10 Signs You Might Be a Hoarder

Hoarding is a complex psychological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. It goes beyond the typical clutter found in most homes and can significantly impact an individual’s well-being, relationships, and quality of life. If you find yourself struggling to part with belongings and notice clutter gradually taking over your living spaces, you might be showing signs of hoarding tendencies. In this blog post, we’ll explore common signs you might be a hoarder and offer insights into seeking help and support.

Welcome to my Year Long Thorough Declutter Series. We declutter 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Each day we do a daily task based on the room we are working on. Today, our task is to start decluttering your clutter in your guest room or kid’s room. If you prefer watching videos, check out my youtube channel here. Today, we’ll look at some tips to declutter broken collectibles.

The best way to develop a new habit is by slowly and daily application. We will begin a new daily declutter habit starting with the 2nd bathroom. In the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series, we will declutter 30 minutes a day, five days a week on weekdays. Sign up to receive daily encouragement and motivation.

Plus, you’ll learn your specific daily task to work toward completing the goal of a Year Long Thorough Declutter where you will declutter every space and learn how to start to purge your house. Are you ready to finally get organized? If so, will you join us? Leave a comment below to subscribe.

If you are new to the blog, welcome! I blog about cleaning, decluttering, and organizing. You can find my free printables to help you get organized in the drop down menu under the Printables category.

Currently we are working on decluttering the Guest Room or Kid’s Room. The daily task for today, Aug. 3, 2023, is to begin to declutter broken collectibles. Remember, we are focusing on just the guest room or kid’s room area, so don’t declutter your whole house. We will cover each room separately.

10 Signs You Might Be a Hoarder: What are the signs of a Hoarder?

Difficulty Discarding Items:

One of the hallmark signs of hoarding is the persistent difficulty in letting go of possessions, even when they have no practical or sentimental value. You may have an overwhelming emotional attachment to items, leading you to keep things that most people would consider unnecessary or useless. This could be saving trash, and even throwing trash onto another pile of trash in your living space rather than in a trash bin.

Accumulating Excessive Items:

Hoarding involves the continuous accumulation of items, often beyond the capacity of available space. You might have a compulsion to acquire more things, whether through shopping excessively, picking up freebies, or holding onto broken or damaged items. This goes beyond the typical shopping. One of the signs you might be a hoarder is buying loads of stuff because it’s a good deal or because it is on sale. But, then it is never actually used.

Severe Disorganization:

Hoarders often struggle with maintaining an organized living space. Their belongings may be scattered, piled up, or stored haphazardly, making it challenging to navigate through the home safely and comfortably. One of the signs you might be a hoarder is if you typically only use a tiny area of your home, such as a mattress and chair, while surrounded by clutter that blocks entryways and covers furniture.

Avoiding Visitors:

People who struggle with hoarding tendencies may avoid having visitors over to their homes due to embarrassment or fear of judgment. They may isolate themselves to conceal the extent of their clutter. Another one of the signs you might be a hoarder is if you won’t even answer the door if an unexpected visitor arrives because of the feeling of guilt and shame regarding your home’s condition.

Distress or Anxiety when Discarding:

If you feel extremely distressed, anxious, or even physically unwell at the thought of getting rid of items, it is one of the signs you might be a hoarder. This emotional distress can be a significant barrier to decluttering and seeking help.

Impaired Daily Functioning:

One of the signs you might be a hoarder is if it interferes with your daily life and functioning. You might find it challenging to perform routine tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, or sleeping, due to clutter and disorganization. Some hoarders can’t even access their toilets to use the bathroom, their showers to bathe, and even their appliances, such as a dishwasher filled with clutter.

Health and Safety Risks:

Accumulated clutter can lead to health and safety hazards and is one of the signs you might be a hoarder. Hoarded items may attract pests, block escape routes in case of emergencies, and create unsanitary conditions that affect your well-being. It is not uncommon to find dead rats or other pests hiding beneath piles of clutter.

Loss of Important Documents:

Hoarding can make it challenging to keep track of essential documents like bills, contracts, or identification cards. Misplacing or losing important paperwork may lead to further stress and complications. Many hoarders have their electricity or water shut off because they misplaced the bill and never attended to paying it. One of the signs you might be a hoarder is if you have learned to live without the basic essentials such as running water and electricity.

Emotional Attachment to Inanimate Objects:

Hoarders often form deep emotional attachments to inanimate objects, attributing human-like qualities and sentimental value to them. They may feel guilty or sad about getting rid of items, even if they are no longer useful.

Social and Relationship Issues:

Hoarding can strain relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. Loved ones may become frustrated or concerned about your living conditions and well-being. Hoarding can also be the result of a broken or hurtful past. If you have a difficult past (such as abuse) and painful memories, getting the help of a counselor is the first step to healing and ultimately addressing the hoarding issues, as well. It is never too late, and you are never too old to begin the healing process. Counseling doesn’t have to cost, either. Start by attending a local church. A house of worship will often have a pastor who you can speak to for some good counsel so you can begin making positive changes.

Recognizing signs of hoarding tendencies is the first step towards seeking help and making positive changes. If you identify with several of the signs mentioned above, consider reaching out to a mental health professional experienced in treating hoarding disorders. There is support available to help you understand the underlying causes of hoarding, develop coping strategies, and gradually declutter your living spaces. Remember, you don’t have to face this challenge alone, and seeking assistance can lead to a healthier and more fulfilling life.

I personally have a bad habit of placing items that need to be donated in the laundry room behind the door. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Wrong. Delaying decisions means we still need to declutter.

Maybe you have a habit of delaying decisions, too. Let’s decide today where your decluttered items need to go. Do they need to be donated? Disposed of? Don’t delay that decision any longer. If they need to be donated, sort and put them in your vehicle. Then, make a note in your calendar to drop them off at your favorite charity.

As you are decluttering your items, I want you to try not to just move them to another room. You may be tempted to do that. However, resist the urge to keep everything. Decluttering means we actually part with these items. Otherwise, assign those items a permanent home where you can best utilize them.

Advanced Strategies & Expert Tips for Decluttering

1.Only spend time on your specific daily task.

2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted.

3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina. This is one of the most useful declutter motivation tips. Listen to your body and work at decluttering when you feel the most alert and energized.

4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. This is one specific way for How to Be Ruthless When Decluttering.

5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. The goal is to purge the dead weight. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later. Read on for more declutter motivation tips and my room specific deep clean checklist, though, as you will begin cleaning after your declutter.

How to Declutter

Supplies Needed:

1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)

2. sturdy trash bags

3. marker/pen to label boxes

Decluttering Tip: Avoid using storage bins to declutter. Storage bins tend to tell your brain to “store” the items for later. That is just delaying decisions. If you aren’t getting rid of items when you declutter, you are not truly decluttering. This is why I recommend a trash bag, also. A trash bag tells your brain to “trash” the item.

Obviously, recycle if you have that option. The boxes you use should be ones you are willing to part with, so I recommend sturdy cardboard boxes. As to donations, there are many charities that will come pick up your items for you at your home.

I use one in particular where you can book an appointment for pick-up online. This is so convenient, as it saves you the hassle of hauling stuff away yourself. Scheduling that pick-up also motivates you to declutter by a certain date.

Steps & Expert Tips for Decluttering

1. Start by eliminating trash first- use a sturdy trash bag

2. Sort items by category if needed so you can see what you have

3.Get rid of items that don’t work or that work poorly, expired items, anything you don’t love, anything that you’ll never use again

4. Box up the donations and trash/recycle the rest

5.Select a charity to donate your items and schedule the pick-up if that is an option

How Do You Declutter Your Entire House (and get it deep clean?): Need to deep clean?

First, My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

Second, My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

Third, My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

Fourth, My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

Fifth, My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Check out the link above to see a sample page of what you’ll get in my printable set designed to help you create your personal Homemaking Checklist.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3: How do you remove clutter? How Do You Declutter Your Home?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.