Why is the new year a great time for most people to start decluttering? Their kitchen, their office, their bedrooms, their bookcases even. Is it because we get presents for Christmas and then have to create new spaces for them, therefore, have to throw out the old?
What about then when you have more things than you think, from years of ‘collecting’? What caused one to ‘hoard’ their things? What’re the emotional and psychological reasons for someone to keep things long past their use?
I don’t consider myself a real hoarder (like in the tv shows kind) though I do keep things longer than I should. I have been able to periodically put loads of clothes and books and kids toys into black bin bags and drop them off at our local charity shops. Yet my husband thinks I could go the way of my mum, whom I’d consider a hoarder. I know the psychological reason why she does it. So here’s my story.