http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder The community for people interested in home and office organizing. en-US Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:52:17 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://unclutterer.com/discuss/search.php http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2816 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:15:39 +0000 Claycat 2816@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I love the sayings you and your mum have, klutzgrrl! I've seen Peter Walsh several times on tv. I know the shows had to do with uncluttering, but I can't remember if it was HGTV or TLC. He is quite good at getting people to let go of their stuff.</p> <p>He's on TLC, Clean Sweep. There is an interview here.</p> <p><a href="http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/cleansweep/videogallery/bios/bios.html" rel="nofollow">http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/cleansweep/videogallery/bios/bios.html</a> </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2810 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:06:59 +0000 klutzgrrl 2810@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>tchotchkes, what a great word! Love it! I like the women-who-go-to-gym analogy too - mum is forever saying that she 'must have a turfing-out session!' and I'm always 'trying to get things sorted'.</p> <p>We haven't really had those TV shows about hoarding here, and I recently listened to an interview with Peter Walsh about it (he's an Aussie who works in personal organizing in the USA, you might have seen him on Oprah), and he said that Americans tend to have a different view of 'stuff' than Australians do, (enabling him to look at it with different eyes so quite helpful in his work). So being described as a 'hoarder' would be quite unusual here.</p> <p>My daughter is definitely a tchotchke-collector so I'm heavily on her case at the moment to prevent it from becoming ingrained. I like the strategies like 'one in, one out'. I might have to buy her the book. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2747 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:36:10 +0000 badkitti 2747@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I really ike the idea of the one in, one out rule - my husband has that imposed on his cars - two classic landrovers and a normal car - when another one comes, one had better already be sold! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2741 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:07:40 +0000 MellieTX 2741@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Angelicious- how old were your kids when you started the one in/one out rule? Mine are young enough that I can just "dissappear" their clothing when outgrown, but the toys are another story. My husband just made a hoarder comment about our kids toys. </p> <p>My personal problem is paperwork, like you mentioned. I don't want to get rid of anything I might need. I'm getting better, in fact made significant progress last night. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2731 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:54:18 +0000 badkitti 2731@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I'm not a hoarder - I don't even think I'm a 'collector' anymore! Even my sentimental clutter has been trawled through this eveing and binned/recycled. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2728 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:27:01 +0000 angelicious 2728@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I'm a lot like bandicoot - my home is very tidy and "hoarder" is probably the last thing you'd think visiting it. However... I do have those tendencies. Growing up poor, we used what we could where we could. For years, I over-stocked cleaning supplies and canned foods, because that's what I remember running out of when we were kids. And milk - with two brothers, we were always out of milk. (Now I have two boys of my own, a tween &amp; almost tween, and I see why!)</p> <p>My biggest "hoarding" right now is paperwork. I have this deathly fear of throwing out some important paper/receipt/bill/whatever. Am taking drastic steps in the right direction: throwing out consumables receipt as soon as I enter them, being brutal with filing, taking advantage of scanner's PDF capabilities. I'm also using the Freedom Filer, which makes life easy and not so easy. o_O</p> <p>Easiest thing? Being brutal with my kids' stuff. They have way too many tchotchkes (Zoar, you got it right! :) and fave clothes that don't fit anymore or have holes. (Mooom! This my favorite (insert clothing name here)! I don't care if it has holes! What stain? I don't see a stain?!) And instituting the one-in-one-out rule (if you buy/receive a toy, you have to get rid of toy(s) of equal size and/or value. It usually amounts to an entire bag of tchotchkes and a happy mom dance) has helped.</p> <p>I will not raise hoarders. I will not raise hoarders. Aaaa-ummmm.... </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2714 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:51:47 +0000 Zora 2714@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I don't know him well enough to know if he's a hoarder. He may just be watching the TV show, as I do!</p> <p>P.S. I took my bag of chachkes? tchotchkes? to my Zen group today and THEY liked my stuff. It was gone in a matter of minutes. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2713 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:37:48 +0000 nellieb 2713@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I am not a hoarder nor do I have those tendances. I prefer a few really striking items rather than lots of tchotchkes!</p> <p>*Zora, why would your friend ask if you are a hoarder? Is he? That's what I would have replied since our actions and words are usually reflections of ourselves! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2709 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:40:23 +0000 jennysbelly 2709@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I don't think I'm a hoarder, but I do have some tendencies. I don't like getting rid of things that are "still good" -- yesterday I realized I was wearing a shirt (just around the house) in which the sleeve had unraveled about 2 inches. I also want to save things until I have a chance to go through them, rather than make decisions about them right away.</p> <p>When I moved from a 800 sq ft apartment to a 2300 sq ft house (with another 1500 sq ft of storage in the basement), I started to save things that I would have thrown out without question when I didn't have space for them. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2708 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:52:49 +0000 citygirl 2708@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I think I am not a hoarder, but could be one if I lost control for some reason (like on the show Hoarders where it seems that some big event puts people over the edge). I have definite hoarder tendencies but ALSO inherited a major "I like things super clean" gene from my mom which seems to counter the hoarding tendencies pretty effectively. I seem to contain the mess into one room (and closets of others) and keep it at a constant level of clutter-ness. Not good, but still manageable. I also have lots of outlets to get rid of stuff and seem to be able to do that really well (it seems to help when I know someone will love it/enjoy it/etc.).</p> <p>This forum helps a lot -- if nothing else, to help me know I'm not alone. And the tips and support are wonderful! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2705 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:20:30 +0000 bandicoot 2705@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>i am definitely not a hoarder.<br /> but i have distinct tendencies to clutter and mayhem.</p> <p>i guess i am like one of these women who is 2 pounds overweight but is always conscious of it and always on a diet and always running to the gym.<br /> if you walk into my house, you won't scream OMG HOARDER!! just like everyone is always looking at those women and wondering "why the panic? it all looks perfectly fine".</p> <p>it does look perfectly fine here, but i am always working on it in small ways.</p> <p>hoarding starts inside your head. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/are-you-a-hoarder#post-2703 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:25:07 +0000 Zora 2703@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I sorted through all my stored chachkes and kept only a couple. Some I threw away; the rest I put in a bag to offer to friends before I took them to Goodwill. </p> <p>So, here I am displaying the contents of the bag to an acquaintance. Two small ceramic cats, a clear glass paperweight, a small porcelain jar with lid, etcetera. He looks at them quizzically and then asks me, "Are you a hoarder?"</p> <p>Me: "I'm trying not to be." </p>