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I'm completely flabbergasted at the fascination with keeping numerous things that have absolutely no immediate significance in anyone's lives other than ones desire to keep it so I'd like to try and help anyone with the attitude of helping themselves from what, to me, is an obvious issue.

Anyone on the forum a "pack rat"/hoarder?

Anyone have experience with "pack rats"/hoarders?

I've watched a few episodes of "Hoarders" on television and have to say I'm very concerned in most cases for the health and well being of the individuals that live inside these homes.

Of 28 years of life on God's green BEAUTIFUL Earth I've never thought for one second someone would have the desire to keep a dead cat dwelling in the corner of her home but apparently getting rid of it would have been a bit more than she could handle. Am I to suspect this sort of thing is more common than most realize? I believe so

Living amongst mice flopping around what I could only imagine would be considered, to them, "Heaven" I regress the truth of ill health! :yh_sick

PLEASE! PLEASE!, for the sake of all that is Holy GET RID OF THE MOUSE POOP!

Scrat;1272314 wrote: I guess you could call me one but I don't think its so bad. I have over 100 scale models of various kinds, mostly armor and a lot of aircraft. I have a lot of them packed away because I simply can't have them all out at one time. Some are broken awaiting repair that I never seem to get time to do. I have some in various stages of completion and currently 2 being worked on. I can't seem to get this under control so I guess I'm a hoarder of a kind.

I've got a lot of tools also. A LOT.


Would you consider all that you keep is entirely limited to the models?

I assume this is all limited to one room...

K.Snyder;1272301 wrote: I'm completely flabbergasted at the fascination with keeping numerous things that have absolutely no immediate significance in anyone's lives other than ones desire to keep it so I'd like to try and help anyone with the attitude of helping themselves from what, to me, is an obvious issue.

Anyone on the forum a "pack rat"/hoarder?

Anyone have experience with "pack rats"/hoarders?

I've watched a few episodes of "Hoarders" on television and have to say I'm very concerned in most cases for the health and well being of the individuals that live inside these homes.

Of 28 years of life on God's green BEAUTIFUL Earth I've never thought for one second someone would have the desire to keep a dead cat dwelling in the corner of her home but apparently getting rid of it would have been a bit more than she could handle. Am I to suspect this sort of thing is more common than most realize? I believe so

Living amongst mice flopping around what I could only imagine would be considered, to them, "Heaven" I regress the idea of ill health! :yh_sick

PLEASE! PLEASE!, for the sake of all that is Holy GET RID OF THE MOUSE POOP!




The people on that show have a obsessive/compulsive disorder.



They are not the usual pack rats that we see and hear about that must keep certain things, these people have a very serious disease.

They keep everything and anything, they cannot help it, this disease can be cured.





myself, if its no good....out in the trash it goes as I hate any room full of crap.

I collect old tins & Rooster figurines.

I have a lot of old cow bells as well.

Some are on show,then I pack them away & get more out.

Having said that I cannot stand clutter or things not in their place.:-5

Our daughter collects things as well.

Husband collects coins & tools;):-6

Odie;1272319 wrote: The people on that show have a obsessive/compulsive disorder.



That is all they think about, they are not the usual pack rats that we see and hear about that must keep certain things, these people have a very serious disease.

They keep everything and anything, this disease can be cured.


Well sure...

I know a girl whom claimed her father was a "pack rat" and his house wasn't overly impenetrable...It was far too cluttered for my prolonged sense of comfort but hey people are people...

I am, however, very concerned with people that let their house get so out of control their kids end up with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

Scrat;1272314 wrote: I guess you could call me one but I don't think its so bad. I have over 100 scale models of various kinds, mostly armor and a lot of aircraft. I have a lot of them packed away because I simply can't have them all out at one time. Some are broken awaiting repair that I never seem to get time to do. I have some in various stages of completion and currently 2 being worked on. I can't seem to get this under control so I guess I'm a hoarder of a kind.

I've got a lot of tools also. A LOT.


no, that's not a pack rat, your a collector of tanks and aircraft's.

sounds exciting to have so many!

I go in stages of collecting different items, mine now are authentic wild life photos.

I cannot stand it myself. Every time I go to my friends house, I want to call for a dumpster :wah: She has collected dolls and they are all over her house :-5

There are dolls staring at me from every nook and crany and you have to move them to even sit down It's down right creepy in her house and I truly have to force myself to go and visit her.

Jazzy;1272423 wrote: I cannot stand it myself. Every time I go to my friends house, I want to call for a dumpster :wah: She has collected dolls and they are all over her house :-5

There are dolls staring at me from every nook and crany and you have to move them to even sit down It's down right creepy in her house and I truly have to force myself to go and visit her.


oh god, I hate that!

just so much darn clutter everywhere!:-5

that would be creepy, with them all staring at you.

Odie;1272434 wrote: oh god, I hate that!

just so much darn clutter everywhere!:-5

that would be creepy, with them all staring at you.


Wonder if she has a male blow up doll on her bed. That's one room I never went in

Jazzy;1272436 wrote: Wonder if she has a male blow up doll on her bed. That's one room I never went in


she probably has a tons of dolls on her bed watching you!:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl

Odie;1272438 wrote: she probably has a tons of dolls on her bed watching you!:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl


There is probably one of these dolls guarding the door in there :wah:

Attached files

Jazzy;1272442 wrote: There is probably one of these dolls guarding the door in there :wah:


:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl

My logic tells me that this infatuation with material objects is derived from having been hurt by people in the past...Perhaps placing an emotional attachment with different objects is what defines someone as a "hoarder" while having a large assortment of one particular type of object defines one as a "collector"...

Growing attached to different objects gives one the sense of creating a bond with a large variety of emotions...Emotions they hadn't received from people throughout their history...

It's truly sad the impact some may have on people enough to force them to shell out reality altogether...Very sad

Hoarding happens often with those with Dementia and the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease.

In many case adult protective services are sent to the house from a tip that the person living there has stuff stacked to the wall, or the outside of the house is unkept. You would be very surprised at how many people live alone with dementia or Alzheimer's Disease with no one checking on them or taking care of them very sad.

K.Snyder;1273154 wrote: My logic tells me that this infatuation with material objects is derived from having been hurt by people in the past...Perhaps placing an emotional attachment with different objects is what defines someone as a "hoarder" while having a large assortment of one particular type of object defines one as a "collector"...

Growing attached to different objects gives one the sense of creating a bond with a large variety of emotions...Emotions they hadn't received from people throughout their history...

It's truly sad the impact some may have on people enough to force them to shell out reality altogether...Very sad


Good post! I wonder if a compulsive buyer might be linked with a hoarder? I've known people who bought and bought and then hoarded the stuff. Sometimes 4 or 5 of the same object. One gal had a 14x20 room stacked floor to ceiling with boxes full of stuff.

I don't hoard but I do have many collections of things because I love the variety and I can remember where most of the things came from (and whom) Every time I dust them I take pleasure in recalling the history and I enjoy just looking at them. Like my art and music, I like to have all of that around me.

Zapata;1273168 wrote: I don't hoard but I do have many collections of things because I love the variety and I can remember where most of the things came from (and whom) Every time I dust them I take pleasure in recalling the history and I enjoy just looking at them. Like my art and music, I like to have all of that around me.


Well if you ever meet that pivotal moment where you've the ability to realize the mouse poop you're dusting really doesn't need kept I'd suggest follow it with blind loyalty as I doubt the alternative is a favorable one!

I don't think I'll ever throw out my fencing kit. It's all probably below regulation standard now, so I could use very little of it even if I wanted to or could fit into it!

But those weapons were part of me for a long while, and it would feel like throwing away part of myself. Nothing else, not even books, have that effect on me. I imagine the people who hoard everything inc the mouse poop have that feeling about everything that is "theirs". Brrr. Makes one shudder.

I'm not a hoarder Kev...I'm a tosser.



People fear me as I will toss, toss, toss...or give away;)

Kathy Ellen;1316362 wrote: I'm not a hoarder Kev...I'm a tosser.



People fear me as I will toss, toss, toss...or give away;)


No Kathy...............Jimbo is the tosser. :wah:

Clodhopper;1316191 wrote: I imagine the people who hoard everything inc the mouse poop have that feeling about everything that is "theirs". Brrr. Makes one shudder.


I myself would have to imagine it reminds them of the first mouse, which they have had fixated in the cellar and completely nothing to do with the location of the poop as this is a different attachment altogether, in which their first cat chased. The cat is incidentally enough nearer to the garden but also of no relevancy.

My fear is one being at ends with the fact one may ponder the cat and mouse were distinkly friends with each other

K.Snyder;1273154 wrote: My logic tells me that this infatuation with material objects is derived from having been hurt by people in the past...Perhaps placing an emotional attachment with different objects is what defines someone as a "hoarder" while having a large assortment of one particular type of object defines one as a "collector"...

Growing attached to different objects gives one the sense of creating a bond with a large variety of emotions...Emotions they hadn't received from people throughout their history...

It's truly sad the impact some may have on people enough to force them to shell out reality altogether...Very sad


its an obsessive compulsive disorder.

Odie;1316750 wrote: its an obsessive compulsive disorder.


Yes on the face of it, but on a subconscious level it has to be an emotional attachment/detachment in which I'd have to say is due to perhaps their inability to show their emotions to others, thus having the desire to convince themselves they truly do care by using objects to jog their memory. Just because one doesn't conscientiously think about a fond memory doesn't mean they lose the essence of that memory.

K.Snyder;1316756 wrote: Yes on the face of it, but on a subconscious level it has to be an emotional attachment/detachment in which I'd have to say is due to perhaps their inability to show their emotions to others, thus having the desire to convince themselves they truly do care by using objects to jog their memory. Just because one doesn't conscientiously think about a fond memory doesn't mean they lose the essence of that memory.


I don't agree with that as many are married and have families and show their emotions well.

hoarders are sick people who do need medical help.