Who Else Here Has Packrat-itis?

I'm still not through shredding and throwing away old papers.  I decided to work on it some more today, and I was amazed to find documents dating back to 1996!  My poor little $13 shredder can't handle that much paper in one day, so I shred for about ten or fifteen minutes and continue about 30 minutes later.  The shredder no longer shuts off automatically, so I think it is on life support.

I come from a family of packrats - mainly the females in the family.  When I was a child and my grandmother lived with us, she used to stash things like snack cakes and crackers in her clothes drawer.  I don't blame her since she experienced the Great Depression and she also lived in poverty as a single mother. 

Since my mother grew up poor, she regularly stuffs the house with food and toiletries.  Her main explanation for this is that if the public is instructed not to leave home, we'll have everything we need.  Also, she was caught off guard by a snowstorm once, and now she dashes to the grocery store after work and buys a ton of goods even if it starts to rain.  Of course, this comes in handy when one of my sisters is short on cash and decides to "shop" at my mom's.  Fortunately, my mom's a die-hard bargain hunter, so she almost always buys everything on sale or if she has a coupon.

My siblings have similar issues.  My older sister has a large collection of items from her teens, mainly school stuff like from the prom or graduation.  My younger sister scopes garage sales on the weekend looking for kitchen gadgets, furniture and accessories.  My younger brother has a large TV Guide collection, which I think he may have started in middle school.  As for me, I have an assortment of office supplies, tools, and books (most of them half-read or unread).  I don't have enoguh space for all of my clothes, most of which I got secondhand, and even after donating several bags, I still have clothes coming out of my ears.  I have two computer towers that I hope to fix and use for myself or a young relative, and my nieces are constantly giving me new drawings.  Occasionally I get fed up and start tossing things out, but I have so many small items that I get overwhelmed.  I hope to find a better way to categorize them and get rid of everything I don't need.

Sometimes, when I throw something out, my mom will see it and try to rescue it.  "Why are you throwing this out?  It's still good," she says.  If I don't pull it out of the trash, sometimes she'll take it out and keep it for herself, but since we both have a lot of things, that sort of defeats the purpose.

I believe I became a packrat for several reasons.  First, I remember times when someone needed an item and I could not help them because I did not have what they needed.  If someone asks me for an item, I want to be able to check my stash, give the thing to him or her and "save the day".  Second, I also remember times when I needed something and didn't have it, so I think to myself that if I ever see it in the store, I will buy it and never have to "suffer" again.  Third, I misplace things a lot or I forget what I have and I buy it again just to discover later that I already had it, but then I think that having two or three instead of one is a bonus because If I have to give it to someone or if it breaks, I'll still have one.  Finally, my mom taught us to be self-sufficient and never liked the idea of us having to ask anyone for anything, so she tried to have everything beforehand, so we now try to have everything before we need it - if that makes any sense to you.

I've watched dozens of organization shows and have some books, but I still haven't categorized my stuff the way I should.  Things I've recently used are scattered throughout my room because I didn't put them away when I was finished. I have some things in my view so I won't forget that I have them.  I have plastic bins, but the groupings are too vague.  For instance, I have a bin for household items, but I have everything from batteries to bug repellent in there.  I have a bin for health and beauty aids, but it has lotions, sinus medicine, nail polish and more bug repellent.  I bought this cute set of wicker baskets, but all three of them are filled with stuff, and there is no category.  I still have to dig to find what I'm looking for, so I may need to change my M.O.

The worse part is the clutter.  I can clean off my dresser, and it looks the same way it did in a couple of days because I had to look for something.  I believe my room is cluttered because my mind is cluttered, cluttered with painful memories and so on.  This is the worst I've ever been, so that's probably it.  My room is usually a reflection of my state of mind, and when I'm in a better mood and under less stress, I don't have as much clutter.  I think that once I finish getting rid of this clutter around me and properly categorize what I have, my mind will be clear as well. It may be challenging to organize a room where I eat, sleep, read, watch TV and use the computer, but I'm sure it's possible.  Maybe after that, I won't have such a hard time throwing things away.

Does anyone else here have or used to have trouble throwing things away?  What did you do about it?