Hoarding

[poliphilo]

 The housekeeper at the Meeting House is a hoarder and uses the Meeting House to store overspill from her collection. This can't be allowed to get out of hand.....

But it's not just a logistical problem, it's also a pastoral one. 

"Sigh".....

I have some sympathy with hoarders. I'm not far from being one myself. I love junk.

I live in an animate world- and don't like getting rid of things for fear of hurting their feelings. 

However I don't extend my sympathy to packaging and old newspapers and worn out saucepans- stuff that has a certain function and can't ever have expected to continue in existence once it's done its work. This is what saves me....

Though there's an in-between class of objects- decorative biscuit tins, glass bottles in attrractive colours- that tug at my heart strings.....

Comments

[conuly]

If she's using the Meeting House to store her stuff then it's already out of hand. I don't know the best way to help with the hoarding in her home, but somebody needs to put a very firm "applies to everybody" (but really, it's because of her) boundary over personal items.

[poliphilo]

It's been going on for years. We had a no-nonsense clear-out a month or two back, but stuff seems to be creeping back.

The obverse is that she's a very good housekeeper.....

[paserbyp]

I believe hoarding is some kind of mental deseise…

[poliphilo]

It's viewed as such....

[paserbyp]

Retirement?

[conuly]

Yeah, if you're having clear-outs you're letting it get too far.

You can't cure her illness, but you can manage what parts of the symptoms spread over by setting up a clear rule: you can't keep it here.

Which means somebody is responsible at the end of every day for saying "Wait, hold up, your second coffee mug/second speaker/extra pair of shoes/spare chair/complete works of Shakespeare has to go home with you, it does not live here", but the good news is that after a few weeks or months the habit should have faded enough that she'll be leaving her spillover at somebody else's house instead of her workplace.

[poliphilo]

There's no replacement in sight- and she's a good caretaker....

[poliphilo]

Yes, we need to get some things understood.

[paserbyp]

In this case, my condolences...