Elizabeth Chur - Oct 21, 2006 9:27 pm (#23 Total: 24)


Hi Ann Marie and the person in Ann Arbor,

Thanks so much for listening, and for writing in. Almost every person I tell about this piece pauses, arches an eyebrow, and mentions that they or someone they know has hoarding tendencies. It seems like there aren't any simple solutions, but that there are some strategies that work.

After spending so much time on this story, I wasn't sure if the heart of it was coming across (especially after editing it down so much.) I appreciate your feedback very much.

It seems like each person's relationship to their belongings, and to paring down their stuff, is very personal. For those who hoard, I wonder if there are other methods like Melodie's swatches which have helped people let go of things? What originally struck me about that story was that it was both effective and dignified. By keeping a little bit of something, she was able to let go of the bulk of it. It seemed like a good yin-yang balance.

Dianne M. Longdo - Oct 22, 2006 8:18 pm (#24 Total: 24)


Elizabeth,

Thank you for the story on Melodie. I have wondered for years how she has been doing.

I visited her apartment "before the couch" and
long before the dumpster. I was there to help her get things organized in just two days. I parked my family of three children and caregiver in a nearby (and very costly) hotel. Melodie and I threw out trash for the two days I was there.
Our efforts in no way made any difference in her apartment. I advised against the new couch, knowing full well it would just end of being a place to pile stuff. I returned at some later date to find the couch taking up full well 1/3 of that tiny main area. Melodie thought the couch was so lovely and I didn't even like the couch. It made me sad to know the eventual fate of the couch, first as storage and later as something to be stripped and sawn apart.

Melodie may seem a pathetic person in the article
on Weekend America, but she is an amazing human being. I have always considered Melodie an everyday, everyman hero. She takes her disabilities on as a responsibility and works hard to find answers and help. As a friend, Melodie touched my life in many positive ways. She helped me move, helped with earthquake reconstruction and worked with me refinishing furniture for my new home. I can reach out right now and touch the cabinet she and I refinished. Melodie's greatest gift to me and my daughter was the many hours she spent with Hanna teaching her to read. Melodie was as stubborn as Hanna and would not give up on the child until she learned to read.

I, too, tend to not throw things away, though I have not had my entire life filled to overflow. It is heartening to know that there is a movement toward help for those who can't seem to let go of anything. Many thanks to Melodie for being willing to share an uncomfortable side of her life and thanks to Elizabeth for doing the research and interviews for such a valuable article.