23. Children are also affected by a parent's pack-rat behavior. They may resent having the family's living space taken over by piles of possessions and may hesitate to ask their friends over because they are embarrassed by the excessive clutter and disarray. One child of a pack rat said, "As long as I can remember, I've always warned people what to expect the first time they come to our house. I told them it was OK to move something so they would have a place to sit down. "Even the adults may rarely invite non family members to visit because the house is never presentable.

24. Children may also be caught in the middle of the escalating tension between their parents over what to do about all the stuff in the house. But whatever their feelings, it is clear that the children are being raised in an environment in which possessions are especially important and complex emotions.
25. Our clients and other people we have consulted have helped make us aware of the problems pack rats can pose for themselves and those around them. Now we hope that a new study of excessive savers will provide some preliminary answers to a number of deeper questions: What predisposes people to become pack rats, and when predisposes people to become pack rats, does hoarding typically start? Can the behavior be averted or changed? Is excessive saving associated with earlier emotional or economic deprivation? Does such saving cause emotional distress directly or are pack rats only bothered when others disapprove of their behavior? Do pack rats run into problems at work the same way they often do at home?
26. Whatever additional information we come up with, we're already sure of at least one thing: This article will be saved forever by all the pack rats of the world.

From Lynda Warren and Jonnae C. Ostrom, "They've Gotta Keep it: People Who Save Everything," San Francisco Chronicle, "This World," May 1, 1988. Originally published in Psychology Today. Reprinted with permission.

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