Wondering where you got all that junk? Here are 4 possibilities.

You’ve seen “Hoarders” (maybe even plowed on to “Hoarders: Buried Alive”), so you know that there are people with a lot more junk than you. But your basement is still overcrowded and you’re having trouble fitting your car in the garage. How did this happen? Here are four common reasons that your extra belongings are crowding your home:

Grown up kids. With each passing birthday, your kids outgrew something else (not including all those clothes and shoes). One year, they’re happy to play in a sandbox or kiddie pool; the next, nothing but a slide or swing set will do. Soon, even those are replaced with laptops, gaming systems, and smart phones.
Change in living situation. Speaking of the kids growing up, are you planning on moving to a smaller home when they ship off to college? It’s common for empty-nesters to decide that a one or two bedroom home suits their needs better than a larger one. Or, maybe you and your significant other need to consolidate your things as you prepare to move in together. Maybe your job needs you to relocate across the country. These endless possibilities all lead to one outcome: more junk than you can handle.
Updated furniture. Sure, style changes most often in fashion – Oscar Wilde called it a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. Nevertheless, our tastes still change. Perhaps you remodeled your kitchen and now your traditional living room seems out of place. You will need to do something with your patio set now that you have your eyes on a new wicker one.
Frequent new hobbies. Did you pick up a treadmill and bench press at a garage sale only to rediscover your passion for rock climbing? Did your interest in welding peter out when you decided that you prefer carpentry? Reaching your inner muse can take time and crowd your space in the process.

Whatever the reason, having junk that you don’t use is perfectly normal. (Hoarding, on the other hand, is often related to OCD.) We’re here to help you keep your living space neat. In the process, we repurpose what we can and donate it to local veteran organizations. Like they say, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.