Hoarding

lene1949 · 01-30-2011, 04:21 AM

I recently watched on TV about someone, who was hoarding... Their home was completely covered in 'stuff'.. No where to sit or lay down, no where to cook and no where to bath... Everything was covered in 'stuff' that was so important to the people, they would have a major panic attack, should it suddenly be removed...

Since then, I have researched 'hoarding', and I think we might all be guilty of that to some degree...

I certainly have the makeup of a hoarder... At one stage in 2003 I had nearly 200 rats, I kept paperwork for many years, such as paid bills, and I collected books... I'm just about to throw out some books I bought, when we first came to Australia in 1983!

Some years ago I became interested in birds... and rescued a little Green Cheek Conure. He was gorgeous, but very aggressive... I clicker trained him with so much success, I thought I could rescue every bird in the world, and I was soon in over my head in birds. There were no time to train, socialise or even spending time the the individual bird.

My children stopped visiting - they couldn't handle the noise - My grand children loved it - it was like visiting a Zoo. I also had a couple of dogs, 3 cats and some rats.

After two years, I realised that I couldn't properly look after that amount of birds and donated most of them to a rescue. I kept three.

I have a huge amount of electrical appliances I never use, and I keep buying more. I just love new gadgets.

I think my kindle has saved me... Now I only hoard ebooks.

GeoffC · 01-30-2011, 04:24 AM

I think we keep more things than we should - we still have boxes of things from our last move 20+ years ago that haven't been checked (probably rat/mice damaged by now)....

There's always the 'I might find a use for that , someday' attitude - 'cos it has happened that the week after something gets thrown I needed it !.

DMB · 01-30-2011, 05:59 AM

I was born at the beginning of WW2 in England and grew up with severe rationing and shortages of everything. I think that profoundly affected me. I hate waste and find it hard to throw stuff away. I still have a few school exercise books from the 1950s sitting around in case I need them. (I tore out the pages that had writing on them, so they are just stationery.)

I have also been collecting books since the mid 1950s. One of my reasons for getting an ereader was so that I wouldn't need to hang on to so many books. I intend to give away the majority of my pbooks.

Sweetpea · 01-30-2011, 03:03 PM

I wouldn't call anything that stays within bounds "hoarding". For me, hoarding means you're beyond that edge where you buy more than you'll need and can keep. If you only take that first one (more than you'll need), I'm a hoarder of ebooks. And books in a minor degree. It's not that I couldn't live without my books, but as long as I don't see a need, I'd never get rid of them, even though I haven't read them in a long time. But then, I've never gotten beyond the point of "over-buying". Like I love to buy books, but since we moved here (slightly over 4 years ago), I think I've bought about 10 books, simply because we don't have the space (yet) to put them (and those books I did get were either free, since I work at a publishing company, or second-hand books I've been wanting to have for a long time).

vivaldirules · 01-30-2011, 03:13 PM

I think it's natural to want to save things in case you want them in the future. If you have space, why not? After awhile, though, it's like putting on just a couple more pounds a year. Eventually, you look (or someone else does) and there's too much. The only question is how long before we bother to really look at what we've done and take action? In our mid-50's, my wife and I are now trying to slowly purge our acquisitions (both stuff and fat). I'm tired of living this way.

I can't comment on the animals since one dog....erm, hoomin.....is plenty for me.

Jaime_Astorga · 01-30-2011, 05:32 PM

I used to be a bit of a hoarder; probably inherited it from my mother. I got over it by reading a bunch of simple/minimalist/environmental/frugal living blogs (they all kinda overlap and form this big anti-consumerist cluster). If you are interested in the subject, here are some good articles you can read.

Things You Own End Up Owning You
Visualizing How Your Stuff Owns You
How Clutter Costs You Money
Minimalism 101
The Simple Life
How I Live My Simple Life
The Library Is Your Friend
Cult Of less: Living Out Of A Hard Drive
Minimalist Fun: The 100 Things Challenge
100 Ways to Simplify Your Life (And Make Yourself Happier)

CazMar · 01-30-2011, 05:46 PM

We have been on an "anti-hoarding" campaign at home recently after both having to clear out homes belonging to elderly parents who died. Neither of them were what you would call real hoarders, but they still had way too much useless junk hanging around. Since I retired I try to go through a pile of papers or the contents of a drawer whenever I get time and throw away stuff. We have donated about three giant bags of clothes, old magazines and other items to a local charity. I also gave away the tatty, dog-eared paperback copies of public domain books when I bought my Kobo. That freed up space for all the good hard cover books! I think you just have to be vigilant and keep looking at things with a critical eye - am I ever going to fit into those tiny dress sizes again? No. Will I ever wear that dress in bright magenta that makes me look like a Christmas cracker? No. Get rid of all that stuff and enjoy some wide open spaces in your house!

astra · 01-31-2011, 07:21 AM

I am obsessed with getting rid of unnecessary things.
I am a classical minimalist, with a good taste

Sweetpea · 01-31-2011, 07:28 AM

We usually don't throw stuff away, except when it's broken. Then it'll go straight to the dump (or any other location where it can be disposed of). (naturally, I do lie a bit here, the microwave that broke this summer, and the printer that never survived the move 4 years ago are still waiting in the garage, we should load that in the car one saturday and bring them away.)

But, if I look through our house (by mind's eye), I don't see a lot of things we don't use (maybe in the attic, but that's mainly because we must still clear that area, we stuffed everything there after our move...)

01-30-2011, 04:21 AM	#1
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	Hoarding I recently watched on TV about someone, who was hoarding... Their home was completely covered in 'stuff'.. No where to sit or lay down, no where to cook and no where to bath... Everything was covered in 'stuff' that was so important to the people, they would have a major panic attack, should it suddenly be removed... Since then, I have researched 'hoarding', and I think we might all be guilty of that to some degree... I certainly have the makeup of a hoarder... At one stage in 2003 I had nearly 200 rats, I kept paperwork for many years, such as paid bills, and I collected books... I'm just about to throw out some books I bought, when we first came to Australia in 1983! Some years ago I became interested in birds... and rescued a little Green Cheek Conure. He was gorgeous, but very aggressive... I clicker trained him with so much success, I thought I could rescue every bird in the world, and I was soon in over my head in birds. There were no time to train, socialise or even spending time the the individual bird. My children stopped visiting - they couldn't handle the noise - My grand children loved it - it was like visiting a Zoo. I also had a couple of dogs, 3 cats and some rats. After two years, I realised that I couldn't properly look after that amount of birds and donated most of them to a rescue. I kept three. I have a huge amount of electrical appliances I never use, and I keep buying more. I just love new gadgets. I think my kindle has saved me... Now I only hoard ebooks.

01-30-2011, 05:32 PM	#6
Jaime_Astorga Member Retired Posts: 274 Karma: 4446 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Device: PRS-350-SC: Sony Reader Pocket Edition	I used to be a bit of a hoarder; probably inherited it from my mother. I got over it by reading a bunch of simple/minimalist/environmental/frugal living blogs (they all kinda overlap and form this big anti-consumerist cluster). If you are interested in the subject, here are some good articles you can read. Things You Own End Up Owning You Visualizing How Your Stuff Owns You How Clutter Costs You Money Minimalism 101 The Simple Life How I Live My Simple Life The Library Is Your Friend Cult Of less: Living Out Of A Hard Drive Minimalist Fun: The 100 Things Challenge 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life (And Make Yourself Happier) Last edited by Jaime_Astorga; 04-07-2011 at 12:18 AM.

01-30-2011, 04:24 AM	#2
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	I think we keep more things than we should - we still have boxes of things from our last move 20+ years ago that haven't been checked (probably rat/mice damaged by now).... There's always the 'I might find a use for that , someday' attitude - 'cos it has happened that the week after something gets thrown I needed it !.

01-30-2011, 05:59 AM	#3
DMB Old Git Posts: 958 Karma: 1840790 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Switzerland (mostly) Device: Two kindle PWs wifi, kindle fire, iPad3 wifi	I was born at the beginning of WW2 in England and grew up with severe rationing and shortages of everything. I think that profoundly affected me. I hate waste and find it hard to throw stuff away. I still have a few school exercise books from the 1950s sitting around in case I need them. (I tore out the pages that had writing on them, so they are just stationery.) I have also been collecting books since the mid 1950s. One of my reasons for getting an ereader was so that I wouldn't need to hang on to so many books. I intend to give away the majority of my pbooks.

01-30-2011, 03:03 PM	#4
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I wouldn't call anything that stays within bounds "hoarding". For me, hoarding means you're beyond that edge where you buy more than you'll need and can keep. If you only take that first one (more than you'll need), I'm a hoarder of ebooks. And books in a minor degree. It's not that I couldn't live without my books, but as long as I don't see a need, I'd never get rid of them, even though I haven't read them in a long time. But then, I've never gotten beyond the point of "over-buying". Like I love to buy books, but since we moved here (slightly over 4 years ago), I think I've bought about 10 books, simply because we don't have the space (yet) to put them (and those books I did get were either free, since I work at a publishing company, or second-hand books I've been wanting to have for a long time).

01-30-2011, 03:13 PM	#5
vivaldirules When's Doughnut Day? Posts: 10,059 Karma: 13675475 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Houston, TX, US Device: Sony PRS-505, iPad	I think it's natural to want to save things in case you want them in the future. If you have space, why not? After awhile, though, it's like putting on just a couple more pounds a year. Eventually, you look (or someone else does) and there's too much. The only question is how long before we bother to really look at what we've done and take action? In our mid-50's, my wife and I are now trying to slowly purge our acquisitions (both stuff and fat). I'm tired of living this way. I can't comment on the animals since one dog....erm, hoomin.....is plenty for me.

01-30-2011, 05:46 PM	#7
CazMar Book Geek Posts: 596 Karma: 1499085 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Adelaide, Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Asus MemPad 7" tablet, Nexus 5, Asus 10" tablet	We have been on an "anti-hoarding" campaign at home recently after both having to clear out homes belonging to elderly parents who died. Neither of them were what you would call real hoarders, but they still had way too much useless junk hanging around. Since I retired I try to go through a pile of papers or the contents of a drawer whenever I get time and throw away stuff. We have donated about three giant bags of clothes, old magazines and other items to a local charity. I also gave away the tatty, dog-eared paperback copies of public domain books when I bought my Kobo. That freed up space for all the good hard cover books! I think you just have to be vigilant and keep looking at things with a critical eye - am I ever going to fit into those tiny dress sizes again? No. Will I ever wear that dress in bright magenta that makes me look like a Christmas cracker? No. Get rid of all that stuff and enjoy some wide open spaces in your house!

01-31-2011, 07:21 AM	#8
astra The Introvert Posts: 8,307 Karma: 1000077497 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United Kingdom Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 & 505 & 500	I am obsessed with getting rid of unnecessary things. I am a classical minimalist, with a good taste

01-31-2011, 07:28 AM	#9
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	We usually don't throw stuff away, except when it's broken. Then it'll go straight to the dump (or any other location where it can be disposed of). (naturally, I do lie a bit here, the microwave that broke this summer, and the printer that never survived the move 4 years ago are still waiting in the garage, we should load that in the car one saturday and bring them away.) But, if I look through our house (by mind's eye), I don't see a lot of things we don't use (maybe in the attic, but that's mainly because we must still clear that area, we stuffed everything there after our move...)

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