Hoarder

What makes you a hoarder.  I thought I'd do some self diagnosis and find out.  Some clues that might fit my situation.  You are unable to throw away possessions.  You feel embarrassed by your possessions.  You are suspicious of others touching your possessions.  You can't pass up a bargain.  Your house smells bad and is dirty, but you cannot clean it up.  You move stuff from pile to pile, but you don't throw it away.  You are sure that there is a treasure buried under the piles of stuff in your house.

There are many more signs, but I believe the above qualify me as a hoarder.

Now, you might ask, what could she possibly be hoarding.  Flash cards.  Yep, that's right - flash cards.  These back to school sales are so fun (fun meaning cheap).  So let's review the symptoms of hoarding that fit my situation.

1) You are unable to throw away possessions - We have sets of flash cards in binder rings, in boxes, in piles, etc.  When they get ripped or dirty (or Mocha chews them) I try to repair them.  They look horrible and can be gross, but I can't bring myself to throw them away because it ruins the set.  Crazy right? Right!

2) You feel embarrassed by your possessions - When Kevin gets home I cringe a little wondering if he is going to notice our stacks of flash cards have gotten higher.  Or gosh forbid someone comes over and sees the huge stacks of different flash cards on the kitchen table and various other places throughout the house.  Weird right? Right!

3) You are suspicious of others touching your possessions - We do flash cards at meal time a lot.  The more Nathaniel is distracted the more he tends to eat.  That being said, he likes to touch the flashcards with his sticky gooey hands.  I do my absolute best not to let him.  I can always tell when dad fed him because the cards are all sticky (that dad just doesn't follow the rules) Control freak right? Right!

4) You can't pass up a bargain - NO WAY!  That is the problem.  There is all of these back to school sales and everything is always a dollar or less.  Dr. Suess cards for $1, Animals of the world for $1, First words for 0.25 cents.... I mean I can't pass it up.  Pooh Bear on a swing teaching #'s .. how can I go wrong.  They are just so cheap and seem so useful.  Thrifty right? Right!

5) Your house is dirty and smells bad, but you cannot clean it up -  Wait, how'd this one get in there???  Did someone sneak that one in here as a hint?!?  (Kona perhaps)  

6) You move stuff from pile to pile, but don't throw it away - See #1.  I do move them around the house to change it up sometimes too.  

7) You are sure that there is a treasure buried under the piles of stuff in your house - If I don't buy all the flash cards I may miss the one set that Nathaniel will really love and learn from.  I can't hinder his future.  I mean for $1 I can't jeopardize his future.  LOL  Tiger mom right? I wish!! :)

These back to school sales kill me.  Crayons for 0.25, glue for a 0.10,  Folders for 0.25.  I feel like I need to stock up every time I'm at the store.  At almost 2 years old doesn't he need markers and construction paper and a million other things?  Especially FLASHCARDS.  

My name is Stacy and I might be a Flashcard (and possibly Crayon) hoarder.