Are you a compulsive hoarder? If not, how sure are you?
By wittynet
@wittynet (4421)
Philippines
January 11, 2012 6:05am CST
I was really shocked with one story that was featured in one program that I watched last week. The host said that those people are compulsive hoarders. The whole house is filled by different things that they have collected for years. The bedroom looks like an stock room. They can no longer sleep inside the bedroom because there's no more space for them. They're just sleeping on the sofa in the sala. The kitchen is filled with different kitchen utensils and so many things I can no longer recall. The backyard is also filled with different old appliances and other things which for me are all trash.
They don't want to throw or sell anything. They want to keep them forever. They don't even want to clean any of them. The whole house and the backyard looks like a garbage site. There are also different kinds of insects that enjoy living in the house. The dust and dirt are everywhere.
5 responses
@CarlHalling (3617)
• United Kingdom
12 Jan 12
I'm a compulsive hoarder, but a highly tidy and well-organised one. I keep mementos reaching decades, and have done so in a variety of receptacles, and they have come with me wherever I have moved to. Right now, I'm organising them into boxes, and there are a good few. I never want to throw anything away, and this has served me well, in terms of my autobiographical writings, contained in http://smashwords.com./profile/view/carlhalling
...as I have been able to write according to informal diary notes horaded over the years. I am far from being a messy hoarder though; I dislike clutter, and strive to keep things as neat as possible. Although due to energy lapses, I can let my tidiness slide terribly. But yes, I'm definitely a compulsive hoarder. I'll keep all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons.
@wittynet (4421)
• Philippines
14 Jan 12
Hello, CarlHalling! 
I admire you for being so organized and tidy. All people should learn how to do these so that they can still appreciate all the things that they have been keeping for years. I am not a compulsive hoarder because I find it so difficult to organize all of them. In your case, these things have double purpose. They have sentimental value, and they also help you in your writing.
I admire you for being so organized and tidy. All people should learn how to do these so that they can still appreciate all the things that they have been keeping for years. I am not a compulsive hoarder because I find it so difficult to organize all of them. In your case, these things have double purpose. They have sentimental value, and they also help you in your writing.
@jadoixa (1166)
• Philippines
12 Jan 12
that is a crazy attitude to have, personally i would not want a house like that wherein we cannot move anymore because it is full of things that we keep on buying, and collecting, and stuff we don't really need or need anymore..our house has a lot of things around that is not needed anymore that makes the place of kind of crowded, i would want to throw or give away all those things that are not needed or useless..that are in the garbage, cabinet, or kitchen so as to make the house organize and have more room to breathe but my mom likes to keep it..if i have my own house i would want that there are only limited things around so there is more room and air in the house..but there are people who are really like that so are compulsive hoarders..
@wittynet (4421)
• Philippines
14 Jan 12
Yes, jadoixa! 
I strongly agree with you. I, myself, find it so difficult to convince my parents to dispose everything that we don't need anymore. They know how to keep those things, but they don't know how to make them tidy. I hate it! Just last week, I did general cleaning. Good thing there is a vacuum cleaner that did most of the jobs. If not, I'll suffer more from body aches. It took me more than a week to clean three rooms here. I no longer live with my parents, and I seldom visit them. They always sweep the floor, but that's not enough. They should also clean and organize all the things that they have been keeping for years. I was able to dispose some of them. I did it secretly. It's always a source of argument everytime I'm cleaning all these stuffs. It seems that they also want to hoard dust and other dirt! Oh my God! 
I strongly agree with you. I, myself, find it so difficult to convince my parents to dispose everything that we don't need anymore. They know how to keep those things, but they don't know how to make them tidy. I hate it! Just last week, I did general cleaning. Good thing there is a vacuum cleaner that did most of the jobs. If not, I'll suffer more from body aches. It took me more than a week to clean three rooms here. I no longer live with my parents, and I seldom visit them. They always sweep the floor, but that's not enough. They should also clean and organize all the things that they have been keeping for years. I was able to dispose some of them. I did it secretly. It's always a source of argument everytime I'm cleaning all these stuffs. It seems that they also want to hoard dust and other dirt! Oh my God! 
@AKRao24 (27424)
• India
11 Jan 12
Dear Wittynet! Yes, I can understand what you want to say! I too have seen such people who ae compulsive hoarders! They feel that they have got some sentimental attachment with the things and that is why they can't dispose them. Init9ially they keep them and they care f them though the things are of no use to them. But the passage ofthe times these things are neglected and they start accumulating dust on them and get rusted! These rusted things are then shifted to back yard or to the garage!
I frequently undertake the job of cleaning the house and I knock off the unwanted things and burn the unwanted junk to my house clean. Yes I too have some objects of my love at my place which are quite old, but either I keep them well packed or keep them cleaned every time!
Thanks for the discussion! I ;liked participating in it!
@wittynet (4421)
• Philippines
15 Jan 12
Hello, AKRao24! We're the same! I can never live in a room or house full of clutters. I remember one time when I moved to another apartment. My new place looked like a haunted stock room. Everything dirty that you can imagine was there. I had no other choice but to clean it. One day wasn't enough. I decided to be absent from my job just to completely clean the room. I had a room mate, but she never cleaned the room. I was really turned off when I met her after a week. I learned that she had a one week vacation. I also learned that she's been renting the room for several months before I transferred. Can't you imagine that? I told her the room looked an abanadoned one, abandoned for years. I also told her that I had body aches after cleaning the room. SHE NEVER REACTED. I can never imagine there are women like her. What a shame!
I did my best to encourage her to also clean her part of the room. There were times that I was cleaning the room during my rest days while she's still on bed. I know it's very unprofessional, but she'll not get up until late afternoon! Wow! This is insane! Yes. I wanted to shout and cry. I used reversed psychology. One time, I told her that we need to clean our room. She sounded so happy, and asked if we can bring our all our things outside for a while ... so that we can thoroughly clean the room. I told her I already cleaned my part. Everything is clean except hers. And this story is indeed very long...
We're the same! I can never live in a room or house full of clutters. I remember one time when I moved to another apartment. My new place looked like a haunted stock room. Everything dirty that you can imagine was there. I had no other choice but to clean it. One day wasn't enough. I decided to be absent from my job just to completely clean the room. I had a room mate, but she never cleaned the room. I was really turned off when I met her after a week. I learned that she had a one week vacation. I also learned that she's been renting the room for several months before I transferred. Can't you imagine that? I told her the room looked an abanadoned one, abandoned for years. I also told her that I had body aches after cleaning the room. SHE NEVER REACTED. I can never imagine there are women like her. What a shame!
I did my best to encourage her to also clean her part of the room. There were times that I was cleaning the room during my rest days while she's still on bed. I know it's very unprofessional, but she'll not get up until late afternoon! Wow! This is insane! Yes. I wanted to shout and cry. I used reversed psychology. One time, I told her that we need to clean our room. She sounded so happy, and asked if we can bring our all our things outside for a while ... so that we can thoroughly clean the room. I told her I already cleaned my part. Everything is clean except hers. And this story is indeed very long...
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
12 Jan 12
I heard some people like the one you mentioned. The I know is a middle-aged person who collects oldest things in his house but keeps every thing neat and clean. I am sure there is no insects of any kind. Even no dust is found there. I don't know what these old stuffs are for.
I am the one who hates seeing old stuffs around my house. Recently I've cleaned out old things I consider useless. I brought them all threw it in the garbage box some where away from home.
1 person likes this
@wittynet (4421)
• Philippines
14 Jan 12
Hello, yanzalong! I know why other people find it so difficult to organize and to keep all their hoarded things clean. They don't have the habit of doing it everyday. Dust for example will not be accumulated if everyday cleaning is done. It will only take few minutes. I always do the cleaning everyday. The result is indeed satisfactory. 
I don't also hoard things. I'm just keeping what I still need. We're the same.
My advice to those people whether hoarders or not is to have the habit of cleaning all your stuffs everyday. I tell you if it becomes a habit, you'll find it easier to do each day. Don't wait for months or years to clean them. You'll regret.
I know why other people find it so difficult to organize and to keep all their hoarded things clean. They don't have the habit of doing it everyday. Dust for example will not be accumulated if everyday cleaning is done. It will only take few minutes. I always do the cleaning everyday. The result is indeed satisfactory. I don't also hoard things. I'm just keeping what I still need. We're the same.
My advice to those people whether hoarders or not is to have the habit of cleaning all your stuffs everyday. I tell you if it becomes a habit, you'll find it easier to do each day. Don't wait for months or years to clean them. You'll regret.
@Mayuko (1268)
• United States
11 Jan 12
I wouldn't say I'm a compulsive hoarder, but I am a compulsive saver. Many times, I find it difficult to throw things away even if I haven't used it in a long time, and I can't say exactly when or how it will be used.
At the same time, my room isn't filled with so many things that it takes over the space as it does with the people in those programs. My mother things that when I move out, my house will look like theirs, but I don't agree. While I may find it difficult to discard some things, I am willing to get rid of lots of other stuff.
@wittynet (4421)
• Philippines
15 Jan 12
Hello, Mayuko! I respect your decision not to throw or dispose any of them. I was once like you. I have changed a lot when I started working far away from home and renting a room. For six years, I have already rented four rooms in different places. It's not practical to always keep the things I'll no longer use because I always need to transfer my things from one place to another. I cannot stay in one place for a long time because whenever I don't like the place, I look for another one. Why do I need to suffer if I no longer enjoy staying in one place? There are so many options. Aside from this, because I'm just renting a room, the space is limited. There is a need for me to also limit the things that I bring everywhere I go.
I respect your decision not to throw or dispose any of them. I was once like you. I have changed a lot when I started working far away from home and renting a room. For six years, I have already rented four rooms in different places. It's not practical to always keep the things I'll no longer use because I always need to transfer my things from one place to another. I cannot stay in one place for a long time because whenever I don't like the place, I look for another one. Why do I need to suffer if I no longer enjoy staying in one place? There are so many options. Aside from this, because I'm just renting a room, the space is limited. There is a need for me to also limit the things that I bring everywhere I go.