Are Minnesotans Hoarding More Now Than Before the Pandemic?

My first job after getting laid off five years ago was with the United States Postal Service. A good union job was hard to come by in Brainerd, so landing this job was pretty cool.

I was part-time, but was told to still expect to work 30 hours a week. There were enough side hustles available to supplement my income, and with several career postal workers set to retire in the next few years I was on track to get my own route without toiling in part-time purgatory for decades. I was stoked!

Then, in March of 2020, a little thing happened.

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My part-time job became a 70 hours per week "part-time" job as the USPS was buried underneath everyone's Amazon orders.

This comes as no surprise to any delivery driver: the number of hoarders in the U.S. doubled. Instead of using their Economic Impact checks on rent and necessities, many folks bought thousands of dollars worth of...stuff.

The post office was not prepared (to be fair, the world wasn't prepared), and that cushy postal job became a nightmare.

Check out this article about the gross extremes of hoarding.

Hoarding has become its own distinct diagnosis. The stress of the lockdowns sent people looking for serotonin in their Amazon carts.

After not having nearly enough time to spend with my kiddo, I left the post office in the Fall of 2020 and haven't looked back.

H/T: Daily Mail