Are you a hoarder or pack-rat?

[robert]

Do you have a ton of stuff and wonder why you have it?

 

I'm cleaning my room right now and I have way more stuff than I ever need. I do this a few times a year and everytime I come away with boxes of stuff I give away, donate, recycle, throw away (depending on what it is) or sell at a thrift shop.

 

I am one of those people who has trouble letting go of things like old t-shirts I'll never ever wear but my Dad got if for me on a trip or something like that.

 

Slowly, I'm learning to let go of this stuff. I don't want to end up moving so much stuff everytime I relocate and I don't want to end up with a house full of old stuff I don't need.

 

Anyone else have this problem of hanging on to stuff?

[CollegeB]

I never get rid of anything, and I add more to my collection all the time.

[Kathryn]

Yes, most definitely!

I have bad feng shui (sp?)!

I have so much 'stuff' around my home and office, I need to get rid of it. But since I live alone, it's easy to 'avoid' the stuff. I keep making it a project to clean up my space, but whatever small progress I make doesn't last long.

[SeaSiren]

Not to much, I prefer organization and peace. Although I used to save EVERYTHING including the conc. orange juice lid thingies.....you know just in case!

[Crash]

I am not a pack rat....I am a collector.

[willpeavy]

I'm the opposite. My goal is always to have a minimal amount of stuff.

[robert]

I want to be like you Will. I keep way way way too much stuff! I have a hard time letting go

[JW]

I'm becoming much more of a minimalist as the years go by.

But, I certainly have had my moments! I hear what you're saying about the T-Shirts Rob. I held onto a soccer jersey for 20 years before finally letting go. For me it's the nostalgia ...still have the shirts I wore when my kids were born.

[Last of the Sane]

I've got exactly the same problem...

Lots and lots of stuff i don't need but that i can't get rid off...

[robert]

I knew I wasn't alone on this one

 

JW, I know what you mean, I get those feelings too. I love to hang on to things that mean something to me, but I also feel good about donating them to others who will actually use or wear them. So many people need so many things and I have lots to give away, and I love it. I'll do it more often.

 

Spring Cleaning is Great!

[JW]

Totally agree on the spring cleaning thing!

 

I organized a used clothing drive at work in November. All it took was a couple e-mails, a littl muscle and a van. I was able to haul over about a dozen big bags of clothes to a local shelter.

 

JW challenges you all to do the same

It really isn't much work and it DOES make a difference!

[robert]

JW, I always accept your challenges! Whether it is in the squared circle or donating clothing. It's on!

[JW]

The wonderful thing about the internet is that I can be REALLY brave when I'm a couple thousand miles away from you

 

Bring it!!!!!

[SeaSiren]

I generally "bless" someone else with my unwanted, but in perfectly good condition items. I give them to a local church charity who gives them to the community.

 

I once watched a television show which had people who held on to items which had memories. She was able to get them to let them go when the realized the memories still exist and many are captured in photos. I found many of the items I clung to in photos, etc. Much easier to keep those!

 

Anyway, if you need any help, go to http://www.flylady.net It is free and she is great for "zone" decluttering in really short time periods (generally 15 min at a time).

[willpeavy]

The way I see it when you own less stuff, you end up spending less time on your stuff. And that means more time for what matters: family/friends, doing meaningful work, lifting weights, etc

[savebabe]

I'm a bit of both. I tend to "hoard" materials that can be recycled for later use.eg plastic bottles to be used as feeders or mini "cloches" for emerging seedlings. AS we don't have a recycling collection agency here (one lady had the audacity to say that the materials collected for recycling are actually just put into landfill anyway!!!!)We also make "paper bricks" using all our old newspapers. I am guilty of having lots of unfinished projects laying around home from materials salvaged from the tip (I have a metal tin thingy that I am going to turn into a garden centrepeice, and some wood to make my daughter her own garden seat, a garden seat/swing that needs painting, and new cushions etc, etc, etc.) Any old clothes/shoes are sent to op shops, and this is done on a seasonal basis.

 

Apart from that habit, I cannot stand mess around the house. I "go into one" if my house is a mess, my wardrobes color co-ordinated, no mess under beds, books are sorted by size on shelf, and I have ALL my condiments organised in my kitchen cupboard!!!! I have a major clean up at least every 3mnths to make sure all my tax invoices/paperwork are sorted. IF there is a mess that I have no control over (stock from the shop at home) I make it a rule not to go near it!

 

The only thing I find ti hard to part with are books and fitness/health magazines. My shelves are bulging to the brim at the moment. But even then if there is someone who I feel will benefit from the book or magazines I will give it to them (I'd say lend but you never get them back either way).

[Odidnetne]

I try to minimize my stuff, but I tend to minimize the wrong things, like I give away old clothing and what not, but I still have all of my cards from when I graduated high school, and I graduated High School in 2003.

[Matt]

Not a pack rat, but I love buying books and also have trouble letting them go. I got shelves and shelves and my wife always wants me to let some go to the local used book store or library. Can't....do....it....

[Tarz]

Total hoarder.

 

I hate throwing stuff away.

 

I've got loads of magazines from years ago, old clothes I will never wear again, books I will never read again. I've got old tickets and leaflets from all the places I've been too. I've got old scraps of paper I scribbled notes on. Old training kit I've run many a mile in or spent hours at the gym in I've still got at the bottom of a drawer. Old race medals and certificates from when I was a kid.

 

Your items/possessions partly tell the story of your life and for that reason I place great emphasis about retaining and keeping my belongings.

[robert]

Tarz,

 

I totally understand man, I'm the same way. I love to hang on to all the little tickets from events I went to, all my awards even from when I was little, and stuff like that.

 

But I also like the idea of not having much and giving stuff away to those who might use it (things like clothing I don't wear anymore).

 

I guess that is where the term "balance" comes in. I keep working away at it. My room is getting cleaner though

[Crash]

I guess I am a hoarder since I keep things because I am certain I will need them again as soon as I get rid of them. I do get rid of old mail, paperwork I don't need, clothes I haven't worn in a while, catalogues and the weekly world news, so I'm not in the pack rat status. However, I rarely give up any books, I still have things from grade school, HS and college and old workplaces, I collect comic books and some dolls, I have alot of figurines (for lack of a better word), I will not part with my guitars, etc. I just don't know where to put the stuff !

 

One of the shows that has helped me a little bit is Clean House, because it shows how and why they get rid of stuff and how they organize the stuff they keep.

[neil]

i come from a family of pack-rats and was one until i was 23 or so. moving a few times really helped me get rid of stuff. also, i've done pretty well avoiding buying more items thanks in part to becoming aware of environmental issues.

 

one thing that has really helped me reduce my possessions in the past year is freecycle.

 

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.