Free Lose the Clutter, Lose the Weight by Peter Walsh

often do you avoid trying to discard possessions because it is too stressful or time-consuming?
18. How often do you feel compelled to acquire something you see (e.g., when shopping or offered free things)?
19. How often do you decide to keep things you do not need and have little space for?
20. How frequently does clutter in your home prevent you from inviting people to visit?
21. How often do you actually buy (or acquire for free) things for which you have no immediate use or need?
22. To what extent does the clutter in your home prevent you from using parts of your home for their intended purpose? For example, cooking, using furniture, washing dishes, cleaning, etc.
23. How often are you unable to discard a possession you would like to get rid of?
    Scoring: To find your score, first add up your answers to questions 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 22. These questions make up the clutter component of this questionnaire. This score will give you a sense of how much trouble the physical clutter around your home is now causing you.
    My clutter score = ______
    Next, add up your answers to questions 4 (reversed), 6, 7, 13, 17, 19, and 23.
    Be sure to reverse your score for question 4 because of the way it’s written. For example, if you circled 0, switch it to 4, and vice versa. If you circled 1, switch it to 3, and vice versa. If you circled 2, it remains the same.
    This score measures how intensely you feel the need to save objects, or the intensity of the difficulty you have discarding them.
    My difficulty discarding/saving score = ______
    Finally, add up your answers to questions 2 (reversed), 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, and 21.
    Again, make sure to reverse your score for question 2.
    This score measures your need to buy new items or get them for free, as well as how your desire to acquire has affected your life.
    My acquisition score = ______
    Now add all these scores together to get your total score.
    My total score = ______
    If you gave this questionnaire to a general crowd of people, on average their scores would be:
    Clutter—8.1
    Difficulty discarding/saving—7.8
    Acquisition—8.1
    Total score—24
    On the other hand, if you gave these questions to people with hoarding problems, their scores would likely be:
    Clutter—more than 17
    Difficulty discarding/saving—more than 14
    Acquisition—more than 9
    Total score—more than 40
    When we gathered our test panel, we asked them to take this survey, and I suspected their scores would be high. Much to my surprise, however, their average clutter, difficulty discarding, and aquisition scores were in the hoarding range, or just below it.
    TEST PANEL SAVING INVENTORY BEFORE
    Their total score, on average, was 41.5—just into the range you might see in someone with a hoarding problem. Some had a total score well under 40, and some had a score that was substantially higher.
    Keep in mind that a high score on this quiz
doesn’t
in itself mean that you have hoarding disorder. You’d need to go to a qualified mental health professional for a diagnosis of that.
    The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) underwent a big revision before its current version, the DSM-5, was released in 2013. This is the manual that guides mental health experts on recognizing and diagnosing hundreds of mental health problems. To be diagnosed with hoarding disorder, the DSM-5 says you need to:
    Have persistent trouble getting rid of or giving away possessions, whether or not these are things other people find valuable
    Have this trouble because you feel a strong urge to save items and/or you feel distress when parting with them
    Have so much stuff in your home or workplace, as a result of these issues, that you can’t use at least some of the spaces for their intended purpose
    Experience significant distress or problems functioning as a result of these symptoms
    I included this survey as a tool to help pinpoint where you have particular problems