Ellen Hankes

Holiday Discussions Turn to Loved One Who Hoards

The holiday meal is enjoyed by several generations from tots to teenagers to seniors. Relatives have a chance to visit and catch up on family news. For some families it is a gathering to share ideas on how to help family members who are hoarders.

It is estimated in the United States that there are as many as three million hoarders. These individuals may look, talk, work and appear like any other person. They also may be individuals who have isolated themselves socially and are at great risk from a health and safety standpoint. Extreme clutter in the living space is likely to be a great concern of family and friends even if the loved one who hoards shows little or no concern.

Families who gather at the holidays may take the opportunity to develop a plan to address the adverse hoarding condition in which their loved one lives. The very first step should be reading Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding & Compulsive Acquiring. This book will give you insight into the changes family members may need to make as well as provide a greater understanding of what your loved one is experiencing. This is more than a how-to book and contains numerous tips and checklists to find solutions through a harm-reduction approach.

How has your family or friendship circle worked together to help a loved one? We would like to hear from you!

Addressing Your Layers of Life

  The early morning or late afternoon walks along the Wabash Trace are wonderful for counting blessings, solving life opportunities (no problems, just opportunities), and soaking in the wonderful fall sensory pleasures.

There are so many layers within the wooded trail. Year after year the leaves fall, the branches and brambles break, an occasional tree becomes more horizontal than vertical. Layer upon layer of material piles up. What was once on top of the pile sinks to the middle, or even to the bottom of the material.

As I walk I think about the wide and varied interests of the fascinating people we have encountered. For some, one new hobby or interest falls on top of the other interests. Overwhelm sets in as there are not enough hours in the day or room in the workspace or home to accommodate all of the material. Things seem to pile up in the brain with the most recent interest falling to the top, obscuring what was important yesterday and the day before.

Come along on a walk with me, and we will talk about your opportunities for addressing your layers of life! We can also talk or email. Let's talk about those layers of life and how you can prepare for the important things ahead in your life!

Milestones in Serving the Chronically Disorganized

  
 Milestones are an important way of measuring our progress on the goals we have set for ourselves. As I completed the nearly two year process for being named a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization (CPO-CD©), the journey seemed full and rich. As I reviewed everything I had learned and done in those months, it seemed as though I were putting hinges on once separate learnings. With the hinges, now the myriad of learnings came together in a very useful way.

My CPO-CD© counterparts are noted on the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization list. Our specialized training in organizing for the chronically disorganized included skill-building in areas including emotional techniques and boundary setting.

My goal is to better serve my clients. She or he may be an individual in a residential setting, a business person in a corporate environment, a child needing some help with organizing, or a participant in one of my workshops or seminars. We can help you become more productive and organized!

What milestone have you set for yourself? I would like to hear from you!