My parents were both hoarders. Not as bad as the folks you see on some of those television shows, but hoarders nevertheless.
I offered a few times to help clean and organize, but my mother would get nervous that she wouldn't be able to find her stuff. Yes, there was a lot of clutter, but she could tell you where she put something with pinpoint accuracy.
When I'd push my offer to help (or, more accurately, take over and do things my way), mom would tell me that dad also complained about her clutter and that he'd tell her to throw out stuff.
Her response was that she wasn't going to get rid of any of her stuff because dad wasn't throwing away his clutter!
Although I've heard about sentimental clutter or aspirational clutter, my parents' house was filled with spite clutter, things they didn't feel that they should get rid of until their spouse got rid of some of their things.
After mom died and dad had to go into assisted living, I did clean through the house. I found cancelled checks from when they got married in 1964 (and every year after that). There were envelopes from the electric company with the informational inserts that they mail with your bill. There were cash register receipts so faded they appeared to be nothing more than yellowed pieces of paper.
I realize that at some point, the paperwork became so overwhelming that they didn't know where to start. Papers would get shoved into bags and boxes and tucked up in the attic or down in the basement or in corners of the living room or beneath furniture.
You may be thinking, "At least I'm not that bad," but it doesn't matter. If you feel as if you are fighting the battle against paper clutter, I want to offer help, through this blog.
Get ready to get organized.
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