Photo: canva.com
When I think of hoarders, I can see the room across the hall from me at the Columban Mission Institute in Turramurra that belonged to a brother Columban. There was a narrow path from the door to the bed and the sink, but otherwise, stuff was piled up everywhere—mainly books, in this case. My space looked nothing like that, so it surprised me to discover that there is such a thing as a tidy hoarder and that I was one.
Growing up in the 1950s, my parents, like many of their generation, lived by the adage “waste not, want not”. The space under the stairs in our house was filled with boxes and jars containing buttons, bits of wool, odd bits of cloth, various zips and other stuff that might come in handy one day. I have inherited the tendency to keep things that I may not have used in months or even years.
I have many old computers, phones, and power cords that I can no longer match up with anything. I use the excuse that I have kept them because I am not sure how to dispose of these things in an environmentally friendly way, while safeguarding the information on them. But I also know that the belief that things might one day prove useful and the reluctance to throw things out are basic signs that one is a hoarder.
These days, you can easily find hints and hacks for decluttering your life. A full-page article on this topic was recently published in the morning paper. However, as a tidy hoarder, my space is relatively clutter-free. I put that down in part to the Celtic influence on my life. I learned many years ago in a talk on Celtic Spirituality that a feature of Celtic design is having small, highly and beautifully decorated areas surrounded by empty space. A prime example of this style is the Ardagh Chalice.
Something of this Celtic spirit must have seeped into my soul, as that is how I like to organise my space - small, decorated areas surrounded by empty space. I am grateful that I have inherited this style from my Celtic ancestors, alongside my parents' desire to avoid waste. It puts some boundaries around my tendency to hold on to stuff longer than necessary.
Some people are at home with clutter or with designs where every inch of space is decorated as in some Greek Orthodox churches. I find these spaces are too busy and do not contribute to feelings of restfulness for me. I need the empty spaces. They remind me that life is often ordinary but can contain some very special events that really stand out against a plain background.
I suppose it also helps that I am somewhat obsessive-compulsive, so while I keep things, I do so in a tidy way. Everything has its place, often colour-coded. I am mildly disturbed when things are out of place or alignment. My OCD and hoarding tendencies are at the lower end of the scale and do not create the kind of issues faced by those at the more severe end.
Living as we do in a throw away society, I am comfortable being a tidy hoarder. I am glad to see in our society more calls for things to be made in ways that last, can be repaired or repurposed. The pressure to have the latest phone, gadget or outfit means that the piles of waste that we already produce continue to grow. There is so much waste that I feel holding on to things a bit longer is not a bad thing.
Fr Pat O’Shea lives and works in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Related links
- Read more from the current Columban eBulletin
