This scientific article needs additional citations to secondary or tertiary sources.(August 2018) |
Compulsive decluttering is a pattern of behaviourde that is characterised by an excessive desire to discard objects from one's home and living areas.[1] The homes of compulsive declutterers are often empty.[2] It is the opposite of compulsive hoarding.
Compulsive decluttering is a type of disorder that is classified within a broad name, obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. Compulsive decluttering is the act of throwing items, or clutter, away, or getting rid of them in an attempt to "clean up" what one with the disorder may think is cluttered. Even though it is the polar opposite of compulsive hoarding, the two are related because they both fall under the umbrella of OCD in different ways.
Because a clean environment typically looks better and more organised than a "cluttered" one, people can start to get into the habit of decluttering, which can lead to the extreme of compulsive decluttering.[citation needed] People can often misunderstand compulsive decluttering with a typical spring cleaning, often due to the fact that somebody with the disorder tends to declutter year round.[1] People that have compulsive decluttering disorder think that any items around them are cluttering or disrupting their everyday lives.[2] Throwing these items away gives them satisfaction, and gives them the idea that they are in control of their lives.
Other terms for this behaviour are compulsive decluttering disorder, compulsive spartanism[3] or obsessive compulsive spartanism.[4]
:2
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).