Stuffed

An estimated two percent of Americans are compulsive hoarders, filling their homes with so much stuff that it's a challenge to walk from room to room. Stuffed profiles three such hoarders: Jim, who thought he was a 'collector' until health inspectors were called to his apartment; Judith, who walks sideways between stacks of clutter and doesn't allow anyone into her cave-like residence; and Betsy, who has controlled her hoarding impulses somewhat since moving into a new home with her husband. Combining interviews with the three subjects together with comments from researchers, filmmakers Arwen Curry and Cerissa Tanner's Stuffed explores the reasons for hoarding, looks at various items that hoarders collect, and offers strategies for overcoming the compulsion to hoard. Collected items may actually be valuable, or may represent the hoarder's personality. Judith shows off her countless collector-quality dolls and explains that her apartment reflects what's inside her mind, but expresses relief after putting some things in storage. Jim, who good-humoredly admits that most of his home is unavailable for use, describes how he tries to spend 30 minutes at a time clearing space. Betsy bickers with her husband about his efforts to limit her hoarding, admits she has a 400-piece Victorian dollhouse kit in storage that she's never told him about, and explains that she's now trying to collect food, which can (at least) be consumed. Newsreel footage from 1947 highlights the case of the Collyer brothers, whose New York City brownstone was so crammed with stuff when they died that it took officials weeks to find the elder brother's body amongst the trash. Informative and often funny, Stuffed puts a human face on a particular type of obsessive-compulsive behavior. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)