Are You A Hoarder?
Posted by Gail | Filed under Bad Habits!
No, I’m not talking about that horrible television show that mesmerizes viewers as they watch people baste in their own detritus. I’m talking about run-of-the-mill hoarding that overtakes the best of us.
I hoard books. I’ve been a book beastie for as long as I remember. I still have a couple of books that I brought with me from Jamaica and my childhood, like my poetry book and a sadly out of date book on Asia (back then they still called the city “Peking”.) I know why I haul the poetry book around; it’s still one of my favourites. The other book, not so much. Just nostalgia, m’thinks.
Maybe there’s a particular thing you like to hoard. It might be shoes. It might be glassware or dishes. It might be DVDs, washed-out butter containers or those little trays you get at Timmys when you drive through. Hey, as I’ve gone through people’s cupboards, I’ve seen it all.
I’ve stopped buying books. I have a stack of about 6 on my shelf that I haven’t read yet. My eyes aren’t what they used to be what with all the driving and computer work I do. I do buy books from Audible.com for my Ip-Od but I don’t hoard those. Or maybe I do but they’re taking up so little space I don’t count it. But I won’t buy another book until I’ve made my way through the ones I gave myself for my last birthday.
I’m making an effort to use up what I have. I’m starting with the bottles and bottles of shampoo and conditioner I gave myself and Alex last Christmas – my girl has a bath products fetish that she came by honestly. I’m also including candles that I’ve stocked up on because I love the smell of those Pier One ginger peach honeys, especially after my oven has smoked up my house. And then there are the 309 varieties of tea I have because everyone knows I love tea and people keep giving it to me in all its iterations. Not buying any more until what I have is all gone.
Some people hoard food. I used to but I’m over it. Some people hoard clothes and then wear the 5 outfits they’re really comfortable in over and over and over. Some people hoard their memories. They have boxes and boxes of cards, letters and photos that they simply cannot part with because each holds such meaning. Some hoard stationary, wrapping paper and cards. Some hoard ornaments. Some people even buy space to hoard their stuff; witness the growth in the storage industry.
If you’ve ever been in the home of a scrapbooker you know those folks are the Queens of Hoarding. They often have more supplies, stamps and accoutrements than they could ever hope to use. It isn’t just about the scrapbook they’re making this week. They shop for all the scrapbooks they’ll ever make in their whole lives.
I was talking to my cousin the other night and we got on the topic of knitting. I’ve taken it up and am enjoying it thoroughly. A wonderful woman named Colleen sent me her mother’s knitting needles and I just buy enough wool to complete whatever project I’m working on. Vansie has fallen in love with wool and has four drawers full. So she gave up buying wool for Lent. She was so passionate when she talked about wool and knitting magazines and patterns that I think she’ll be clearing out another drawer to make room for more wool as soon as God gives her a pass.
So it’s ‘fess up time. What do you like to hoard? And if there’s something you’re working on getting rid of, paring down, minimizing, what’s your strategy and how’s it working for you?
September 6, 2010 at 8:51 am
I am a food hoarder as well. I almost break into a sweat if I can see the back of my fridge or get remotely close to the middle of my deep freezer. And it’s awful! I actually decided last night that for the first week of school I was only going to buy milk and any fruits/veggies we use up this week. The meats won’t be bought fresh, but taken out the morning of so it could thaw in time for dinner. I felt so in control of my hoarding when I used to follow meal plans, but being a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants grocery shop the day of for tonight’s meal I will never be.
Happy Labour Day Gail. I hope Alex settles into her first year of post-secondary education smoothly. She had a good teacher.
September 6, 2010 at 9:56 am
I hoard paperwork; paystubs and memos from jobs I had so very long ago. Just in case that boss comes back to bite me on the arse.
As for the rest, I’ve had to really pare down when our family of four moved into a one story house. I hate clutter more than I hate worrying that I threw out “something I might need some day”.
September 6, 2010 at 9:58 am
I too am guilty of book hoarding. I’ve made a rule that I can’t buy anymore until I’ve read the piles I’ve got. Plus, I’m getting better at letting books go. I used to think I had to keep everything I read, but realized that wasn’t going to be practical as I kept reading more and more. Luckily I have good friends who read lots too, so we share and pass books amongst us.
September 6, 2010 at 10:06 am
As a knitter, I totally get the yarn thing — like scrapbooking, it’s all about the possibility!!! But the beauty of the stash is being able to dive right in and make something amazing. I’ve got enough sock yarn to make at least 20 pairs, so I’m not letting myself buy any more until I’ve worked through a lot of that, but winter is coming…. That said, I’m going on a road trip this week and I do plan to buy ’souvenir yarn’ if I find it on my travels, especially locally-produced handspun I can’t buy here.
I also tend to buy multiples in clothing, especially pants. Like many women, I find it difficult to find pants that fit well, look good, and are comfortable, so when I do, I buy two pairs, especially if the price is right! I’m not super interested in fashion for its own sake so chances are good that I’ll wear them out.
But these days I’m all about “enough” — using and enjoying what I have instead of focussing on what I don’t. I don’t shop recreationally any more, and my stuff is in reasonable enough quantities that I can know what I have and avoid buying duplicates.
September 6, 2010 at 10:12 am
I have seen a few episodes of those hoarding shows. Some of them are enough to turn your stomach. Those people, it seems, come to that point in their life by sheer laziness, by the way they were raised, or by some mental disfunction.
I think all people ‘hoard’ something. And in varying degrees. In most instances, though, it has not gotten completely out of control.
As I look around my home, and at the lives of my friends and family, I see a different examples of hoarding.
My grandfather hoarded money. The man used to cheat me at backgammon and cards when I was a child just to take my quarter. He always had to play for money. The man paid off a house in four years during the depression at the expense of his family’s needs. And in his later years, he made it obvious that the more money you had, the more respect you deserved in his eyes… didn’t matter if you came to have the money through less-than-honest ways.
My father hoards food. He’s better now, but some days I don’t know how he finds a thing in his fridge.
It took him some time to adjust his buying habits after my brother and I left the nest. And later, he was still buying for two long after my mother passed away. He grew up in a time when it was a regular occurance to go hungry. He never wanted his children to live through what he went through. I thank him, and my mother, for the good childhood I had.
My mom used to hoard yarn, and material. But… she was an avid sewer, quilter, and knitter. Sadly, the yarn and material collection outlived her. I know she’d be happy that her knitting needles are being put to good use, Gail.
My husband hoards media. He still has his entire vinyl album collection from his younger years. He still has boxes and holders full of cassette tapes. He still has a turntable, but the records haven’t been played in 20 years I bet. We have no way to play the cassette tapes. He has a chest of drawers full of VHS tapes. We made progress on those though. He went through them and only kept the ones that are not available on DVD. We sold a bunch in a garage sale two years ago, and donated the rest to a garage sale this spring that was put on by our local animal shelter. Now he’s discovered Blueray. Oysh ! We sold some of the duplicates that we had in a garage sale recently. We still have enough that we could open our own movie rental store. Gail, I can just hear you if you saw his movie collection. haha
Myself, I think I hoard food, books, crafting supplies, and puzzles. I always have to have a well stocked pantry, and there always needs to be something in the freezer. I made progress though by selling some puzzles in a recent garage sale. I have removed a shelf worth of books that I know I’ll never read, and will be taking them to the local ‘Sally Ann’. As for my crafting supplies, I haven’t bought any in some time. I will be putting some of the material, yarn, etc to good use as I am setting up a booth at several craft/christmas sales this coming season.
There are so many more examples of hoarding in folks that I know, but it would take forever to list them all.
As I look around me, I only see 7 things that I kept from my childhood. Okay, 9. But the miniature rocking chair that I sat in as a toddler, and the small bookcase are put to good use. And the piano music books get used all the time, now that we have a piano. As for the Easy Bake Oven, the Lincoln Logs, doll house, toy farm, Mattel Picture Maker, and the Intellivison game, some day I will part with those. Maybe.
September 6, 2010 at 10:17 am
I used to hoard craft supplies for all those wonderful crafts I made/was going to make for everyone for Christmas, and all the young children of friends and families…
After 10 years of sitting in my basement collecting dust, I cleared them all out this summer and sold them at a garage sale this weekend. Now they can collect dust in someone else’s house.
I also spent several days moving my CD collection onto my computer, backing it up onto a usb stick and my iPod and out went the CDs in the garage sale…
How I spent my summer vacation – purging the various hoard collections in my life and selling them. It feels great, as long nothing else moves in to take the place of those collections, which has happened in the past!
September 6, 2010 at 10:18 am
Me? I’m not a hoarder at all, though I do have the tendency to WANT to hoard. It’s a war inside me because I hate clutter but love sentimental things. I see the hoarding impulse in my son especially – everything holds enormous sentimental value to him, even a scrap of birthday wrap from SOMEONE ELSE’S birthday, if you can imagine! I’m trying to help him overcome his compulsion to save everything. It’s not easy!
The rest of my family tends to hang on to stuff they don’t need, not so much because they are hoarders, but because they don’t have time to sort it or are too lazy to go through it and toss it.
While *I* try to keep my own stuff at a minimum (just what I’m comfortable keeping in my small space), the rest of the people I live with keep everything. One of these days I’m going to rent a disposal bin and just empty the whole darned house into it when no one’s looking!
September 6, 2010 at 10:25 am
I don’t think it’s wrong to keep some things from your childhood. My daughter is still playing with the Barbie clothes my cousin gave me when she became a teenager. There are coats labeled ‘1965′ and they look fabulous and she’s having fun. My daughter had a geneology project for school, and we went into my “memory box” my mother put together for me in one of my dad’s Acme boot boxes. We looked through all my grade school pictures, all my report cards right up through college, graduation cards, etc. We had a blast, and as my aging family passes, it’s reassuring to know I have a little bit of my family history to pass on. We also found the family tree information in my baby book, and the family history from my paternal grandmother’s family that starts just after the Revolutionary War.
September 6, 2010 at 10:26 am
I chuckle because I posted this week about all the lotions and stuff I have and am on a crusade to use up.
I was a book hoarder. I have probably bought close to 5000 (or over?) during my lifetime. I’ve really cut back the buying. Maybe 3 a year. I use the library instead. Slowly through garage sales I have whittled down the stash.
I have a tea stash too. I am often given it by my students. No more buying til I use up all the stuff in my classroom cupboard.
My parents were born at the tale end of the depression. My father jokes “I WAS the depression”. He hoards the most. I suspect it is very hard to lose the habits that were ingrained in you in your first years of life.
September 6, 2010 at 11:31 am
My dad has always been a bit of a hoarder, when we tried to throw things out as kids he’d literally take things out of the garbage and save them if we didn’t want them. So we learned to just unload the things we didn’t want in the basement, and contributed to the problem.
I moved out of my parents’ home for the first time to go away to university a few weeks ago. There’s a fair bit I decided to store at my parents’ house. There’s also a fair bit of things I decided to give away or donate, such as books I’ll never read again. My parents still live in the same house since I was born so we never moved and never learned how to pare down our belongings for moving. It was a really great exercise and has actually made me want to be a minimalist.
September 6, 2010 at 11:34 am
I find myself to be a bit of a hoarder these days. I have a chest freezer full of food and my pantry is pretty full too. I think this comes from having recently lived overseas where you need to “stock up” on things because the next time the store may not have what you need until the next shipment comes in (which could be months away!). Now that I’m back in Canada, I need to keep reminding myself that if I run out of an ingredient, I can just run to the grocery store and there will be a shelf full of whatever I need!
We’ve even found this to be true when we go to the local library. We walk out with stacks of books, magazines, and DVD’s (many of which we never get to watch/read before they’re due back). Thankfully these all end up going back to the library, so they don’t clutter up our space for very long. I think we’re still getting used to how wonderful it is to have access to amazing libraries here and we overdo it every time we go. My husband and I often joke about how we’re still in the hoarding mindset even though we’ve been back in Canada for several months now.
September 6, 2010 at 11:59 am
I’m not a hoarder although I do have a lot of some things. The use of the words “hoard” or “hoarder” has a negative connotation because there’s a secrecy component, as well as an out-of-control component. I have many containers of Christmas decorations, but they are used every year and are well organized when stored. I have many pairs of shoes and purses that are used throughout the year and are neat and organized. However I like to get rid of things and each month shred unneeded papers and collect a bag or box of items to donate to charity. I read alot but pass books on to friends or trade them in for others at used book shops. Only a few special books are kept. I used to think that I needed to keep every gift that I had received especially if the giver was someone who came to visit and the gift was a household item but then I realized that I couldn’t remember what I’d given to others over the years and they probably wouldn’t remember or care either. It’s the thought that counts, and decor styles and needs change. I thinks it’s important to keep some memory, family and sentimental items. It only becomes hoarding when it gets out of control and interfers with life. For most people holding on to special things or collecting something you really enjoy is not hoarding but just a normal thing to do.
September 6, 2010 at 12:21 pm
I hoard data – it’s the classic out-of-sight, out-of-mind… So my hard drives get bigger and bigger because it’s so much easier to triple your hard drive space than clear stuff off. And you never know when you might want that file.
At least it does not take up much physical space.
I also hoard empty boxes, but that might just be more laziness than anything else… they’re all in the basement…
September 6, 2010 at 12:21 pm
I am a book hoarder too. I prefer “Collector”
. I kept all the novels I read as a child, ostensibly to pass them down to my own children–but they aren’t really interested (they want to choose their OWN books, thank you very much lol). My Grandma “collected” books, too. Books are very important in my family. When Grandma died, the family got to pick and choose the books they wanted from her collection. Usually, books that had been gifted to her; “To Grandma, Love Stephanie, Christmas 1994…”, returned to that person. I have kept every book Grandma ever gave me, signed “with love, Grandma”. Nostalgia is a big part of why I can’t part with them, but I AM a re-reader. Great books are like old friends…I love to revisit them every few years. One of the best things I have done to curb the book hoarding was getting a library card! Now, instead of buying that Bestseller that I would only read once (or, more likely, give up on it, then feel guilty for “wasting” the money), I just put in my online request on my Library’s site and wait! No guilt, no unread books collecting dust and taking up precious space in our little bungalow. That way, I can buy only the books I love and will re-read.
I hoard food, too. At least, I did. Having our chest freezer conk out (full of a 1/4-of-a-cow beef order!) and following a Gail-style budget has made me re-think how I shop. I know when there is a great sale, I can stock up a bit…but there WILL be another sale in a few months! Now, I’m planning menus and shopping for what we need each week. I still need to fight the hoarding tendency regularly, but it’s getting easier.
Paperwork, paid bills, office/school supplies like pens, envelopes, journals and pads of paper…all “clutter” that I’ve been guilty of hoarding. I need an Office-in-a-Box! I know I need to “shop” among the clutter I already have, but I have the urge to go to Staples to pick up the “right” stuff to put one together (fellow hoarders, you will understand what I mean by that, right?).
I tend to Plan to do things, then not follow through. I think a lot of people that hoard are like this. I have great Plans for the 2 or 3 empty journals on my side table (…but I hate to “ruin” the fresh, new pages!), or the 12 cans of soup in the cupboard, or the stack of books that “looked good” on the bookstore shelf. The clutter is starting to get to me. I know that once it’s gone, my stress levels will be lower!
September 6, 2010 at 12:33 pm
I waver on the side of not holding on to enough and then regretting it later. I grew up in a house that was poorly organized (read: plastic bags shoved full of photographs in the back of a closet). Our fridge was always FULL of food, but nothing I would actually eat – just jar upon jar of sauce, dip, jam, mustard and other condiments. Everything was “behind the scenes” so to speak – we had a storage room so full that you could barely walk in it and when my parents split my siblings and I took 8 trips to the dump with our minivan chalked to the roof (backseats removed). Living on my own, I vowed to always declutter regularly and to keep my keepsakes well organized. The problem is that I became so good at tossing/passing on “things” that I have often found I later want something that I no longer have. Or I wonder how many cards and letters I tossed that I regret, as few I have kept that I come across occasionally are really lovely to read. My sister in law always laughs at our cupboards and fridge because we only keep fresh, eat-within-the-next-6-days-food. It is very rare that I stock up on anything beyond that, unless it’s a major sale. I LOVE to look in my fridge and see it mostly empty. I find lots of food hanging around to be stressful. I am weird I guess!
September 6, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Those of you that have read my posts the last few months know that I’ve been setting things free. Childhood toys, dolls, antiques, books, clothes, and on and on.
I am sentimental ( to the nth degree) and so this was difficult. I will not give up family photos (that go back well over 100 years) or recent ones either. My husband is going to put them all on discs for me…but will I actually be able to pitch the originals (some tintype and sepia) – those I can hold in my hand? Doubtful. Insurance wise – as in – in case there is a fire – these will be safe in a safety deposit box. I also have a large collection of vinyls – 45’s, 33 1/3, and 78’s (back to the 40’s – LOVE big band music). Have a record player to play them on – and do. I wouldn’t get rid of all the research and paperwork of my family geneology back to the mid 1700’s either.
I knit and have wool – but not too much – I usually finish the project, but, keep the leftovers and give them to a knitting group that make finger puppets out of them for our little children that come in at work.
Yes, I have a couple of boxes of ephemera – homemade cards dating back to my children using crayons. Love beautiful cards, papers and envelopes…but use them – love snail mail.
I don’t think clearing my freezer out the end of every summer and batch cooking to fill it again for the winter is hoarding. When you live in the snow belt and a store is 25 minutes away…you do have to keep things on hand.
So, all in all, I’d say I’ve improved a great deal. Just ask our house. It has shifted about a foot sighing all the while.
September 6, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Knitters unite!! I think if there was a yarn anaon I would be there. I started buying yarn years ago and then I realized how much money I had sitting in the dresser drawers and used it all up. The I joind a kinittin group who uses donated yarn to make hats, scarfs and other items for various charities. The problem… I was too quick and now I get a huge bag of yarn each month to work through. I have a daughter, a full time job and I am in school part time so knitting has taken the back seat. Yarn is piling up… yiykes
September 6, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Catherine–I agree that batch cooking and freezing/canning for the seasons is NOT hoarding. That’s something I aspire to, but I haven’t had the space in the past because I had been hoarding “on sale” stuff. One day, I hope to have the equipment and cupboard space to take advantage of the seasonal bounty of local foods in S. Ontario! Canning peaches and pears and applesauce and tomatoes and pickles…freezing local veggies and fruits myself instead of buying frozen veggies (still healthy, but not always local!)…
I’ve found myself longing for a simpler time, when families had less “stuff”, we cooked real food from our own cold cellars and pantries, played games and read together instead of staring at the TV…there was less hoarding for the sake of “having stuff”. Things were kept and reused instead of thrown away, and you didn’t buy something unless you really, really needed it. I think this ties into Gail’s blog today, in a way. If we didn’t buy so much “stuff”, we wouldn’t have as much to hoard and clutter up our lives!
September 6, 2010 at 12:54 pm
BTW…I realized I’ve just jumped into posting here without a real introduction. I have been following Gail’s blog for a while now, and have been reading the Comments section faithfully for a while now!
I’m a wife and stay-at-home-mom of three school-aged kids.
Hi!
September 6, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Hoarding hmmm good one, I think what I hoard is just plain ole old stuff, like memories, clothes that I think my daughters will like when they get older, my husband is clothes and old toys….I thought I was bad but than my sister is the worse, she hoards a lot of stuff and her place is tiny but I guess she makes due with what she gets and tries to organize that.
If I know it’s starting to come to much what I’ll do is a throw out phase, anything I don’t need I’ll donate, give away, sell….just because it’s either mucking up my house and/or causing too much of a headache to just keep up with.
September 6, 2010 at 1:54 pm
I like to donate, and go through my closet all the time, if I bring in a new piece, something has to go. I do like clothes and shop only at discount high end stores. outlets, and thrift stores. So, I find if I do not like how I look in something that I bought in a moment of insanity, I purge. however I cannot justify all the clothes that I do have, but I do wear them for years. I have a priceless camel coat that was bought for me at rummage sale for $ 3.00 and it looks brand new and I wear it every fall and winter.
Clothes is one of my pleasures of life, however maintain control. So I say if you like it why not ? Now if I only knew how to knit !
September 6, 2010 at 2:03 pm
I was a magazine junkie. Had boxes and boxes of them in the crawl space. Last weekend my husband held my hand as I wheeled them all to the curb for the recycling truck. No more magazines:( Actually, it was very liberating!
September 6, 2010 at 2:24 pm
I love books but they must fit on my one of my two bookcases and then I have to start getting rid of books. I have recently started going to the library, if I really like a book and will reread it I can always buy it later. I am in the process of cleaning out the last room in my house. My stuff has to fit into one of rolling drawers and in the case of all of my crafting stuff it has to fit into the closet. I recently went through and grouped fabric with the notions and pattern into a zip lock bag so when I have the time the project is ready to go.
September 6, 2010 at 3:20 pm
I’m generally a minimalist but I hoard shoes. I have so many pairs and yet I’m often tempted to buy more before any of my current pairs wear out. I love super high heels, and although I wear them all, they’re stating to clutter up my apartment.
I now make sure my shoes are out on display where I see them everyday instead of hiding in a closet. If I see all of my beautiful heels before I leave the house or go online I’m less likely to give into the want to buy a new pair (or worse, convince myself I NEED that shiny new pair).
September 6, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Hmmm.,..I grew up with very little and many of our special things had a slight monetary value so they were sold off when I was younger. It has left me struggling with some things in a way that I would imagine is similar to those who grew up in the depression. I keep so many things because of sentimentality and everything is special.
I have worked super hard over the years to keep a handle on the clutter and am spending alot more energy on it in recent years. I don’t want my young family to grow up worrying about things. I am much more ruthless in my discards than I used to be.
Our house is cluttered but still very easy to live in…my goal is to get it to a place where a home magazne could pop by with 5 minutes notice and it would look great!
September 6, 2010 at 6:01 pm
I have one major vice and that’s books. I don’t consider myself a hoarder in that respect – though I do have over 500 books in my bookcases… But I continually re-read them all! I have some books that I have probably read over 10 times. I probably do need to go through my collection and weed out the ones I’m never going to read again – my Danielle Steele phase was over years ago – but I still have room so there’s no need to do that just yet
I do like to go to the library and I borrow books from my friends all the time – I just finished the ‘The Girl’ series that my friend lent me, absolutely incredible! And when I do buy books I always go to the second hand bookstore and stay within my montly budget too.
Maybe I’m doing a little bit of justifying here, but it works for me and keeps me happy, so it can’t be that bad, right?
Hope everyone had a good long weekend! Unfortunately I spent most of mine cleaning up my fence and tree that were taken down in the hurricane… On a good note is by next summer I’ll have saved enough money to replace the fence with something much nicer and sturdier and my wonderful boyfriend is carving a squirrel out of the stump of the tree
September 6, 2010 at 6:20 pm
stephanie-welcome, from another stephanie. i loved your comments ’bout your books and your gramma. i also hold on to those books, the very special ones (normally with an emotional tie) but i’ve learned to clean out others. i started a book exchange library at work; all by taking in about 20 books i hauled in one day. it’s worked out fantastically and now we have such an eclectic excellent mix everyone can find a good read. i think i’ve taken in well over 200 books now, and probably borrowed another 100, especially while i was out recovering from knee surgery.
and catherine, absolutely! batch cooking rocks! i try to take care of it on sunday, before i head back for another week at work. it’s just a calming time for me, reminding me of days with my mom, gramma and granpa (who taught me to make a ferocious pot of beans!!), and of course grandmother who in her day had maids etc to cook. but eating at her house was a fantasy come to life for this little girlie! when the awesome odors of home cooking fill my home i am reminded of the incredible childhood i was blessed to live. and i know my daughter has learned many of her lessons from my family; even she is a batch cooker.
again gail, thanks. some days i think “what does this blog have to do with me” and today i find myself honestly reviewing some of my not-so-excellent habits, but also finding ways to make a better me by cleaning that closet and donating perfectly good clothes, taking an extra casserole to work for my coworkers, whatever it takes to help. while i strive to be debt free in another 6 months, i also strive to find ways to better the world i inhabit. thank you for your thought-provoking blogs…and for making me look deep inside! you are so loved!
September 6, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Oh, yes–the yarn. Made myself purge out the wool (found out that I am allergic to it. I guess that is why I couldn’t breathe within 5 minutes of knitting with it). Now I have a limit of what I can fit in a small three drawer plastic storage cart.
And the books. The most difficult ones for me to pass up are books about knitting.
That Hoarders show always makes me want to clean out my house. My kids’ underwear drawers got purged last time I watched that show!
September 6, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Great Post!
I am a confessed wool horder! I started knitting in grade school and have come back to it in my forties! I absolutely love yarn and patterns. My hope chest if full of wool and projects that will take me till this time next year to finish so I have put a stop to my yarn purchases for the next 12 months!
Love books as well….I tend to pass them on once I have read them however so that is not a bad thing.
September 6, 2010 at 8:26 pm
As a graphic designer I get all sorts of great paper samples and swatch books from my paper reps but recently I got a little cut throat and went through them all donating all the blank books of paper samples and a lot of random paper samples to my best friend’s kid’s daycare. They are so grateful for the crafting supplies that I go through my collection every few months to see what else I can part with. It’s amazing what you can let go of once you train yourself that it has more value to someone else than it does to you.
September 6, 2010 at 9:48 pm
I promise we’re not hoarders, but we are first rate procrastinators. We both grew up in DIY households so it goes against our nature to throw out something that could be useful someday but eventually those useful bits start to take over your life. We’ve known it needed to be dealt with for a long time but kept putting it off because it had become such a huge task. It’s the price you eventually pay for refusing to throw anything out and putting it in the basement “just in case”.
My husband took all of last week off to clean out our basement. Yup, an entire week of vacation used up to sort through the 1700sqft of crap accumulated in the past 25yrs. About half way through he said he wished he’d taken a before picture, but I’m glad there is no evidence of what we’d let our basement become. Now we’re looking forward to garbage day so we can get rid of the junk and recycling mountain now occupying the entire front porch (15×20 and 3ft deep). We’ll be asking several neighbours if we can drop some bags at their place on garbage day. Otherwise we may have to get rid of it gradually over a few weeks. We priced out getting a dumpster but it was going to be several hundred dollars, so we’ll do it the hard way.
Everything still in the basement is now in boxes and stacked neatly. We recognize that while it’s vastly better, we’re only done phase 1. Next we need to go back through every box again and cut it down again by at least half. The kids want us to finish the basement so they can entertain their friends down there and I refuse to build closets and storage areas to accomodate what is still too much junk.
So far it was fairly easy, since we’ve only gotten rid of what was clearly junk. Next we have to get ruthless about getting rid of things that actually have a story or some sentimental value. There is also a lot of stuff we know we don’t want but it’s not garbage so we’ll be having a monster garage sale in a couple of weeks and then donating what doesn’t sell.
The rest of our home is surprisingly under control. Not minimalist for sure, but not crowded either. Probably about normal. I always have a donation bag in my closet so as soon as an item stops being useful or the kids outgrow something it immediately goes in the bag. We do have too many cookbooks (200+) but they somehow we overlook that because they’re reference books…need to rethink that. Most of my favourite recipies are now in my computer or easily available online.
September 6, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Books – 3 stuffed cases full, + more – and I’ve gotten rid of A LOT! Tea, a whole shelf in the cupboard full + some at work. New socks and underwear – I used to work in a clothing store part time… Everytime I saw a ‘good deal’ I spent money… Now I’m on a mission to NOT buy any more tea or underwear/socks until there is a need. I’m not strong enough to stop buying books yet, but most of them come from a 2nd hand book store where I take my books in and get store credit, so it’s not costing me a lot, if that makes it any better
September 7, 2010 at 12:34 am
I have DVDs a ton of them. I love movies. I also had books but got a Kindle given to me by my BF so I download the books I want to read now, many are free which is nice.
September 7, 2010 at 7:15 am
Oh boy! There was a Hoarders marathon on TV yesterday – the one show that got me was the couple in their 70’s, with a 39 yr old son, and 38 yr old daughter still single and living at home. They insisted they were not hoarders, but when the mom fell and after several hours they still could not get her up the fire department was called in. The next day the city showed up “unannounced like a SWAT team’ and … it just got ugly. Long story short, they had to vacate the home for safety reasons. I would have to agree with many of the posters here – I hoard/collect some categories of items, but the bulk of them are memorabilia. Years ago, Avon came out with perfume in bells. Then came trips with the husband in the semi, and bells became a history of where he/I had been. When someone goes on a trip to a foreign country, I get another bell. I have kept papers/tests/report cards from my sons’ school years, and plan on filling a tote with special items from their youth to give them now that they are grown. I was thrilled when my mom gave me my first pay stub when I was 50, and a homemade Mother’s Day card I had given her, already showing my fashion designer traits! I also collect books – and make a point of accumulating every book written by my five favorite authors. I like to follow their progression, particularly Dr. Alex Cross and Kay Scarpetta. This past weekend I hosted a garage sale, and made a point of advertising the FREE box. I kept filling it up with random items just to get rid of stuff. Looking around at the abundance, especially through the eyes of newcomers, made me realize just how sick and tired I am of the clutter. Guess what? I had a hard time giving stuff away!! One lady was interested in a round TV tray, that I was actually using for the sale table. She stood there, explaining that she had to visualize in her head just exactly where this table would go, what it could replace, and where it would be stored when not in use. While I can understand (because of Gail and this site) the process, the tray would be no more than an inch wide, and could be tucked beside the fridge if nothing else! She finally decided not to take it. Another ‘customer’ asked for bags and completely cleaned out the free box, then proceeded to acquire $30 worth of 3/$1 items, all the while muttering that her daughters would tell her to get her priorities straight, and that she knew the difference between her needs and wants (?), and so on. As a crafter, I am always on the lookout for interesting wool and fabric. While I may not use it up this year, it will get used up. The worst lately is jeans – I make denim quilts, so anyone who knows me will ‘donate’ their family’s worn out/torn jeans so they don’t get wasted. I am now being overrun, and will have to start saying ‘no thanks, I have enough’. On the other hand, it is a shame to fill up the landfills with something that could be put to better use. And that is where it starts. I have given myself a year to downsize, and it will likely take me at least that long. I want my next move to be to a smaller place, and for it not to take a month of packing and a week of moving. I keep this vision in my head – if I were to suffer a fire, just what exactly would I miss? Just a note on donating items to local charities for their fundraising garage sale – our local Humane Society has two a year. Last year, I noticed that after the sale, everything went into dumpsters outside the building! This year, there wasn’t half the volume of donations, and I don’t blame the community, particularly if the items just go to the garbage. Defeats the purpose in my mind. BTW, Hoarding IS a mental disorder – the rest of us just have too much ’stuff’!
September 7, 2010 at 7:48 am
I use to be a pack rat, not neccesarily a hoarder. However, in 2007 I split from my ex-husband and I left everything, I only took clothing and a few personal items, like pictures, baby books of my children and some things left to me from family members. My children and I started completely over. It was fun and I learned in the process that “things” are messy. I love that we have minimal and just what we need.
However, my 17 year old has become a hoarder of books and I have mentioned a few times, she needs to donate some of them. And I’ve been crocheting and am afraid I can’t pass up a good skeen of yarn on sale….so need to tread lightly. lol
September 7, 2010 at 10:20 am
I was a hoarder, slowly turning into a collector. Collecting means that you do some editing to make it what you want it to be.
Books – Love em! Read between 2-5 per week. I used to have a hard time parting with them, but my neice reads, so I send them to her. Then we talk about the books, and she trades them into a used book store and can get more books that she is interested in. Everyone once in a while, she sends me a book I haven’t read. Also, in the last 2-3 years, I have turned more and more to library books. I am a re-reader though, so I still have about 200 at my house.
Clothes – Yup. Don’t know why. Trying to edit, again, sending to family/donating.
Crafts – Ummmm, insane hoarder. I have been on a paper purchasing ban for about 3 years now, but really, when it’s 75% off, the ban doesn’t count right? And so what if I tell people to buy me scrapbooking paper for birthdays and holidays. I do craft sales however (I hand make cards, that’s what all the paper is for) — and I do use a good portion. I also make up bundles of paper and sell to other scrapbooking/card making enthusiasts at less than cost to clear out more room. I don’t do the craft sales to make money, just so that I can make things and have people tell me how nice they are LOL!
Coin/Stamp collection – I’m going to call this a hoard – because there hasn’t been any editing… and when I look through them I feel much like Gollem in Lord of the Rings…. precious… pretty precious….
September 7, 2010 at 11:03 am
Hi – Great post, my husband has been bugging me about my apparent hoarding lately so this topic seems quite appropriate…:)
I’ve been on a mission to use up all of my cosmetics – I actually made the resolution over FOUR years ago – and have just started using my last bottle of lotion and last eyeliner pencil. I’m still working on my eye shadows (how many shimmery golds can one person have?).
My other vice is tea which i am diligently using up – it’s also been about three years since i have purchased any tea…
I am also guilty of crafts etc. but am slowly completing each project with just scrapbooking left on the list…
I guess after writing all of these down my husband might have a point – but at least i’m trying to use everything up!
R
September 7, 2010 at 11:46 am
Let’s see…I used to hoard books. From my original Nancy Drew mysteries (when there were only 41 in the series), my high school English books, my first bible for perfect Sunday School attendance, and the hundreds, well…thousands I used to have…yes indeed. I was a hoarder. Floor to ceiling bookcases in all rooms and hallways with books stacked sideways and in 2 rows per shelf. Thousands. And then I moved at my expense halfway across the country – I had to purge. . The volume and weight of books would have added thousands to the cost of the move! I was ruthless……it hurt, but I did it. Since then I have kept a reasonably tight rein on it – Only 2 bookcases doublestacked in one room, and the rule is IF I buy 1, I have to get rid of 2. I rarely buy anymore – I miss the books, but they just take up too much room!
Fabric – I am a quilter, and love fabrics – the colours, the textures, the patterns. But even there I have become (for me) ruthless…I must finish one project before I am allowed to purchase more fabric. I have enough fabric (which is lovingly washed, dried, ironed and sorted by colour every year) to make probably 100 quilts. I have no room to set up my quilt frame and so the quilts are being done VERY slowly. Retirement willbe a blur of quiltmaking I think!
Food – we have 3 freezers which are always full. We do regular rotations of the stuff in them so it is not that we toss any. But between the joy DH and I both have for cooking, and DH’s love of grocery shopping (it’s a weird addiction in my opinion) we are always baking. If ever you need containers of chili (vegetarian or with meat) or lasagna or stuffed peppers or cheesecakes or pies or frozen hand picked fruits or………just drop in! Sadly we discovered when we moved here that places like shelters etc won’t accept homemade food. Where I come from this was always done – church groups would have cooking marathons and food was donated etc. but not here. Strange, but I suppose there are public health concerns – but so is malnutrition of at an risk population, in my opinion! Oh well, other powers that be make the rules, I just follow them.
Moving thousands of miles at my expense into a much smaller house has forced me to restrain my impulses. I think some joy has gone too, but the reality is I cannot afford the space or the money to indulge the hoarding tendancies. So, practicality wins.
September 7, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I am a HUGE pack rat – I think this is because I didn’t have a lot as a kid and moved many many times. During my elementary & high school years, I think I kept every single assignment & project. I also loved writing notes, cards and letters and kept everything. It wasn’t until I moved in with my boyfriend that I decided to start throwing out stuff. 20 boxes later, I only kept 10. A few years later we got married and moved again and those 10 boxes were consolidated again. I mostly kept momentos from our dating years and when we got married. Now all I have to do is get rid of the many notes, cards, and letters from friends that I don’t think I’ll ever read again. I do think I am a book hoarder though – I love buying books and having the latest and best titles, but the pile is getting bigger and I haven’t read most of them! I think I could make some money putting together my very own library! =)
September 7, 2010 at 12:50 pm
I’m with Liz, I used to hoard yarn, roving of all kinds. Then I started to quilt and my textiles, yarn, accessories and tools probably match the GDP value of a small village somewhere. But everything is paid for, no debt incurred. I agree that it’s great to have a pool to draw from whenever the creative bug bites. I don’t have to step out and spend more money, the small store is right in my basement!
September 7, 2010 at 2:43 pm
@Ina — your story is practically the same as mine! Moved too much as a kid, and clung onto everything I had. But now that I am in a very stable marriage, and been in the same house for a long time, I am finally letting go and consolidating. BUT I still have an overflowing pantry, fridge & freezer and books piled on every flat surface in my house waiting to be explored — my weakness are non-fiction books on pretty much every subject!
I did have a craft “thing” but have been steadily letting the hoards of materials go to preschools, nieces and nephews and am now down to one rough tote and one drawer of beloved art supplies.
My poor minamalist husband is extrememly patient with my collections.
September 7, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I used to hoard books. But I decided they were too much work to move (I usually move once a year), so now I mostly use the library. Much easier on the budget too!
I tend to hoard craft supplies while interested, but clear them out when I don’t feel I would work on them. At one point I had a ton of fabrics for quilting, but when I decided I didn’t want to do that anymore, I got rid of them. Then I was knitting, and had tons of yarn. But those are gone now too. Now it is cross-stitching, and all the skeins of thread. But those are at least small, and don’t take up much room.
Overall, I don’t keep much. And I learned that from my mom, who was never a collector, and from the sheer act of moving. If I’m not going to use it, I don’t want to move it.
September 7, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Books, mostly, though I work very hard on getting those I won’t read anymore or do not need for reference out of the house. But those with nice memories attached or those that I had for ages sometimes get a free pass, and together with the first two categories, accumulation happens. Reading on a screen just isn’t the same.
Interesting-looking coins. I have two small boxes full. 2/3 of which are still valid, so if I ever go to Switzerland or Sweden again, I could use them (though I probably won’t), and if I’m ever short on cash I could spend all those Euro coins.
And data. For fifteen years now I have not deleted anything from my computer without creating two backups. And I check my backups for readability, and move to new media when neeed. OTOH, archiving is my job, and people *do* ask for 20 year old data and are very happy when I can produce it, so it’s likely an occupational illness. Fortunately, most of what I hoard is text, so it takes a while to fill a DVD. (I also have a very hard time parting from paperwork. Same archivist’s disease, I guess.)
Before I admitted to myself that I would never enjoy crafts and would never be any good at it, I had a large hoard of all the stuff where I could *see* what could be made out of it. Unfortunately, not by me, it turned out, so all the supply and tools went to people who could make better use of them, and I suddenly had an empty junk room.
I am a great fan of the local internet “gift exchange”, where you can offer your old stuff for free to anyone who might like it and is willing to come over to pick it up.
September 7, 2010 at 3:42 pm
I am not a hoarder, in fact the opposite…which can be almost as bad. When I am done with a “phase”, I just can’t rid of the stuff fast enough, I like the minimalist look. But often times, I then end up buying the same things over again a few years later. I like to knit and craft, paint etc. but I tend to do those things in spurts, and when I am done with them…I sell the stuff on line or in a garage sale…but then the mood strikes a few years later and end up buying the stuff all over again!
My hubby’s MIL is an over the top hoarder and could be on one of those shows…only worse because they have a 7000 sq foot barn (on a hobby farm) that is also FULL including the rafters and hay loft with things. It is so sad to see that she has smothered herself and pushed her childern away all for the sake of stuff. We have a year and half old baby that has never and will never set foot on their property because it is not safe and it makes me sad. My hubby does have some hoarding tendances (mostly T-shirts), but never seems upset when i force a purge. I think it more just laziness!
September 7, 2010 at 5:17 pm
ROFL – we scrapbookers can be bad! My sister and I have both had to put ourselves on self-enforced “paper restriction”! when we recently received practically our whole inheritance in scrapbooking supplies from mom, it was tough. I liked the goodies, but would have much rather inherited a downpayment for my own house… sigh, hoarding hurts families…
I admit, books are hard, they have sentimental and monetary value…they would cost a fortune to replace, right? except I hardly ever read them twice. DH and I have just spent a lot of effort to sell off or give away about 50% of our stash to second-hand bookstores and laughed all the way to the bank since we also have (and now use liberally!) a great Calgary public library system!
September 7, 2010 at 7:22 pm
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September 8, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Hoarders/collectors/compulsive shoppers – please DON”T give your stuff to friends and family unless they ask you. I recently got rid of 22 stuffed animals from my dd’s room, and guess what? Gramma went and bought 5 more dolls for her! “well, it was only $10 at the garage sale”. I don’t care, now I have to wait until my kid is distracted and throw 5 more things out. We have a small house, filled with crap from other people. It makes me CRAZY. My ds has 45 shirts. I bought him one of them, just one. The rest just kind of appeared in his closet. But guess who has to waste her time going through them, taking them to good will, labelling the extras to keep etc etc etc.
Gramma thinks we lose things all the time. Nope, they were deliberately purged. thank God the local second hand book store is moving. Now I can refuse any more books. We have about 1000. Now the kids cry if I say we are selling them, so more work for me.
Here is a hint to see if you have a problem. If you still have those iron-on labells for your kids clothes, and your kids have kids, you have a problem. DONT pass it on.
Sorry for venting but I am drowning in stuff.
September 8, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Wow! lots to think about in this post.
I am guilty of hoarding costume jewelry, shoes and purses. I don’t buy more unless I love it and will use it, and it can’t be close to something I already have.
I love dishes and tablecloths. I can’t buy anymore unless I have given it considerable thought and know where I can put it.
I no longer buy CDs or DVDs unless it’s something I will watch over & over again.
I only keep a small selection of books.
I do have a box of crafting, painting and beading supplies that need to be donated soon. I doubt I will get around to those projects. I would sooner put the time into organizing my photos and getting them into albums or scrapbooked.
September 8, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Oh boy, I don’t think I hoard things until I really think about it and there are several hoarding behaviours
1. Tea. Tons of different kinds of tea. I am no longer allowed to buy anymore until I have used the tea that is sitting in my cupboard.
2. Book/cds/dvds. Yikes. I have a lot of these too. But I did take all of the cds and dvds out of their cases and put them in those black binder things. That has helped a lot. The books…..well I minored in English Lit, and I come by the book hoarding honsetly, my mom, my sister and I all love reading. I have tried to curb my book buying habit with a library card.
3. Beauty products. I have tried and tested most things. My shower is full of different shampoos, conditioners, soaps, body wash, face scrub, etc. My drawers are full of body lotions and all sorts of bath products. To be fair I get a lot of these as gifts, but again, no more buying anything until I’ve used what I have.
By the way, the “No more buying until you use what you have” statement is hard when there is a new scent or tea flavour out……..must stay firm!
September 9, 2010 at 7:23 am
I also had a large collection of teas up until this weekend. I threw out the teas that I knew I likely would not drink and kept the better loose teas. Now I have a reasonable selection in nice tins.
Like Potential Pack Rat, I put all my CDs in a BIG black zippered binder. I enjoying having them all in one contained place, plus there is less dust to deal with.
September 9, 2010 at 8:58 am
Crap… I’m all of the above…
Mostly scrapbooking stuff and food… oh and pre-buying kids clothes.
September 9, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I am pretty bad. I must admit I am scrapbooker and I do shop for these future events, which have’t yet materialized. I was on a hiatus until I used up what I have, but I am sucker for some pretty paper.
September 9, 2010 at 4:33 pm
You can have my books when you pry them out of my cold, dead hands.
September 10, 2010 at 1:04 am
I like to collect things, but as my recent divorce has reduced my income but not my bills to half, I see these collections in a different light and I am grateful to have many things I now consider “resources”. I, too, lived with someone who would take things out of the trash, and even complain if I donated too many items, so I adapted. Now I am doing things a little differently! I have learned so much this past year, and really appreciate the many things I have learned from “Til Debt Do Us Part”. I think the dig in and do it atitude on the show is so encouraging. I never even had a checking account before, now I am learning what to do with a 401K, rollover IRAs and how to avoid the Alternative Minimum Tax (here in the states, that’s a killer). I’ll fess up to having more Scrapbooking Supplies than I can probably use, but I love them and am so happy to have them. I buy very few now, so it’s a blessing. It’s been a very tough year for me but I am diligently working on my five year plan! Thanks Gail, from the bottom of my heart!
September 12, 2010 at 7:15 am
I’m a small food hoarder. When I was in my 20s and living outside the home, I was literally down to a box of crackers. I am an avid couponer, so I use the 12 week cycle, meaning everything drops to its lowest price every 3 months. Then I stock up.
But I must admit, my granola bar stash is up to 7 boxes, and I have 4 boxes of free fruit rollups that I need to give to someone who has kids. But it’s nice to just donate my free or what I paid pennies for in hopes that it can help someone else.
September 14, 2010 at 10:46 pm
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September 15, 2010 at 7:23 am
Chloe I completely agree with you. Until recently I liked across the street from my mother in law who I consider a shop a holic. I kept asking her to put money is resp’s for Christmas and birthdays, but she never listened. I felt like my daughter was turning into a spoiled child and I don’t even trust grandma to take her shopping for an outfit…she comes back with 8.
We moved and she saw how much we donated, gave away to friends, and the frustration of moving so much stuff…plus at our new house all the children’s drawers where out getting reglued and nailed because there were too many clothes!
My vent is over too:) Now I just ask for what we need and get my husband to check out the gifts with her before she brings them over.
May 3, 2011 at 11:23 am
Books. And to be honest, I’ve no intention of stopping. Surrounding myself with books gives me great pleasure, and I don’t spend more on books than I can afford. The problem is I rarely get rid of any.
I have hundreds that I haven’t yet read, but I’ll work my way through them eventually. Sometimes it’s annoying how much space they take up, but I’m getting more and more minimalist in every other area of my possessions, so it’s sort of balancing out to where I don’t have way too much stuff overall.