Hoarding??

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:19

According to Joshua Greenberg, 62% of us hoard sale items at the supermarket. I can believe that because I've watched Goodwill employee's wheel a 'new' donations cart out and witnessed the pushing and shoving that takes place.

Have you ever considered why we hoard? Chipmunks are famous for hoarding, but why do I hoard stuff? Webster defines hoarding as a supply of stored or hidden items for future use; a cache. Somewhere in my brain I see reservoir's of STUFF accumulating without purpose...that's hoarding to me!

UOCHD is a website dedicated to understanding our need to hoard. Listen to how they describe it.

"Hoarding is often a specific symptom of OCD which results in people keeping large amounts of items that to the outside world are considered excessive or worthless/useless...Many elderly people deal with hoarding and may have had a life-time of accumulating stuff that gradually got worse as they got older...For those who hoard, it creates a vicious circle in which they almost literally become trapped."

In the meantime, Greenberg suggests three ways to guard against hoarding...

1. Buy what you need. Stores use tricks to lure you into buying more than you need...beware!
2. Watch out for 'end of the aisle' sales. There's a reason why premium-brand products on sale get such prime real estate: to lure you into buying a brand you'd normally think is too expensive. Remember to compare preimium brand prices with low cost items.
3. Be wary of perishaable-goods sales. While it can be a good idea to stock up on perishable items such as chicken, produce and cheese, make sure your supply & demand will make it a good buy AND make sure you have enough freezer/refrig space for the sale item.