Hoarders!!!???

[kryptosmaster]

look on the brightside you're less of a hoarder because of him.

Some truth in that, LOL.
Only I like to regularly share (sell, etc) my extras so I build up and then thin out my "hoard". I don't try to deprive.
Rich

[vulcan2074]

my new attitude is less is more. if something were to happen to me tomorrow i want my friends and family to know that the stuff i keep is solid gold. so maybe they could make some money on it and not just throw everything away because i was a hoarder.

Now thats a Great attitude. I've been leaning towards that view for quite sometime now. I have an extremely neat and tidy place. I keep only the things that I need and really want (toys, DVDs etc).


Sammy

[goldenryan]

Btw, my basement was full of 20 yrs worth of accumulated junk. The show inspired me a couple weekends ago to clean it all out and dump it. I had 24 extra large trash bags of junk lined up along the curb for garbage day, and that doesn't even include the other stuff I put out that I knew people would pick up, like an old crib, scrap metal, etc.

24 bags wow, i've been cleaning out my basement and i got rid of about 3 boxes of stuff. my new attitude is less is more. if something were to happen to me tomorrow i want my friends and family to know that the stuff i keep is solid gold. so maybe they could make some money on it and not just throw everything away because i was a hoarder.

[Sideshow Spock]

I've seen most of the eps so far.. it's both fascinating and disturbing. Also hits close to home, as my sister in law is a hoarder. She's divorced and lives by herself with an entire house filled to the brim with junk. But as she would tell it, it's not that she has too much stuff, it's that the house isn't big enough. Or that she didn't have time to organize when she moved five years ago. It's been very creepy hearing the same excuses and rationalizations on the show as we've heard from her.

There's no doubt she's depressed and uses the hoarding as a coping tool, but she's also a professional, educated woman. So at least she manages to sustain that aspect of her life. Many people on the show so far really don't have a pot to **** in, which just exacerbates the overall problem. Then again, having disposable income just gives her money to buy more crap.

Btw, my basement was full of 20 yrs worth of accumulated junk. The show inspired me a couple weekends ago to clean it all out and dump it. I had 24 extra large trash bags of junk lined up along the curb for garbage day, and that doesn't even include the other stuff I put out that I knew people would pick up, like an old crib, scrap metal, etc.

[huedell]

Regarding antiquetiger and this thread---I guess my main point in a POSITIVE
way of saying it, is that "streamlining" your life is wonderful thing.

[goldenryan]

Yeah, gets old real fast when you realize how many auctions you would've won if it wasn't for that ONE person.

On the plus side, at least I know I made him pay more for them.
Rich

look on the brightside you're less of a hoarder because of him.

[kryptosmaster]

Anyone watch this new show? If you have not seen it, it is a must.

Are all of us semi-hoarders? In the episode tonight, one of the ladies didn't have garbage all over her house, but had piles and piles of junk (and her "collectibles").

I saw some small traits in her that I see in myself. When they were cleaning out her house, she would say, "Oh, I will need this later!" It could have been a piece of paper with an address on it from 18 years ago, or something similar.

Just what channel is this show on? I've never heard of it.

Dang, Rich, you really got a thing for "that guy"

Yeah, gets old real fast when you realize how many auctions you would've won if it wasn't for that ONE person.

On the plus side, at least I know I made him pay more for them.
Rich

[ScottA]

Yea, but one of the ladies hasn't been in one of her closets in over 5 years because she can't get to it. I doubt any of us here are that bad.

[wolfie]

I guess i am a hoarder, i would like to point out though that my house is very clean,

What i mean is i collect all sorts of things and sometimes extras of these things, most of it should be on Ebay but i don't have time to sell it as i'm too busy getting more stuff.

It's got to that stage now where i know i have something but don't know where as it's under lots of other stuff.

This must be ringing recognition bells with some people on here.

[4NDR01D]

I was wondering how people felt about the relationship between collecting and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). I've definitely got some OCD going on that, at times, borders on hording.
But, I tend to binge and purge. And I've been like that for years, no matter what it is I'm collecting during that particular phase in my life.
I collect so much stuff that after a while it just becomes problematic (try moving 4000 crappy LP's) and it takes alot of fun out of collecting for me.
Then, I just get rid of everything. give it all away or sell what's worth money.
After a while I start again.

[Toy Talk]

disorder

My wife and I have not missed an episode yet. I am no psychiatrist, but hoarding appears to be a mental disorder brought on by severe depression. Mentally people have different ways of coping: some shut down, others turn to alcohol, some to drugs, acts of violence for some, and hoarding for others.
Collecting and hoarding are two entirely different addictions. Collectors take pride in the possessions they have attained, organizing and displaying them for others to see. Although quite often a collectors house can become disorganized it is rarely filthy. Hoarders share a relationship with obsessive compulsive disorder. Establishing an emotional connection to everything from an old drink container from Wendy's to a broken bicycle they got on sale last week goes well beyond collecting.
Watching the show "Hoarders" makes me feel bad. Most of these people appear to have good hearts and intentions. For one reason or another a severe depression sent there mind over the deep end, and obsessing over never letting anything go is the result. Cleaning their homes is great, but without mental help everything will go right back to the way it was.

[ScottA]

I saw it last night. They say they want help but when push comes to shove they all fold. One guy said the lady keeps saying she'll "get to it later". Well, later is right now. I mean, the lady cried when people started to throw out 10 year old comic strips from the Sunday paper. They managed to clean two living rooms and a back yard from the 2 ladies on last night. But I don't think it will last. You have to want to change and they didn't seem very willing too, even at the expense of health and family.

[theantiquetiger]

I'd be filled with joy too if someone helped me clean out my house.

That's just it about this show. These people throw fits as their houses are cleaned out. The lady on the show last night put he garbage before her family. Her husband is sick, and the court ordered them to move out until the house was cleaned (they have been living in a motel for four months). She wasn't too keen on cleaning the house, and her husband would be homeless in two weeks due to running out of money for the motel.

Their daughter came over to help clean the house, and after the lady kept throwing fits about stuff being thrown away, her daughter got fed up and told her mother, "It's me and your grandkids or your garbage, your choice!"

The lady didn't answer, basically taking her garbage over her family.

[UnderdogDJLSW]

yeah, I'm in the "hard to throw things out" category.

[Riffster]

scared to watch it as I'll see myself on it