I'm a hoarder

**Jaded** · 05-01-2007, 05:52 PM

I know I am, but it didn't really start until about 12 years ago. It wasn't really that bad until the last couple of years, when I just started bringing home anything and everything that people would give me. I don't want to give any of it away, for fear I may need it later.

This is a great article on hoarding. It seems that it's not an Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, but its own thing. Not a good thing, but a thing, nevertheless.

http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct...gy-of-hoarding

**FrugalMomof3** · 05-01-2007, 06:44 PM

Well now that you know your a hoarder maybe there are changes you can make to get rid of some stuff, even passing it down, giving it to others on your local freecycle group or even selling some stuff. Good Luck!

Remember admitting it is the first step

**Sari** · 05-01-2007, 07:34 PM

Good article. I know you've been talking about the need to make some money while you're waiting to sell, so hopefully you'll be able to sell some of the items you have at home. Remember, the less you have, the less it will cost to move it! Plus you won't have to worry about having stuff in storage, and it will make your house look more inviting to potential buyers! Good luck!

**Marie78** · 05-01-2007, 07:56 PM

I thought this article was very interesting. I tend to hold on to things, because I might have a use for it in the future (my thinking is always that I won't be able to afford to buy a relplacement). I also tend to have attachments to "things" because they were gifts from people I love.

I don't hoard paper though, I used to pile junk mail in my office thinking that I would want to read more about what was sent (when I had time). I ended up with 3 large garbage bags full of junk mail over the course of a couple years. I now make quick decisions the day the mail comes...bills I keep

, junk I throw, and if I get a greeting card I keep it in a memory box. No more piles of paper for me! I feel more sane now and in control.

**justpeachy92** · 05-01-2007, 08:38 PM

My grandmother is a hoarder, for as long as I can remember she has always had 2 houses. One she lives in and one her stuff lives in. My mother is almost has bad, though right now she just keeps building more sheds to house her stuff, if hoarding is a genetic trait I am so glad I didn't get those genes.

**fernykins** · 05-01-2007, 09:52 PM

My sister s really bad......she has a pathway thru her livingroon to her kitchen her bedroom. Her bathtub is full of material. She also has a shower. She has stacks of paper 2-3 foot high. Ican't live like that even through I have to much stuff too.
Fern

**i.m.cheap** · 05-01-2007, 11:26 PM

My mother has this problem. It has really gotten worse in the last ten years. She is 72. She just will not throw things away. The junk mail piles up, until she "has time" to read it. She won't let anyone come in and throw anything away, either.

**PB&J** · 05-02-2007, 11:44 PM

I think my sister has this problem! One room in her house is just crammed with stuff. Every closet is packed. Her garage is packed.

Me, on the other hand, I toss everything and then regret it later. lol

**TheRootedNomad** · 05-03-2007, 06:58 AM

I'm more of a tosser too but it balances out in my house because I have DH and DS#1 are savers. I'm not sure if DH would be a hoarder or not I don't think so. He tends to save and save and save but then hits a point and tosses (I'm talking garage/manly stuff here) He doesn't really bring in extras to the house. I suspect if we can't retrain his brain DS#1 might end up that way. He'll save anything if you let him. Since the behavior has been recognizable since he was little I've contiually focused on trying to teach him other ways. I hope it takes as I have a sister that is definately on the hoarder path. She lives with mom and dad and the rooms she has taken over are filled floor to ceiling. It even oozes through the rest of the house.