Getting a Pack Rat to De-clutter

You know the scene, boxes piled high, filled with magazines and junk, you ask "what are you doing with all this stuff?" the answer most times is "I need this stuff" Yes it is the classic pack rat, afraid to throw anything away. The will try to reason why they might need a magazine that is ten years old, to a broken clock, the plead for claiming it will work again, even though they do not have a clue on how to fix it. How do you deal with them?

Time has come for you to set aside a time when you can have a frank conversation with your dear pack rat rather than deliver an endless attack of small jabs. Discuss the problems his or her clutter is creating in the household.

Questions to ask yourself before discussing:

Are there rooms you can't use because they are crammed with too much stuff? Is there a financial cost from paying for rental units to store everything? Could he or she actually find a specific item if needed.

Make a list of you answers, and present them to your pack rat, be reasonable, remember, for some reason this stuff is precious to them. After presenting you thoughts to the questions, start a thirty day clean up, you and the pack rat, sit down each night at a specific time and go through one box at a time. By doing this you will be making the trauma of throwing away the clutter less of an impact, and your pack rat will be more willing to get rid of things. Be patient and not judgmental with your pack rat as you make joint decisions about what to keep and what to eliminate. Pose questions that help him or her be more realistic about what to get rid of.

After you gone throw the boxes in the 30 days, start talking about and agreeing on where the best place is for storing the pack rat's scaled-back possessions. If possible, set aside a separate room. Reach an agreement that the collections will stay within the boundaries of that space. Organize the space, with shelving and different, storage/ organizing units that are available out there.

Sometimes some people are more than packrats; they have a type of OCD called "Compulsive Hoarding". There is lots of information about it at: http://www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding/

What ever the reason is always keep in mind you have to treat the pack ratter with respect, yelling at them to clean up the mess or throw things away, only makes it worse, especially is it is a spouse. That can lead to tension in the relationship. Relationship are already hard and do not need added tension. If you follow this and the pack ratter still isn't cooperating, then there are times to just call in a professional to help out.