Packratitus is an insidious disease because it infects its host very slowly.
"Hmmm... I might need this piece of scrap. I think I'll just set it over here."
And the piles begin to grow until it becomes chronic.
"Hmmm... I might need this later. But where can I put it?"
Chronic Packratitus is usually accompanied by partial or complete blindness.
A family member says, "This place is a junkyard!"
You look around and say, "What are you talking about? This is what all well-stocked workshops look like! Do you know what I can make with all this stuff?"
Common replies are, "A big bonfire?" or "A nice home for carpenter ants?"
When your family and friends recognize the disease has become chronic, they may have an intervention with you. Friends may come over and see your shop and say, "Wow! What do you need all this junk for?!?" Sometimes the intervention is more direct, "You're a Pack Rat!"
"Hey, this stuff wasn't cheap! I might need it later." Denial is common among those afflicted with Packratitus.
But there is a cure - moving. When you are cleaning and packing all those things you plan to take to the next place, the blindness begins to fade. Denial melts away. And what you once saw as valuable will become junk and you'll be asking yourself, "What on earth did I save all this junk for?" Don't ask how I know.
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Originally Posted by Julie Moriarty
( I admit it, I can now park both of our cars in the garage.
)
