Packrat Spouse
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Worried about daughter picking up Dad's packrat habits
Dec 2002
Help! To begin with, I am married to the absolutely worst
packrat in the world. It has always been like pulling teeth to
get him to throw or give things away, and he gets upset if I
throw them away without asking him.
We live in a tiny house with two children, and there is simply
not enough space to keep everything. There have been
times when I have wondered if he is slightly mentally ill,
although he does not have the classic signs (keeping
things like newspapers and so on). Without me, he would
live in a place that was knee-deep in stuff; and though he
has learned from me, it is still a constant struggle keeping
space for all of us to move and live.
I have managed to live with this aspect of him for 13 years,
and we have worked out a kind of balance, though there is
still way too much stuff in our lives. However, recently I've
noticed that our three and a half year old daughter has the
same problem.
She will not get rid of anything, even if she's grown out of it,
and never wears or uses it. When I suggest that she get rid
of things that she never wears or plays with, she cries and
promises she will wear/play with them ''tomorrow'', or
''sometime''.
Up until now I have sneaked things away when she is out of
the house, and she never notices (after all, these are things
that she never looks at, right?). But recently I am worried
that she is going to be like my husband, and this sneaking
thing will only work for so long. And I absolutely cannot live
with two of them, I would really lose my mind.
My question is, are there any parents out there who have
successfully trained their children to happily get rid ot
things? Especially if they were originally packrats? I feel
very strongly that your things should be used or at least
noticed and loved, or you shouldn't have them. Are there
any tips or tricks to teaching your children this, and helping
them to learn to let things go without it being traumatic?
I should note that I am certainly not a spartan myself, but I
do like to keep my things circulating, and often give things I
love to others who would use them more or love them more.
Curiously, having children has helped my husband, as well.
Thanks for any help you can give!
for ideas on retraining packrats (including self!:-), check out
www.flylady.net. Its like AA for packrats. Good ideas on
removing clutter permanently, and dealing with your children and
partner. I have found it quite useful for myself!
a packrat in recovery
My heart goes out to you. My ex-husband was the same way -- and
his parents had stacks of newspapers and all! It was horrible!
My daughter was like yours when she was younger. A couple times
a year (just before Christmas especially) I would tell her that
we would spend the day cleaning out her room. I told her that
in order for her to get any new things, she would have to make
room for them -- no room, no presents (new clothes, etc.) Once
she realize that I was serious, and there were some things that
she really wanted to get for Christmas, she learned to let go of
some things.
Now, at age 9, she understands my rules about the capacity of
her room, and she is very good about letting go of alot of junk--
not all, but most.
anon
Try an annual ''Out-With-The-Old-In-With-The-New'' party. Time it
around the holidays or your child's birthday and explain that
getting rid of things is an important tradition. Do what you can
to make it really fun, and perhaps set up a number goal like
''this year you're 9 years old so we'll all get rid of nine things
each.'' Throwing or giving away things is very liberating and I
agree that it's a habit that one picks up during childhood. Good
luck, I'm rooting for you!
Mary
The hoard and clutter syndrome (packrat, a disturbing & hurtful
term to many) is now being understood to be a subset of OCD
(obsessive compulsive disorder), almost completely involuntary,
hard to treat except with CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) &
support, and may in many cases be caused by altered brain
chemistry due to a childhood infection or to a genetic
influence. Dr Amin Azzam at UCSF has a genetic study in progress
for this distressing condition. It is often not a matter of ''oh
just throw it out'' for sufferers, as they have great anxiety
around letting go, which can be greatly exacerbated by pressure
and threats from family members who have never heard of the OCD
component or altered brain chemistry. There is a whole new body
of research on this headed up by Randy Frost, PhD, Gail
Steketee, PhD, James Claiborn, PhD, Fred Penzel, MD, Johan
Rosqvist, PhD, and other US investigators. If you Google them
you can find out more. This problem is massive, the estimates on
how much of the population suffers from OCD hoarding & resultant
social isolation vary, but it is in the millions in the US. A
shop till you drop ideology in society and anxiety-producing
social instability & job loss don't help either. If you have
family members with this hoard and clutter problem please do get
the information from the above sources to help them, because
depression and suicide can accompany some who, under pressure,
feel deserted, exhausted, and lose hope. I have studied this
newly defined problem and am happy to give more info including
research papers to anyone who needs it.
berkeleywest
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