do you hoard?

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^^^
i'm one of those aspies my older sister threw out a box full of very useful rubber bands of various sizes and shapes. that made me angry, because when i had to wrap some opened cheese i had nothing to secure the cellophane with, and i had to find a piece of string to clumsily seal the cheese back up, in a much inferior manner than a rubber band could do. they were perfectly good rubber bands, damn it!

I'm not sure if this counts as hoarding or not. My psychiatrist thinks its a step in that direction. I do not buy things for the sake of collecting things. Part of me knows I avoid buying things because I know I dislike throwing things out. I cried for a half hour after throwing out my ten year old desk chair. Anyways one thing that seems to me somewhat irrational are boxes. I keep the boxes of everything that I have ever owned. I even have boxes for books I got in the mail. While that object is in my possession the box is hidden away somewhere. I need my spaces to be clear of clutter so all my boxes are stored away in as compact and out of sight manner as possible. I have many boxes from toys, games, computer parts, etc even in my parents house from when I was a kid and my parents know not to touch them or I'll have a fit. Even if they are big boxes from televisions, desks, deskchairs, etc: I disassemble them, fold them up, and tuck them away. The only time I throw away a box is if I no longer possess the object anymore. I must have hundreds of boxes tucked away tetris style in closets, cupboards, under my bed. You know those comedies where a dozen clowns come out of tiny compact cars: I can do that with the boxes in my house when I'm on a cleaning spree. For some reason I have no compulsion to keep any type of plastic containers or packaging: just cardboard ones. I'm just glad I never had the compulsion to keep boxes for toiletries or foods.

Interesting replies.

I am really good at hoarding things, but I am also really good at purging.

I have a lot of stuff that just gets piled in to boxes, because I might use it someday (might = want to). And there is a lot of stuff that I feel guilty throwing away. However, if I can find someone to give it to that says they will use it, it makes me feel great...because I feel like I saved it for a reason.

So I actively search out people who "need" stuff.

They are likely hoarders themselves, but once it's gone, I don't really think about it again...thankfully!

i keep old plastic bluebunny icecream containers [those oval ones] because they have a neat closable lid, you can store food in 'em, and they also make just the right size of water reservoir to put over heat registers in the wintertime so the warm air will evaporate the water therein and humidify my living space, dry air is not so healthy for the sinuses. i also keep plastic bags from shopping because they make dandy trash container liners/bags. i keep glass jars that are just the right size and shape [straight up and down, no crevices] so that i can clean their insides. i also save boxes because i always need a box to put this or that in. just the right-sized box can come in very handy

I had a friend years ago whose mother did something very similar. She kept boxes all the time, specializes in food boxes -- cereal boxes, cracker boxes, mac n cheese boxes. She had this idea that she would use them one day, for Christmas gift wrapping or whatever. And she WOULD use them, but of course collected more than she could use in two lifetimes.

Another friend's mother-in-law saves dead people's clothes -- meaning that she goes to funerals and tells the bereaved family members that she will find someone to use the deceased's leftover clothing. She gets the clothes but never does anything with them, but stack them at her house. At last report, there wasn't one room in the house that didn't have clothes on every vertical surface and only a path to get through the house.

As far as my own stuff goes, I'm not OFFICIALLY a hoarder, but I am a pretty intense collector, and could become a hoarder under the right circumstances. My weakness is paper -- books, magazines, notebooks, cards. I have a hard time getting rid of that kind of stuff because I keep thinking that someone will ask me something and I'll be able to find the answer in one of those sources.

My other problem is souvenir stuff. Anything that holds an important memory -- no matter how small -- I keep. I have my "Disco Sucks" T-shirt from the 70s, the first (and only) blouse I ever made on a sewing machine ( HomeEc class 1974), the license plate and key to the first car I ever bought new, an entire year of Baseball Weekly newspaper (from 1995) because my best friend gave me the subscription, a sweater my aunt knitted for me when I was 8. Plus all kinds of figurines, mementos and pieces of stuff because each reminds me of something.

EDIT: My mother claims she's not a hoarder, but she won't get rid of anything someone has given her as a gift, even if that person is dead. She keeps instruction manuals to appliances she no longer owns, because one day someone she knows might need one one day. And because she grew up in foster homes, and remembers what it was like to be separated from her sibilings and parents, she can't bring herself to get rid of dolls or stuffed animals because the creature in question would feel neglected and abandoned.

Last edited by Webalina on 16 Mar 2013, 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Is it hoarding or collecting, I wonder sometimes? But, no.

Yeah often I keep things 'just in case' or because I might want to have a look at them later. For example I still have all of my secondary school notes and work (all 7 years) even though I've finished 3 years ago.

I hoard, to a point... But I think I discipline my hoarding to a legitimate need or "valid reason to keep" level except for my special interest items. On clothes, I donate them as soon as I haven't worn them in several months, or as soon as I realize that I am wearing them "just because I bought them". (Gifts are the exception, as I keep gift clothes forever because of the underlying meaning).

Vehicles and my collectible TV sets are a different story, and honestly I guess I do keep those when no legitimate reason exists. I don't remember off hand, how many cars, trucks, and motorcycles I have, but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 30. But in my defense, they are ALL currently licensed and registered, and with insurance, and all of them are in good condition and properly maintained. (Only exception being two of them which are my current project cars, and I have those apart). There are probably 100 or 150 TV sets in the house, but most are pocket sized sets displayed neatly on shelves, etc. Most of the big ones are in a 1200 sq ft. building I had built, just for the TV sets, so they don't interfere with life & livelihood in the house, and they're protected from unwelcome fingers.

As far as other "stuff" around the house, I HATE clutter, so things that don't belong, are gone right away. If I get a new appliance, the old one goes out the back door when the new one comes in the front door, and I only keep current month magazines, and stuff like that. My garages are empty except for automobiles and motorcycles, which belong in garages. I can't stand garages with junk piled along the walls (ready to fall on the cars or catch fire). My attic is bare, and has only the furnaces and a spare roll of carpeting for the house, in case of damage.

And of course there are things of sentimental value, such as family photo albums, my Grandpa's books, and a few of my toys from childhood, but those things are a very minimum in volume... Could easily fit into one small closet if all together.

So the bottom line is that yes, I hoard, but it's pursuant to my special interests only; not general hoarding "because it might come in handy some day", as seen with people who keep 50 years of expired coupons, little pieces of string, and worn-out appliances, etc.

Charles

I hoard too. I find I get attached to things and I just can't part with it. Not only I worry that I hurt an object's feelings if I throw it away, I also worry that the object gets bewildered and wants to go back to my warm bedroom instead of being in the bin, waiting to join the rest of the rejects on some dump, then God knows what happens to it all next. I feel objects should be kept safe in the warm, like people.

I don't think Toy Story helps. I've seen all three Toy Story films, and the way Woody panics always makes me think that's what the objects I own do if they get thrown away or if they are hinted that they are going to get thrown away.