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Hoarding is the obsessive collection of objects that often takes over a hoarder’s home. Hoarders have an inability to throw anything away, resulting in unsanitary and unsafe living conditions. Hoarding tendencies often start young and can be overcome with therapy and understanding.
Hoarding is the obsessive collection of objects. Many times, these collections seem to have no rhyme or reason to outsiders, and the collected items often take over the house. While the hoarder typically sees nothing wrong with his or her lifestyle, friends and family often find themselves struggling with the condition of the hoarder and their home.
A collector may have a large number of items of a certain type, such as stamps or coins, but the items a hoarder salvages are typically of a wide variety and appear to serve no real purpose. Collectors typically have their collections neat and organized, while items salvaged from a hoarder clutter up homes, fill rooms, and render utility areas like tables, counters, and beds unusable. Most items salvaged from hoarders are considered trash by others and can include mundane items like boxes of clothes hangers, old newspapers, and plastic bags.
Also known as compulsive hoarding, the condition is characterized largely by an inability to throw anything away. The result is not just a small stash of items, but piles that clog corridors and overwhelm rooms. There is no consistent system of organization for clutter, and hoarders often move piles from place to place in hopes of getting it right, even though it never is. Some hoarders are uncomfortable allowing others into their homes and may become tense or uncomfortable when others even touch their possessions, much less suggest they throw them away. This can lead to a limited social life and can often result in estrangement from family members.
Within the broad definition of hoarding are those who hoard one very particular thing: animals. Pet hoarders often start out with the good intentions of adopting animals that would otherwise be homeless or euthanized, but often end up overwhelmed by the animals. Most of these pet hoarders take in cats or other small mammals and can end up with up to 100 individual animals. The result is often unsanitary conditions that can end up making animals and people ill or injured.
In addition to the buildup of relationship strain, it also comes with safety issues. In addition to falling objects, there is also an increased chance of fire in hoarders’ homes. Hoarders are not easily swayed by security issues and usually see nothing wrong with what they are doing.
Hoarding tendencies often start young, and those with parents who are hoarders may be particularly prone to follow in their footsteps. There are a number of reasons a person may start hoarding, ranging from having difficulty making decisions to not having property of their own as a child, and feeling protective of anything they earn as an adult. Hoarders can often overcome their tendencies, often with therapy and understanding.
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