I come from a family of hoarders.  My mother, her siblings
and their mother are/were all compusive hoarders.  I grew up buried in
stuff...

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted on Tuesday,
March 11th, 2008 at 10:37 PM.


Relationship : daughter
Source : MSNBC story link
Message :

I come from a family of hoarders.  My mother, her siblings
and their mother are/were all compusive hoarders.  I grew up buried in
stuff.  We saved every bread bag, every cottage cheese container, every
magazine, every item of clothing.  There was a freezer stuffed full of
food that was so old that it was unsafe to eat, yet every time there was
a sale we bought more.   I realized recently that this has probably
affected my ability to have friendships because I never had friends over
to the house.  In the 25 years since I left home things have gotten
worse, to the point where it is a health hazard to even live in the home.
  She still does not admit that there is a problem.

My sister and I have worked hard to overcome this.  We both have
husbands that abhor clutter and help keep us on the right path.  We even call
each other to brag about throwing stuff away- stuff my mother would be
horrified to know that we've tossed like those cottage cheese
containers.  She and I laugh about it sometimes, but it is a great source of
conflict in my family and we are trying to decide whether to go for a
professional intervention.  I highly recommend the book Overcoming
Compulsive Hoarding.  It really gives the reasons behind alot of hoarding.  It
makes me realize ways that I still hoard but on a much smaller scale.