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This is a thorough and helpful self-help book for those wishing to learn how to clean out their house while battling the compulsive thoughts that drove them to hoard. It is still rather dry reading and still relies heavily on a rational, logical approach, but the authors have a humorous and light touch and are much more detailed, systematic, pragmatic and practical than the hoarding specialists they learned from, who wrote their own self-help book, Buried In Treasures a few years after.

This book focuses much more on the actual process of the clean out. Through them I actually learned what is meant by cognitive therapy as applied to hoarders and that is to use rational questioning techniques to challenge the automatic thoughts with Aristotlean logic. They categorize automatic thoughts into those that cherry pick the negative, using feelings to prove yourself right, overgeneralizing and jumping to conclusions and all the rest of the guilt making tools of blame and black and white thinking.

They suggest using flash cards to identify the automatic thought, then categorizing the thought per the above cherry picking and finally reframing the thought in a more even handed rational and positive fashion to foster self-encouragement.

In the same fashion I was more clear about exposure with response prevention E/RP technique. And this is to identify a source for acquisitions such as a garage sale at the high end of the desire scale (using SUDS rating system) or a grocery store at the low end, then expose yourself to these sources of compulsive acquisition starting with the low end and practicing resistance while noticing anxiety level.

SUDS=subjective units of distress scale

This book works for me because it involves exploring one's thoughts and writing them down rather than being led through hypothetical thoughts in a workbook style. And the step by step program to target an area and systematically remove each item one by one, appealed to my do-it-yourself nuts and bolts approach. Their three and a half boxes system includes a save box, throw out box, display box (for items belonging in the space) and a to-do immediately box for things found that need urgent action. I have not used a display box before.

I also liked that they go for clearing a space that will offer a visual reward, then moving on towards hidden storage like drawers and cupboards. This is my method to build momentum on the visual success. And they describe how to break down a project and focus on it in a way that is very plain speaking and descriptive which is where the rubber meets the road in self-help books.

This book is required reading for hoarding specialist certificate.

Buried In Treasures by Earthworm

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The leaders in hoarding research have written a self-help book for hoarders. In it they are kinder towards professional organizers than they were in their more recent book Stuff. In fact they confess to having borrowed quite a lot from us. This includes the actual process of sorting, then categorizing. They even offer a list of categories. And it's true many of my clients are unable to categorize at all. Categories have to do with conceptualizing and generalizing and my clients see each item as something unto itself. Categorizing is one of my talents since I am good at both language and conceptualizing (customized to the client).

Authors also like the Only Handle It Once rule and give it an acronym–OHIO. Handling it once is very difficult for one of my hoarders. I think he has about six levels of handling before he can finally make a decision on it. I suggested he bring it down to two. When he trusts me more I'll try to sit with him and ask him what he is thinking about each item.

Most of the book, however, is about brain clutter and there are many exercises with fill-in the blank questions to help the hoarder understand their thought patterns and assess their feelings about their environment, their acquiring habits and their motivation. They also divide thoughts into "bad guys" and "good guys". The bad guys are 1)Lack of priority, 2)Unhelpful beliefs, 3) Overthinking, 4) Avoidance/Excuse Making, 5) Going for Short Term Payoff (indulging in the pleasure of acquiring things). Each of these comes with workbook style exercises.

Good guys are 1) Eyes on the Prize 2) Downward Arrow (asking what would be bad about throwing X out and what would be so bad about that and so on), 3) Thinking It Through (asking rational questions), 4) Behavorial Experiments (using scientific process to prove or disprove thinking processes), 5) Skill development using organizational techniques, strategizing.

Chapter on motivation comes down to giving yourself a good talking to about the hazards of hoarding. Then to visualize a room in the house to discover anxiety level when imagining it to be less cluttered. Then imagine possible new uses for it once clutter is eliminated. This would only work for me if the program included a quest or high value goal with a great deal of meaning or purpose, but these elements not mentioned here. As far as motivating my clients, I don't try to. I just start and if they are ambivalent eventually they realize I'm just going to make them do it, make them decide about things. I'm not big on the question of motivation if something needs to be done. I don't let that be the issue. For my own tasks, I just find a way to make it small enough to be feasible.

As someone who likes self-help books, I give this one a thumbs down. It is just too wordy. I don't like being led through exercises and the visualizations were boring. It did not capture my imagination or my motivation. The good guys and bad guys part were a clever idea so more helpful.

Very few in the general population seem to master something through self-help books and even less of the chronically disorganized. A lot depends on the emotional stress tied up with the project in question and the resulting self-esteem level. I know that I cannot bare to read investment material anymore. Nor could I learn martial arts or a musical instrument with a book, but for hands-on craft-like projects, a lot is possible.

This book is required reading for hoarding specialist certificate.

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