Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

THE CONSEQUENCES of HOARDING
Hoarding is not only a matter of “wasted space” or “wasting money”. Hoarding is an
insidious addiction – one that actually leads to the wasting away of one’s entire Life.
*Harm #01: WORRY …
There are many ways that having too much is hazardous to your health. For one thing, the
more you own, the more time & energy you spend keeping track of those things, and the
more you subconsciously (and sometimes consciously) worry about breaking them, or
misplacing them, or running out of them, or having them stolen.
“Every new possession loads us with a new weariness.” ~ John Ruskin
*Harm #02: STRESS …
Whether you are conscious of it or not, clutter causes stress – and stress is debilitating to
your physical health and your emotional stability. Also, the more stuff you have, the
more stuff feel you need to maintain that lifestyle, and the more stuff feel you need to
maintain your lifestyle, the harder and longer you feel you need to work to pay for it. In
essence – even more stress.
“Any possession you cannot relinquish possesses you.” ~ Peace Pilgrim
*Harm #03: TIME …
You have to work several hours a week just to pay the rent on the space you use to store
the excess stuff that you don’t really use. In addition, every item you own requires time
for cleaning & maintenance. Individually, these chunks of time are very small – a few
minutes dusting here, a few minutes of reorganizing there. However, when you put all of
those chunks of all of those excess items together, you will see weeks of time wasted
every year on maintaining possessions that are essentially useless.
“It is the preoccupation with possessions
that prevents us from living freely & nobly.” ~ Bertrand Russell
*Harm #04: HOLLOWNESS …
One of the primary characteristics of all hoarding addicts is a tendency to make life a
materialistic affair, one in which we focus mostly on getting what we don’t yet have as
opposed to being grateful for the things we already do … And when we do decide to
“give”, we only reach out with things. Instead of some gentle eye-contact and a few
Caring words, we offer the homeless “bum” a few coins and walk away. Instead of taking
the time to open our selves to our Loved Ones during our “overly busy” days, we wait
until Christmas or a birthday to buy them a snazzy present.
“We are too involved in materialistic things … The loving relationships we have,
the universe around us, we take these things for granted.” ~ Mitch Albom
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