Spring Clean Your Life

Not only are Americans buyers, we are also keepers. And while our buying and storing habits may be great for the economy overall and for the self-storage industry in particular, these habits can become seriously problematic for some.

It's easy to feel overwhelmed in a household that is in a constant state of clutter and disorganization. And we know how easy unnecessary spending is when you aren't sure exactly what you already own. Relationships get squeezed as rooms and garages overflow.

But clearing the clutter from your life doesn't have to be difficult, says James O'Connor, a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and president of Clutter Control, a business that helps people organize their households.

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Follow the experts' tips on clutter control and you will experience greater productivity, effectiveness, creativity, mental clarity, and even improved relationships.

Why We Love Stuff too Much

"We are attached to objects and people out of love and because we have a need for security," Robert P. Baker, PhD, staff psychologist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation and program director of the clinic's behavioral medicine unit, tells WebMD. "It is built into our nature, as a way to bolster our sense of self- esteem and power and as a way of feeling connected, not alone."

Ordinary people who have a hard time relinquishing stuff are different from "hoarders." Many psychologists say hoarding is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, while others argue that it may be a variant of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which leaves people having difficulty making decisions, procrastinating, and staying on a task long enough to organize their surroundings.

"Everyone has a certain amount of clutter, but hoarders have so much stuff it affects their lives," says Jon Grant, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Brown University and chief of Impulse Control Disorders at Butler Hospital in Providence, RI. "I might save some of my National Geographics, but a hoarder would save every magazine that comes into the house and the plastic wrap they came in."

There are no good statistics on the number of hoarders, although some estimates have put the number at less than 1% of the population. These people are often single, but among those who are married, divorces often occur when a spouse simply can't live in such chaos.

But for everyday clutter collectors the cycle of collecting and disorganization can be turned around.

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"All my clients call me saying the same thing, 'I'm overwhelmed and I don't know where to begin,'" says O'Connor. "But when they start to deal with the problem, you see a phenomenal change for the better when people take the initiative to improve their lives, it's like a huge weight is lifted off them."