People tend to amass possessions, sometimes without being aware of doing so.Indeed they can have a delightful surprise when they find something useful which they did not know they owned.Those who never have to move house become indiscriminate collectors of what can only be described as clutter.They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics for years, in the belief that they may one day need just those very things.As they grow old, people also accumulate belongings for two other reasons,lack of physical and mental energy, both of which are essential in turning out and throwing away, and sentiment.Things owned for a long time are full of associations with the past, perhaps with relatives who are dead,and so they gradually acquire a value beyond their true worth.Some things are collected deliberately in the home in an attempt to avoid waste.Among these I would list string and brown paper,kept by thrifty people when a parcel has been opened, to save buying these two requisites.Collecting small items can easily become a mania.I know someone who always cuts sketches out from newspapers of model clothes that she would like to buy if she had the money.As she is not rich, the chances that she will ever be able to afford such purchases are remote;
