Declutter your life, create space, and find peace with your belongings Our possessions can be a fun window into the past, who we are, and what we hold dear—but sometimes all that stuff can get in the way of everyday life. If you identify as a clutterbug or are feeling a little overwhelmed with all your stuff, the straightforward guidance in this book will help you get organized and feel more in control of your home—and your life. This easy-to-follow hoarding workbook gives you strategies for decluttering, prioritizing your goals, and building a support team before walking you through the process room by room. With advice on both how to sort through your items and change the way you acquire things, you’ll gain the confidence you need to succeed. Inside this standout among hoarding books you’ll find: Real talk—Read stories about how other people who struggle with clutter have found ways to cope and reduce their belongings. Self-care strategies—Each chapter has a tip to help you focus on taking care of yourself with thoughtful, stress-relieving suggestions. Action plan—Simple but productive exercises will help you make lasting changes through manageable steps and everyday actions. Take control of the possessions in your life with this book’s gentle guidance.

Declutter your life, create space, and find peace with your belongings Our possessions can be a fun window into the past, who we are, and what we hold dear—but sometimes all that stuff can get in the way of everyday life. If you identify as a clutterbug or are feeling a little overwhelmed with all your stuff, the straightforward guidance in this book will help you get organized and feel more in control of your home—and your life. This easy-to-follow hoarding workbook gives you strategies for decluttering, prioritizing your goals, and building a support team before walking you through the process room by room. With advice on both how to sort through your items and change the way you acquire things, you'll gain the confidence you need to succeed. Inside this standout among hoarding books you'll find: Real talk—Read stories about how other people who struggle with clutter have found ways to cope and reduce their belongings. Self-care strategies—Each chapter has a tip to help you focus on taking care of yourself with thoughtful, stress-relieving suggestions. Action plan—Simple but productive exercises will help you make lasting changes through manageable steps and everyday actions. Take control of the possessions in your life with this book's gentle guidance.

Although the much-satirized image of a house overflowing with National Geographics and infested with cats may make us chuckle, the reality of compulsive hoarding is no laughing matter. The most common reason for evictions in the US and a significant risk factor for fatal house fires, compulsive hoarding is a treatable condition related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is characterized by the acquisition of possessions that have little or no value, which the sufferer, often referred to as the saver, has great difficulty discarding. This book, the first ever written for savers and their families, provides an overview of compulsive hoarding and how it relates to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It discusses hoarding broadly, offering readers perspectives on the physical, behavioral, and value-oriented aspects of the condition. You can use its assessment tools to help decide why you or your loved one hoards. Skill-building exercises help you determine how to beat the hoarding problem by addressing issues that often underlie compulsive saving. Even though this is fundamentally a self-help book, it contains a frank discussion about the need for professional help in some hoarding cases, how to find it, and what medications have been proven effective for savers.

In Digging Out, two psychologists who specialize in compulsive hoarding show readers with a friend or family member who hoards how to use harm reduction, a proven-effective model, to help their loved one live safely and comfortably in his or her own home and improve their relationship with the hoarder.

We all have treasured possessions—a favorite pair of shoes, a much-beloved chair, an ever-expanding record collection. But sometimes, this emotional attachment to our belongings can spiral out of control and culminate into a condition called compulsive hoarding. From hobbyists and collectors to pack rats and compulsive shoppers—it is close to impossible for hoarders to relinquish their precious objects, even if it means that stuff takes over their lives and their homes. According to psychologist Dr. Robin Zasio, our fascination with hoarding stems from the fact that most of us fall somewhere on the hoarding continuum. Even though it may not regularly interfere with our everyday lives, to some degree or another, many of us hoard. The Hoarder In You provides practical advice for decluttering and organizing, including how to tame the emotional pull of acquiring additional things, make order out of chaos by getting a handle on clutter, and create an organizational system that reduces stress and anxiety. Dr. Zasio also shares some of the most serious cases of hoarding that she's encountered, and explains how we can learn from these extreme examples—no matter where we are on the hoarding continuum.

If you are living with, are close to, or are yourself someone who is hoarding, you'll know that the disorder goes far deeper than most people realise, affecting the whole family and presenting huge challenges to the physical, mental, emotional and even financial wellbeing of anyone involved. Jo Cooke is Director of one of the UK's leading support services for people affected by hoarding and clutter, and has written this sensitive and empathetic book to help anyone experiencing hoarding difficulties. She gives insight into Hoarding Disorder - explaining what it is and, importantly, what it isn't - and what may trigger hoarding. There are strategies for how to assess the scale of situation and lay the groundwork to address it, and insights into who can help and how they can do it. An 8 step-plan gives practical steps to tackle the hoarding, supported by suggestions for what to do with the 'stuff', and advice on safeguarding - as well as techniques to support the hoarder as they attempt to stay clutter-free. There is space in the book for individuals and their own stories of hoarding, giving an empowering voice to people affected by the condition, and replacing the morbid curiosity that often accompanies it. With plenty of information on resources and therapies that can help, this is a warm and hugely practical guide that can only help anyone affected in any way by hoarding.

Describes the psychological roots of compulsive hoarding and presents practical strategies for treating and overcoming the behavior.