Are you a "hoarder"?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I'm sure most of have seen that TV show, where obviously sick people have homes jammed to the ceiling with trash. You may not be one of those, but is there something you just can;t throw away? For me, it's paper. Ya know, receipts, bills, statementsI had a cubby hole underneath the steps. That's where my stash of paper was hidden. If I wanted to know what long distance calls I made in 1972, ( Remember those expensive 'long distance' calls), well I had the statement. I don't know what it is with all those paper receipts, bills, and statements. I just can't throw them away. Who keeps 20 year old phone bills, but me.
Is there something you just can't throw away. Are you a little bit of a "hoarder".
 

Parents came through the big one in '29 so growing up with a hoarding mother and me having OCD issues it became a battle. I ended up with one hoarding sister and 2 children whom took after their grandma. I get rid of anything I can't use immediately. Don't collect any memorabilia other than memories.
 
fuzzy, I use to be like that...I couldn't part with anything...I use to save Birthday cards and any other cards people have sent me.. I'm now
reading and getting rid of most of them...I found receipts bills and statements from10 years ago....I shredded many but still have more to shred..
But I'm not a hoarder.... I just had 2 bags of clothes, took them to the bin's for anyone who need clothes...I also put my husband's very nice
jackets in the bins.....Some not even worn... We just threw out 4 garbage cans....We bought 2 huge cans instead of the smaller ones....
We have bottle and cans in a can and garbage in another can....
 
Yes somewhat of one BUT ..... nothing even close to what you imagine or see on tv. By hoarder I mean that I have collections of things I have a difficult time getting rid of such as: a bead collection for making pretty hair accessories, fleece and faux furs for sewing doggy coats for our girls, and my favourite cards as in birthday / Christmas cards that have sentimental value. These collections have a specific place in our house. It probably is more of a collection but my husband loves to yank my chain and call me a hoarder. 😂

I don’t know how others can live with rooms and rooms filled with ‘stuff.’ No way will that ever happen.
 
I once was and probably could still be a hoarder of books and collectibles but I now choose to live in small, easy to keep homes. Hoarding does not work well now.
 
Books, books and more books . Also journals and notebooks. The attached picture shows the books in my small bedroom. The others are up in the attic. I also have my books positioned for height, largest ones first. There are also in sections e.g German language books, novels , art books, classics ,non fiction etc etc. I did work in a few libraries over the years.!!! :) When I start to label them up by the Dewey Classification System I think I might need help . ;) Ooh apologies for fuzzy photo, don't know how that happened.:unsure:
 

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fuzzybuddy said:
If I wanted to know what long distance calls I made in 1972, ( Remember those expensive 'long distance' calls), well I had the statement. I don't know what it is with all those paper receipts, bills, and statements. I just can't throw them away. Who keeps 20 year old phone bills, but me.
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And me. Just went through some paperwork from our business the other day.I have all the records dating back to at least 1984. We sold the business 10 years ago. Way past the time when we might possibly need anything pertaining to the business. I`m sure I have old bills and other things that are older than this. The only thing I got from your post was a good idea for storage of this stuff.Under the steps? Front steps or back steps? Or inside the house? J/K. Our house "came with" a commercial kitchen that`s attached to the garage. It`s a huge room and my "stash" fits well in the corner. I saw that one of our local banks is having a "shredding event" on Monday-just a drive though and you stay in your car.I may just load it all up and throw it in the back of my car and take it down there!
 
Doesn't everybody hoard something?
I started dumping quarters in a plastic box years ago. It's full now. And I don't even use a coin laundry!
 
I've never really understood why people keep old paid bills, especially now when you can access almost anything electronically. Or even back in prehistory when everything was on paper -- has anybody ever asked anybody for their electric bill from 10 years ago? I know people who keep old paid bills and the cancelled checks they paid 'em with. Unless it's something for tax purposes, or something like a birth certificate or a deed, etc., I shred any paper I get as soon as it's taken care of; and wherever possible I've gone paperless.

You can get covered up in your own paper detritus if you're not careful.
 
My grandmother and her sister were hoarders. Thankfully, they were "clean" hoarders, not the ones you see in the TV show walking around on a 3-foot layer of garbage, bottles full of urine and dead cats (you think I'm kidding about that? Just watch one of the shows!)

My grandmother was pretty much a borderline hoarder but the house was kept very clean and clear. My great-aunt put everything in boxes and stacked them up until there were only corridors down the middle of rooms. She had things like 50 years of phone books, every comb she had ever had, clothes from 60 years ago, but all neatly packed away in boxes with bleached and starched doilies on top of the boxes.

Now I fight off any hoarding tendencies that might crop up. I will admit in the past I had a hard time getting rid of some things that might come in handy some day, y'know? I stopped hoarding for good when I sold my house and moved in with the Spousal Equivalent. I had the garage sale to end all garage sales and IT WAS GONE! There went the four punchbowl sets I had moved from place-to-place (and used only once in my life). There went the vintage tools. There went the records. Whoosh went the tchotchkes that I thought I couldn't live without. Goodbye all the vintage clothing. I felt very liberated.
 
I am continuously working against the tide of paper that comes into the house as well as clearing out stuff I don't need. My wife is better about this than I am, but it takes effort to stay on top of it.

When I settled my father's estate and cleared out his house I was astonished at the amount of paper he had. Everything else was pretty reasonable, but I burned up two shredders getting rid of stuff that had his SSN on it.

One of my Aunts is a certifiable hoarder and fortunately I will not have to participate in cleaning out her stuff. You can barely move in her house.
 
I don't like clutter and once I start to feel like there is too much stuff... I donate to Goodwill. They know me by name, already. o_O The only thing I do collect are greetings cards that I have received from my husband. Oh, and I still have all of my wedding stuff, i.e. dress, bouquet, etc. in a box. :oops:

I even have my shoes I wore, a size 4 1/2. Boy, have times changed. I don't think I could even get that wedding dress over my head. (Just kidding).

My husband, even though he denies it, is a book hoarder. I dread the day we have to move.4443fb1c0005d2d5b1cc2a0b3372bb00[1].jpgaa80bd51e5c93db34472b3f7ec072ddf[1].jpg
 

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