Are you a hoarder?

[boggen]

there is an un-orgnaized mess. "path that you barely can fit though" and then actual room and path ways you can walk done without fear of hitting something or breakin something or nocking it over.

put me on the later list. i hoard somethings, but there is a limit. and do my best to get away from anything that will attract any sort of critters, bugs to mice or like. if it gets close to critters, it is gone without thought. if i have to dig for 30 minutes to find something, then it is gone. if i have to goto more than 3 boxes / bins to find something. then stuff gets tossed.

 

[mjarrels]

No, I just like my stuff. Spent 21 years in the Navy and always had to look at a move every 36 to 42 months. Got lucky and stayed at NAS Whidbey Island for 10 years. Now I have two houses, two large garges, large bank barn, large machine shed and numerous other out buildings to store things in the dry. If is says Navy on it, I probably have one. I even have two Philippine license plates in the garage along with numerous advertizing signs taken from old sari-sari stores in the Philippines. Probably not another of these items for 9000 miles. Heck, I still have a jar of nuts and bolts taken from and old avionics test bench I deep sixed from the USS Enterprise back in the early 80's. And the list goes on. Once I'm gone, there will be one heck of an auction taking place.

mark

 

[/pine]

I think there is a law of whatever (like Murphy's) that says we will never find another use for any of the stuff we have "stored" until shortly after it has been tossed and is gone forever...!
...There is a similar law (or there should be) that says something about "moving" the above mentioned "stored" surplus...i.e., if you move a "stored" item that you previously known exactly where it was (regardless of how many years it's been in the same spot) if you move it (in an attempt to neaten or organize etc...) you will play heck trying to remember where it was moved to...!

 

[MossRoad]

While I have way too much stuff, I have made it a point to not let any of it invade the living spaces in our home. That's the wife's domain. You'd never know what lurks in the basement or garages based on the nice neat home our friends see.

 

[PILOON]

While I have way too much stuff, I have made it a point to not let any of it invade the living spaces in our home. That's the wife's domain. You'd never know what lurks in the basement or garages based on the nice neat home our friends see.

Same situation here.
Except my wife hoards sewing stuff and at last (quick) count she has over 150 cook books but I can't complain as she is really a gourmet cook.
So I guess we put up with each other.

Whenever she suggests I 'clean up' all I need to do is say OK we'll start with the books and magazines.
The main difference is her's is classified and mine is scattered.

 

[davrow]

One of my Old Man Mentors told me one time that he saved stuff for seven years. That was it, seven years.

We're in a slow process of moving. Trying to weed out the junk before moving it.

Our neighbor said much the same as MacLawn's mentor: "Everyone should have to move every 7 years. That's about the time it takes to accumulate so much clutter it becomes a nuisance instead of a resource".

 

[ultrarunner]

Probably... thing is I know what it costs to replace things and I wouldn't sleep well at night adding to the landfill

At work I've been chided for holding on to things... yet, the moment they need something, I'm the go to person.

We just completed a new imagining center and needed a 4' fire rate door assembly to the new area of the hospital...

Contractor came back and said can't match the laminate... has not been made in 16 years...

I said how many would you like kidding... he said one!... done deal because I had one that was being trashed... we paid over $2500 for that door in 1995 with hardware and rating and I was not going to let it go into the dumpster.

A few weeks ago cabinets were reconfigured in the lab... the bid was thousands to re-paper with the good commercial heavy duty stuff... seemed a shame when only about 150 square feet of matching would do the trick.

You guessed... up in the rafters sealed in a garbage bag I had just enough to make the repair... now, mind you I saved this from 1991!

 

[Larry Caldwell]

It's part of country living. Need an O ring? I have a complete assortment. Zerk fittings? Cotter pins? Shear keys? 5" lag bolts? It has saved me dozens of trips into town, $5 worth of gas to buy a $2 item. I will admit I needed a dental pick a couple months ago and had to make one.

 

[Loadstar]

My hoarding saved the day thanksgiving eve! Garbage disposal bit the dust, new one I got at night didn't line up. A radiator hose from the heap to the rescue!

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I had a friend who was constantly buying chainsaws. When I asked why ... he said;

A man just can't own too many chainsaws! lol

If I hoard anything - it's dogs! I have 7 at the moment

 

[Mace Canute]

Is it really hoarding if you're just too lazy to throw it out?

 

[farmer2009]

You never know when you may need something. That being said I will throw things away if I don't see a quick use or potential. I sell scrap metal once a year. But I don't sell pulleys or sprockets or such. They get the shafts cut off and pressed out. Lumber if of a usually size gets saved and stacked for future use.

Wife tells me I have too much junk. I say let's clean closets. She has things she hasn't worn since we got married. That usually ends it. When I buy new tools she ask why I am buying a woodworking tool, a metal working tool, a plumbing tool and an electrical tool. I say well I need them all 4 tomorrow.

Was in a group once had a guy ask an old farmer what skills where needed to farm. His response was "you need to be a jack of all trades. I may be an accountant, plumber, electrician, welder, businessman, and agronomist all before lunch." He was right. Very few days go by that I don't deal in more than one area.

 

[Mattc8832]

I 'm only 30 but yes I 'm bad about hanging onto items I do not always need. I grew up in the city and couldn't have anything so now I feel I have some freedom on my 17 acres......

 

[DrRod]

My hobby farm has been in our family for about 160 years. It was also used as home base for my grandparents' logging operations in the 40's. No one ever got rid of anything. It is a living farm museum with tools, mowers, washing machines, et al stretching back centuries. So the buildings start with a bunch of really cool old stuff. Then you add all the new stuff like chainsaws, ATVs, socket sets, etc. and there's not much room leftover.

But my big failing is going to farm auctions and buying a mixed box of junk for $2. There's always something in there that's really cool. Once I found a metal box at the bottom with over a dozen good brass padlocks stamped U.S. in big letters. Really cool but how many do you need. Once got two dozen switch plates. Needed a grinding wheel but got seven in the box. Have at least four hacksaws and a wrapped package of 12 new blades. And I will buy any metal wheels, wooden bushel baskets [hard to find anymore], or wooden boxes I see.

But once a year I load up stuff I'm not using and take it to the local farm heritage auction. You don't get much but it does reduce inventory. And you don't have to deal with shipping et al like with eBay. Of course, I always come back with a couple boxes, The stuff is so cheap I can't resist. Like the pair of old balance scales for $3 -- what a deal.

Something you might want to check out is Freecycle. You just post what you have and someone will want it. Got rid of a lot of old sheet music that way and a small school really appreciated it.

 

[kiotiken]

No, I'm not a hoarder but my parents have that tendency and because I grew up with that, I don't want to keep ANYTHING! I'll admit, I can be disorganized which leads to my workbench having a pile of stuff on it, but I'm happiest pitching things out. It's a struggle with 3 young kids, they have crap everywhere. I used to take great delight vacuuming up small Barbie pieces they used to adorn the floor, then my wife pointed out a Barbie accessory pack at the store, along with the price, and I'm now reformed. It drives me nuts how much stuff my wife brings into the house but it drives her nuts how much stuff I have for the outside of the house, so we have a shaky trues, I don't throw her stuff out and she doesn't sell my tractor, attachments or tools.

 

[Locoweed]

Nice thread. I enjoyed reading both sides of the issue.

 

[Duwop]

I'm surprised at the honesty, Denile is a problem with hoarding I am tosser I have thrown out more than I have.

 

[Fi-Q]

I am too... It´s in the familly I guess..... My dad keeps a lot of things, but he do throq a lot of it away.... The garage at is gouse ended up with 3 additions, all nice / clean and well sorted.... But he eventually run out of space, so he put a pole barn on my land 7 years ago, and Eventually put an addition to it, it is now 26x54.... And me, as of now I only have a 12x16 shed at home so I put a lot of stuff in the pole barn, I would mosy likely have filles her up, but dad is watching... .... So I am trying not to save too much... But beleive me, 2 seta of tires per vehicule, boats, canoe, atv, ski-doo, trailers, timbers, ect.... Just the basic take some room, so the pole barn is full, and I am trying to keep the pole barn yard clean and well organize with other "not need to be peotected from the element" stuff....

And the good rhing is that the pole barn is in the wood , 400 feet from the house, so the house aureonding looks nice and clean....