The Wrong Stuff

Ours is a materialistic culture with an insatiable appetite for stuff, but at what point does that appetite cross the line and reach unhealthy levels? Researchers estimate that more than six million hoarders live in the United States. And whether we're savers, collectors, or compulsive cleaners, none of us is free of the impulses that drive hoarders to extremes. But exactly how, when, and why do these otherwise normal impulses and experiences develop into hoarding? Dr. Randy Frost in his new book Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things explains. My conversation with Dr. Randy Frost: