UOCHD: What People Hoard.

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176 pairs of pants, 49 suit coats, 63 dress shirts, hundreds (maybe thousands) of brochures from Dr's offices and "free" stands.
5 ironing boards, nuts, bolts, screws which he sorts every Sunday, EVERYTHING.
New items that the person buys for no reason but because it was on sale and someday "may be useful".
Used tea bags, seed pits, new/used toothbrushes, used fabric softener sheets, toilet paper cores, phone books.
I like to collect pretty glass pieces, and if the get broken I can't bring myself to throw them away, so I keep the broken pieces. Mine I'm sure, is a sense of loss for me. I have had so many losses of importance, that the little things I need to keep to keep some semblance of me.
Clothes, music CDs, VHS.
Oatmeal.
Plastic grocery bags from Giant Food and Safeway stores.
Plastic containers that are rewashed and saved for...? Feeding the cats? Giving food away? Storing food? etc.

But, mostly has built up in big plastic sacks because I think of cluttering up the dump and it pains me that they cannot be recycled/reused!
Clothing that no longer fits.
My father has a home so packed with stuff (electronics,books,figurines,movies, nicknacks etc.) that you feel uncomfortable in it. He cannot park his car in the garage because of boxes and boxes of stuff he keeps. He is very proud of all his stuff. His identity is his stuff. He panics if he thinks something is missing. He believes somebody must of taken it.
Broken jewelry, necklace chains, clasps and beads. Scraps and pieces of wood all sizes. Plastic food containers, glass and plastic jars, plastic lids, spray bottles, make-up containers, all paper boxes. Scratch pads. Catalogs and mfgrs instructions. Cassette tapes.
Movie stubs of every movie seen or sporting event ticket stub (that's a lot of stubs to season ticket holders),plastic cups with team logo--collected from sporting events.
Measuring scoop from laundry detergent.
Clorox bleach bottles, plastic water jugs, liter soft drink bottles, suppose to drop off at recycle center but never gets around to it...
Newspaper place in car trunk because no more space in house, with intention of delivering to recycle facility but forget to drop off so stays in car trunk, also saves plastic bag newspaper is delivered in.
Business cards, match books.
Broken old tv's, small appliances, because one day I'll get around to repairing them.
Light bulbs.
Condiment packets (ketchup, honey, mustard ) from fast food restaurants, empty salsa glass jars.
Food.
Laundry baskets to sort and organize all the stuff - Dad probably has 50. Nothing is sorted yet.
Socks with no matches.
Broken electronic equipment for example a computer monitor that doesn't work, a broken vcr.
My dad even prints out emails to save them but they just end up piling up!
Those plastic rings that go around soda and milk bottles. I started saving these to be used as cat toys but, there are now too many to be of any interest to my cats.
Blank video tapes.
Pots and pans not used anymore burnt and broken.
House plants.
Any and all assortments of cleaners, which never get used for the cleaning, because the good intentions are never gotten to. Mainly because the degree of filth and clutter has become too overwhelming to deal with.
Can you hoard home repairs? Home repairs that go unattended to, until they also become too overwhelming to deal with.
Hoarding trash meant for the dumpster, but it is never taken out.
Self-help books and articles.
Bug sprays.
Dead pests (roaches, ants, rodents, etc).
Cats. My mom had 66 in her house when she was reported to the humane society.
E-mails. My mother is on at least a dozen mailing lists. Everything from financial information to backpacking (like she needs that - she just had her hip replaced). She has folders where she can store all the daily e-mails she receives. She gets all the same information by the postal service too.
When I was younger I kept price tags, shirt tags, and receipts. Now I keep plastic bags (just in case), pens and pencils, office supplies ( i love them), and pictures. I even found some pictures outside of people I don't know and just can't throw them away!
Books.
Stuffed animals - about a thousand and no end in sight.
Clothing, Emails, Papers/Bills/Receipts, Bags (plastic, cloth, paper), Photographs, CD's, Cassette Tapes, anything that is of definite practical use (due to the mess, I rarely get to use it, but when I clean up this mess, then I'll have a use for it) - oh, and I hoard silly excuses that prevent me from living my life to the fullest.
What about ketchup packets, plastic utensils, napkins, non-perishable food-condiment items, etc...
Plastic forks, knives, margarine, salad dressing.
My mother saves bills and bank statements, some have never been opened. She refuses to throw them away. If anyone tries to clean for her, bills and mail goes in a separate pile and will stay there for years. Now that plastic storage bins are so popular, she crams stuff in those until she has rooms of those. My mother is also paranoid. She thinks that SOMEONE will read her mail. On the rare occasion that it gets thrown away, she must do it a particular way.
First, the name/address must be torn off and then run through the shredder. Next the remainder of the pages are th be torn in tiny pieces then run through the shredder. This must be done even to coupons and sales circulars addressed to "Current Resident" She has gone through more shredders than I can count--none of them have been thrown away.
My mother is to the point that nothing gets thrown away and she blames everyone else for her mess. She is now addicted to local auctions, flea markets, thrift stores, and the like. I am also worried about her gambling that is "just for fun." There is always an excuse.
Broken large appliances that other people threw away, collected from other people's trash.
Mail order catalogs, even out of date ones. You never know when you are going to need to order something. I know I can get all that info online, but I still save the catalogs. I like the feel of the paper.
Those clothes she buys at the thrift store because she likes the fabric, style or color whether they fit or not. She has a sewing machine and thinks she will alter them, take out the waist so they fit or combine pieces. She also buys the big bags of miscellaneous stuff for $5. She has mounds of fabric in every room in the house as well as much of the stuff mentioned by others here.
Bookmarks on the internet. I hardly ever visit more than, say, five of the same websites everyday, but I think that by saving them, I won't have to search for that information again. Truth is, when I need something, I usually start a whole new search and either find those saved websites all over again, or find similar ones (which I then bookmark again!). I spend a good amount of time simply organizing and reorganizing information on my computer -- but I never actually USE it. I guess it's not really organized at all. Also, I tend to collect anything I think can be redecorated with some high-falutin craft project (that I never get to) -- cigar boxes, glass jars, pieces of leather -- this also leads to saving items under the category of "I will use it in a future craft project" - such as buttons, broken glass, fabric scraps, even lint from the clothes dryer as a "cheap alternative" to pillow stuffing. I haven't done any craft projects in about ten years. I can hardly walk in my house, and no longer invite anyone in unless I deeply trust them. Nobody would suspect it, I am neat and clean in person outside of my home. One reason for that, though, is that I constantly buy brand new and up-to-date clothes because I either can't find clean clothes under all the piles, or the cats have peed yet again on a newly washed pile that has no place to go but right back on the floor.
CD's, electronics, clothes, pictures, boxes, storage containers, old high school and college notebooks, books, magazines, musical instruments, posters, candles, grocery store bags, shoes, fabric, craft supplies, stuffed animals, plants, makeup, toiletries (soaps, lotions, sprays, deodorants, etc.). But the worst thing I hoard is bags of trash I can't make myself take out.
Clothing patterns - 300+ and I never sew.
Kitchen gadgets from the thrift store.
Bread in the freezer, magazines from the 60's, old fabric, soap-ends, etc. etc. etc!!!
Boxes of "gifts" for ...? bought on sale- Hey, it was a great deal !
Sewing machines from garage sales or pawn shops, I have 9. the 10th one I use, I bought 32 years ago,new.
A collection of potato mashers...18.
Sentimental stuff from 6 kids. (ages 18-34 now)...
Art supplies in the hundreds(I don't have the room to spread out to paint, though)...I cut up outdated clothes and categorize them by fabric and pieces, then store the cut up material in separate rubbermaid bins. It's supposed to be for collectible doll clothes but I've never made the dolls.
Yarns, by the dozens of skeins, in different types of blends. My favorite are the homespun blends for Afghans.
Magazines for articles on space saving, cooking, crafts, decorating, gardening, or tips on being organized. (haven't done any of them)...excessive linens in all sizes, sheets, pillow cases, comforters, throws, pretty quilts from second hand shops, in great condition. All piled in neat piles, with not enough room in closets.
Dozens of candle holders, incense burners, oil lanterns, I think 25, some are old green glass. I don't want to ever part with them.
Pieces of driftwood, for on the fireplace.
Yellow jacket nests found in Noble trees in the woods, also on the fireplace.
Four dozen very large pine cones from a native tree in the area (for decorations later) plants in flats that were free at the end of the season, I hope to transplant in spring. That would be hundreds of perennial for the yard. We'll see. Oh, the list goes on and on with no end in sight...
Supermarket paper bags, old shopping lists by my mom.
Antiques and Collectibles gone wrong... My parents enjoyed selling at antique shows and flea markets for many years but along the way their house turned in to a dusty warehouse and they spent thousands of dollars on garages rented to store their inventory.
Much of it over time was not worth the cost of the rents.
Old food and food remains. My mother has about 50 grocery bags full discarded pumpkin- seed shells and other discarded food on and around her bed.
Tons of empty Kleenex and Tampax boxes, because I might want to cover them with Contact paper and use them to store things in.
VHS tapes of TV shows (many seasons), clothes since the 60's, multiple gifts for people that are never given, souvenirs from trips , photographs, knickknacks - hundreds (maybe thousands)of all of these.
Junk mail, water bottles, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, receipts, and combs, wrapped in plastic grocery bags and collected and stacked in bedroom.
Cars that do not run are used for storing old newspapers.
Sales receipts. I find it very difficult to throw them away... even for the simplest purchase.
Unread magazines, half used notebooks and other paper for 'projects', yard goods that never get sewn, old 33 & 78 rpm records that might be 'collectibles', boxes for storage or mailing, plastic pots from nursery plants, old batteries that might still have some juice, old utility bills, old bank statements.
Wish bones from chickens. One day they will be used for making wishes.
Cans from dog food, canned vegetables, anything, but save the can...
Newspapers!!!!
Anything with a place name on it, like tissues from the red roof in from Canada, ashtrays from hotels, etc.
Lawn mowers, about 20, rusting out behind my parents' garage.
Gift wrap/bows/tags/gift bags & gift tins -- my mother has enough to open a shop, but doesn't even use them, preferring to give you the present in a paper bag and make a joke about it.
The extra buttons that come with clothes.
Nail polish, lipstick & all cosmetics given as free gifts. The boxes the free gift came in.
All boxes for appliances bought. Shoe boxes.
Hangers that come with clothes bought.
Bank statements and pay check stubs.
LAMPS found at the dumpster at apartment complexes!
Bras and underwear, pantyhose. Wrapping paper and gift bags.
I once shipped 7 huge boxes of "important stuff" from CA to SC when I moved....
Hair products esp shampoo and styling gel.
My husband has everything on your list. He has 2 very large storage sheds filled to the brim with junk . They are filled from floor to ceiling. Every room in our home has at least some of his junk. We have two garages filled on of them is half built and he still has filled it. Living with a person with OCD is very hard . He does not think he has anything wrong with him. And what scares me the most is now I am starting to hoard . But at least I see it coming and will seek help.
Thank you,
S.B.
Broken furniture picked up from other people's trash, to be fixed so more stuff can be organized and kept, old calendars because the artwork is so handsome, gallery invitations for other people's shows, class schedules for classes never enrolled in, the envelopes in which bank statements and bills arrive, the semi-rigid plastic forms that cookies or chocolates come in, to be used to organize and divide additional tiny possessions, lawn furniture that needs to be de-rusted and re-painted, but never is, a bicycle that no one ever rode, with flat tires, unique plywood pieces of sets from old plays, prickly wild plants that make walkways treacherous and should be transplanted to an actual garden plot, branches of bushes that should be trimmed, but never are, rough pieces of asphalt from a driveway that are piled up for a project that never happens, salvaged articles kept outside the house and creating an eyesore for neighbors.
Clothing for every age and size of person imaginable because she might run into someone who needs it someday.
I have over 300 prs. of shoes, 56 coats, 75 purses, 100's of clothing and I buy can food that I never cook.
When my sister and I cleaned out our parents house, her husband loaded almost a dozen broken tv sets into the 1st of two full size dumpsters we rented.
Twist ties, zip locks, planters, boxes, umbrellas, speakers, glasses, sleeping bags, any bag, vitamins & herbs, nail polish, scissors, headphones, microphones, hoses, bikes, hangers, poles, wood scraps, hair accessories, tents, chairs, calendars, cameras, keys.
I have/had a neighbor, an elderly lady who has was diagnosed with hoarding disorder. She is now living in assisted living where her hoarding can be monitored. Her house was piled with junk mostly useless.
She had a hallway that was piled up shoulder-level high with books, magazines, boxes on both sides of the hall with barely a pathway through.
She had "extra" tables chairs, hutches, everywhere.
She had empty ice cream cartons piled up to the ceiling and when I asked her why, she stated they were there "for a specific reason".
She had wallpaper sample books dating back to the 1950's.
She kept old calendars, get well cards, letters etc. You couldn't open a drawer that wasn't stuffed to overflowing and would barely open with papers.
She had clothes, hats, purses and jewelry back dating back to when she was in high school (she is now in her 80's).
She also hoarded cats but the number significantly had dropped in recent years due to the insistence of her brothers. The cats all peed and pooped pretty much everywhere and the house stunk terribly.
She had plastic sacks inside plastic sacks hanging on all the doorknobs. The house was never cleaned or vacuumed and offers to help her clean or clear out were met with extreme hostility from neighbors and family.
She also had boxes and boxes of expensive clothing items given to her by her family such as robes, pajamas, sweaters, etc., stored in a back bedroom still in the gift boxes that she wouldn't wear, she had to "save them for later".
Food.
In the process of shoveling out my dad's house....25+kites, 100+dice, 100's of cans of soda (full & out-of-code), 1000's of receipts (the winner, an Osco Drug store receipt from 1967), 1000's of lottery & scratch-tickets, 50+decks of playing cards, 100's of light bulbs (new, in package), 100's of batteries (packaged, loose, new & old), Toys (new), nylons (let's not go there!?...), boxes of condoms (nor will we go there...at least they were still packaged and expired!), 50+baseball-type hats (mostly new), food...gigantic jars of pickles, fridge stuffed to over-capacity...the list goes on and on...can't even begin to figure how much my mother has paid out for the clean-up!!! We've filled three construction-sized dumpsters and haven't finished yet...I think it's around $800. for each time it's emptied (including rent, etc.). Can't wait until it's done!
I hoard the soft plastic pouches with zippers on them to store stuff in. Sometimes I use them, and most of the time I don't. I also hoard all the cardboard backing pieces of anything I buy, because some day they might be useful. I collect sewing patterns that I never use and fabric that I never us either.
Boxed food items--rows of cake mixes, bread mixes, muffin mixes, staples such as flour, confectioner's sugar, bags and bags of potato chips and other snacks--bought because "they were on special".
Cardboard boxes for everything ever purchased, in case it might need to be shipped back to factory for repair some day.
I hoard plastic bags, empty film canisters, old magazines, wrapping paper tubes, catalogues, any kind of information leaflets or brochures, broken stuff that I can't bear to part with, toys from when I was young, paper, paper and more paper, clothes that will never fit again, pens that don't work but LOOK like they still have ink in them, batteries that aren't strong enough for whatever they are in but "might just have enough power left for something else", stones, loose change, boxes and stackable containers for sorting stuff that sit empty and unused, Kleenex boxes, wrapping paper from gifts I've gotten, etc. I tell myself that I just can't take the dust being stirred up from cleaning, but the truth is that I am afraid that I'll accidentally throw something out that I might need or that could be useful someday. I get a big bag full of 300 plastic bags and I think I should throw them out, but what if there is something important in one of them? Throwing them out means looking through them all first. *sigh* So the piles just grow and grow...
My mother kept every baby food jar from the time I was born - 1959. She has hundreds of them in boxes in her crawl space. She also kept every toy I ever had, wrapped them and covered them up so I could use them some day (I have no kids). She has phonograph equipment and reel to reel players that are obsolete, Says they "still work".
Magazines! Magazines! Magazines!
Mail, notebooks and papers from college, old discs from computer systems that broke, old or broken computers, condiment packets and napkins and free plastic cutlery from fast food, free soaps and lotion and shampoo from motels, magazines, books, clothing and shoes that I can't even wear anymore, screws and things that dropped off unknown objects, food items that I don't like and will never eat but still keep (nonperishables), clocks that broke, boomboxes that broke, pencil nubs, caps for missing pens, dried up pens, things people gave me (whether I like them or use them or not), boxes that dishes and electronics came in, empty or old medicine bottles because my name is on it, expired medicine because it might hurt someone, old calendars especially if I wrote something on it somewhere, empty water bottles, empty boxes, plastic bags, old underwear because I wouldn't want anyone looking at it, nearly empty cleaning supplies that never get used up, ancient salad dressing bottles, broken lamps, make-up I'll never use, old or broken vcr's and tv's, buttons I'll never sew on, any card that anyone ever sent me even though they never write anything interesting.
Old computer parts like from 286's and older. Also the boxes that computer cards come in, they are the perfect size for store ho-scale trains, so hubby has to keep them all and then asks other people for theirs.
I've nearly managed to cure myself by reading "space clearing" and "clear your clutter" - so my disorder wasn't so bad ? - after trying any possible solution all my life. The furthest I can remember of my youth, I already hoarded. I go on hoarding but manage to throw away. One of my biggest problem, still, is magazines. Now I manage to throw them away, except the articles I may read one day, that pile up with the other ones. I still can't help collecting 10 same issues of a magazine if I'm really interested by an article. I always take 20 to maybe a hundred of free postcards that I get in pubs, the worst was one that had 80 stickers of the Mao paint done by Warhol... I must have approx. 800 stickers and still didn't dare use any of them because that's such a treasure. I collect carpets from my neighbors' garbage, and other things I consider useful, like pans, broken kitchen appliances - I'm doing better as I really repair some of them. I download loads of music from the internet, that I don't really take the time to check, as well as SouthPark, Twilight Zone, etc. that I watch but anyway have to backup on CD - though I don't like to watch the same thing twice. I used to go to flea markets every sunday and wait for the seller to throw stuff away at the end of the day, because they throw away so useful stuff ! I can tell you I wasn't the only one to do that.
Quilt pieces waiting to be sewn into blocks. Note that I finally used some blocks to make throw pillows, but the quilts themselves remain unmade. I have yet to finish a single quilt.
Books. 90% of them I do use and re-read regularly. The remaining 10% (which is quite a lot!) are old, ugly, worn-out, and I can't stand the stories. But I just can't manage to give them away or throw them away.
Hair scraped out of hairbrushes.
Empty clean spice bottles, none of which fit in my spice rack.
Wire or electrical cords, including ones from appliances which no longer work. Just in case I ever need to splice a cord.
Pint ice cream cartons, and at one time, those plastic dishes from Lean Cuisine freezer dinners.
My mother collects everything. She has wedding centerpieces from weddings she doesn't remember anymore; the plastic tubes from the register receipt paper rolls-bag of them; the little metal piece on the top of the soda can that opens the can; strings from the newspapers; books no one reads; magazines not looked at for 20 years; just a ton of stuff everywhere. There is a path to get from here to there with just enough space for one person to get by. She is still in her 50's and does not accept any help with clean up.
My husband has at least 1,000 VHS tapes, which went with his obsession/compulsion to tape anything and everything that came on TV that he was afraid he might miss, at least 300 guitars, 2 RV's, bins and bins of recycling, newspaper, etc. etc. We are not living together because his house is not habitable. I am on the verge of divorce.
A broken down car used to store broken toys, empty coffee cans, etc.
Rocks and sand. Cleaning out my husband's grandfather's home...he collected sand from places traveled, rocks from everyone (heavy but easy to dispose of). Plus, everything already mentioned above and, lots of buttons and thread, family letters (good to have), empty chocolate boxes, church bulletins, old nylons, spice tins, glass jars, calendars, maps, matchbooks, company annual reports that he reviewed for potential investment, sorted newspaper clippings (comics, garden, poetry, health), etc. My husband's mother is also a hoarder...I have never been in her home, the family never visits her home, there is no room. I've no idea what we will encounter there some day.
My husband collects "homeless computers."monitors, keyboards, floppies, computer mags, software and the boxes that it came in, books, newsletters, modems, printers, cables, cd's. Anything and everything computer related!!! We moved into his mothers house when she had to go and stay with a daughter out of state. surprise!!! -We moved in on top of her stuff!!! The car is filled with computer stuff-talk about poor gas mileage!!! The front/back yards are filled with computer /other stuff !!! I refuse to accept rides home from people that i work with 'cause I am ashamed. We have never invited anyone over-i take that back- he allowed 2 women that we know to come in and they both had the nerve to jump on ME for allow things to get like this.
All of the above-plus bread bags full of used, dried paper towels to be reused; cases of new paper towels still in the wrapper; approx. 375-450 bangle bracelets; at least 7,000 books; cabinets overfilled with canned food; hundreds of ceramic swans. Every room in my mothers house plus her porch, yard and car became filled with stuff, even the bathroom. She makes an excuse to keep every single item. Future use, sentimental or monetary value, nothing can be discarded. It has taken over her life. She won't understand that she doesn't have anything of value. I can't walk through her house-instead I climb over junk stacked four feet high wall to wall in every room!
Shoes, shoes and more shoes!!! Plastic shopping bags, greeting cards (that were given to me, my husband or my son), pay stubs dating back 15 years. Books, magazines, price tags from clothing and shopping receipts. Mail, whether it be junk mail, letters, catalogs or bank statements.
Soda can pull tabs (first it was the "silver" ones, I have been able to cut down on the volume by only saving the colored ones. I save EVERYTHING I can think of a use for (and I am VERY creative).....if it doesn't stink or disintegrate I save it for a future use that has yet to materialize. Oh, yes! Anything that might hold things that I have hoarded! (Haven't found a jar big enough to put the house in....too bad, that would surely solve my having to dust and clean the whole house which I have yet to do. I save everything mentioned here before.
Office Supplies, especially paper products. The large cabinet in which they are stored is referred to as the Office Supply Shrine.
Anything that reminds me of my last boyfriend I haven't gotten over yet. Clothes that no longer fit me but that will when I lose twenty pounds. Books that were really good and I don't want to forget that I read. Anything that seems to hold some sort of memory for me. Receipts - just in case. Anything anyone that means anything to me has given to me - whether it be a gift of something they no longer needed. Emails. Boxes of stuff I'm afraid to go through. Cards. Letters. Books from college. Practically anything that has any emotional attachment.
My dad saves anything & everything that could be considered "scrap metal," including brass, copper and stainless steel gas plumbing fittings, coils and coils of copper wire, foam packing material of every conceivable type, mountains of bubble wrap, miscellaneous plastic pieces from cars he never even owned, plus assorted parts from cars he owned 30 years ago, dead cars he continues to pay insurance and registration on, wood, wood, and more wood including firewood, both cut into logs and still in long branches, plus endless piles of lumber and plywood scrap which never get used for anything but make nifty homes for the rats that live in the backyard.
One of my favorites is the red plastic sealing rings from drinking water jugs. He has bags of them for "an art project." I don't think my Dad has ever done an art project in his life.
He saves used rubber gloves, bags and bags of them, old broken furniture, hopelessly deteriorated, and FOOD! Cans and jars and boxes of food that goes bad before it can be used, icky food items nobody will eat, canned food so old the cans are rusty. Cans of things like "hearts of palm," and "water chestnuts."
Food from the farmer's market that rots in the fridge because there is too much for two people to eat.
The shed attached to the back of my parents' house should have been torn down years ago, and is steadily falling apart to the point of being a safety hazard. It is filled with a wild assortments of mildewed books and other junk, and everything out there is covered with copious amounts of rat feces and the shredded detritus from their nest building. It reeks of mildew, and there is no working light. In the winter water pours in between the edge of the roof and the wall.
This is the room that my parents stored their "extra" food in. Hoo boy. No wonder those rats poop so much!
I had an empty, one-pound coffee can in which I put the tops from newly opened cans. I wanted to see how heavy a one-pound coffee can would be with full lid capacity (I guess!). I had a long-time friend visiting from out of state and another friend who lived locally who were both at the house. I went in to take a shower and came out to find my kitchen cleaned and organized--and my lids were GONE! That was 1996; it is now 2003 and it STILL bothers me that the lids are gone.
I am hoarding makeup all of a sudden. I am 49, and I have more blush and eyeshadow than I could possibly use for the next 50 years. I think I am afraid of looking older in our 'youth' oriented society. I don't know my 'best' colors, or much else, but I buy this stuff like crazy. I do buy the cheap stuff, so it's not breaking the bank, but it's just ridiculous. But I can't stop either.
Mom saves everything. Her house is full to waist high. I have not been inside in years. The garage is also full. Broken appliances, paper, paper, paper, newspapers, magazines, clippings, records, cassettes, CDs, video tapes, knick knacks, books, clothes that no longer fit, food, cosmetics, and cleaning products that have been on the shelves since before I was born (in the 60's), now she is printing and saving e-mail, photos, our old clothes, our old toys--broken or not, stuff for art and sewing projects that never happen, items for fixing the house that never get used, broken tools, greeting cards, wrapping paper, anything anyone ever gave her (it would be impolite to get rid of), mail, bills and canceled checks going back 30 years. Things get broken or lost or ruined from the mess and she buys new things to replace them. My brother and I pretty much stopped giving her presents because there is no place for her to display and enjoy new stuff or it will get lost or ruined.
I hoard things that I like the most. I don't like cologne so I have 1 bottle of my favorite. When I discovered that I LOVE scented lotions and shower gels...well I have a shelf full. I won't use them all for fear that I may want variety. I have several bottles with 1 drop left in them as well as several 1/2 full. This also true of salad dressings, cereals, shoes, mail, email, lip gloss, lipstick, and bar soap.> I use the items in rotation in hopes they will never run out.
Old software that was valuable or expensive in its day, such as Word perfect 5.1 with boxed set of the manuals. Software that only works with Windows 3.1. Many keyboards, mice, and cables of various kinds. Beware of garage sales! People often discard items that truly are in good shape and good value, and a person with even limited income can easily accumulate most necessities of daily living. The problem happens when someone (me!) buys more than she needs in order to have spares, possibly give to relatives (they may not want whatever it is!), because it's such an incredible bargain, etc. Then one day you look around and discover you can hardly move in your house because of all the stuff, and it's hard to clean because you can't get at the floor! I think one really significant symptom of trouble is having to go out and buy something because you can't find the one that you know you have--somewhere!
My mother hoards small plastic mixing straws, plastic cups, wishbones, old food, used cat food cans, medicine bottles, magazines, anything that someone might need from garage sales (She goes weekly) like baby clothes and appliances, recipes, newspaper articles, mail, plastic grocery store bags, plastic containers, dishrags and old clothes.
Files, milk crates and bankers' boxes full of work-related files; plastic camera film containers;empty Kleenex boxes; clothes from thrift stores that "might fit someone in the family"; empty plastic pots for house plants; furniture that someone else set out for trash pickup; paper cups; small, plastic containers of all shapes and sizes, most without lids; broken appliances; 'rags'; paper clips; buttons; plastic clips from loaves of bread; mismatched silverware; mismatched chinaware; mismatched anything--because it was a great bargain!; lamps without lamp shades; lamps with broken lamp shades; oatmeal boxes; napkins; ziploc bags; and last but not least...fast food in bulk--because there was a coupon.
I question money as an item to hoard, that save for a rainy day mind set only I go to the extreme. Band aids save to use again. Hair as it comes out on the comb and brush.
Mom hoards all her old household poisons, products with bio hazardous chemicals that have been banned over time. Nasty pesticides, volatile solvents bottled in glass(!) during the 40's and 50's, gallons of lead paint, you name it. Get rid of them?, we suggest. No way, they're "so much better than what you can buy today."
Clothes and fabric. I now have more clothes than I could wear in ten lifetimes. I have probably a ton of fabric that I intended to make into clothes but I can never find a pattern I like. I know why I hoard these things. My family was poor when I was young and I only had three changes of clothes most of my life. Everything we had came from the salvation army. Kids made fun of me at school because I wore the same old things over and over. Now if I wear something once I can't stand to put it on again, but I can't bear to get rid of it, either. I hide my compulsion from everyone because I know it's wrong, but I can't resist the impulse to buy more clothes and more fabric. I did take the first step last month by selling some of the clothes I don't wear anymore at a flea market. It felt horrible to take money for them but I made myself do it. Then I blew it by going out and buying more new clothes with the money. I'm going to keep trying to escape this loop. I don't want live like this for the rest of my life.
I don't collect particular things, I just don't ever throw anything away - there might be a use for it. I have a three bedroom house and two of the bedrooms are full of things. My daughter is in the third bedroom. I sleep in the living room. It is pathetic.
My mother's house (large, 8 bedroom farm house) has become filled! My sister and I hadn't been home for 4 years (we live 45 minutes away) because mom would always have a reason why we should gather at our homes instead of hers. We knew mom had a shopping/collectable problem, and our home always had a room or two that you just kept the door shut. Anyway.. we have children now who want to stay at grandma's house... and she won't let them. She is gone on a two week trip, so my sister and I went there to clean and sort... what we walked into put us both into shock! The ENTIRE HOUSE -- GARAGE INCLUDED -- is completely covered with piles that are waist high. There is a one foot wide path leading from the back door to the kitchen and to a recliner, then up the steps to a bathroom.. that is it! You can't get anywhere else in the house. The oven, counters, tables are completely out of sight because of literally mountains of stuff. Stuff from our childhood, newspapers, magazines and then COLLECTIBLES my mom collects Hummels, Snow Babies, Antique santas, Crayola, Coke-a-cola etc. She has to have EVERY part of the collection -- Dept. 56 villages, you get the point. We have bought a storage shed, and are emptying the house (at least the main floor) before she gets home!! YIKES!
Magazines, books and newspapers and newspapers- Letters greeting cards that have been sent to me- hundreds of vhs tapes and DVDs- old cassette tapes of music, even if I have the same music on CDs- Tons of CDs, and record albums, even of music I don't even like- Hundreds of Zip discs containing stuff I have downloaded from the internet. I have broken myself of this one, but I used to have a jar were I put every movie ticket stub I ever had.
Paper products of all kind, the blank return envelopes from junk mail, envelopes with postmark.
Bills, receipts-just in case some problem comes up, I'll be prepared. This year started saving boxes, because we "might" move(again to be prepared). Have been saving odds and ends for about 5 yrs.,for craft projects (like mint boxes) with my kids,but never get around to doing the projects. My kids say,"Why do we buy stuff and don't use it?". Markers and pens that are not quite dried out, my kids drawings, don't want to throw out paper that still has some space left on it, it could be used for scrap paper, duplicates of pictures,various screws and fasteners that could be used to fix something, broken watches (that can be fixed or for parts) Was saving old computers for same reason, but they were taking up too much space. I haven't got to the place where there is no room to walk, and I try to be organized, but I do feel the place is too cluttered and "maybe" I don't really need everything I'm saving. It runs in my family, my mom and aunt were and are the same way only worse. I guess that's why I don't want to get to the point where cluttered becomes embarrassing/shameful (I've seem that with them).
I buy makeup. But I never wear it. (The bathroom is too cluttered and I don't have time) Lots and lots of yarn and I only know how to knit scarves and baby blankets and I've only made one baby blanket. Paper, magazines, old books, cards, letters, negatives and photos, and I don't want to think about what else.
My mom has just about everything mentioned above, plus cases and buckets of food storage (i.e. wheat to be ground, spices, herbs, canned milk, etc.) that fill up the entire storage room downstairs, and have spilled out into every room in the house. Also, when I was growing up she used to save mismatched socks until we had 2 large garbage cans full. Recently, my sis and I cleaned house while Mom was away for 3 weeks, we sent 12 pickup truck loads to the dump, hundreds of bags of clothes, clothes, etc. to several charities and we felt we had finally made some headway. Needless to say when Mom came home, things looked just the same as they had before in less than 24 hours. And on top of that, every time she thinks of something that she might have had, she almost has a nervous breakdown (literally) thinking that my sister and I might have thrown it away. My Dad and four brothers still live at home and she blames the mess (which you can barely maneuver a path through) on them! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!
My wife saves those cotton picking' butter tubs. I go to the refrigerator and open up tubs of fuzzy green beans, moldy meat, and unidentified substances when all I want is the butter. In a frenzy I opened the refrigerator and threw out at least 25 of those things. She hasn't given me a civil word in two weeks.
Gee I don't feel alone. I have old mail,new mail, receipts from 3 years ago, magazines, books upon books, my newest collection of fabrics, craft items, paint- I do sew and paint and make projects. I have all my old notes from college classes,articles on re-organizing (HA!), books of things I wanted to learn and do, but never have done them- spent a lot of money on them. I hoard shampoo, conditioner, many different hair products and I always make my hair the same way, make-up, old make-up, jewelry- cheap kinds, clothes, shoes- even ones I don't like, documentation from court battles with ex husband- maybe a bit excessive, unmatching tupperware. My boyfriend who has OCD in the way that everything must be organized and placed somewhere says that we HAVE to clean the basement. This is hard for me because I don't know what I might need. I feel like cleaning when I am stressed, but I never throw anything away.
I am a teacher. I find interesting lesson plans on the internet, print them, and file them. I can be in the workroom and spot something someone else is copying for her class, and ask for a copy. I tear craft ideas out of magazines. File, file, file! What makes this so pathetic is that I teach special ed, and my students seldom can do anything I think I have to keep on file! At home, I have narrow paths in each room because I have so many piles of "stuff." I like to paint, sew, and do crafts, so I have saved pages from magazines, etc. with things that I would like to make myself. I have a heavy cardboard barrel that is packed full of fabric--I'm going to sew--it's so much cheaper to make clothes than to buy them! I have boxes with empty powdered formula cans and empty baby juice and food jars that I saved from my last child "for school craft projects." She is now 5 years old and those treasures are still boxed up! I have several "legitimate" collections, but they are far surpassed by my hoarded items. I am ashamed for anyone to come into my house.
Magazines which are 10 years old. Newspaper clippings which I might need one day, empty perfume bottles and boxes, perfume spray cards. Shells, bits of nature - leaves, rocks, feathers, sand, twigs, etc. Extra buttons and beads off clothes, all letters and postcards received, emails printed and saved on disks, all university textbooks and notes, school yearbooks, school uniforms, girl guide badges, thousands of photos - sorted and unsorted, loose, slides, packets of photos. Old stamps, bank statements. I want to lesson the clutter and am starting to throw things away but it ain't easy!
Empty plastic containers to be recycled, which never are. Fifteen years'-worth of mail, almost all unopened. Empty dog food bags, dryer lint, boxes, packing materials (Styrofoam peanuts, cardboard inserts, foam blocks, plastic bags). Dead plants, broken crockery, clothes that don't fit. Fast food condiments, napkins & plastic utensils. Mail-order catalogs, books, worn-out socks, empty bottles & jars. Pieces of broken jewelry, old keys, beads, buttons, yarn, string, wire, and all sorts of unfinished craft projects. Burnt-out candles, old food (canned, dry, frozen & refrigerated). Aquarium supplies (tanks, bowls, gravel, rocks, decorations, heaters, thermometers, etc.) Old computers (going back to Commodore 64!), printers, modems, obsolete software/manuals, floppy disks (including 5") telephones that don't work, broken appliances, vacuum cleaners, toasters, blenders, radios, VCRs & stereo equipment.
Old make-up and nail polishes that were my mom's from up to 15 years ago. Anything people gave me, I feel guilty to get rid of them. How would those people feel if they knew? Old toothbrushes I may need for scrubbing one day. Bottles & toothpaste tubes with less than an ounce of product in them. Papers with notes from years ago, coupons, ads.
Silver coins, a whole jar full, mostly Mercury Dimes and old Quarters.
dozens of broken vacuums (I can fix them and someone can use them!)broken fans I can fix them and someone can use them!)containers and buckets by the hundreds (Everyone can use a bucket!) Broken appliances (I can fix them and someone can use them!) broken VCRs, TV sets, stereos (I can fix them and someone can use them!) Also sales papers and catalogs for years and year, so that I may track the sales price of an item & get the best price.
I hoard anything that I think still has some future use in it. However, I can give things up if I believe that the person I am giving it to will use it and not throw it away. Two years ago I gave most my of collection of fabric (purchased on sale for various sewing projects I never got around to) to a quilter. I hope she isn't a hoarder too! I love to recycle, but I have to fight the urge to save objects that the recycle center won't take (green, plastic soda bottles) just in case the center starts taking them. I don't know my hoarding is bad enough for me to be considered OCD, but I do feel very guilty if I send something to the landfill that could have been useful somehow.
Papers that have been peed on by the family cat multiple times that are "important". When I saw these I realized the problem was hoarding.
I have come to the conclusion that my mother is a hoarder...I live with my mother and my younger brother. The hoarding started about 6 years ago after my mother became depressed after a bad break up with a boyfriend. The hoarding is so bad that my brother has not slept in his bedroom for 6 years. It is filled with clothing....mounds of clothing almost to the ceiling. There is trash, old food, useless junk abounds, nail polish and other makeup and perfume from before I was born (I am 21 years old), craft supplies, old mail, opened and unopened, empty jars and cans, newspapers, this is basically the same things that most others have listed, and the list goes on...there is even an old junk car in the front yard that has all manner of "stuff" in it....my mom won't get rid of the car....I can't remember the last time that someone has been in the house other than us...my mom successfully dated a man for nearly three years...and he never stepped foot i! inside the house....the clutter and filth controls our lives...but you would never know it from all outward appearances....we are clean people, normal successful people in work, school, and social activities...and my mother sees the junk around her and can't do anything about it....and every attempt to help is met with anger...and her saying she doesn't have a problem.
Hi there, it sure was interesting reading what others hoard. I can see myself in most of the lists, maybe not now but surely in the past I have done or collected such things. I maybe lucky my obsession is old motorcycles parts and literature. My dad used to hoard such stuff and when he retired sold lots of it and had money to live off. I have just bought a new house with a giant shed but have to move all my stuff. My wife and close friends are in shock. Over 16 years I have amassed a large collection of bike stuff, including sales brochures and magazines. I sort of knew I was hoarding but thought at least it is worth a lot of money. Now with Ebay and the internet I have a way of getting rid of some of it. I just hope my back holds out till I get it moved. A lot of trips to the tip as well. My wife has trichotillomania, so we do have OCD together. Good luck to all involved.
I hoard cookware, exercise equipment, old clothes for every size I have been and hope to return to someday, condiment packets and plastic utensils from restaurants, computer monitors, printers, cords, cases with power supplies, guts of computers, old software with documentation, books, consumer electronics, bubble wrap, boxes, empty brown beer bottles for home brewed beer that I only brewed once a long time ago. I have two outside storage buildings filled (mostly) with junk floor to ceiling in wall to wall shelving units. My house has a path cleared for me to walk through. I never have guests. I haven't cleaned my house in years. I eat every morsel of food in front of me so it won't go to waste. I buy in bulk and take months or years to use it all. I compulsively spend up to my credit limit on new cards, justifying it as bargain shopping.
I save the boxes that copy paper comes in to store the stuff I hoard. It makes it easier to stack. I ran out of room in my house to pile the boxes, so I started piling them up on the deck last winter. I threw a tarp over the pile to keep it dry. In the spring I pulled the tarp off and there was a possum living in one of the boxes. I screamed so loud the neighbor 2 houses down heard me.
Seeds I collected from trees all over the campus where I worked and from trees outside the bank, etc. to plant when I retired. I'm retired now and not sure I can part with the seeds to plant them.
My dad is a very clean and organized pack-rat. He doesn't have any problem finding the things he hoards. You name it, he's got it, ten-fold. The most disgusting thing he saves is his whiskers. When he cleans his electric shaver, he puts the whiskers in bags. He even puts dates on the bags. He thinks one day he'll be in the Guiness Book of World Records.
Old high school and college notebooks! Perfect notes and diagrams taken during classes! I never read them! but they may be of interest in the future? HA!!!
Every pay stub received from my job!!!! since the 1980s!!! I don't think anyone is going to audit that!
My mother-in-law buys enough groceries for a family of four every week, and puts it away to rot. She and my father-in-law eat most meals out because she is depressed and the kitchen is too messy/full to cook in. Father-in-law does a search and destroy on the fridge every few weeks, ignoring her cries of despair and wildly vague ideas of how this item or that might be saved.
Quotes, poems, articles, lyrics, etc.
Proverbs.
Proverbs, sayings, quotes, song lyrics, articles, self-help info, poems, lists, mostly things that are on paper-printed stuff. Also, things that I think will help me become a better person, spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally-like, self-help things.
I am a first-class hoarder, although I have little other problems with my OCD. I have many broken toys, broken glass containers, ancient schoolwork, boxes, sequins, old clothing, clothing I don't like, gross lotion bottles, etc, etc, etc. We've been combating a rat problem in our house. It's not all my fault that it's happened, but you can imagine it contributed. Last night I may have reached the final straw, as I discovered that the first Christmas present I ever got from my boyfriend was chewed to pieces by the (now dead) rats. It's going to be extremely painful, but I'm throwing everything out.

My pain reasons for emotional pain connected to the stuff are that I have this lingering idea that I will hurt something's nonexistent feelings if I throw it out, and a deeply held desire to recycle as much of it as possible.
Oh my...I'm just like everybody else here. Got evicted, actually, because of my hoarding, and the cat situation, etc. The one positive about the eviction is that I was forced to abandon 2/3 of my stuff. But, 1/3 of too much is still quite a lot. I am working hard on the compulsion to buy more stuff, and am getting a lot better. (Have actually been able several times to walk out of a store without buying a single thing, because they didn't have the exact, specific thing I was looking for, and I wasn't willing to buy something to "make do" rather than get exactly what I needed/wanted. Am still struggling with throwing away the trash. Why is that so difficult for me?!
My sister and I both hoard shoes, clothes, makeup and anything else that we find at the thrift store...I have been married for 20 years and my husband is at the end of his rope...our bedroom has a pig trail going thru it because of all my stuff....I have about 40 bottles of perfume on my dresser and I rarely wear it. I think this disorder has to be genetic because my mother was OCD in the opposite direction....she only allowed us to have 5 outfits, 5 pairs of panties, 5 pairs of socks and 3 pairs of shoes, in addition we would have a couple of pairs of play clothes and a couple of dress up outfits but other than that we weren't allowed anymore. These clothes were kept lined up in the closet and or drawers according to color. I know it was the same illness that we have just in a different form.
I come from a long line of hoarders on both sides of my family, and I've got paper goods (now "family heirlooms") from as far back as 1809 to prove it! Actually it's worse than that; going through a box of papers found in the attic, I found a letter (from the 1880s) containing a piece of pre-Revolutionary paper money, with a note indicating that the person writing the letter had found the old money "in a box of papers in the attic." Guess the cycle repeats. My mother hoards books (she has thousands), but thankfully that's as far as it goes. My father (they are long-divorced) is an obsessive hoarder. We recently cleaned out his tiny studio apartment, and threw away more than 40 bags of trash (mostly paper) -- it had been so crowded that there was nowhere to sit down for nearly 5 years. We donated more than a dozen bags of food to a pantry (he buys in bulk), and gave away dozens of toys, small appliances, tools and gadgets. Donated 100+ books t! o the public library, 200+ paperbacks to a lending library, and still ended up with 2000+ books (more than half of those cookbooks) that he couldn't part with. He also hoards cooking gadgets, pots, pans, etc. (even though his kitchen had been inoperable for 10+ years and he microwaved everything); office supplies (pens, pencils, paper), small electronic gadgets, craft/art supplies, old clothes, tools, catalogs & magazines, receipts, manuals & warranties, baseball hats & useless "recyclables" like empty plastic bags and soda bottles. The clean out process was painful and scary for him. My own hoarding is relatively mild, but I have a tough time tossing magazines.
Hundreds of cans of paint. She gets them for free or discount and keeps them in the basement for the mural she will paint one day and never does. I'm afraid the house will be set ablaze.
I hoard cardboard boxes to use later, wrapping paper and bows, several "towers" of empty yogurt containers, bags and bags of potpourri that have lost their scent, boxes and boxes of herbal tea, even though I don't drink it anymore. Used to collect the tin cans that flavored coffee came in, but I got tired of them, stacked them in a pyramid, took a photo and threw them away! Then I ran into a school teacher who uses them for crayons which made me sad for throwing them away but I haven't missed them. There are several broken vcr's (3), tv's (4) that maybe could be fixed someday. There are magazines, newspapers I don't throw away until I have examined every one of them. I have all of the VISA receipts dating back to the mid 90's, boxes of cosmetic lotions & soaps that were purchased because I found out they weren't going to make it anymore. I keep paper clips, pens (even if they don't write), colored paper to use for "lists" that are all over the h! house. I have every check I have written (over 7000), every pay stub I received, every tax return for 35 years. I can see that this needs to stop.
I have to keep the ends of things... like a shampoo bottle with a little bit left, a sheet of nice writing paper from a set I've almost finished, toilet roll holders, cleaning products with a little bit left... I don't know why I can't let this stuff go, but I can't.
I am a 19 year old male that collects many things. I collect sea shells, my school papers, comic books, marble, games, sports autographs, cds, website information printouts, many books, magazines, videos, and much more. I am not kidding, especially since I like to be honest, and do the right thing. I,unfortunately have a hoarding habit that I like but wish I would change because of how it is a big problem for me.
My elderly father is saving large cardboard boxes of scrap paper, boxes of tablets, pens, stationery, binder clips and other asst. office desk supplies. He saves twisties, every conceivable size and shape of scrap wood imaginable(that he somehow has packed away in a basement crawl space), broken pinball machines, foam packing material, pieces of metal and steel, springs, and worn-out work gloves that he's found lying on the road. Out-dated textbooks from the '30's, magazines, newspapers. Broken plumbing and electrical supplies/hardware. Clothes that would be considered rags, he wears, even though he has dozens of unwrapped, brand-new items in his bedroom bureau drawers. Broken lawn mowers, concrete blocks, brick, ladders, scaffolding, and many 5 gal. buckets were being collected and stored around the perimeter of his home, until I cleaned it up last summer. He's saved old, broken, out-of-date electric motors and every imaginable part from such.! File cabinet after file cabinet after file cabinet of bills, monthly statements and asst. paperwork from the 60 yrs. of his adult life. From the daily mail, he cuts off the canceled stamps in the envelope's top right hand corner, deposits them in a glass of water and then shortly removes the canceled stamps, dries them, and saves them. He's been doing this since I was a child. I am 53 now. His OCD has prevented the family from ever functioning effectively.
Clothing going back six sizes and at least ten years. I will never be at that weight again.
i am having a weird reaction to my husband taking a bag of clothes to the salvation army. i have been trying to get rid of stuff, and i have tons of clothes, books, "art supplies" and sentimental objects. we are getting ready to move and i am sweating it big time. so i tried to get rid of some of my clothes. it helps me to donate to charity and to recycle stuff at the nearby recycling place. i am worried about moving to a small town where this kind of recycling center does not exist. it has helped me a lot, and i am really worried about life without it. i guess i am upset by our culture of waste and over consumption while the planet is dying. it makes me mad- and it is making me ill with this OCD type of hoarding. anyways, i had filled a bag of clothes and my husband took it without checking with me- i wanted to go through it again and double check, make sure i hadn't put the wrong things in it, and all of this nonsense thinking. i got really upset w! with him when he told me he brought it to the salvy. and now i am having all these anxious thoughts about what exactly i put in there because i can't remember. then i also have these ideas that i should consign clothes, or sell books on Ebay or to a used book store. but that is a lot of time and energy and it isn't necessarily going to be something places will accept for resale...the worst is that i have old rock t-shirts i don't wear anymore, or i don't even like the bands that much, and i KNOW they were in the bag...i keep thinking that i should have made them into pillows and tried to sell them online on stupid Ebay. forget throwing things away. it is beyond hard. my grandma died last month and she worked in a thrift store and liked a lot of knick-knacks. guess what i am obsessing about now. my mom gave away things i wanted of my grandma's, and now as i am trying to clean out my apartment and get rid of stuff, i am bringing home little boxes of my Grandma's things. I'd trade! e it all- even al of my stuff- just to have her back for one ! hour. hoarding is easy. dealing with death and loss is the thing that gets me.
44lbs of unopened packets of artificial sweetener, collected over5.5 years - you never know when you might need some artificial sweetener! Also 5.5 years of menu receipts for meals - 3 meals daily. There were over 6000 menu receipts tucked away in this person's single room.
My husband buys books, comic books, CDs and videos, clothes/shoes. He has 2 or 3 copies of some books. He buys them and hides them (major hidden debt). He has embezzled money from the family budget by recording less than the actual paycheck. He started selling his collection on the internet and made $$ with hidden deposits that simply went to buy other things. He has been on Zoloft for about 2 years and it hasn't changed his secretive, deceitful spending patterns at all. I think his doctor is a quack.
Corks-probably thousands.... magazines, articles, animal bones, dead insects, you name it.
Plants that have sprung up from the compost heap and will die if not potted and brought inside from the cold. You never know if they'll sprout something edible!
I make homemade soap toiletries, so I keep shampoo containers or anything plastic that holds liquid shampoo or soap. After the shampoo is all gone, I can put my home made product in it for our own family's use. It seems to make sense because it is so expensive to buy the plastic containers over the internet.
My mom hoard's used plastic drink stirs, plastic cups, cat food cans, recipes, baby clothes and toys, magazines, newspapers, pens, food. Etc Etc...There is not a spot in the house to walk or sit. Food is laying everywhere. Like I read in another post, she says "It is there for a specific reason" or "I will clean it later, I just can't get to it right now". She get's really mad if you try and help or bring it up...and NEVER touch her stuff.
I buy supplies for a dozen hobbies and counting, mostly inexpensive arts and crafts, but in huge amounts. I need to collect everything I'll need to properly pursue "my new hobby". I also get very upset at the thought of any of my friends coming over and using any of my supplies, and I rarely use them myself. I think of it as a combination of compulsive spending and securing myself against future poverty.

Other things I hoard are picture frames, African Violets, ring boxes, computer game boxes, manuals, receipts, bills, catalogs & flyers, old clothes, plastic bags (at least I use those for picking up dog poop, but there is a pile of those I've used, wadded up in the garage), perfume sample cards and empty bottles, cosmetics, candy, packing supplies (a walk-in closet full that no one can walk into), envelopes, emails, plastic bins (I use those for the craft supplies), candles, incense, old batteries, the drug Xanax (yes, seriously, I have a prescription which I fill monthly and save for an anxious day).

I also start internet businesses, obsessively creating the web sites and graphics from scratch, which I abandon on completion. I collect graphics for ideas and inspiration for this and "my art" to the tune of several gigabytes.

My husband collects computer parts and broken monitors, manuals, anime, television shows he copies from Tivo to CD, and the six big boxes full of CD's he's burned of programs for his computers. Looks like we're made for each other.
Worn out toothbrushes. I might be able to use them for cleaning.
Rocks.
Magazines, catalogs, newspapers (particularly local weekly paper) and piles of clippings. Old nic-knacks, broken costume jewelry, every greeting card ever received, bedding and linens, towels, rags, old broken holiday decorations, cosmetics, perfumes and their empty containers. Brochures, TV Guides, downloaded material, paperback books, plastic bags, old bills, receipts and statements. Complete paperwork from every past job, calendars, glass jars, old candles. Twist ties, matches, game pieces, key rings. Old worn clothes, even ripped and stretched out undergarments and socks. Kitchen gadgets, electronics, cords and cables, questionable batteries and light bulbs, used lottery tickets, cardboard boxes and mailing materials.
Printed materials: old bills, warranties, receipts, contracts, etc etc. few of these are of any real value. Books - on subjects that comprise my vast interests. I now have a personal reference library of over 3000 titles. Toys - my partner and myself collect toys, dolls, GIJoes, Hot Wheels, action figures, monster toys, movie memorabilia. Writing / office supplies - pens, markers, paper, envelopes, blank books, notebooks, binders, folders, etc. of all types far beyond my use or need. Some over 20 years old. Bags, luggage - purses, pouches, backpacks, totes, satchels, wallets, messenger bags, rolling bags, duffels - it's about holding, isn't it? Videos & DVDs - select subjects over a broad range, approaching 500 titles, more home made than store bought. Compulsive archiving seems to be an issue. I tape things I never have time or motivation to watch. Tapes & CDs - so many they are piled in sealed boxes in the back of the closet. I was into shoes for soooo long, and now I throw them out on a quarterly basis. I have stopped buying new shoes and mostly no new clothes either. I am thinning things out a lot. I also used to collect arts & crafts projects, sewing and needlework stuff, fabric...some gets used, most does not. Old electronics supplies - outdated external modems, AC adaptors by the dozen, cords for old radios, old radios and boom boxes that don't work, old computers that don't work, old phones, old answering machines...

I used to collect scarves, shawls - was I Jewish in another life? I couldn't leave the house without a scarf around my neck or shawl over my shoulders. It was like a security blanket, but not always the same one. The same with jewelry. I had to have on some sort of talisman. Originally it was a 'special' one, a medallion or something that 'meant' something superstitious to me. Then eventually it was random choices depending on the situation, but having to have some sort of metal and/or gemstone artifact on my person prior to leaving the house - for security, I guess. Then after a few years of taking neuroactive nutrients - Einstein's' Favorite by Super Nutrition - I found myself no longer feeling these compulsions. Perhaps the supplements aren't related, but what the heck. I feel able to leave the house without a single 'security' item now. It's great.
Lists that I've made.
Scraps of paper that I've written things down on, self-help articles I've printed out, etc.
I had started making greeting cards using rubber stamps, handmade art papers, and embossing glitter. I began acquiring stamps, different colors of glitter & markers, blank cards, papers, inks, and various charms, trinkets & ribbons that might be pretty attached to a greeting card. I started saving any little piece of paper that looked like it might be helpful in making a card. Then I bought magazine holders to hold my papers and my cards, and some plastic boxes to hold ribbons and glitter and all the different styles of little scissors that cut different designs on the edge of cards. My home office was already too cluttered to make room on the table to pull out all my supplies and use them to make cards. After about a year of this, I realized I had made a total of about 20 cards, and accumulated enough supplies to make a couple of hundred. I also realized I liked purchasing the supplies, touching them & looking at them and storing them better ! than I liked using them to make cards. I thought that was weird when I realized it, and chose to stop buying any supplies, though I put them in boxes in a big laundry basket and still have all of them. I just discovered this behavior is called hoarding--who knew?!
I save just about everything mentioned here, except for the computer stuff. I have gotten better though, Instead of saving the clothes that I can no longer wear, I will take off the buttons and save those. You can't deny that BUTTONS ARE BEAUTIFUL, IF NOT JUST TO LOOK AT. Food, no I EAT the food. I don't save newspapers, but I do keep receipts, tags, bills, papers and more papers. Wallpaper sample books, little stuff, I love little stuff. Hats, straw hats, shoes, material, crafts stuff, silk flowers, scarves, jewelry, lamps, cards, stationery, letters all personal mail, magazines, my house is full, every dresser full, every closet full, my garage, my patio, even the yard is about 1/4 full of stuff that we used to have a shop, only it was too cluttered to open to the public, and we wasted the money to rent it for 1-1/2 year, only to bring it home to clutter up the house, garage and yard, again. My husband got rid of the 2 cars that were no longer running, because I kept old clothes in those and stuff to use for projects ! I'm glad they are gone though. We also, rented a storage unit one time, only to bring everything back. I won't pay anymore rent for that stuff. Records, I may have over 1,000 records. NOT 8 tracks, though, my dad had the market on those, most of them got ruined in his old shed too. so, all of those were thrown out. I'm SO glad I went though everything in dads old shed, I DID find the most beautiful vintage picture of my deceased mother, that is priceless to me. Baskets, I had 7 large tv boxes of those, and I just went through them and gave most to our church for their rummage sale. So, ladies and gents, there is hope. I'm thinking, that if I can talk my husband into the by-pass surgery, I will have people come in and have a big auction. That way I can say my good byes to everything, and know that they went to good homes, and NOT to the land-fill. So long and good night. Deborah W.
My husband hoards computer information. He backs up his back-ups of back-ups. Even when information is printed out the same information is still hoarded on two hard drives, various floppy discs and CDs. He has a list of every petrol fill up, the amount, the miles per liter and how much the petrol cost per liter. This is for the car we have not owned for 3 years but insists this is vital information he may need someday. Some files are backed up 9 times in various locations. Emails are printed out but still stored on computer too. He keeps screws, nails, old electrical leads and adaptors, broken chains, half-watch straps, old watches,pens, credit card holders, holdalls, irrelevant reference books.
Books. It started with books. Then, I successfully purged my books. Well, most of them. I only kept the 'important ones'... Haven't purchased many since then (honestly). Now it's board games. I just counted and in the last two years, I have purchased more than 150 board games... I have duplicates of many of them - 'just in case' I may lose components. I rationalize it as something I can do to spend time with my family. But, we don't have the time it would take to play even one quarter of these games. I haven't even read the rules to half of them. Many are still sealed. . And then there's LEGO. Don't get me started on LEGO. 200 gallons and counting. For what it's worth, I came across this sight looking for a solution to my problems with procrastination - and avoidant behavior.
My mother-in-law "collects" what she calls "antiques". She buys things "on sale" whether she needs them or not (usually not). She never buys "one" of anything. Recently my spouse expressed a need for new socks (not intending for mother to buy them) and she came over with 36 pairs of very cheaply made socks that only cost her $2. She's always very boastful about her "bargains". She also has packaged and canned food in her basement by the case. We call it the bomb shelter. We cannot go into her house because she doesn't want anyone to see how bad it has gotten. When they first moved out to the country, the garage was usable and so was the house. Now, the garage is full of "stuff", every room and every space is taken up with stuff. There are narrow paths through the house to get around. The husband would build a new barn for things like a workbench or for the cars, but all three of them are filled from floor to ceiling with "stuff". He built an addition on to the house where the wife promised to keep it clear of things, but, now there are piles of stuff, floor to ceiling in there. There is also now a tractor trailer in the backyard that is rented because they ran out of room for the "stuff". There are also big items out on the lawn and in the yard that are rusting out in the open. Like little red wagons, five of them, one on top of the other, rusting. In the house, there is no where to sit any more other than on their beds. All other chairs and surfaces are taken up with "stuff". This woman has never been treated for this problem and yet, they are building a new house. She promises to get rid of the "stuff" and promises to keep the new house clear of things. The new house is supposed to be finished within the next two months and she has done nothing to get rid of what she has. What do you think will happen? I know. Until she gets treatment, nothing will change.
I keep many of the things listed, also programs from arts events, sporting events, marching band events. I might want to look back at the description if a particular dance or performer is repeated. I went on my first cruise and kept all the daily newsletters with scheduled events. If a friend goes on a cruise, I can show them what to expect. I might have considered giving some books away, but found out that a friend bought old books and made them into bases for lamps. That's like destruction to me.
I am concerned about my boyfriend. In the 6 plus months I have only visited his home 1 time. He had to clean for a week so that I could visit and there was a foot wide path through everything. He lives in a rather large 1/2 of a side-by-side duplex with a kitchen, dining room and living room on the first floor and 3 bedrooms as well as a large landing area and hallway on the 2nd floor. There is not an inch that is not packed with records, books, cds, dvds, posters, pictures, clothing, knick-knacks, musical instruments and you name it. The kitchen is nearly unusable as is almost every other room in the house except for the bathroom. There are enormous piles of clothing in his bedroom. He is addicted to garage sales, thrift stores and bargain centers. He will go to a dollar store and buy every copy of a cd for a dollar or a bit more that he swears are REALLY worth much more. He says that he is building a library for a time in the future and t! hat he plans to sell this stuff some day and/or that he is keeping it as a way to educate future generations. He rejects my gentle suggestions that I could help to organize, catalog and sell these items as I am skilled in all these areas and also have web space where I could set up a store for him.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing things is that he will spend his money on these items to the point of not buying items that he will gladly bum from me (ie. cigarettes). I myself do go to discount stores and buy items that I USE. Last weekend I needed plastic food storage containers (part of the reason is that he has all of mine from food I have sent home with him) and so we went to a local thrift shop. On the way home we stopped at a dollar store and he bought a bunch of the same copy of a worthless that he once again claimed were worth so much more. Then we get to my apartment and as I'm turning off the car he says, "I'm going to have to bum cigarettes from you. I don't mean to be cheap but I don't have any money to buy them."

O.K., so I have enough money to make sure I have groceries and house necessities for us (we don't live together but as I said before, we don't hang out at his place) but he can't afford his dirty habit because he bought a pile of cds from a band I've never even heard of? He looks to the bin on the driver's side door and points out some cigarette boxes and I told him those were trash. I know I keep harping on the cigarette thing but it is just one item. How can he feel good about bumming items from me when he KNOWS that I am in the process of digging myself out of some serious debt and my money is very tight? I'm about at the end of my rope. I love him very much and he is a good person but the weirdness and stinginess are really starting to get to me. I'm going to have to lay down the law but don't want to push him away. In many ways he is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

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