ARE YOU A PACK RAT? Learn Your Organizing Style Series Space #4

Do you hate to get rid of anything because it may come in handy someday? If so, you’re a Pack Rat.

When a Pack Rat puts something somewhere, without really thinking about it, there’s a good chance the item will stick around for years. Pack Rates are not necessarily slobs. Neither are they collectors in the sense that they buy and sell valuables. They just have a need to hoard and save. Does this sound familiar?

Want to be sure? Take this Quiz:

As you answer Never (N), Occasionally (O) or Frequently (F), rate yourself according to the following scale.

Never 0 points     Occasionally 1 point       Frequently 2 points____N__O_  F        

1-      Do save things because they might come in handy someday?                                                  

2-      Do you hesitate to throw something out because someone else might have a use for it?

3-      Do you hang on to things because you don’t know what else to do with them?

4-      Do you feel sentimental about your possessions?

5-      Is your home or office running out of storage space?

6-      Do people ever wonder why you save as much as you do?

7-      Do you keep clothes hoping they will come back in style?

8-      Do you feel more secure knowing you have everything you want at hand when you need it?

9-      Do you put aside things that are broken with the expectation that you’ll get them fixed one day?

10-   Do you frequent garage sales and flea markets?

                          TOTALS

0-6 points           You’re not really a Pack Rat.

7-13 points         You have strong Pack Rat tendencies.

14-20 points       You’re a full-fledged Pack Rat.

WHY AND WHEN YOU’RE A PAT RAT:

1-      You don’t understand that the value of items may change with time.

2-      You think something might come in handy someday.

3-      Your accumulations are your security blankets.

4-      You feel guilty about getting rid of things.

If you’re a Pack Rat, getting organized can be difficult. It takes a lot of energy and commitment to part with things you’ve had for a long time. What you must remind yourself of though, is the eventual rewards of having more free space and fewer possessions to clean or keep track of. Not to mention the feeling of liberation that comes with the knowledge that you’re in control of your belongings and not the other way around. 

Now I have offered you a basic outline of this organizing style but if it resonates with you and you want to learn strategies and ways to make this organizing tendency to work for you can find it all in the book:

HOW TO BE ORGANIZED IN SPITE OF YOURSELF   

We all fit into at least one (if not more) categories, and I would love to hear your thoughts as you read through the series.