With springtime's mood of renewal, energy and fresh starts comes the
urge to clean out the old clutter and simplify our lives. But for
millions of people, cleaning out is an impossible task. These are
hoarders, and they find their lifestyle severely restricted by the
sheer volume of their belongings. What's the difference between a
hoarder and a pack rat, and how do you know if you are at risk? Take
this quiz and find out.

1. Hoarding is merely an exaggerated form of overenthusiastic
collecting.

True ( ) False ( )

2. People hoard because they are too lazy to keep their house cleaned
up.

True ( ) False ( )

3. Although the clutter may look the same, hoarders have many
different reasons for keeping so much stuff that their homes become
nearly unusable.

True ( ) False ( )

4. It is possible for animal lovers to be hoarders.

True ( ) False ( )

5. Being in a household with a hoarder can be an emotionally damaging
experience.

True ( ) False ( )

6. The only cure for hoarding is large doses of the medication given
for obsessive-compulsiv e disorders.

True ( ) False ( )

7. There is a large population of hoarders.

True ( ) False ( )

ANSWERS:

1. False. Although collectors can go to extremes, there are many
types of hoarding that have nothing to do with traditional
collecting. There can be a number of exactly the same items that is
considered excessive, or there can be saved items that others would
consider garbage -- used tissues, junk mail, etc. On the other end of
the spectrum are huge amounts of things that the owner feels must
never be used and are kept wrapped up in pristine, new condition.
Clutterers can usually be motivated to clean up, while hoarders may
find the idea undesirable or unthinkable.

2. False. The irony is that some hoarders are actually
perfectionists, and the piles of things that clutter their houses
actually have some kind of meaning to them in terms of being
organized. Their inability to throw away anything or move it out of
arm's reach means that they appear to be lazy and messy, another
ironic outcome of hoarding behavior.

3. True. Researchers have found several key motivations used by
hoarders. Some cannot discard childhood toys or other items saved for
sentimental reasons, while others have an impossible time with
decision-making. Some cannot discriminate between items to be kept
and those that are garbage. Others fear a lack of control, while some
feel responsible for keeping things "just in case." There can be
other reasons -- all result in a paralysis that causes the clutter to
take over the home.

4. True. There are many instances of homes with dozens of cats or
dogs, far beyond the person's ability to properly care for them.
These people are often animal lovers and think they are doing an
adequate job. The prevalence of animal hoarding has caused humane
organizations to set up special programs to cope with the risks to
the nearly 250,000 animals that are estimated to be kept in unsafe
numbers in the United States.

5. True. There are organizations to help families of hoarders, who
often must grow up not having people come to visit, being ashamed and
embarrassed of other family members, and often feel that their
parents' possessions were more important to them than they were as
children. Many grow up with a sense of isolation that is difficult to
deal with even when the child is able to leave the clutter behind,
and others fall into the same destructive patterns.

6. False. There is major doubt as to whether hoarding can be cured,
but management of the behavior is under study by the medical
community and others who wish to bring hope into the lives of those
who are prisoners in their own homes. Changing behavior through
therapy and intervention in the home, helping sufferers make
decisions and some medications have been yielding various positive
results, as has the study of the brain.

7. False. Less than 1 percent of us are hoarders; most of us can go
ahead with spring cleaning.

If you answered six of the eight questions correctly, you have a good
understanding of the strange condition called compulsive hoarding.

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