that there are some things that you can part with. Make a list and do not deviate from the list. Be realistic about what you can keep and what needs to go. Keep only those things that are vitally important to you.