Are you a Pack Rat? Pack Rats are collectors who cannot bring themselves to dispose of things that they “might need… someday”. They are also called Hoarders. It is fairly easy to determine if somebody is a Pack Rat: Just look in their garage. If the rafters are full of boxes and other possessions, and if there is not enough open space for one car to easily fit into each stall that is intended for that purpose, they are probably Pack Rats. Oh sure, there can be some reasonable allowances made for anybody who has a short-term demand for that space, but I am not talking about a short-term issue.
These habitual “collectors” take over other places, too. Basements, spare bedrooms, storage sheds and attics are all vulnerable to the squirrel-people. When the bigger spaces are overrun with their valuables, then the smaller areas are needed. That is when you will notice packed closets, dressers, counter tops, cabinets and perhaps some perfectly shaped boxes that slip quietly under the beds. All of these places become a refuge for the stuff that they “might need…someday”.
Naturally all of this is a matter of degrees. In some more extreme cases, every square inch of their living space is in use. There will be way too much furniture. Pictures, mirrors, shelves, knickknacks and racks fill the wall space while magazines, newspapers, clippings, and books dominate the flat surfaces. The outside of the refrigerator has become a cross between a billboard and a repository for notes, doctor’s appointments and recipes.
For some of the more troubled pack-rats, all of this space combined, is still not enough. Some of them even rent storage space down the street somewhere. They crave more space like a drug addict needs a fix. Nothing else matters. Very often hoarding is a symptom of psychological frailties. We stumbled upon such a case just a few days ago.
My precious wife has agreed to watch over the home of an elderly woman who is suffering from advanced stages of cancer. Fortunately the sick woman has a loving family who has taken her in. But they live quite a distance away, so it is a difficult for them to visit the property, and it is unlikely the ill woman will ever return to the home that has been the receptacle of decades of accumulating things that she probably was never going to use. Yesterday we stopped by as agreed to make sure all was well.
The charming and orderly exterior of the home belied a semi-tragic contrast to the alternate-truth that was waiting to greet us inside. We clicked the button on a garage door opener that we were given for access to the two-car garage. As soon as the door lifted, a midsized car begged us for some breathing room, but we ignored the plea. There was a four-foot thick stack of boxes and old belongings jammed up against every square inch of the perimeter wall. The mountain of things that “might be needed…someday” was 5-6 feet tall.
The pathway to the kitchen door was threatened by countless boxes, which were piled up against the walls in a haphazard fashion, and hoping to jump into the sliver of open space. We carefully negotiated our way through the mini-canyon of a path and entered the woman’s home.
The upstairs was as previously described. There were way too many belongings. Furniture, magazines and breakables were wedged into every available spot. There was a large curio-cabinet that was full to capacity with dozens of charming figurines. A quick visual inspection of the home revealed that the floors offered the only available open-space. The walls, counters, closets, coffee tables, end tables, and dresser tops were all occupied. According to Health and Balance, abnormal hoarding is usually a malfunction of the frontal lobes of the brain’s cortex, usually on the right side.
One comforting observation was that we were dealing with clutter, and not filth. The ill woman and her family managed to do a good job in that regard. There was no stinky trash, no dirty dishes and nothing else that would cause a weak stomach to churn. It was basically safe and sanitary.
Before we left, we decided we should go down to the basement to make sure everything was okay. We have visited many vacant properties over the years and we have learned that this is where the signs of problems tend to show up. We have stumbled upon such surprises as leaking water pipes, a dead cat, bums, broken windows and rotted foods.
I could barely descend the stairs due to a dozen plastic tubs that were packed in there: Each one the size of a microwave oven. The tubs were somewhat transparent so one could observe that they contained harmless non-perishables such as rice. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs I found a light switch and discovered why the tubs lived on the stairway: There was no other possiblity.
The abundant pile of items in the garage was dwarfed by the accumulation of odds and ends that resided in the lower level of the dwelling. Boxes were stacked upon piles, and piles were stacked upon boxes. Bags and random objects were thrown in to break up the visual monotony. The isles that formerly allowed visitors to negotiate through the maze, submitted to the pressure. They too had been filled in, and joined the mountainous collection of leftovers that “might be needed…someday”
Two of the basement corners were inaccessible without trekking over the top of the mass of objects. Rather than risk making an even bigger mess, we elected to complete our examination from afar. Fortunately, there did not appear to be any problems so we locked-up the home and departed.
When we were driving away we felt like we would like to do more for this family. We have cleaned up bigger messes before. The first thing we would do is order a construction dumpster, but of course, any such action or even the mention of it would be inappropriate. It was basically none of our business. So we dropped the topic and recalled the two other times that Patty was called upon to clean out homes like that. Believe it or not, they were both much worse, but that is a topic for another time. According to AOL Health, there are approximately one-million Americans who suffer from Compulsive Hoarder Syndrome. Patty has known three of them personally.
To see a sad documentary about how two families have been affected by hoarders CLICK HERE.
In part two of this topic I will share with you some related stories and some tips that might help if you think you have too much clutter which you “might need …someday.”
Your comments are invited
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