Thanks Turtlesoup, I just turned 47 on the 4th, so we're not far apart in age. I don't think I'm a hoarder, nor my boyfriend. In my case, my boyfriend bought this house out of desperation because his first two choices quickly sold before he had a chance to get them, without talking to me first. My OCD wasn't happy with this house, and the short version is, since it didn't feel fully "clean" to me, if I dropped something on the floor or missed the trash, I couldn't pick it up. My boyfriend never got around to helping with cleaning up (he hadn't in our apartments, either, but I had less of a problem with them because they were "cleaner" to me), which he admits to laziness. I've gotten lazy myself because of how overwhelmed I feel, but also because I've gained quite a bit of weight. I'm working on losing weight, but I've only just started. As the trash collected on the floor, it just took over. And it's not all me, which my boyfriend will tell you, because he's thrown magazines into piles that he never threw away. His office is full of stacks of mail, folders, trash (not mine) and more. My issues with dust make cleaning very difficult, because any shifting of the trash will release dust in the air and onto my "clean" things.

Another problem you mentioned is correct: I need more space for my things. Almost everything I own is in my small bedroom, except for clothes and a bin I have in the living room to hold and keep clean things like diet sodas, notebooks, tissues, etc. Almost everything I own (mostly books) is in bins (now I can't get into them because I got behind in the cleaning) and anytime I wanted something in them (before they got dusty), I'd have to dig for it. I am so tired of it all, but my OCD is too strong. I've been better and I've been worse. My OCD doesn't stay at one level.