I just finished watching a couple of episodes of Hoarders, and I can’t help but think how interesting the show is, and how engaging.
It’s such an emotional thing for these people, and I find that watching the show makes me emotional too.
I sat back and watched as we toured the homes of hoarders; they lived in filth and utter chaos and some of them didn’t even realize how big of a problem they had and were totally unwilling to change.
As I watched my lip curled in disgust at some of these places/people, then I’m sure I had that wide-eyed look of horror in there somewhere too. I just can’t fathom how people can live like that. (Yes I realize it is a mental illness and they have my sympathy, but I still can’t personally fathom that behaviour)
After the show I looked around me and some of the disgust I felt watching the show transferred itself onto my space. I didn’t realize it until I sat down and started writing this, but the show subconsciously affected me.
I took my dishes to the sink as usual and suddenly found myself washing my “filthy” kitchen floor by hand, scrubbing the countertops and re-arranging odds & ends. I think I went into some sort of semi-panic, believing that my house was just not clean enough in response to the depravity I saw on TV.
In my room I dusted my travel bookshelf, moved a lamp, changed my curio arrangements, put my jewellery away, put all my clothes away & refolded 2 drawers and ruthlessly went through my closet purging things with wild abandon. You should see my “donate” pile now!
And I’m still not satisfied.
It makes me wonder if I’m similar to the hoarders in that I am somehow compelled to do these things. It gets me high, makes me feel good. Except that I end up with an (even cleaner) apartment and they get the opposite.
My place is pretty normal, with a normal amount of clutter and dust bunnies. It is significantly cleaner than all of my friends’ homes. But everywhere I look I see things that I wish just weren’t there. But I can’t really put them anywhere else or get rid of them as I’ve already gone through the purging process several times and these items survived all of the processes. So obviously I need to keep them. And I use them regularly.
I’ve been constantly trying to rearrange and organize my space. I don’t want to go minimalist but I certainly don’t want as much junk out there as I currently have. So I’ve been trying to find creative ways to cope with all my belongings. For example, I just got a scanner so I can go paperless and ditch my filing box. If I ever have money again I’d like to buy a new desk & drawer system so I can give everything a proper home.
Man, this show has really affected me! I think it may be a good thing for me if it makes me purge more useless things after every episode!
I think I’m going to stop here now. This post is already too much verbal clutter!
6 responses to “Hoarders”
OMG, that is exactly how I felt!!
I had to delete it from the Tivo because it just stressed me out too much. Especially when I saw the one with the suffering, starving cats, buried under junk. It was just too much for me. Those people should be in jail, not on TV.
Hi Ginger,
I was thinking I was the only one having those feeling after watching the show. It really makes you think about what you keep and what you needed at that moment. The last time I watched that was the weekend I was arranging my beautiful walk-in closet. I have an ever-growing donate box because every time I walk into it I see something else I have worn/used in far too long to be hanging onto!
Though I can tell you I know a couple of people like this and I wish they'd get themselves help. Not to the point where they have animals starving, but the piles are getting to a ridiculous state and visiting them is happening less and less.
Perhaps, you need to enjoy a little Apartment Therapy – as a few others are doing. Rearrange the furnishings, be honest with yourself about some items you feel you need to keep and figure out why you feel that. Maybe used in a different room they would help your Zen state more.
Keep in mind though that your place is not the same as these hoarders. That you are not a hoarder and be mindful of the reaction you are having to watching this show. It can be powerful!
*off to wash my kitchen floors and scrub another set of windows*
Pam
I haven't seen the show Hoarders, but I did watch a documentary called My Mother's Garden about a hoarding woman and how her problems destroyed her family for years. It does make you paranoid that you have some of the same qualities! I've definitely given a lot of things to Goodwill since seeing that film.
Hay lady!
My dental hygienist is a personal organizer or something like that, and first told me about hoarders the last time I had my teeth cleaned.
She said that there are two sides to hoarding – hoarders and tossers. (That sounds dirty, but you know what I mean) Where hoarders keep everything, the other side has no problem throwing everything out in the hopes they'll avoid that sort of lifestyle (it's like the other side of the hoarding mentality).
I had the same reaction! I watched the show where the older guy had made a complete mess of his tiny apartment, where the bathroom was filled with, well, waste. I had to start cleaning my house…I actually have a friend who boarders on hoarding…she doesn't leave her house in total filth though, but it's really hard for her to get rid of things. I prefer no clutter at all..
I know the feeling, but I really wasn't too inspired to go cleaning. In fact, I felt that my house looked rather nice afterwards!! 😉
Still, it's just crazy to see people living like that, especially the one lady with the rotting food all over or the sad case of the one lady's kid.
Have you ever watched the show Obsessed? That's another thought-provoking one, that used to be on in the slot they stuck Hoarders.