There is a TV show on A&E called Hoarders. Have any of you ever watched it? I’m not sure what night of the week it comes on, but I happened to watch several repeat episodes while I was cleaning house one afternoon last week. (I know, kind of ironic, isn’t it?)
A hoarder is defined as a person who has a need to acquire things, but fails to use them or discard them. A&E says its program is about people whose hoarding has gotten so out of control they are on the verge of personal crisis.
One episode was about a woman whose children were taken out of the home by the Department of Social Services because her house was considered unsafe and unsanitary. She had to clean up in order to get her children back. The therapist and a cleaning crew came in to help get the job done. The work was slow as the hoarder had to touch every piece of junk before she could decide if she could throw it away or not. And, in most cases, she could not. At the end of this episode, the woman’s house is clean, but her garage and basement are stacked floor to ceiling with boxes of the stuff she could not part with and Social Services is not convinced that her home will stay clean for long and she does not get her kids back.
In another story, a woman had convinced her second husband (the first husband had divorced her over her hoarding problem) that they could never get their current home cleaned up and should buy a second house so they could start over! Eventually, they would clean up house one and sell it, she had promised. So, now, strapped with two mortgages and two out of control houses, she asks for help. Ultimately, the crew of helpers left after barely making a dent, although, the woman said she would finish at her own pace on her own.
In another episode, a man spent a week and only got his dining room table cleared. Even though his wife had fallen down the steps the previous year resulting in a broken leg because of all the junk stacked there, and even though, she promised she would leave him if he did not get his mess cleaned up, he could not.
In all of the cases I watched, the hoarders felt overwhelmed and ashamed and really had a strong desire to get a handle on their compulsive behavior, but could not.
I admit it. I really don’t get it. I do not understand how people could live in such filth and why they have a need to keep so much utterly useless crap. It made me realize, though, that most of us have our own compulsive behaviors. I am quite the opposite of a hoarder. I must have order in my house. I keep the spices on the spice rack alphabetized. My silverware drawer must be organized and only hold a matching set. There are no wire hangers in my house and clothes must be hung facing the same direction. All of the clean towels and wash clothes must be folded in the same way with the fold facing out and stacked in their appropriate places in the linen closet.
A couple of months ago, I was losing sleep because my sock drawer was a mess! Well, okay, honestly, I wasn’t losing sleep over it, but I was thinking about it everyday. Browns were mixed in with blues and some had no match and I couldn’t just reach in the drawer and pull out what I wanted. It felt very satisfying to clean it. (I do not remember now the exact count, but after I threw some away I had over 30 pairs – more than I could wear in a whole month! Maybe, I’m a sockaholic.)
I have no problem getting rid of stuff. My general rule is that if I haven’t used something in a year, I must not need it and out it goes. The junk gets thrown out, and, I pile the quality stuff in the workshop, planning a future yard sale. I have never actually had a yard sale as I can’t stand the accumulating clutter, so I gather up those things and give them away a few months later.
This is not to say that I am a neat freak. I am far from it! My floors can get dirty, the furniture can get dusty and I usually have a stack of clothes piled on the dresser by week’s end. But, I do clean the inside of my refrigerator every week and straighten the kitchen pantry shelves every time I put groceries away. The more I write about it, the more I realize that people must think I’m a tad crazy! I am truly a compulsive anti-hoarder.
I see a reality TV show in the making; people who throw things out only to discover later they need them!
I’ve got other compulsive behaviors, too. But, I’ll save those for another day!
Since moving to the country, Brian and I have become real homebodies. We don’t go out, like on a date, very often. There are a number of reasons for that. One, is that we simply like being home. Two, is that we live so rural that a date typically involves a lot of miles driving. Three, is that we live on a fairly tight budget and I can cook a great meal so much better and so much cheaper than going out. (I enjoy cooking, too, by the way.) Four, when we do decide to spend money on fun, we prefer to spend it on our boat or going golfing.
After, the game, we would have a late supper at one of the fine restaurants in Charleston, another rarity for us.
As the afternoon progressed, schools began closing early, evening activities were getting canceled, and the local governments were advising people to stay off the roads except for emergencies, yada, yada. And, I got more and more worried about making our trip to Charleston. The thought crossed my mind that maybe Brian and I could really make a big night of it and stay in a hotel in town, but then, I remembered Sam Dog. The cats would be fine without us, but our absence would be too long for him.
Brian suggested we order pizza. There is a pizzeria in our little town, and although it does not deliver, we could make the short drive over there to get it. Since I really hate pizza, I was thinking that this day could not get any more disappointing. But, then Brian suggested a second dinner alternative: dinner at Captain Kirk’s. Captain Kirk’s is an additional 15 miles further away, but it has an excellent menu! We would go there for dinner and come home and watch the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics! If Captain Kirk’s was open, I voted for that idea! I called ahead and couldn’t believe someone answered and I got a reservation!
We warmed up the car (to get the snow to melt off the windshield, since most respectable South Carolinians do not own scrapers) and headed to the restaurant. The snow was coming down heavily now and sticking to the roads, but we got there safely. We had a wonderful dinner, Brian had the 14 oz. prime rib and I had the Valentine’s Special, a petite filet and three lobster tails (small, but delish). Another inch of snow had fallen by the time we left the restaurant, but we managed to get home in one piece, too!
It was nice and I was happy that the evening would not be a total bust after all! But, after five minutes, the satellite went partially out, and we lost our local affiliate channels, including NBC, the only station carrying the Olympics. Darn it, again! So, we put on another station and watched the ending of a movie, The Royal Tenenbaums. Well, we watched it until the power went out! Oh, man! Nothing left to do now, but just go to bed and sleep the rest of this day away!
