Collector, Hoarder or Disorganized?

As I approached the highway yesterday morning, I caught the end of a morning radio show. The hosts were talking about the approach of spring and the need to do some spring cleaning, stating that "everyone hoards something, everyone has too much of something." There was agreement around the table, then each divulged what they had too much of.

"I have too many pairs of Converse running shoes. Thirty seven pairs to be exact."

"I have too many mini, hotel toiletries."

"I have too much pasta. I find it all over the place."

By this time, I had a huge smile on my face. Hoarding, a word virtually unknown a few years ago, is now part of the everyday vernacular. There are obvious benefits to understanding that hoarding behaviour exists, but there are still many people unable to differentiate between hoarding, collecting and just being disorganized.

I don't doubt that these three colleagues used the word hoarding lightly, and realize that none of them are displaying true hoarding behaviour. Nonetheless, I have seen people who either judge themselves too harshly, or remain oblivious to the seriousness of the situation that their stuff creates. So, allow me to use the banter of our morning DJs to provide a simple example of what differentiates a collector, or disorganized individual from a hoarder.

Mr. Converse, is a collector: he takes great care of his shoes, has a system for wearing them, and shows them off, (by wearing them), regularly.

Ms. Hotel Toiletries, also a collector: she collects the minis so as to put together a little spa package for overnight house guests. There is a reason for her collection, and she too shares her collection with others.

Mr. Pasta, just a little disorganized: He buys something that he likes and wants to cook, he just needs to establish a system i.e. designate one place for pasta in his kitchen, so that he can easily identify what he has, and determine if a trip to the grocery store is needed.

The behaviours of the people above don't even come close to what we consider hoarding behaviour. Most notably, people with hoarding tendencies would likely never discuss what they have. Sadly, people who hoard keep their lives a secret, or remain unaware of the harm that results from their behaviour.

Happy New Year

Best wishes to all our readers for a healthy, happy and prosperous coming year.  May all your goals for the year be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and accomplished by this time next year!

Merry Christmas

To all of our readers who celebrate Christmas, we wish you a very joyful and peaceful time with family and friends.  Merry Christmas.

Hannukkah Greetings

To all of our readers who celebrate Hanukkah, we wish you a peaceful and joyful time with family and friends.

Organize with a Camera

Many of you are opening up the holiday decorations, unpacking boxes and bins and joining in festivities with lights, wreaths, Christmas tree ornaments and those special holiday decorations that live on the mantel.  Problem is, every year there are a few more to add to the mix.  Can anyone remember how to get them all back in the box?  Packing up those boxes in January can be worse than that 1,000 piece puzzle at the cottage, full of sky and water, that no one has ever finished.


Taking a picture before everything comes out of the box can be helpful.  Take a quick photo, print and tape to the top of the box.  Letter the photo be the memory.  Now you can enjoy the festivities.

ADD Time Monitors

For individuals managing ADD, learning to manage time can be an ongoing challenge.  Professional organizers and ADD coaches often encourage the use of timers to make sure hyper-focus doesn't cause the swallowing of hours and hours of time scheduled for something else.


Here's an idea I created for a young client whose tremendous creativity sent me searching for an alternate timing device.  Create a set of playlists for yourself on your mp3 player for various lengths of time.  One might be 5 Min Playlist, another 10 Min Playlist etc.  When you have a task to complete or a job that you need to focus for a designated time, plug in and turn on your playlist that matches that period of time.  It may take a couple of attempts before you figure out the genre of music that works for a 10 minute end-of-day-get-stuff-off-the-floor task versus a 30 minute I-really-have-to-enter-in-my-expenses-today-if-i-want-to-be-reimbursed-this-month type task.


Have fun with it - its a perfect personalized tool to support your time management.

How to Win Friends: Still great at 75 years

Dale Carnegie first penned his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, in 1936.  I'm reading it as part of my Program Mentor training with the Institute for Challenging Disorganization.  Imagine my surprise when I sourced a copy at the Toronto Public Library, I found there were 17 copies and all were on loan or on reserve.


I highly recommend this read.  It is easy to get through with short, succinct chapters.  The material is as relevant today as I think it must have been over 75 years ago.  The behaviour Carnegie recommends of us does not take a university course to apply and could be initiated by anyone immediately.  A surprising amount of his directives are good common sense that we fail to remember and therefore neglect to apply with authenticity and sincerity.


Happy Birthday "How to Win Friends..."