How to Break Pack Rat Habits

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Rate: (3 Ratings)

Some people are letting their homes become overrun with things they cannot bear to part with, regardless of how useless or old these things may be. These people who display hoarding behavior are commonly referred to as pack rats. If you have a stuffed closet, attic or basement, you might be one yourself.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Start with your clothes. Evaluate your drawers and closets. Get rid of anything and everything you have not worn in a year's time. Limit your "skinny jeans" collection to 2 pair. Box any clothes you rarely wear and donate them to a charity.

Step2

Sort through your paper reading material. The beauty of magazines and newspapers is that they are disposable. Unless these items contain something with historical significance, throw them away or bring them to your local recycling center.

Step3

Examine your bookshelves. Take out the books you don't think you ever will read again. Bring them to a book drive. If they're in excellent shape, donate them to the library. You also may be able to sell them to a used book store or on eBay.

Step4

Control your collector's personality. If you enjoy collecting things, limit yourself to 1 or 2 of your favorite subjects, and let the rest of them go.

Step5

Turn your material loss into monetary gain. Consider having a yard sale or place some of your treasures on an online auction site. The mourning process should be easier to endure when you turn a profit.

Step6

Rid your bathroom of unused beauty products, hair products and outdated medications.

Step7

Reward this cleansing process by recreating your space. Rearrange the furniture or paint the room a new color. Turn your cluttered atmosphere into a restful living space that you'd be proud to show friends and family.

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Comments

nanomatrix said

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on 12/11/2007 Good article, my problem is when I see something again I think I need it for some time in the future, when in reality I very likely will not. What helps me is like the article says sticking it on Craigslist, if it doesn't sell it probably is crap, if it does sell then I made money on it...

CCrock said

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on 12/11/2007 If you have clothes you can't let go of, turn the hanger around so it is opposite the direction of all your other hangers. After 6 months, if your hanger is still backwards, get rid of it. The thing to remember is, once it's gone, you really don't miss it. You probably will never even remember it!

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