Jane Brody recently devoted her NY Times “Personal Health” column (Tuesday Science Section: 11/22/11) to the subject of ridding yourself of clutter.  Her personal form of clutter seems to be unnecessary things bought on sale, while my own is anything that seems to embody family, friends, or moments from the past, though she does mention the memorabilia of her 42-year-old twin sons, which her late husband collected from the time the boys were in preschool. Brody was writing less about serious hoarding—of the type that gets you on reality TV—than about the kind we all do to one degree or another.

The Collyer Brothers became posterboys for hoarding in 1947 when their bodies were found buried in trash.

Her column was prompted by a new book, The Hoarder in You: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life, by psychologist Robin Zasio, which Brody writes is “about the best self-help work I’ve read in my 46 years as a health and science writer.” Quite a recommendation. Besides explaining the source of the problem, the book offers what sounds like sensible advice on how to overcome resistance and get yourself to discard what you don’t need. I’m getting the book. The fact that Brody thinks the subject is appropriate for a column on health definitely gives me pause. I’ve tended to think of my ever-expanding collection of personal relics as material poetry, but I am beginning to see it may have crossed the line into pathology.

I’ve forgotten who gave me what I think is the best bit of advice for my type of hoarding: if you want to discard something but can’t quite let go, take a photo of it. Having preserved an image of the object, you may find you no longer need the thing itself. Which brings me back to the art installation of Rachel Perry Welty: What at first seemed merely fascinating and insightful, has become an object of inspiration.