The Dark Side of Thrift Store Shopping
For those of us who enjoy creating a secondhand wardrobe, thrift stores are great fun. But because the prices are so low and there is such a wealth of goods, thrift stores can be dangerous places for clutterers. Many people can’t bear to throw things away, even if those things make their homes unbearable. I know because I grew up with a clutterer.
We couldn’t eat at the dining room table (always covered with stuff), were afraid to open a closet door (because of the realistic fear that some of the stuff would fall on our heads), and eventually, couldn’t even walk into most of the bedrooms (they were filled to eye level with broken furniture, old clothes and junk mail).
That was long ago, before people started going on TV to talk about their problems. Now you can follow the “Clean Up Your Messy House Tour” on Oprah as organizer Peter Walsh brings order to the messiest of homes. You can also catch the 8th season of Clean House on the Style Network. There are many books available on the subject, my favorite being the classic Clutter’s Last Stand by Don Aslett. For clutterers looking for a support group that follows Alcoholics Anonymous guidelines, there’s Clutterers Anonymous and if you’re willing to pay for help, try the National Association of Professional Organizers.
The road to cleaning up the mess starts with sorting and finding a new home for all of the stuff. While clutterers do well to steer clear of shopping in thrift stores, making donations of unwanted items helps to clear out the piles while also helping somebody else.