[SOC]

I watched my first episode of Hoarders the other night on Netflix. This is a fascinating show. Basically, these people are clutterbugs, but the weird thing about them is their relationship with their stuff. It is pathological.

I've never understood shopaholics. I also don't understand hoarders. This is not simple messiness. This is deep emotional attachment to inanimate objects. A lady could not part with her rancid cheese. It was just mind blowing stuff.

There is a lot of gross out stuff with this show. But I know what hoarding is all about because my parents were hoarders. I don't talk to them now, so I have no idea if they ever changed their ways. I doubt it.

I am an anti-hoarder. I get rid of shit almost compulsively. I realize that my antipathy for clutter stems from my issues with my parents and their hoarding ways. People equate stuff with security. Parting with a thing means giving up on the promise that thing was going to bring.

I think deep down I am a hoarder in much the same way that I am an introvert. I overcompensate for these deficiencies by going in the opposite direction as hard as I can. This is part of the reason why I am a minimalist. I feel better with less stuff in my life.

People who hoard want security in their lives. People like me want freedom. Clutter represents a sort of prison. It weighs you down. I like living in an apartment that is bare and austere. It is so easy to clean.

Watching Hoarders is great motivation for living a minimalist lifestyle and sticking with it. I think this is why I like the show so much. It shows that more stuff is not necessarily going to make you happy.

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