March 12, 2004
Finally a Diagnosis
The Collyer Brothers are the bad boys, nay, the archetypes, of Clutter.
When I happened upon the link Disposaphobia while searching for their story , I got a litttle worried, but also I found relief. If worst comes to worst, I can always hire these folks.
Advertised as solutions for Clutterers, Hoarders, Pack Rats, Messies, OCD's ADD's and the depressed. Also for smart people who cannot to make good choices about what they need. Sadly, I could identify with the FAQ. I personally think that I'm a Messie ADD with Cluttering tendencies. I loved the parts about respecting the person who has made the mess. It was very compassionate.
Esther Hicks channeling Abraham would be delighted, since viewing this site changed my vibration. It brought me relief. Now that I know what my problem is, and that there's help for sale, by people really understand, I will probably be able to begin clearing out all by myself. I can also compare my piles to those pictures on the site, and feel some satisfaction that most of my clutter is inherently more beautiful and aesthetically arranged.
My good friend's husband had this problem in spades. She always said, laughingly, but it wasn't funny, that he had a "penchant for rust". He would attend auctions recreationally, and buy army surplus bayonets and antique printing presses. When he died, my famiily was willed a number of nuclear warheads (A comfort to me, just in case I need them for a prop. They are quite a sleek. At his Memorial Service, there were two rows of nuclear warheads outlining the entrance to the auditorium. It was a joke. That was before I had a digital camera. )
My friend was convinced that there were treasures in the mess that he left. I'm absolutely sure there were. I, personally, coveted his button collection -- boxes of button samples circa 1920 sewn onto cardboard cards. I know he had a huge box of brass Victorian bathtub accessories and a famous piece of ambergris .
My friend is convinced that his kids, by his first marriage, took all the good stuff. I doubt they could have found it. Unfortunately, my friend could never trust a dealer to come in and take a look, so two weeks berfore she moved, four strapping adolescent boys with an eye for antiques, filled two, five-ton dumpsters with stuff. It was a tragedy. Even when they spotted something of worth, and pulled it from the jaws of junk, they had no idea how to deal with it properly -- the architectural books, drawings and artifacts, or the 60's Peter Max posters -- much of it was tossed.
My friend's husband had ADD and OCD. She has been depressed since he died -- her new house is as cluttered as her old one.
Photo note: Artfully arranged clutter, Mexico.
Posted by Dakota at March 12, 2004 04:38 AM