Text Size:
Clutter: When to worry?
By Margaret Pearson Pinkham, CPO-CDÆ
Are you worried about your mom’s cluttered house? Is it dangerous for her to live there? Are the boxes stacked to the ceiling an indication of something more serious?
For most of us, it's pretty easy to end up with a little too much stuff. Before you know it, inherited furniture from relatives crowds the living room. Or Mom likes to shop and can’t pass up a bargain. Or Dad does the garage sale circuit every weekend looking for projects to "fix up and sell.
When do these things become real problems?
- Are there a few piles of things here and there?
- A week’s worth of laundry piled up in the corner?
- A kitchen that never seems to get cleaned up?
These are often indicators of issues of simple clutter, procrastination or disorganization, but unless they are interfering with your loved one’s ability to function on a daily basis, or causing them distress constantly, then it is probably not too serious. Reading a book on organizing or employing the services of a professional organizer for a few sessions might help them out and provide them with some tools to maintain the new systems. They might even just need the services of a housekeeper a few times a month to get to the chores that are so much harder to do when you get older—scrubbing the tub or shower, mopping floors or putting away Christmas decorations.
But if...
It’s hard to close the front door because of the stuff behind it… No one can use the shower because of all the boxes stacked up in it… Mom doesn’t cook anymore because the stove is full of papers she has “filed” there… Dad has only little “goat trails” through the house that mark the paths to the different rooms… One or both of them are sleeping on just a part of your bed or even somewhere else because it is stacked with stuff...
Then you might consider that compulsive hoarding is an issue.
It’s estimated that 700,000 to 1.4 million people suffer from compulsive hoarding. That means that in every city there are potentially thousands of households that are filled to the brim with stuff and the occupants inside are suffering in a number of ways—mentally, emotionally and physically. And those who love them are caught in a vicious cycle along with them.
The older a person gets, the more likely they are to suffer from issues that can come along with age, which just exacerbates the problem of hoarding—cognitive impairment, depression, illness, vision loss, grief (loss of friends, family, pets). These issues are not unique to elders, but that darn aging process seems to push them all along. Hoarding itself is a vicious cycle that is hard to stop—airflow is constricted when rooms are piled high with stuff, and mold and mildew can take hold—in turn causing breathing or skin problems.
What can you do? It’s a complex problem and each person’s situation is unique. Educating yourself is key and checking out these websites or books will help you get started.
Organizations and Websites
Margaret Pearson Pinkham, CPO-CDÆ
Margaret Pearson Pinkham, CPO-CDÆ, is a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization and is based in Sonoma County, CA. Through her business Organize in Harmony she started in 2004, she helps her clients organize rooms and work spaces, clear clutter, manage time and increase their ability to focus. Margaret holds special certificates of study through the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) in helping elderly clients, those with Attention Deficit Disorder and with compulsive hoarding. Margaret works one-on-one with her clients in their homes or offices and also long-distance through phone coaching or "virtual organizing."
More...
Leave your comment
You must be an icarevillage member to comment on this article.
Join today
to take advantage of this service or
Sign In
if you are already a member.
