Hoarding

I know I have obsessive traits. That’s why it didn’t surprise me that I spent all weekend watching every episode of A&E’s “Hoarders” and TLC’s “Hoarding: Buried Alive” that was available on demand on cable. The shows are gripping, telling the stories about people who’s OCD caused them to acquire so many useless possessions that they can no longer use their homes, resulting in broken families.

After watching all of these shows, I started thinking about my friend Matt, who recently graduated from college. Matt’s apartment is cramped with books, magazines and furniture, and trying to walk through it is dangerous, which I learned is an obvious sign of a hoarding problem. I’ve talked to Matt about this in the past, but he denies that anything is wrong. Emboldened by the knowledge I gained from psychiatrists and other experts on the shows, I went about trying to help Matt with his problem.

Since Matt wouldn’t admit to hoarding, I took matters into my own hands. I rented a large dump truck, hired two Mexican day laborers, retrieved Matt’s spare key from under a flower pot, and went to work clearing Matt’s apartment of clutter while he was at work. By the time we had finished, I was pleased. Matt’s apartment was spacious and easy to navigate.

When Matt came home, he was not happy. To him, the reason for all the clutter was that he lived in a small studio apartment. He claimed the books and magazines that we disposed were needed for his job as a technical writer. He also claims that although the furniture we removed did clear space, he no longer has a TV or a bed or futon for sleep.

Sometimes you do a good deed and the recipient is still ungrateful.