The Hoarder in You

The Hoarder in You: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life by Robin Zasio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dr. Robin Zasio, known for her work on A&E's Hoarders, reveals the keys to uncluttering your mind and life, exposing the truth about anxiety, compulsion, and hoarding tendencies.

This is a self-help book, so expect plenty of helpful lists, mantras, and words of encouragement. Zasio is very compassionate toward people struggling with this disorder, but firmly believes it can be conquered.

She discusses issues from degrees of clutter to the emotional cost of clutter in relationships, collecting verses stockpiling, and the key to defeating our acquisitive impulses; illustrating with fascinating stories from her patients' lives.

There are many great books out about this topic. Dr. Zasio mentions another researcher by name often, so definitely check out his book: Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee. Sam Gosling's book Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You isn't about hoarding per se, but it is about the meaning of the objects we surround ourselves with. You may never look at your bedroom the same way again. Finally, another A&E alum, Matt Paxton, has a book out called The Secret Lives of Hoarders.

Quotable:

"In our consumerist society, even minimalists have countless catalogs from which to order streamlined accessories to decorate their spare spaces, and of course own far more than they need to survive." - 19

"While non-hoarders do not typically put their loved ones in danger by creating fire hazards or unsanitary conditions, living with someone whose mind is cluttered in part because their life is cluttered can be exasperating." - 58

"Out of habit, some people save bits and pieces from most every experience, not just the meaningful ones, and still others equate holding on to an item with holding on to a memory or a feeling - it's as if they didn't have the experience unless they keep the item. It's easy to see how your space can get so filled with stuff from your past that it's hard to live in the present." - 85

"A home doesn't become hoarded overnight: the process is gradual, and thousands of small decisions and in decisions about what to keep ultimately lead to a home so filled with stuff that it can become hazardous to one's health." - 141