Compulsive Hoarding

I guess in a way it's not too dissimiliar from OCD. I used to be a hoarder of paperwork I was always scared that if I didn't keep accounts, statements etc from the year dot I would have the taxman or worse after me and I would need every single document to do with finance otherwise I'd be fined. Although that is minor compared to some people as to what they hoard! My mum always said if you don't clear out your old stuff you won't have any room for the new.

I'm not a hoarder. My husband likes to keep anything and everything but I don't let him. He knows I can't stand that and I'll just go throw it away. I think I have a problem with being too organized and throwing stuff away or giving stuff away that we don't need and don't use. I know that hoarding it's a serious problem for some people though. I did watch the oprah show yesterday and I just couldn't believe how her and her husband could live like that. They had just a section of the bed to sleep in and they couldn't even hardly see the tv because of all the stuff. They only had a small pathway to walk through the house. I felt so sorry for that lady. And then when they were cleaning up for her she was just so emotional. It took a lot for her to let people come in and clean all that up. It was sad too because she said one of her grandchildren was 12 years old and she had not been in her grandmother's house for 6 years and the other grandchild was 5 years old and had never been in that house. She said she was embarrased for friends and family to come in her house. That's just so sad. I'm glad she let them come in and clean it up for her and she says she isn't going to go shopping everyday anymore.

I am in the process of sorting through boxes of things that I have kept for years. Some of them are over 25 years old. I am trying to get rid of it but it is hard. I am not a bad hoarder but yes I do keep treasures. :)

I have a friend who is a compulsive hoarder. I'm actually really proud right now of her, because she is taking steps to free herself from this. I feel inspired and lucky to have such a strong friend. :) That test was interesting for me. I got a very low score for acquiring things, but a high score for clutter and difficulty discarding. I really don't feel the need to buy things I won't use, but once I have something I have a hard time getting rid of it, and I do have a lot of clutter. I've always just figured it had to be with being overly sentimental, and always keeping things because of those sorts of attachments. Interesting.

I have a little clutter,but it;s not bad. My biggest problem is that other people like to store things in my house and garage, and some of their things have been here for years.

no, i will could defintely say that i am not really a noarder. sometimes people here are really angry with me since i really like to throw old stuffs. sometimes when we have lots of softdrink bottles i give them away to some recycling areas for free. since those recyclingn areas will pay you for every plastic bottles and some soda bottles. i will just happily give them my garbages. sometimes old clothes i throw them away since it just clutter my cabinet and place. i really don't think that i will need those garbages. i am not that poor to keep those old things. i wish that some people will not really hoard garbages. i remember my grandmother when still alive liked to hoard things. her home was really full of garbages. and i really can't convince her to clean her place. i really don't know why she liked hoarding that much. and i now know cause i really read your discussons. so some people really are like that and i didn't know until i read this. now i understand my grandmother why she was like that. i really felt sorry for my grandmother back then. because her place was full of junks and garbages. i really tried to clean her place but she would not let me. maybe there are some things that are telling them behind their mind to hoard some thing. maybe they were deprived of some things before. i tried to care for my grandmother too. i was really sad when she passed away. i felt that i was not able to take care of her well. until i have some sadness that i feel inside my heart. i had wished many times that i could bring back the times and will care for her more and that i will be able to show her my love and will be able to give her more decent place to live. since i really don't have my own home, that's why i can't really take her with me when she was alone. though she was with some relatives near her.

I wouldn't say that I am a compulsive horder. I tend to throw out a lot, or give it away. My first husband was a compulsive horder. You should have seen his shed. It was a double size garage, & it was absolutely full, mostly of rubbish. One day, we got a man who collects rubbish to go through it, with us. He had a trailer & filled it twice with my hubbys old, worn pout belongings.

my landlord is like that

I didn't need to take the test to discover that I am a hoarder, Elusive, but I feel better knowing that I fit into the moderate range. Even I will begin to throw out things when they begin to pile up. I guess my desire for space counteracts my desire to accumulate things.

Nope I'm the opposite. I hate clutter or mess...LOL. I periodically for instance will spend some time going through old papers that has accumulated to see what I can trash out. But my neighbor. Yikes she IS the classic hoarder. She's been in trouble before, and has been threatened with eviction as her apartment was deemed not only a health hazard but fire hazard as well. She just can't throw things out and has garbage all over the place. Years ago, my mother used to volunteer me to help clean her apartment (gee, thanks) but it's always been a lost cause. Also I just couldn't help her out anymore as every time I'd be in her apartment to help clean I'd get asthma attacks...I don't have asthma! The apartment winds up looking exactly the same within a few months. Also, one time the Dept of Health came in to do a clean sweep of the place and they must have hauled out about thirty lawn sized trash bags of garbage from her place...and gee, guess what, it looks the same again.

I think I am not a hoarder,and I always throw the unuse things in order to make my room useful.

I think hoarding is a psychological problems, they need to consult a psychiatrist to deal with the mental condition. This is only seen in severe cases, others are not that serious. In fact, some people collect things out of their passion, either expensive or cheap.

Hi,ElusiveButterfly, i can say i am not compulsive hoarder but i have heard this and i can define as well that my roommate was like that and she tried so many times to come out of this but she dint. TK