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I came across this older article whilst searching the term "compulsive de-cluttering" and "opposite of hoarding". I have come to believe after a few months of researching my symptoms that this describes the way I've been since as far back as I can remember. I tend to throw/purge items from my home almost as soon as I purchase them and will go so far as to throw out old sentimental photos or keepsakes when the overwhelming urge strikes me to "clean out my space", only to deeply regret it later. It even translates over to electronic clutter. I am obsessed with deleting e-mails and emptying my trash, sometimes well before I should. For example, I'll delete shipping notices for online purchases and then not have the tracking number when I need to track it. I have to close out my social media accounts with all my notifications cleared or I feel uncomfortable and anxious.
I have yet to meet anyone else like this and am curious to know if anyone else here exhibits these symptoms?
I kinda am the opposite as well. When I have too much going on in my email, I will delete them all and not even want to look at them because I know it will take me ages to go through them at that point. I do regret it later though as you say. I can't just delete one I have to delete the whole damn box. I just did that today actually. I didn't finish my emails so I bulk deleted. I feel bad about it because the emails is how I make money but I didn't want to have to deal with it later.
It's kinda annoying because my mom likes to keep stuff so it makes for an interesting living arrangement. I guess it kinda works out in a way because we may be able to keep each other straight at times.
I don't like to completely waste stuff so I don't throw pencils away but I do try to use them up..so much so that I've bruised my finger in sharpening them.
Probly if you let me I would throw out my birth certificate no joke. I have certain sentimental items I do keep but as far as physical clutter I try to keep it to a minimum. If it wasn't for my mom I would throw away my bank statements and I don't like to keep receipts especially. I have probly wasted for example toiletries because I can't be bothered to keep it when there's only a little bit in the bottle.
I'm kind of a contradiction when it comes to data. I'm a digital picture hoarder (GIFs esp) but at the same time I want organized clutter so one time I ended up doing a clean out of my computer and I deleted something I was working on and never finished without even being aware of it. Before I knew it it was gone. I'm still mad about that.
So I would probly be a mild case since I do have a good amount of possessions and do try to think about what I really need but sometimes I do get obsessive about it. I have a great attention to detail in general so I have OCD in general I think. It doesn't limit itself to clutter. I used to not worry about my capitalization in my posts so every post was written in small letters. Well this forum had a rule about that so they warned me to change my posts. I did but then I had to feel compelled to change all my posts that way so I looked at posts I had written YEARS AGO and edited them because it threw off the aesthetics for me.
I also have a tendency to wash my hands a lot like my mom. I don't feel right unless I wash my hands after I pick up my dogs crap WITH A BAG so I don't even have to touch it with my hands to need to feel that way.
Last edited by Nickchick; 06-03-2016 at 02:58 PM..
If it wasn't for my mom I would throw away my bank statements and I don't like to keep receipts especially. I have probly wasted for example toiletries because I can't be bothered to keep it when there's only a little bit in the bottle.
I do this. I throw away bank statements, receipts, paycheck stubs and then when I go to do my taxes or I need to apply for anything, I have to request items so that I can complete everything. Toiletries do not survive long in my house, as I am constantly buying/tossing/re-purchasing items. I live alone, so there is no one to curtail my obsessiveness...I annoy myself!
(Side note: I'm such a goofball - why didn't I go correct that link in the OP while I still had the chance? Sorry about that, folks.)
My sweet late mother was a compulsive de-clutterer. She used to throw away her old (i.e. vintage) jewelry, cards, pictures, etc. I used to beg her not to trash stuff before I could look at it, whereupon she gave me the nickname of "trash picker". I still remember a favorite crystal necklace with a rose in it that she chucked out, even though I had asked for it; she said it was just a piece of junk. Perhaps this is why I became an antiques dealer when I retired.
If you want to know what makes you do this compulsive thing, you will have to do the work. See a therapst. Talk through stuff. Dig up memories.
It sounds as if your compulsive throwing out does interfere with your life, so I'd find a talk therapist to try and make sense of how you feel you must act. You probably feel anxiety about having stuff around, so you throw it away to alleviate your immediate anxiety. Then you regret not having something you have thrown out because suddenly you realize you need it.
For goodness sake, don't throw out your completed tax forms! Save them for seven years, then throw them out.
I go thru a phase of wanting a very minimalist decoration/look/life. So I take everything away, all the decoration, all unnecessary clothes..etc. It feels so clean and fresh. But luckly I don't throw them away, I put them in a box in basement. A month later, I might visit a cousin or see a house on magazine with beautiful deco & my mood will change & all my rooms/my life looks too plain. Then I slowly bring few in.
Its a continuous cycle for me go all out or go all in. I suggest maybe box things for 6 months before throwing out
I go thru a phase of wanting a very minimalist decoration/look/life. So I take everything away, all the decoration, all unnecessary clothes..etc. It feels so clean and fresh. But luckly I don't throw them away, I put them in a box in basement. A month later, I might visit a cousin or see a house on magazine with beautiful deco & my mood will change & all my rooms/my life looks too plain. Then I slowly bring few in.
Its a continuous cycle for me go all out or go all in. I suggest maybe box things for 6 months before throwing out
This is different than obsessive or compulsive behavior, it's just choosing a change of pace.
If you want to know what makes you do this compulsive thing, you will have to do the work. See a therapst. Talk through stuff. Dig up memories.
It sounds as if your compulsive throwing out does interfere with your life, so I'd find a talk therapist to try and make sense of how you feel you must act. You probably feel anxiety about having stuff around, so you throw it away to alleviate your immediate anxiety. Then you regret not having something you have thrown out because suddenly you realize you need it.
For goodness sake, don't throw out your completed tax forms! Save them for seven years, then throw them out.
I think it stems from a period about 10 years ago where I had everything taken and/or lost. All I had were the clothes on my back and $5 in my purse. I spent a good year building my life back up from that point to where I am now - self-sufficient and independent. There is a certain strange comfort to me in knowing that despite what possession or material good I throw away, I can always build back up. In my warped way, it is a comfort to me to know that tossing it all away does not equal doom. Does that make any sense?
I think it stems from a period about 10 years ago where I had everything taken and/or lost. All I had were the clothes on my back and $5 in my purse. I spent a good year building my life back up from that point to where I am now - self-sufficient and independent. There is a certain strange comfort to me in knowing that despite what possession or material good I throw away, I can always build back up. In my warped way, it is a comfort to me to know that tossing it all away does not equal doom. Does that make any sense?
It does make sense. Also, the less you have, the less worry about losing it all again!
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