hoarding hoarders

Dammit. I may be addicted to yet another tragically bad reality show: Hoarders. Watching the show is now one of our guilty pleasures. It's just so...gross. People who started with a couple of animals, a little collection of old magazines, a penchant for shopping the sale racks, a feeling that you have to keep things because you may use them "someday."

It makes me think...am I a hoarder? I mean, let's face it. I have a lot of shoes.
A LOT. And I don't like to get rid of them. They may come back in style, they may go with that one future outfit, they may get more comfortable. I have over a hundred pairs of shoes. This picture is just of the boot closet...the brown boot side. Hoarder.

Let's talk about Nature's Seasoning. Best spice EVER! It's THE secret ingredient in Mom's famous potato salad (which I now pass off as my famous potato salad). And over the years it's become harder and harder to find so when I see it at the store, I buy lots of it. Sometimes all of it. I probably have over 20 bottles of it. I like other spices too. If the apocalypse comes, I should be well equipped to barter with my Mormon pantry-loading neighbors. Trade you some oats and rice for some spices that makes your stuff taste good! Still...Hoarder.

And then there are bikinis, books, MAC eye shadow and lipsticks, photos, recipes...yep, I am a hoarder of many things. I'm not alone. Scott hoards boat stuff - ropes and fenders and life jackets, and motorcycle stuff and old Wasatch Marine logo t-shirts. And we both hoard episodes of Hoarders on Tivo.

So the question is, at what point are you an official hoarder as opposed to just a collector or a regular human being? Apparently, it's when your shit overtakes your life. That's it, shoes! You stay in the closet!

Footnote: I started this blog as a bit of a joke, and then when I saw the photos I thought...Oh my god! I may really be at the front end of a problem! Some serious closet cleaning is happening as we speak. And I need to organize my suits.