Toy Chest - Toys - Hope chest

help I am a packrat of mega proportions. I am totally unscheduled and maybe have add as I am so distractible.

I want to force myself to throw away some of my stuff and be more organized. I went from a big house with basement and attic to a small townhouse to a tiny apartment. I have a gigantic storage shed full, another storage shed I built on my mom's, one half the attic at my mom's and some of garage and her I filled up 5 of the storage sheds (smaller)..I am only supposed to have one but people did 't use them..the house is full.

I get emotionally attacked to everything. I may be moving in a year or so to a slightly bigger place. If it is away, I do not think of it but feel safe..when I look through it I do not want to throw a lot of it away but cannot bring it here. I am thinking of working on my house first and then tackling the boxes--maybe going through and throwing some away and organizing contents so I know what is where.

for instance, I have about 20 boxes of children's clothes that have been in storage years--my youngest is 27 now and oldest is 34. I have several toy boxes
that the kids do not want but I am emotionally attacked to..I have maybe 60 picture albums and probably 100 boxes of papers..I have no clue where to start or how to force myself to throw some of this away..I fill eventually I will be happier and less stressed if I can get rid of it..how do packrat compulsive, very emotional types do this. please help as I am trying to do some self improvement I am a sanguine melocholy by nature and am INSP (meijer's briggs) and I think this is part of it. I also compulsively shop and since I am poor use thrift stores and dollar stores to feel better but really this messes me up..I also have a great deal of trouble cleaning house..it is always a mess.

Answer
You seem to know what the problem is and you know how to fix it but do not wish to fix it. The problem is working for you at least some of the time. As you said yourself, the stuff is filling an emotional need and making you feel better.

There are many strategies for fixing the problem including sorting into piles, throwing away things you haven't used in years, getting better storage systems, etc. They don't address the underlying problem which is your emotional attachment to continue to live in a way that makes you very upset.

If you address the root of your attachment then you could easily clean things up in a few weeks as you have obviously thought about it. Otherwise, you will simply (as you stated yourself) get rid of the stuff you have and then get more to replace it.

It might help to read articles about the psychology of hoarding such as the one below. Hoarding may ultimately be an inability to make decisions. I'm sure all of us have this problem to one extent or another. Good luck!

http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/psychology-of-hoarding/