My Hoarder Ex is my House-Mate
by Anonymous
I feel ya.
(This post was written in response to another post, but I didn't want this to be missed as I bet others could help or be helped on the topic of Hoarders! Wendy)
My x is my roommate and is "horizontal surface" challenged. Any cleared horizontal surface becomes his dumping ground.
The only way I combat this is to take some horizontal surface and fill it up with stuff that I would normally use and then immediately put away.
Hence in the kitchen, I have a sort of space crowded with my: cuisinart, crock pot, blender, a bunch of whole grains in containers, my cocoa mix and stevia in the raw, a container into which I toss my favorite cuisinart attachments. This is the lengths I have to go to.
The basement?
Oh, the top of the dryer is ALWAYS full of his stupid clothes.
The ironing board? Full of his crap.
My egress step ? full of his stupid weights, clothes, etc.
Sometimes I take his crap and put it on his exercise bike, which is placed SMACK DAB in the middle of the bedroom.
The basement pantry shelves? He throws his crap all over them leaving no room for groceries.
SO SELFISH. He has his own bedroom, so much furniture stuffed in it you have to walk sideways, angling your feet every which way.
Shops constantly. OH YES, LOVES empty boxes. Might need those suckers some day, right?
It does help to stop being considerate and putting your own stuff away. Let him squeeze into the leftover spaces. It won't change him, but at least you will be able to have some surfaces for his stuff.
The lovely dining room table? Oh, yes, his unfolded newspaper of course is tossed over your meager place mat. I have marked off my placemat and some area around it with a few of my books, salt and pepper shakers, a goblet.
It helps if you intrude into the area he would normally consider his stomping ground.
So, is the glass half empty or half full? I must occasionally take a little revenge and I will do something annoying that he will never guess I did, nor will I tell him.
It is worth it just to see the almighty HIM frazzled once in a while.
