While both hoarding and collecting involves people holding onto a large amount of items and objects, they are very different from each other.
One of the major differences between the two is that when collecting is healthy, the display or storage of the items being collected does not impede the use or access to living areas. Collections are organized and coherent. Often people will collect items such as action figures, currency, trading cars, vinyl records, etc. The items they accumulate are directly related to the collection and they are organized and stored in a safe manner. If a collector begins acquiring items which are not related to well-defined collections and lose the ability to keep them contained and organized, it becomes a hoarding problem. Collections are healthy and stimulating ways that people choose as pastimes, connecting them with something they are passionate about. Hoarding is a disorder which has a very strong negative impact on quality of life, often leading to them being cut off from the outside world. If you believe you or someone you love has had a collection turn into hoarding, call Junk Ninja today. We can help you clean out the mess and begin the path towards recovery.