Hoarding Is A Hard Habit To Break Poem by Paula Glynn

Memories in too many objects from years ago
Ornaments sitting on cluttered bookshelves
Stored in rammed chest of drawers full of junk
Old birthday candles and unusable matches stored
Old birthday cards senders no longer caring about stored in there too.

Even electrical items like chargers, old mobile phones and wires unused
Stored uselessly in dining room cupboards
When advertising companies on the Internet take electricals
The customer making the profit from this trade
Electricals like old phones and tablets worth a fortune.

Old books and magazines littering the lounge floor
Never read books and outdated magazines hard to ignore
When tripping over them to watch TV
The clutter so bad you cannot see
But this is not the way it has to be.

Cleaning products never used despite all the best intentions
Gathering dust in kitchen cupboards
Ageing ungracefully and wasting space
Everything never in its place
Surfaces caked in dust and sickness causing bacteria.

Objects used once or twice soon forgotten
Random plastic bags full of bits and bobs
Even old shopping lists hurriedly put in
Bursting to the seams of forgotten future dreams
Events gone to years ago remembered by theatre tickets.

Even old train tickets kept as if a reminder
Of drawers full of photographs and letters
Keepsakes important for the homeowner
Even the fridge covered in school reminders
School events and homework done by the kids.

The clutter of middle class abundance
Even the teenage girl with extensive makeup
Strewn about higgledy piggledy in her bedroom
Her bedroom floor covered in clothes
Her wardrobe and chest of drawers full to bursting.

Laundry seldom done and dishes left dirty in the sink
The hoarder's stockpiling just begun
Their attachment to objects excessive and unreal
No one needing all that useless stuff
No one needing sickness due to a house health hazard.

The attic full of old family members memories
And their memories showing through in old photographs
The swiftness of time unforgiving
And now a home full of old and unusable kitchenware
That does need clearing out for good this time.

The fridge needing organizing and old food thrown out
The freezer needing urgent and professional defrosting
The food cupboards needing emptying of old food cans
This all done within a few weeks of hard work by helpers
The hoarder finally going to receive the help they do seek.