Monday, 10 December 2012

Keepers and Chuckers


Pic Courtesty of 6 Minutes of Interesting Stuff for Doctors Today

I am fascinated by the extremes of the Human Condition.  I have been obsessed with the reality TV program "Hoarding: Buried Alive" on Foxtel's Bio channel. I can't get enough of it and I am really interested in the deeper rooted emotional and psychological issues that cause individuals to compulsively accumulate and hoard.

My friend Catherine Merchant has recently produced a program for ABC RadioNational - "Keepers and Chuckers". It deals with the very subject. Merchant explores the fine line between attachment to objects and hoarding. The show is about learning to get rid of things.

Our relationship with stuff is highly idiosyncratic. Some people like to hang on to everything they've ever acquired in a ramshackle and dishevelled style; others crave minimalism and bare spaces. Some say they are 'organised' hoarders; others like to keep everything for a while, then go on throw-away binges. And then there are those who believe ‘junk’ is something they will need a few days later, if they do get rid of it. For them, everything is a resource. No matter our style, 'stuff' is what we must deal withand it's everywhere. Keepers and Chuckers