NeatFREAK

I’m a neat (and clean) freak.  Anyone else share this affliction?   Well, now we have something useful to explain our neurosis: A Clutter Too Deep for Mere Bins and Shelves.

An excerpt:

Excessive clutter and disorganization are often symptoms of a bigger health problem. People who have suffered an emotional trauma or a brain injury often find housecleaning an insurmountable task. Attention deficit disorder, depression, chronic pain and grief can prevent people from getting organized or lead to a buildup of clutter. At its most extreme, chronic disorganization is called hoarding, a condition many experts believe is a mental illness in its own right, although psychiatrists have yet to formally recognize it.

We’re not the crazy ones – it’s everyone else!  I knew it!

Update: I came across this fantastic advice from the Maverick Philosopher:

I make it every year and I break it every year: Handle each piece of paper only once!

Let’s say you have just come in with the mail. Without pausing to pour coffee or stroke the cat, fire up the shredder and open the trash barrel. Shred the credit card applications, pay the bills, file the financial statements. Deal with each piece of paper on the spot. When in doubt, discard.

A second: Every day throw something away. Lighten your load. Simplify. Battle your inner packrat!

These are excellent suggestions.  Do them and you’re on way to becoming a neatfreak too.  At least, you’ll make life easier for the neatfreak in your life.