Part 2/7:
It’s easy to understand the impulse behind keeping items. Whether it’s a fear of waste or the anxiety of not having enough, many of us cling to what we might deem “useful” someday. Before we know it, our homes become cluttered, making it difficult to locate the things we do need.
Statistics show that around 2% to 6% of people globally may grapple with hoarding behaviors, with approximately 19 million people in the United States alone affected. However, the reality of hoarding is often more subtle; it can manifest as a stuffed kitchen cabinet or repeatedly wearing the same clothes due to the overwhelming anxiety of sifting through an impossibly cluttered closet. The subtlety of this issue can often go unnoticed until the piles begin to appear.