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Hoarding
- Thread starter Retro6
- Start date
Yeah similar situation here, I'm a mild hoarder especially with old nostalgic stuff but my wife instantly jumps on anything a child shows the remotest bit of interest in, so if one does a bit of colouring the next day there will be 3 colouring pads and sets of pens arriving from Amazon (despite the fact we have other sets sat on a shelf for years), if we watch a film there will be a toy associated with it purchased etc etc. Numerous lego sets which to fair we do enjoy building together but some of them get abandoned half way through and then mixed up with random old lego sets so no chance of finishing them.
I think having too many toys also sort of mentally trains the child that they don't need to treasure and fully enjoy any one toy since a new one will always turn up, and can limit creative play. When I was young you really had to get your money's worth from toys or combining the few that you had in some new way rather than just discarding them after a day.
I hope that's a comment on your skip and not the girls week away.
Even gold and things that can easily fetch money and other things like roman coins... you just never know what could be in boxes and bags, draws etc etc. Also the times we are living in now where "vintage" is all the rage because modern stuff is tat. Charity shops go crazy over slightly vintage items with prices, they'd probably faint at something from the 1800s. History does need preserving...
Oh I don't disagree but, like I say, what we find important is often just tat to other people.
Obviously valuable things are valuable, I don't think I was implying gold should be thrown away.
I'm not built to blindly throw things away. Unfortunately sometimes.
I'm pleased my mum his going through her stuff already, she's sent off stuff for cash - probably not the best prices but better to have money for her to spend now that to just wallow in a drawer until we have to clear it out
Soldato
- Joined
- 21 Jan 2010
- Posts
- 4,143
My mum is a bit of a hoarder, so I do not like it.
My wife keeps things, just in case. Plastic takeaway boxes are kept for food storage. The kids' old stuff? In the attic. Etc etc.
I has a moan on Sunday, pointing our our (230sq metre) house, 2 garages, big coal shed (10sq m) and shed are now all full. It did not go down well.
My wife keeps things, just in case. Plastic takeaway boxes are kept for food storage. The kids' old stuff? In the attic. Etc etc.
I has a moan on Sunday, pointing our our (230sq metre) house, 2 garages, big coal shed (10sq m) and shed are now all full. It did not go down well.
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I remember I had a thread along these lines in the Home & Garden subforum. Despite the search function not working I found it (Decluttering Your House), I can't believe it was almost three years ago! Time flies and lots got binned/organised.
This speaks volumes to me. With that in mind and to save the pain for relatives to deal with my junk, I'll do it for them
.
I break it down to different levels of stuff I want to keep:
- things I really need
- things I really love
- things I really use
- things I want to pass on
Then it starts to get a bit vague...
- things I might need
- things I might use
Then it's time be brutal and chuck it. It's worked well so far, even for tools that I'd previously hoard. I recycled 35 screwdrivers, 5 (blunt) saws, a lot random sockets for sets I no longer have, and many old hand tools that I'd bought replacements for. Streamlined the garage and it's so much better for it. Do it in other areas of your life and you'll be very happy you did.
This speaks volumes to me. With that in mind and to save the pain for relatives to deal with my junk, I'll do it for them
.I break it down to different levels of stuff I want to keep:
- things I really need
- things I really love
- things I really use
- things I want to pass on
Then it starts to get a bit vague...
- things I might need
- things I might use
Then it's time be brutal and chuck it. It's worked well so far, even for tools that I'd previously hoard. I recycled 35 screwdrivers, 5 (blunt) saws, a lot random sockets for sets I no longer have, and many old hand tools that I'd bought replacements for. Streamlined the garage and it's so much better for it. Do it in other areas of your life and you'll be very happy you did.
I agree... after seeing the state of the charity shops today with there rip off high prices I've decided not to donate anything to charity shops, I've got a hallway full of stuff that I was going to take there so instead I'll put it all out on the street corner. I got a huge train set which is going, I've only used it once I don't even know what possessed me to collect train set stuff so that is the first lot going out and there is a lot of it. I got loads of computer junk as well, power supplies, CD ROM Drives "IDE" cables, motherboards with bad caps, boxes of old video cards, not all of them work but I will go through those, save a few of the good ones, most are just old generic cards not really worth anything so all those can go. More boxes of random PC parts, tons of old trainers I never wear. More boxes of old console stuff to take to CeX what they don't take I will chuck. Well that is the first lot of stuff going...
Man of Honour
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- 5 Jun 2003
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- 92,069
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Same here. Open a draw... Oh look 6 pairs of scissors. open a cupboard, oh look lots of random stuff from the 90s.
Open another one which hasn't been opened for 8 years. Clothes. Lots of clothes she hasn't worn in a decade. Yet I have the least amount of cupboard space and other bits and every time I get rid of stuff she gets in a mood.
Fortunately I work from home a few days a week. I finally got rid of some of the old Christmas cards from last year.
It's so frustrating and wastes so much time and money by being so disorganised.
I've been making good progress today clearing things out. I came across my old Rotel amplifier from 1989, although it works it sounds very flat with a total loss of any bass or treble. I know whats wrong with it, it needs a bunch of capacitors changing and its been sitting my storage cupboard for years and I was debating whether should I attempt to repair it or just chuck it.... it has a nice transformer inside... it may have another issue besides faulty old capacitors as the left side glass fuse blows after half an hour of operating with speakers hooked up... it may just be fine once its been re-capped who knows... maybe I will hang on to it, I have a few audio electronic pieces to repair anyway in that cupboard.
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Soldato
- Joined
- 13 Sep 2010
- Posts
- 3,064
I have a few issues. I really need to get on top of it.
I'm a bit of a hoarder, with computer stuff mostly - I've got a lot of old kit that I almost certainly won't ever find a use for (back to a couple of LGA775 motherboards and CPUs, a pair of waterblocked GTX670s.... a couple of boxes of DDR1/2/3 RAM pulled from a load of office PCs that were getting thrown out), as well as some stuff (fans, new case, radiator) that I bought a few years ago but haven't got around to re-building my system.
I also have a lot of old clothes that haven't fit me in years, but are nice (and were expensive) so I keep them in case I ever get back down to a more sensible weight (or as 'motivation' to do so).
Beyond that though, the place is just a mess, mostly through my own laziness (and quite probably MH, which might be a bit better if I resolved it). I'm too embarrassed by it to let most people come round, except my best friend as he lives out of town, so sleeps on my sofa sometimes when we go out.
It started when I was recovering from surgery and not very mobile, but that was a few years ago and it's got gradually worse as I don't really know where to start..... I did buy a new vaccuum (guess which brand? ) as my old cordless one was utterly useless, but I haven't got around to using it yet as there's too much clutter. I also need to get on top of the recycling again as it's just piling up in the kitchen, as well of mountains of post I need to sort through and work out what I need to keep (and also didn't like throwing out for fear of identity theft).
I think the first thing (beyond the kitchen) I need to do is get rid of a load of boxes for any PC bits that aren't worth anything, then condense any parts worth keeping to a single box or cupboard and get rid of the rest. That'll give me the rest of my second bedroom (office/gym) back and hopefully once I start to progress it'll get easier to continue.
I'm a bit of a hoarder, with computer stuff mostly - I've got a lot of old kit that I almost certainly won't ever find a use for (back to a couple of LGA775 motherboards and CPUs, a pair of waterblocked GTX670s.... a couple of boxes of DDR1/2/3 RAM pulled from a load of office PCs that were getting thrown out), as well as some stuff (fans, new case, radiator) that I bought a few years ago but haven't got around to re-building my system.
I also have a lot of old clothes that haven't fit me in years, but are nice (and were expensive) so I keep them in case I ever get back down to a more sensible weight (or as 'motivation' to do so).
Beyond that though, the place is just a mess, mostly through my own laziness (and quite probably MH, which might be a bit better if I resolved it). I'm too embarrassed by it to let most people come round, except my best friend as he lives out of town, so sleeps on my sofa sometimes when we go out.
It started when I was recovering from surgery and not very mobile, but that was a few years ago and it's got gradually worse as I don't really know where to start..... I did buy a new vaccuum (guess which brand?
) as my old cordless one was utterly useless, but I haven't got around to using it yet as there's too much clutter. I also need to get on top of the recycling again as it's just piling up in the kitchen, as well of mountains of post I need to sort through and work out what I need to keep (and also didn't like throwing out for fear of identity theft).I think the first thing (beyond the kitchen) I need to do is get rid of a load of boxes for any PC bits that aren't worth anything, then condense any parts worth keeping to a single box or cupboard and get rid of the rest. That'll give me the rest of my second bedroom (office/gym) back and hopefully once I start to progress it'll get easier to continue.
Vast majority of stuff people hoard is junk. You'd get pittance for most of it. Not worth the time trying to flog it or bring it anywhere.
Calling it vintage and thinking its worth any thing is an excuse to keep hoarding stuff.
I've the last few years I've cleared my own parents house and the herselfs parents house. Simply put two large houses and 3 garages don't fit into one smaller house and garden shed. We dumped about 95% of it. A large part of the problem was a sibling who is a hoarder. Made the whole thing a nightmare.
My shed is half full of crates of tools from my old man's workshop. We still have about 10 -15 biggish boxes in the house. I expect a lot of that will get dumped also.
After going through that we started a clear out of our own stuff. For myself I've been clearing out old gadgets and IT gear.
I hear ya but a lot of my hoarded stuff is actually quite valuable that sells for loads on places like ebay but it would be quite labor intensive to take photos off all the things, then list them all and the rest of it, plus more, there is always more... I've also got tons of 70s/80s Stars Wars figures & accessories, stacks of CB Radios with SSB they now sell for 150 per radio, those have become very collectable 80s HeMan figures I will put some stuff online but most I'm just going to give away. I've also got way too many tools, my tool cupboard is over flowing, each time I need a tool I've got to pull everything out to get to the tools I need, lots of containers full of screws and bolts, bags full of mains plugs another cupboard to tackle once I've cleared out more junk.
Its so easily done... we get carried away in various hobbies, and in hobbies like these we tend to hoard without realizing it until it gets to the point where there is nowhere to put stuff and then once all storage spaces have been filled then as you collect more, the floor space starts to gather more things and eventually it becomes a nightmare... I've done the same with collecting motherboards, mostly Pentium II & III stuff plus socket 775 stuff, I think the bulk of what I have in my walk in wardrobe is retro computer stuff, many beige boxes, systems already built including 486 machines CRT displays old keyboards. I think it is a mental health condition because I ask myself why do I need so many, its not like I live in a mansion where I could have every system setup and displayed... in the end it all just becomes an inconvenience filling up space. The laziness part I think has a lot to do with being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff. Motivation is another big factor with having hoards of stuff... I must admit I have been becoming very motivated with getting things done over the past couple of years no matter how big the task is. Once things are cleared out its also so easy to get back into the habit of collecting again. Its a hard habit to kick. I think loneliness also plays a big factor, spending a lot of time alone where we tend to have quite a few hobbies that often involve buying/collecting things.I have a few issues. I really need to get on top of it.
I'm a bit of a hoarder, with computer stuff mostly - I've got a lot of old kit that I almost certainly won't ever find a use for (back to a couple of LGA775 motherboards and CPUs, a pair of waterblocked GTX670s.... a couple of boxes of DDR1/2/3 RAM pulled from a load of office PCs that were getting thrown out), as well as some stuff (fans, new case, radiator) that I bought a few years ago but haven't got around to re-building my system.
I also have a lot of old clothes that haven't fit me in years, but are nice (and were expensive) so I keep them in case I ever get back down to a more sensible weight (or as 'motivation' to do so).
Beyond that though, the place is just a mess, mostly through my own laziness (and quite probably MH, which might be a bit better if I resolved it). I'm too embarrassed by it to let most people come round, except my best friend as he lives out of town, so sleeps on my sofa sometimes when we go out.
It started when I was recovering from surgery and not very mobile, but that was a few years ago and it's got gradually worse as I don't really know where to start..... I did buy a new vaccuum (guess which brand?
I think the first thing (beyond the kitchen) I need to do is get rid of a load of boxes for any PC bits that aren't worth anything, then condense any parts worth keeping to a single box or cupboard and get rid of the rest. That'll give me the rest of my second bedroom (office/gym) back and hopefully once I start to progress it'll get easier to continue.
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Don't look at it as one huge job. Just start with a single shelf in a cupboard/corner of a room and clear just that part. I have the same issue with big jobs seeing them as one thing, but it's lots of little tasks.
I will get them done I'm just busy sorting out my house at the moment. I might get some photos up this evening...Still desperately waiting OP hoover pics
Problem is sometimes all those little jobs can interleave - just moving one thing can have consequences for a whole host of other things - and/or you can't shake the thought as to what approach is better for the bigger picture and then it can become overwhelming.
One of the first things to do is to categorise stuff but often the only real option is being able to just move everything temporarily categorising as you go - even if that is between chuck, maybe chuck and keep, then sort it as you put it back which obviously requires the extra space temporarily.