Hoarding...

I don't have a big problem with hoarding, but I am starting to understand how a little problem with hoarding can become a big problem...

My definition of "hoarding": 

(I didn't look it up, I have no idea what it really is....)

Unreasonable anxiety about getting rid of something that you might need tomorrow.  

I mean you just never know when having ten thousand crayons will come in handy...  

Look at MacGyver, he always found a need for the odds and ends that he found and had...

That old piece of pipe he made into a rocket thruster...

That swiss army knife that could do anything...

That compact mirror he made into a periscope so he could drive a bus while on the floor...

I mean anything could be used for anything, right...

I've been trying to clean out and organize my office this week.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I have a problem,

but I have so much stuff.

So much stuff and I can't decide what I really need, and what I really don't.

It's that "hoarding" (my definition)  mind set.

"The second I get rid of it I'll need it!"

And sometimes that really is the case!

But most of the time, that something sits and sits and collects dust,

and is just plain junk in the way.

I literally have a thousand pens, markers, and crayons.

I DO NOT NEED THAT MANY!!!

And yet when it comes to getting rid of them,

even though the marker doesn't have a lid and is dried out,

even though the pen hasn't been used in eight years,

even though a few of each color of crayon is plenty,

it just seems so wasteful to get rid of them,

and I might need that many someday...

I mean,

what if I have a thousand people at my house and they all need a pen at the same time!?

Ridiculous right, lol!

But the feelings are real.

The trick is recognizing them.

Thinking them through rationally,

and then taking action to fix the problem.

Rationally I know that I'll never have that many people at my house at the same time.

And if I did and they all needed a pen, well, tough.

Will I ever use all the crayons I have,

or a marker that doesn't work.

No.

It's not being wasteful to get rid of the things I don't need.

It's not being wasteful to through garbage away.

A marker that doesn't work is garbage!

It is being wasteful to buy new crayons every I see them.

I just love the perfect box of brand new crayons.

But do I need them?

No!

Broken crayons work just as well, 

but with less anxiety about them breaking.

;D

So this week I am cleaning out my office and getting rid of all the stuff my family doesn't need.

Anybody need a zip top bag of crayons,

or a few pens, maybe a marker?

I promise I'd only give pens and markers that work.

I can't promise that the crayons won't be broken..........

PS- The actual definition of hoarding that I just looked up:

Definition: Pathological or compulsive hoarding is a specific type of behavior characterized by:

• acquiring and failing to throw out a large number of items that would appear to have little or no value to others (e.g., papers, notes, flyers, newspapers, clothes)
• severe cluttering of the person's home so that it is no longer able to function as a viable living space
• significant distress or impairment of work or social life