Reese Witherspoon's Dirty Obsession

Feb. 27, 2008

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(CBS) Reese Witherspoon has an obsession that she says has led her to some questionable behavior.

But unlike her Hollywood contemporaries, it's not excess partying or shopping that gives her a rush - it's garbage.

"I like to throw a lot of things away. Particularly at Christmas, it makes me a little crazy when the trash is overflowing," she told Ellen Degeneres on an interview airing on the comedian's talk show Thursday.

"So then I put on rubber boots and I literally get into the trashcan and I stomp on the trash and Deacon (her son) thinks it is so great. We call me 'the mommy trash compactor.'"

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Witherspoon admits that her obsession has led her to some late-night neighborhood mischief.

"Sometimes I'll sneak in and look at the neighbor's garbage cans and see if it's kind of empty. I'll wait literally until the middle of the night when the children are asleep and I'll take my extra garbage and I'll put it in the can," she said. "It's horrible. And at Christmas time I was talking to my brother and I was like 'brother, sometimes I sneak into the garbage and I put in the other person's can.' And he goes 'so do I, sister.'"

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When she's not busy lurking around her neighbor's trash, the actress enjoys crafts and scrapbooking. She's also big into Polaroid cameras, and she laments they're being taken off the market.

"Every since I was a little kid my mother was very bad with 35 mm cameras pictures so she took Polaroid's of us," Witherspoon said. "I have them as me as a kid and then I put my kids in the same position and take the same picture and stuff."

Degeneres presented the actress with a few Polaroids and a basket full of film as a gift. The company no longer manufactures the cameras.

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By Judy Rosen
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