Happy independence (from hoarding) day! Wherever you are in your hoarding odyssey, I send you hope, love, and wishes for liberation from what can feel like an inescapable burden.  You have it within you to transform those hoarding tendencies into different behaviors that bring you more pleasure or—at the very least—do not cause you physical or emotional pain. Please know that there are people, including me, who care about you. You don’t have to do this alone: There are organizations, programs, and resources available to help folks who are chronically disorganized or struggle with hoarding ..read more

Are you wondering what to buy a hoarder for Christmas? Maybe you’re facing the dilemma of what to get for the person who has three of everything.  When choosing what to get a hoarder for Christmas or any other occasion, it helps to keep a few key characteristics in mind: If you can select a gift for a hoarder that fits any of these three criteria, you can be relatively comfortable that you aren’t going to make matters worse for your friend or loved one who struggles with hoarding tendencies. Let’s take a look at each of the 3… The post <strong>Last-Minute Holiday Gifts for Hoarders ..read more

What a visit to the Cathedral of Junk taught me about my own hoarded past. The post A Visit to the Cathedral of Junk appeared first on Life Is No Object ..read more

Healing Requires Change on Many Levels Fully confronting your hoarding tendencies can lead to deep ancestral healing.  Overcoming hoarding behavior requires a lot of physical changes, such as removing things from your living space and stopping or slowing down how many items you acquire. There are also the psychological shifts that are required in order to address whatever your root cause is for attaining and retaining so many things.  Beyond the individual emotional shifts that you’re making, I firmly believe that changing your hoarding ways also is connected to making big, sometimes ..read more

Self-storage units can encourage hoarding tendencies even if you aren't a hoarder. The storage industry makes billions off of people's inability to let stuff go. The post Storage Units: A Slippery Slope to Hoarding? appeared first on Life Is No Object ..read more

Dealing with Depression and Hoarding Depression sucks. Simple statement, but not a simple experience. When you’re coping with a hoard or wrestling with your own hoarding tendencies, there are likely going to be times that feel pretty dark and bleak, maybe even hopeless.  SPECIAL NOTE: If you are feeling suicidal, please immediately go to the end of this post for links and phone numbers to connect with suicide hotline counselors who can provide immediate support, or please contact your local emergency service (911 in the US).  Depression Can Affect Anyone  This post isn’t just fo ..read more

If you’re struggling to come up with holiday gift ideas for friends and family members who hoard or compulsively collect, fear not. The following hoarder gift guide will give you some suggestions on how to show your affection without compounding your loved one’s problem. Besides, even if you’re not shopping for a hoarder, it doesn’t hurt to be more conscious about the things you buy and their lifespan beyond the immediate thrill of the purchase. Be a Conscious Consumer Shop sustainably: Consider buying from B Corporation Certified companies that operate ethically and are focused on their socia ..read more

I’ve been recovering from surgery for the past couple of months and thinking a lot about how hoarding relates to health and hearth. Namely, once your health gets out of whack, it’s easy for your hearth to follow suit. That truth reminded me yet again how important it is to get my affairs in order while I’m still physically and mentally able to do so. Good Health Isn’t Guaranteed For the first month of recovery, I couldn’t even push a vacuum, and I certainly wasn’t able to stoop or lift things. The joy of tidying up was nonexistent. Luckily,… The post Cleaning: When the Spirit Is Willing but th ..read more

Hot diggity damn. It’s hard to believe that 3 years ago today I published my first post on this blog about hoarding.  I had so much fear around being vulnerable and sharing my hoarding experiences that this blog almost never happened. Were it not for the support of my husband, brother, friends, and stellar friend / former coach / all-around business & brand magic creatrix Sanja Avramovic, “Life Is No Object” never would’ve seen the light of day.  I’m so glad it did. To celebrate the 3rd birthday of this blog, let’s have a big slice of virtual cake… The post 3 years sharing my jou ..read more

This week the poignant feature in The New York Times, “What Loss Looks Like: Times Readers Share Artifacts of Remembrance,” made me evaluate whether it’s helpful or harmful for me to advise people to focus on memories instead of things, especially in a time of such global, catastrophic loss. When the item itself could serve as the shining key to your memories, as a heavy totem of your grief and love, is it fair to suggest that people shouldn’t cling to those items? Yes. Because it all comes down to how you, the grieving recipient, feel about the item… The post Lost Love: When Objects Are All T ..read more