That hoarding show really disturbs me.

[Ginevra]

Once I watch it, I think about it obsessively. (There's irony in there somewhere.) Part of what I continuously think about is how my parents (mostly my mom) is very much in the hoarding direction. She doesn't save, say, literal trash. But she has a lot in common in her thinking and demeanor of the people on the show. She compulsively buys from yard sales and thrift stores. She treats all items with the same sentimentality, therefore, the L.L.Bean coat she picked up at a yardsale (that fits no one) appears to have the same value as grandma's wedding dress. Their home is very cluttered. Functionality is somewhat impaired, but not to the degree you see on the show. But, say, a closet can't be accessed anymore because there is a tottering pile of things in front of it.

 

But, I think what bothers me most in that show is the way those traits run in families. :eek: I'm more the opposite way - a "clean freak". But I have those tendencies about a few certain things. I'm like that about curriculum and books. That's mostly it. Oh, and the darn mail/catalogs. It's so illogical how I feel about the catalogs. It's weird, but I am just not objective or logical about books and curriculum at all. There is such a fear that I will waste something I need later or want that information again and won't have it. :glare: Anyone with me?

[mrsrevmeg]

Wow, your whole post fits me. To.a.tea. My mother is constantly calling me a clean freak and saying that I don't put enough sentimental value on things. I say her house looks like a yard sale threw up in it.

 

I hate to through away catalogs. You never know what you might end up needing from one! :D

[Sputterduck]

That show bothers me, too, but it's because I'm more of a purger. I have trouble not giving everything away. lol There is always someone that needs something more than I do. I'm terribly happy to get any sort of clutter out of my house. I'd fall over and die if I were in any of those houses.

[dangermom]

I live in fear that I will become one of them. I like to get rid of stuff, and my house is fine, but I certainly have cluttery tendencies.

 

We have not been to my in-laws' in years because they are cluttery and hoardery. Not to TV-show levels, but I worry that it will get worse and we'll have to deal with it.

[dansamy]

Yes. Totally. I told DH the other day that he needs to outlive me because otherwise I will be in that mess. My mother is a hoarder. I have an irrational "I might need that" response to ordinary items that can easily be replaced if I ever do actually need one. It is a struggle. I do get the "paralyzed" response to cleaning/organizing things. I look at it and just freeze. I regularly pay a friend to "help" me. He comes over and he does the majority of deciding "this is trash" and discarding. He literally sits me down on the couch with the laundry and I do laundry while he does the clean/discard/organize routine. I'm not "allowed" to "rescue" anything. He knows what qualifies as "important" papers, etc and keeps those. I do think that I have a better outcome because I am aware of the problem and take measures to deal with it. I do not see a therapist or take medications. Presently, I am dealing with my tendencies at a behavior modification level.

 

That got a little long. :p Sorry. I totally identify with the show and I record it. It's like a form of self-therapy for me. It serves as a reminder and a warning that there, but for the grace of God, go I.

[Lara in Colo]

Everytime I watch one of those shows I clean out someplace in my house.

 

Lara

[Carrie12345]

I live in fear that I will become one of them. I like to get rid of stuff, and my house is fine, but I certainly have cluttery tendencies.

 

We have not been to my in-laws' in years because they are cluttery and hoardery. Not to TV-show levels, but I worry that it will get worse and we'll have to deal with it.

 

Same here, except I wouldn't call my house "fine". It's... Well, it's able to be cleaned up for company in a reasonable amount of time! I don't mind getting rid of most things, I'm just too darned lazy to do it in a timely manner. :tongue_smilie:

[Lolosoli]

I can relate with the homeschooling supplies. In that area I AM a hoarder! But, I keep things neat and tidy and clean. I cannot throw/give away or sell much of the curriculum I have and will never, ever use because maybe one day we will....I've actually said that my "future grandchildren might like to use this someday so I'd better keep it"!!! LOL

 

The same with books. I'd like to have a house with a library room someday...and I will...so, there is no point in tossing any of them!

Sigh...but, they are all nice and neat.

 

That is the one thing that bothers me about that show....seriously....couldn't they at least make the mess look neat and tiday!?!?!?! Is there such a thing as an "organized hoarder"? LOL Maybe they need to start hoarding book shelves and boxes to put the stuff away in nice and neat.

[Critter]

Here's motivation for you to keep your house and yard cleaned up...if you don't do it, someday somebody will have to. And they won't like it. My in-laws were hoarders, and when they passed away we started cleaning up their mess. We've been working on it every weekend since September. Having filled 8 of the largest commercial dumpsters, we're not even close to done. I've seen the hoarding show, and those situations are very close to what we're dealing with. Nothing was ever thrown away. It's like being on an archaeological expedition, uncovering layer after layer of trash and filth mixed in with junk mail, old clothing, razor blades, broken glass, unwanted books, and the occasional important document, photograph, or heirloom. I've learned more about my in-laws in cleaning out their house than I ever cared to know. If there is anything in your home that you don't want others to see, letters from your mistress, p*rnography, etc., then get rid of it now. We none of us know how long we'll be on this earth, and I do not want to leave the kind of mess they left behind. Do I sound bitter at all? I've been dreading this for twenty-three years. The sad thing is that cleaning up after my MIL has made me forget that sometimes she was a lovely and lovable lady. Don't ask me about my FIL, I could never fully express the scorn I feel towards him. I am very much looking forward to finishing this project and getting on with the rest of our happy little lives.

[Dobela]

Yes, I obsessively watch those shows. Yes, I could be over run with clutter - mostly books and magazines and catalogs. My next door neighbor is a serious hoarder and I have seen first hand the damage to every one involved. Right now she is using space heaters because she doesn't want to allow anyone in her home to fis her ac/heat unit. A couple of years ago she had a kitchen fire and the fire department had to be called in. They shut off her power until she met certain criteria and that took weeks. First she had to clean up enough to make it possible for someone to come in. Then because the smell was so horrible still, it literally took us 3 weeks to find someone that would come out and still work in the house after first smelling it and then they charged an incredibly high rate. She also hoards animals so it gets bad in her house. Real bad. The crazy thing is that she is a nurse and recognizes how this can effect health, but refuses to have anything cleaned with cleaners because they 'might be hazardous to the cats'. The cats all have some weird skin diseases and such they keep passing around from living in the filth, but she doesn't seem to connect the filth to their health problems.

 

Yes, it is comprable to some of the houses on TV. Her dd moved out of state because she just can't deal with it. Last year she came at Christmas and wanted to clean out the house but her mother made her leave after the dd suggested they throw out a box of old college papers (40 years old papers). It is just unbelievable.

[Impish]

I loathe that show. "Hey, lets put someone's mental illness on display for entertainment!"

 

Seriously, where do they come up with these ideas? That and I've seen commercials promoting a show called 'Intervention'. Great. Another family train wreck broadcast for media consumption. :glare:

[Rhonda in TX]

DH and his parents had a close family friend that was a hoarder. He hoarded empty boxes, of all things. His apartment had walkways , but the rest was filled to the ceiling with empty boxes. It was very, very sad. It interfered with his ability to function in life and we have lost touch with him. A mutual friend thinks they saw him living on the street somewhere. Very, very sad.

 

That new show called "Hoarders" (or something like that)? I can't watch it. I can watch the occasional "Clean Sweep", but not the true hoarding shows.

[dangermom]

Here's motivation for you to keep your house and yard cleaned up...if you don't do it, someday somebody will have to. And they won't like it. My in-laws were hoarders, and when they passed away we started cleaning up their mess. We've been working on it every weekend since September. Having filled 8 of the largest commercial dumpsters, we're not even close to done. I've seen the hoarding show, and those situations are very close to what we're dealing with. Nothing was ever thrown away. It's like being on an archaeological expedition, uncovering layer after layer of trash and filth mixed in with junk mail, old clothing, razor blades, broken glass, unwanted books, and the occasional important document, photograph, or heirloom. I've learned more about my in-laws in cleaning out their house than I ever cared to know. If there is anything in your home that you don't want others to see, letters from your mistress, p*rnography, etc., then get rid of it now. We none of us know how long we'll be on this earth, and I do not want to leave the kind of mess they left behind. Do I sound bitter at all? I've been dreading this for twenty-three years. The sad thing is that cleaning up after my MIL has made me forget that sometimes she was a lovely and lovable lady. Don't ask me about my FIL, I could never fully express the scorn I feel towards him. I am very much looking forward to finishing this project and getting on with the rest of our happy little lives.

 

See, I'm pretty sure that in 10 years or so, I will be writing this about my in-laws. They lost their house a couple of years back, and my husband went over there to help them move. Of course they were totally unprepared and hadn't packed, and he was horrified. When he was little they weren't like that, it was messy (6 kids) but totally livable and within the range of normal. It isn't anymore.

 

I also kind of agree with Impish--I watch this show and feel like I'm being a voyeur into other people's mental illnesses, and it's kind of awful. At the same time, I use it, because of my in-laws and my worries about myself.

[lovemyboys]

Here's motivation for you to keep your house and yard cleaned up...if you don't do it, someday somebody will have to. And they won't like it. My in-laws were hoarders, and when they passed away we started cleaning up their mess. ....... I've learned more about my in-laws in cleaning out their house than I ever cared to know. If there is anything in your home that you don't want others to see ...... then get rid of it now. We none of us know how long we'll be on this earth, and I do not want to leave the kind of mess they left behind. ........ The sad thing is that cleaning up after my MIL has made me forget that sometimes she was a lovely and lovable lady.....

 

Great reminders. Hope your project will be done sooner than you expect. :001_smile:

 

I've seen parts of the show twice and I cringe as I watch. It's so sad and yet you have to hope that their lives are changed for the better for participating, and that others are motivated from watching.

 

I know I've been, I start making mental lists as I watch and start cleaning up shortly after.

 

We move a lot and things get packed up and rearranged every.single.time. It gets exhausting putting things back in order every year or two. We've got lots of curriculum, souvenirs, books, regional collections.

 

We had a brilliant friend who was a hoarder. She was incredibly creative and always had things close at hand (fortunately her house was huge), but there were narrow pathways through the rooms and piles everywhere. It was borderline dysfunctional .... and then she'd create something amazing. She was very friendly and interesting too. I mention this because it seems like the folks on that show have agoraphobia or other social issues.

[PollyOR]

I loathe that show. "Hey, lets put someone's mental illness on display for entertainment!"

 

Seriously, where do they come up with these ideas? That and I've seen commercials promoting a show called 'Intervention'. Great. Another family train wreck broadcast for media consumption. :glare:

 

I can see where you are coming from. At the same time, the show has been very helpful for me. It is a weekly wake up call.

[TXMary2]

The first time I watched Hoarders I had a nightmare!!! My MIL from my first marriage was a hoarder. I don't think she let things die in the house and get buried under garbage, but she would not throw away newspapers and other items. She had stacks upon stacks of newspapers and I have no idea why. There were paths through her house to all the necessary places- kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and her chair in the living room. I only went to her house 3 times because I just couldn't stand it.

 

Also, one of my old neighbors was a hoarder. Her garage and whole house was filled. We moved so I don't know whatever happened to her.

 

I have a tendency towards clutter. I used to save too much and I am working on being better about throwing things away. I am about to have a garage sale with many of the things I am parting with. I was saving things in boxes in our attic and I didn't even know what was up there!! I am only saving truly sentimental items and precious things from when my kids were babies. The rest is going! I am also addicted to paper and have a hard time throwing paper away. In high school the whole saving trees thing was really drilled into me and I haven't let it go. I use the backs of paper for scratch paper, my daily lists etc. I have tried to make fancy to do lists on the computer, but I always revert back to my scratch paper that I won't throw away. I keep it neatly in a drawer and I go through it fast, but more always shows up! I know after years of thinking "I might need this" and with that never happening that it is OK to throw things away.

[lauriep]

Nothing was ever thrown away. It's like being on an archaeological expedition, uncovering layer after layer of trash and filth mixed in with junk mail, old clothing, razor blades, broken glass, unwanted books, and the occasional important document, photograph, or heirloom. I've learned more about my in-laws in cleaning out their house than I ever cared to know.

 

I've been dealing with the same situation with in-laws.

[mommaduck]

I grew up with a pack rat and have a few friends that are pack rats. A few of these ppl have learned to start purging. I have pack rat tendencies, but learned a long time ago that I did not want to fall into this trap and my husband is total opposite of pack rat. So I purge regularly and watch Clean House...seeing someone's home like that is bound to turn anyone off of any tendency to become like that!

[swellmomma]

I have thought the same things. Especially towards the curric. Before homeschooling I bought tons and tons of toys and clothes for the kids. To the point that nothing was cared for, too much of everything, too cluttered etc. Now I have added curriculum to that. I even wonder if it runs over into animals and kids. Not in my case, but I wonder if *some* of the families that have many kids are because the parents have that hoarding tendancy kwim, what about people like the crazy cat lady, or for example there was a home here in my city that was found to have 500 rabbits inside running around damaging everything, 3 years ago they took 200 rabbits out of the same home. Is that due to these hoarding tendancies? I record those shows on my PVR and watch them all, but then I worry the whole time if I have those issues and that is part of why I sturggle much with maintaining the house. While I have purged TONS of clothes, toys and books, I can *not* bring myself to get rid of anymore at this point and we have more than enough around here.

[Critter]

It can help to think that it would be a very generous thing to do to give all the extra stuff to someone else. Even if that someone is the Goodwill or Salvation Army. Surely we all know someone that could use all those clothes, toys, and even books, and if not, there are organizations that do. I think sometimes people get wrapped up in thinking that they might need it later. For instance, saving children's books, thinking that someday the grandkids will like to read them, when in actuality by the time the grandkids are able to read them, the books will be lost in all the confusion and hard to find again. Save a few special items out and give the rest away now, trusting that God will provide for your needs and the needs of your family in the future. Not to mention that your future daughter-in-law won't be writing embarrassing things about you on some future message board.

[Ravin]

I haven't watched any of the new series, but some of the one-time shows they've put on have inspired me to purge/clean. I had a great-uncle who was a hoarder, and remember visiting their house. The kitchen (great-aunt's territory) was clean, but there was only a very narrow pathway between the Weekly World News and other cheezy tabloid magazines and newspapers stacked everywhere in the living room. I think I mostly remember it because he's the only person I've ever met in real life that bought WWN.

 

I have a couple of friends who I think could go that way someday. I do worry about them.

[msrift]

This show strikes a little close to home for me. My aunt has been clinically diagnosed as a hoarder, and her therapist asked us if anyone in the family has any OCD tendencies. I guess the current thinking is that OCD and hoarding are part of the same family tree, so to speak. The OCD/hoarding trait is also correlated with alcoholism. It was a little freaky when the therapist explained this, as my grandmother was both OCD and an alcoholic.

[Halcyon]

Everytime I watch one of those shows I clean out someplace in my house.

 

Lara

 

 

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[teachermom2834]

My MIL is a hoarder. I haven't seen this particular show but I've seen shows Oprah has done on it and other newsmagazine type shows and my MIL is just as bad as the people they show. It's awful.

 

Dh has these tendencies. They have gotten better over time but I do sometimes find a stash of stuff he's hoarding. For him it is usually professional periodicals, advertisements for professional conferences, etc. I'll open up a drawer and just feel sick when I see the hoarding. And I am no neat freak!

 

It's a scary thing. It really can destroy lives.

[Dobela]

What amazes me (and my dh) over and over with theses shows and with our neighbor, is the extreme mental process that the hoarders go thru. Oh, my. They have to touch everything before throwing it away. The thought process they have to go thru to throw away an empty, broken container (like a shampoo bottle) takes literally minutes. And they do it for every. single. item. in the home. Sentimental feelings about a toilet paper package is just way beyond what I can wrap my head around.

 

They do talk in the shows about hoarding being connected to OCD (or perfectionism). One man couldn't throw out a soda bottle without doing some multistep cleaning routine for each bottle that took so long that the bottles just kept piling up. My neighbor is OCD, although she won't admit it any longer. She is also addicted to gambling and is a compulsive shopper.

[lisamarie]

Everytime I watch one of those shows I clean out someplace in my house.

 

Lara

 

This is exactly what I do. I see one of those shows and immediately have to clean something. I was talking to my sister on the phone one night before the show came on and I told her I was going to watch it and that I already cleaned out my office as a preemptive strike against hoarding so I could watch it in good conscience. :tongue_smilie:

 

I do have a pack rat tendency where I want to hold onto anything sentimental. I can toss just about anything, but I have a real hard time tossing things I care about unless I know they are going to someone who needs them. Like outgrown kids clothes and other baby stuff--if I didn't have my sister with kids younger than mine, I would probably still be storing all our outgrown baby stuff in my basement because I wouldn't want to get rid of it. But instead I give it all to her and only save back 1-2 of my most favorite outfits per size.

 

Or when my inlaws were over and FIL commented that BIL was wearing his jacket and that he wanted it back, I immediately thought of the leather jacket I'd taken when my grandpa died and it's just been sitting in a closet for the past 8 years and I did give it to my BIL and it fit him perfectly, but it was REALLY hard to let go of it even though I never wear it. These types of things are the only things I struggle with holding onto.

[TracyR]

I haven't seen the show but my sister is a hoarder. Her house is just so gross that I can't go in it anymore. Its sad because I really love my sister but the garbage, the smell, I can't take it. She has five kids of her own and we feel so sorry for them. She hoards cats and they spray over her house and the smell from that literally burned my eyes.

 

I am very different, though I will admit I hoard curriculum and books. I do keep it because I never know if or when I'm going to need it for one of my girls. Amazingly enough I'm glad I kept my 10yr old's 1st grade curriculum because I was able to pull it out tonight and use it with my 6yr old for whom it works well for. Other than that I'm a clean freak :>) LOL

[katemary63]

Here's motivation for you to keep your house and yard cleaned up...if you don't do it, someday somebody will have to. And they won't like it. My in-laws were hoarders, and when they passed away we started cleaning up their mess. We've been working on it every weekend since September. Having filled 8 of the largest commercial dumpsters, we're not even close to done. I've seen the hoarding show, and those situations are very close to what we're dealing with. Nothing was ever thrown away. It's like being on an archaeological expedition, uncovering layer after layer of trash and filth mixed in with junk mail, old clothing, razor blades, broken glass, unwanted books, and the occasional important document, photograph, or heirloom. I've learned more about my in-laws in cleaning out their house than I ever cared to know. If there is anything in your home that you don't want others to see, letters from your mistress, p*rnography, etc., then get rid of it now. We none of us know how long we'll be on this earth, and I do not want to leave the kind of mess they left behind. Do I sound bitter at all? I've been dreading this for twenty-three years. The sad thing is that cleaning up after my MIL has made me forget that sometimes she was a lovely and lovable lady. Don't ask me about my FIL, I could never fully express the scorn I feel towards him. I am very much looking forward to finishing this project and getting on with the rest of our happy little lives.

 

Heed the warning ladies! This is no joke! My own mom AND my MIL are hoarders. My MIL hoards, among other things....get this.....rotton food! NO LIE! She buys food she KNOWS she will not eat, puts it in her fridge, and lets it turn green. If you touch it, you are dead meat! She had to buy another fridge because 1 fridge FULL of rotton food was not enough to satisfy her. She had TWO full size fridges in her kitchen, FULL to overflowing with rotton food!

 

My own mother will not allow me into her home. When I visit my home town, I have to meet her at a restaurant. Other relatives are allowed in and have filled me in. It is exactly as shown on the hoarder show. Her living conditions are deplorable. She REFUSES to let anyone help her or to see a DR.

 

This problem DOES run in families. I see the tendancy in one of my own daughters. We are talking about it now. I will tell you all, living with a hoarder is HORRIBLE! And having to clean up after one is gone, is even worse! Please don't do this to your family! If you suspect you may become a hoarder, get some help now and NIP. IT. IN. THE. BUD!!! Do it for your loved ones! Life with a hoarder is HELL!

[Night Elf]

I can see where you are coming from. At the same time, the show has been very helpful for me. It is a weekly wake up call.

 

:iagree: I find all of those shows very interesting and I'm not a reality tv type person. I love Intervention. It shows how caring friends and family learn it's ok to stop ignoring and enabling addictive behavior. It's a real look into what these addictions look like. My children have watched it with me sometimes. I want them to know what can happen but I'd rather have them view it on a tv program and not in real life. It's great to talk about the situations. And of course, I like the happy endings and hearing the recovering addicts talk about what a mess they were before treatment and how that treatment has helped them. I don't even care if it's real or not. It's useful and informative.

[lauriep]

Not to mention that your future daughter-in-law won't be writing embarrassing things about you on some future message board.

 

Oh, the things I found that no daughter-in-law should have to find. May this be a genuine source of motivation.

[Margo out of lurking]

My husband is you. We see a lot of his mom in the show, in fact that's why we (hate to) watch it. Dh is a compulsive neat freak. For him, the worst part of hsing is that we actually take books, papers, pens out of the cabinets. If he had his way, our house would look like a model home, completely unlived in at all times.

 

I try to humor him.

[Cammie]

Is anyone surprised by how many people actually know hoarders? I am actually stunned. Of course, I know one too. An Aunt's mother who recently died. She had no indoor plumbing because she wouldn't let workers into the house to fix a problem when it came up years ago.

 

Aside from being related to OCD, I wonder if there is a cultural element to it. What I mean is, I have never seen or heard about hording being an issue here. However, America is such a consumer driven society perhaps that plays into it? When we moved 4 years ago we brought everything with us. Over the last few years I have given away bags and bags of toys and kids items. My son's room still looks like a toy shop! Between free items from McD and other fast food places, items too cheap to pass up at Costco, grandparents who send packages - we simply had more stuff than two kids could ever be interested in.

 

Very interesting, thank you all for sharing your stories.

[MotherMayI]

Aside from being related to OCD, I wonder if there is a cultural element to it. What I mean is, I have never seen or heard about hording being an issue here. However, America is such a consumer driven society perhaps that plays into it?

 

I have been wondering this very thing! Is hoarding unique to the U.S. due to our love of "stuff"? I would love to hear from our Hive boardies in other countries...is hoarding an issue people deal with in your country?

[Evergreen State Sue]

I have a relative that I believe is a hoarder. When I nicely brought up the subject in general, she commented that because they don't have garbage and food laying around they are therefore not hoarders. They would find that disgusting. Forget the fact that the husband buys things in twos just because it is a good sale and we're talking things like toasters and mixers - things you wouldn't need two of. Their house is so cluttered they only have a pathway going from room to room. The sad thing is we never get to really go over to their home as a family to visit because there really isn't enough room for our family of 4. If we want to see them, they have to come to my house or to a restaurant. Wish I knew how to help them.

[knit247]

I say her house looks like a yard sale threw up in it.

 

For some reason that has me laughing so hard this morning! Thanks for the laugh :D

[justamouse]

I haven't watched Hoarders, but I watch Clean House and that's good enough for me.

[elegantlion]

I watched the new episode last night. One of the psychologists brought up there are two types of hoarding. One is institutional (I think) hoarding where you keep things because you might need it or could use it one day. The other is emotional hoarding where you have some emotional tie to the object.

 

I have family members that boarder on hoarding. I tend to watch those shows and then purge, because I know the tendency runs in my genetics.

[PineFarmMom]

About ten years ago, through our church, I met a woman who had brought her 6-month-old twin grandbabies to live in her home. She said she didn't have room for them in her home because she had too much "stuff". A friend and I offered to help her since she had basically rescued those babies out of a very bad situation. We went to her home and oh. my. word!!!!!!! She was one that they could have had on the show. It was overwhelming and I didn't know what to do. I was also young enough and unknowledgable enough about that type of thing to actually think we could clean the place and help her. I had little to no knowledge of the psychological issues attached to hoarding. It definitely had to do with safety for her...her stuff made her feel safe. We had the notion we were going to sweep in, cull some stuff, make it tidy for those babies. Wrong!!

 

This was a single-wide mobile home, and the babies shared a bed in the KITCHEN!! Everything in that home meant something to her. We easily would grab something and say "Let's toss this." There was always some sentimental or logical reason (to her) why that had to be saved. There were boxes of old, unused crafty things that she "had plans for". There were broken things everywhere that she had purchased at garage sales and was going to "get them working". There were boxes and boxes of magazines that she was "planning to read" or had ideas and recipes she might use. She had a storage building stuffed to the rim. There were those milk crates stacked to the ceiling and filled with books. The dangers for babies in that home were so scarey!! I found broken glass under the baby bed, a large piece of moldy pizza stuffed into the cushions of the couch. It was awful. It was cluttery beyond belief and just gross!!

 

After two days of cleaning, moving, organizing and culling the handful of things she'd let us get rid of, she wound up telling us she didn't like what we had done and wanted it all back the way it was.:banghead: We wound up getting someone else in the church involved because we realized we had bitten off more than we could chew.

 

Everytime I see that show I think of that woman. The woman and the show have helped me to feel very free to toss things.

[4kiddies]

I have a great aunt whose mother was a hoarder and when they started cleaning out the house they found over $20,000 in small bills tucked away everywhere!

[Laura Corin]

I have been wondering this very thing! Is hoarding unique to the U.S. due to our love of "stuff"? I would love to hear from our Hive boardies in other countries...is hoarding an issue people deal with in your country?

 

She's not as bad as the shows I've seen (American ones) but there are starting to be rooms that you can't walk into. There isn't disgusting stuff in there, just books and clothes.

 

In her case I think the hoarding is part of a larger reaction to some of the following: a) feelings of abandonment (sent away at age 4 to live with grandmother; sent to boarding school at 7), b) reaction against her mother's nagging at her for being 'too' relaxed about housework and c) depression following divorce thirty years ago.

 

Laura

[katemary63]

I have a great aunt whose mother was a hoarder and when they started cleaning out the house they found over $20,000 in small bills tucked away everywhere!

 

Now THIS I won't mind so much! :lol:

[4kiddies]

Now THIS I won't mind so much! :lol:

 

 

I know...unreal. They haven't even finished going through the house. She just tucked bills here and there and must have forgot about it.

[asta]

Aside from being related to OCD, I wonder if there is a cultural element to it. What I mean is, I have never seen or heard about hording being an issue here. However, America is such a consumer driven society perhaps that plays into it?

 

Actually, it is the opposite: it is a holdover from the great depression. Germany has similar issues from WWI, as does Britain. Countries that suffered from extreme need at some point and then, even when there was "enough to go around", found it difficult not to "stash away just in case". The generation involved drilled the concept into the psyche of their children, and the mindset continued.

 

When you combine that mindset with mental illness, you get the horror that is hoarding.

 

And keeping "sentimental" letters and diaries? Oh, hell no. My poor BILs memory of his mother was ruined going through the literal hoard of her stuff by a simple bundle of letters. Have a bonfire as if you could die tomorrow. There is a reason your children didn't know you until after they were born.

 

 

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