HOARDING IS NOT against the law, especially if you own your house. Cities, however, have brought pressure to bear on “collectors” by enacting hoarding ordinances such as the ones in Houston and Los Angeles. So where does a hoarder go? They move to unincorporated towns in rural West Texas. Like cities with large homeless populations, little towns with no laws have large numbers of hoarders. In my village, the hoarders are all men. They are retirees who buy a house on an acre or two and proceed to fill up the house and the land with junk.

Since hoarding has been classified as a disease, people with “hoarding disorder” are beyond the reach of our county regulations. The Mayo Clinic defines the diseases as: “A persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. A person with hoarding disorder experiences distress at the thought of getting rid of the items. Excessive accumulation of items, regardless of actual value, occurs.”

Maybe West Texas attracts hoarders because of our fondness for “recycling” big machinery. The Texas oil patch is full of wrecking yards, equipment salvage yards, and pipe yards. Idle equipment and supplies dot the highways that lead to Midland, Odessa, and other West Texas cities. Acres and acres of equipment are a common sight. Wideopen spaces are tempting to someone who wants to fill up space. Ultimately, small towns are hoarders’ destination because the laws there are lax or nonexistent.

Hoarding disorder afflicts people worldwide. Approximately 2-4 percent of the world’s population suffer from hoarding disorder. There is even a nonprofit organization that studies hoarding: Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). That’s right. Internationally hoarding is called “disorganization.” An international ICD conference will be held in Orlando, Florida, this September featuring researchers, therapists, doctors, and other experts on disorganization.

Helping individuals with hoarding disorder is like helping people with addiction issues. It is a self-diagnosed condition. In other words, hoarders, like addicts, have to realize they need help. The ICD website publishes an interesting diagnostic tool you can download for free. The Clutter-Hoarding Scale is a checklist you can use on an observation walk through a residence. The Clutter-Diagnostic Scale measures the house on five levels: Low, Guarded, Elevated, High, and Severe. The checklist helps determine if someone lives in clutter or is a serious hoarder.

The hoarders in my village seem content with life here. Most of them know each other and do not cause any problems. What is objectionable is the sight of the disorganization mess spilling out of their houses and yards. The words eyesore, squalor, and trash come to mind.

On the other hand, the hoarders serve a civic function. They have become a disposal system for the town. Residents have learned that if they put appliances, furniture, old tile, rugs, or pots and pans outside near their trash cans, the hoarders will pick them up. In fact, ANYTHING left outside will disappear quickly. My cousin was trimming live oak trees on some lots he owns. He cut limbs into firewood and neatly stacked the small logs against a tree before breaking for lunch. When he returned to finish the job, the firewood was gone.

The sad realization is that while our property is neat and clean, our discarded junk and clutter are in the hoarders’ yards. We passed it on. Maybe we have to accept that hoarders and junk are here to stay. I try to take comfort in thinking that the future will be like the first Star Wars movie where Luke Skywalker’s Uncle Owen buys the discarded droids R2-D2 and 3-CPO from a junk dealer in a galaxy far, far away. One person’s trash is truly another person’s treasure.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mary Jane McKinney is the founder and CEO of Grammardog.com LLC, a publisher of grammar exercises. She has used her English degree as a teacher, editor, reporter, and marketing executive. Readers who have questions or comments on this column are welcome to write to the author in care of The Canadian Record, PO Box 898, Canadian, TX 79014, or by e-mail at: fifi@grammardog.com.