Clutter is a big problem for many people, it affects both men and women of all ages. Look in any garage or shed and there will be things that are being kept ‘just in case'. The bigger the problem, the more stuff there is. Look in a kitchen, at the back of the cupboards will be packets and tins with a use by date that passed years ago.
For people of a tidy mind who catalogue and carefully store their stuff, it may not be such a problem as those who leave it lying around. A messy room not helps to re-enforce the clutterers addiction but it also will give other people who live there or are just visiting ammunition to attack or criticise, thus further strengthening those feelings. A clutterer can use their mess as an act of resistance against someone else who wishes to control them by keeping everything neat and tidy. Cluttering may be the manifestation of something else such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Syndrome.
Why is Stuff so important? Clutter provides the addict with a feeling of comfort and control over their life, however, with addiction you need more clutter to feel safe and so it spirals until in extreme cases it is difficult to get in through the front door. It is not just restricted to those who live in houses and apartments, we have all seen at least one homeless person struggling to push a shopping trolley piled high with stuff.
How To Cure The Clutterer, clearing clutter, get rid of clutter, be clutter free.The first step to a cure is that the person has to realise that they have a problem. With this particular addiction it may be very difficult because usually, there are no bad side effects. A gambler can run out of money, a drunk has a hangover but for these people the clutter is just part of their surroundings.
It is no good going in like a whirlwind and bagging everything up to throw into the trash. It may clear the room, but the problem is still there.The clutterer has to become aware of the reasons behind the emotional attachments to their stuff, a good way is to find a self help group of other sufferers who will be non-judgemental to the problem.
Here they will be give ways to gradually free themselves of all the non-essential stuff that has be blocking up their lives.
