PSYCHOLOGY

How to Deal with Hoarders Who “Recycle”

Hoarding disorder requires professional therapy treatment, compassion, and patience.

I used to despise the idea of recycling.

Any time anyone would bring it up to me, I could feel the tension in my back, could sense the bitterness growing in me, could practically taste the disgust in my mouth. I privately, silently, loathed anyone who bragged to me about their recycling because I thought they were all lying hypocrites.

Why? Because the only devoted recyclers I had ever known, except for my parents recycling aluminum cans in my childhood, were not really recyclers; they were hoarders — and I had to live with one for over ten years.

Proper Recycling

A visit to my Aunt Wilma finally convinced me that recycling could be done neatly, cleanly, and efficiently. As we cooked supper at her home, I watched as she rinsed out her tin cans, tore the paper wrappers off, disposed of the wrappers, and then showed me the recycling bins in her garage.

They were neat, cardboard boxes — one for plastic, one for glass, one for aluminum cans, and one for tin cans. She dropped the freshly-washed tin cans into their box and was done! All she had to do was take them to the recycling center that week. She did not spend…