(Photo: Minnie Ng with her secret stash in her two-bedroom apartment in Taman Yarl, Kuala Lumpur.)

By TAN CHOE CHOE

MINNIE Ng is 33-years-old, a marketing executive with an IT company, single, and a self-confessed shopaholic.

She loves clothes and considers herself "in", a fashionista abreast with the latest trends. Being seen in an out-of-season piece is a big no-no. But her shopping habit is giving her some serious housekeeping problems.

Her wardrobe is bursting and the only guest room in her two-room rented apartment in Taman Yarl, Kuala Lumpur, is now filled to the brim with clothes and all other things she has bought but no longer uses or needs.

Among them are jewellery boxes, plastic plants, dumbbells, stationery, handbags and books.

Ng, however, has not been able to bring herself to throw out or give away any of those things since moving into the apartment three years ago.

"I keep telling myself I'll get around to throwing out the unwanted bits to turn it back into a proper guest room but somehow, I always manage to find a reason to put it off," she says wryly.

Now, the thought of cleaning up the room seems rather daunting "because there're so many things I need to go through".

On top of the clutter at home, she also has a hefty credit card debt -- a whopping RM13,000.

After much "lecturing" from her closest friends, Ng is trying to stop shopping, "well, maybe for two months".

"If I cannot pay, there is always the Counselling and Credit Management Agency to help sort me out."

Juwita Ahmad, 32, of Ampang, is having trouble trying not to get into a shouting match with her mother-in-law, a 69-year-old retiree, about the latter's "collecting habit".

"We have a terrace house in Balakong that we can't stay or rent out because she has managed to fill it up with all the things that she does not use, does not need, but does not want to throw away. It's crazy!"

She is even hoarding stuff that her sons bought but no longer want.

"Whenever my two brothers-in-law, who are still living with her, bin some stuff, she will go and rummage through the rubbish to see what can be salvaged."

The house is more like a godown now and Juwita has to bring a maid to clean the place every weekend.

"There is no convincing her. Everything has a sentimental value so it can't be thrown out. Or it is too sayang (wasteful) to be thrown out. Another favourite is 'you never know when you will need it'."

Once, Juwita convinced her husband that they needed to take matters into their own hands and help her mother-in-law "de-clutter".

They got someone to come in and cart off some of the "junk" in the Balakong house a year or so ago.

But her mother-in-law freaked out when she found out and ordered that her things be restored to her.

"She broke down and cried. She even accused us of trying to drive her out of the family. I didn't want to give in but my husband told me not to agitate her further."

Has she thought of counselling help for her mother-in-law?

"After the last fiasco, my husband has decided to indulge her. To him, it's just a bad habit and he has decided to accept it."

Scrap collector-cum-second-hand dealer Hee Kien Heng, 39, says he has been asked on many occasions to come and cart off items that people have bought but do not need.

"When I am asked to go to their homes, it is usually when the collection has gone quite a bit out of control. When they call me, they need a driver and a lorry to ferry the stuff away," says Hee.

Most times, he is asked to take away unwanted furniture, "most of which can still be used with minor repairs... some look quite new too".

Clothes, minor electrical items like kettle, fan, toaster and light fixtures are also on the list of common items.

Hee says these can fetch quite a good price in the night market as there is high demand among migrant workers for second-hand goods.