Minimalist or Hoarder?
By Angie
@andriaperry (116936)
Anniston, Alabama
July 27, 2017 11:31am CST
Its easy to be a hoarder nowadays because we are living in the land of plenty with every form of advertisement telling us about the new and improved.
I grew up with just enough, we grew out of our stuff we got new and the old it got sold. Sometimes me and my sister would trade clothes and stuff with our friends but we were never poor and we were never rich, middle class working people, even us kids did yard work or baby sat.
Then I married a hoarder, well not an all the way hoarder but he would have been.
I had to stop even if I just did my part and the first thing I did was no shopping for a month, I went to the grocery store and bought enough groceries for a month and no more shopping for 30 days.
Talk about withdrawals! I had time! I had money! And ya know what I still had plenty of stuff.
About 10 years ago I sold, gave away or trashed 2/3 of my stuff, The entire house of stuff. I went back minimal.
Of coarse since then I inherited 3 houses of stuff but I did not keep much, I sold most of it. But I still feel like I need to do another clear out of junk, I know I need to get rid of clothing I really don`t use.
BUT what makes me think about all this hoarding and minimalism is a group I joined on Facebook and I was scrolling and reading, no comments just reading, and one lady expressed how free she felt since she got rid of her dryer, The dryer?!?!?! And she showed a photo of her clothes line with a sheet on it.
Minimalism for me is having things you "need" and not all the extra junk/stuff. I don`t have a junk drawer, that kind of life, not get rid of my dryer even though I do have a clothes line.
I am not all the way back to minimal but I am not a hoarder either.
How about you?
27 people like this
30 responses
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
27 Jul 17
I'm definitely not either, Andrea, but our vacation condo is always going to have minimal of everything. It's very freeing. I have a very large home here, loaded with every convenience you can imagine. The junk and old clothes are long gone, but we're happy with everything else, until we decide to sell. Right now, we want the five bedrooms for the grandkids.
4 people like this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
I also have a large home so I know what you mean, I am in the happy middle too but I am still getting rid of more stuff I see as unnecessary.
3 people like this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
@Marty1 I am glad you are making progress.
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
27 Jul 17
I am beyond minimalist. The only reason I have stuff at all is because it is used or free. And it sure isn't much.
I just don't buy things because of all the moving I have had to do.
I do not want a chain around my neck so for me, it is better to have little.
I have to my name, a single bed, a chair, a tv and a few kitchen gadgets.
Clothes are very few for me. I have 3 sets of summer shorts and tops, and 3 sweat suits for the winter.
A coat and so on and good boots.
Always ready to trek it or move.
4 people like this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
Ya know what, I used to be the same way and I loved it, one car load and I was gone. I miss those days and I ... yes me. one day may go back to where you are now.
2 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
27 Jul 17
@andriaperry Well seeing as I don't need a car, I don't have one, so that is also why I do not want stuff..that way, I can leave it, give it away, and backpack it..
It is very freeing, but then again sometimes I am saddened that I lack the feeling of security living anywhere.
Yes it is great tho isn't it Andria to be able to pick up and move at the drop of a hat.
2 people like this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
27 Jul 17
i was and still suffer with it. because i am still getting rid of stuff slowly. the kids call me a hoarder yet they don't look ahead and guess who they come to when they havent got something and no money to buy? lol
2 people like this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
28 Jul 17
@andriaperry oh i know. the only time i have done that is when i have little room like now and have things i can't find because of it being packed away some where and thinking i lost it in a move. when a person has moved a lot and lost so much they tend to hoard a little i think. i really don't think i am still the hoarder i used to be. i used to have over 400 books and 700 movies when i had my house but worked so much and never got a chance to read or watch them all. i was that hoarder. lol. then i got sick/disabled and had to move in with kids and give up my house. each time i moved i have given up more right now when i could read them and watch them. i have very few left. isn't life and fate a kick in the chin? lol
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
I do not judge a person based on what they have or do not have. I have to say I do hoard somethings like home canning food for winter, because its a seasonal thing, and toilet paper.
I am talking about stuff, like having 10 of the same item because you cannot find the one you need and buy more and more of the same item.
1 person likes this
@much2say (55686)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Jul 17
I'm not on the extreme ends, but I'm not smack dab in the middle either . . . I probably lean more toward hoarder 
. I look at photos of minimalist living space - and I just can't do it no matter how hard I imagine. Having young kids and being artists/crafters, we just have "stuff" and not about to give it all up. That being said, we're not to the point where we can't walk around with stuff stacked up all over the place - thank goodness. As the kids are getting older though, I'm finding that I have more time to organize things and finally take the time to get rid of stuff . . . at least "that" 
.
. I look at photos of minimalist living space - and I just can't do it no matter how hard I imagine. Having young kids and being artists/crafters, we just have "stuff" and not about to give it all up. That being said, we're not to the point where we can't walk around with stuff stacked up all over the place - thank goodness. As the kids are getting older though, I'm finding that I have more time to organize things and finally take the time to get rid of stuff . . . at least "that" .2 people like this
@much2say (55686)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Jul 17
@andriaperry I think one of my kids' hobbies is to put stuff everywhere 
. Oh yes, I will never just take their stuff or sneak it away in hopes that they won't remember - because oh yes they will remember. My mom did that to me - I resented that.
A new tv . . . now that's a motivating factor for sure!
. Oh yes, I will never just take their stuff or sneak it away in hopes that they won't remember - because oh yes they will remember. My mom did that to me - I resented that.
A new tv . . . now that's a motivating factor for sure! @andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
I think you are right when it comes to the children, they need hobbies. But when they go to get rid of stuff let them sell it at a yard sale so they do not feel its being taken. Then allow them to buy one big thing with what they earn and you will come out with happy children.
I made a deal with the ex that if he sold his stuff that he could get that new t.v. he did and it all worked out to the good.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
27 Jul 17
I am neither. I have a surplus of a few items. But I am not a minimalist either. I believe in comfort. I believe in making my life easier, not harder. I don't fit into a category.
3 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
27 Jul 17
@andriaperry That's the only thing I have a big supply of and a freezer full of good meat and seafood.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
Yes you do! You are the middle..... Mrs. toilet paper 
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
@AbbyGreenhill Yes and its awesome that you do! Cause I do too
@GardenGerty (160721)
• United States
27 Jul 17
I grew up with never really enough, including food. I think that fed my tendency to overeat. I have too much stuff but have been joyfully giving it away, a bit at a time. I am married to a hoarder, but it has to do a lot with automobile stuff. I have explained to him that having a bunch of old cars means we never have time or money for anything else, but he is not convinced. It is what it is. Sometimes your stuff owns you.
2 people like this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
Yes I agree its easy to hoard cars. Yes stuff does own us.
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
And if you think about it, all the stuff is put away and not even seen.
@Tampa_girl7 (50317)
• United States
27 Jul 17
I would not enjoy being without a dryer. I didn't have one when I first married and love having one now.
2 people like this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
I love mine too and I love my clothes line. But this year with the sudden rain almost everyday, I would be in trouble without one.
I remember not having a dryer back in the 1980`s, no fun!
@JudyEv (340466)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul 17
@andriaperry Good idea. People sometimes say they've saved 50% on something but if they don't buy it at all they save 100%. Which is about saving money rather than hoarding.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
What I am learning to do is not bring it home 
1 person likes this
@Courtlynn (67083)
• United States
27 Jul 17
We only have what we need/use. Besides extra containers, for giving food to family and friends, and extra totes for when we have to pack up to get new carpets... Whenever this place decides to give them .
.2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
27 Jul 17
Hoarders need professional help. And most of them don't even know it.
2 people like this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
I do agree if they are like the people I see on t.v.
1 person likes this
@MoonMaa (571)
• United States
27 Jul 17
It seems like when you get rid of stuff more comes. Last month I cleaned out my closet. I still have to go through some more of my things. I was happy because I got rid of some stuff that I had been wanting to get rid of and I wasn't really wearing it. A friend of mine told me when she buys something she gets rid of something. I am going to have to start doing this as well.
2 people like this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jul 17
Yes that is what I have to do too so I wont over do it with clothes.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
27 Jul 17
Ah I come from a long line of near-hoarders and am trying to figure it all out :-) Living in a small apartment helps.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (180979)
• United States
28 Jul 17
I would say I lean toward the hoarding side. I don't like getting rid of stuff..but when you have too much it is hard to find what you need. I have to be honest..that most of the stuff I hang on to I will not use again.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180979)
• United States
28 Jul 17
@andriaperry I would love to, but I am far off the beaten path here. I might try to team up with somebody in an area that gets more traffic though. Another problem is that people that go to yardsales expect to pay no money for items that might have cost a bundle initially. I have done better with the selling apps.
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
28 Jul 17
Next step is to let it go to someone who can use it, why not have a yard sale?
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (80030)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
27 Jul 17
We always hang our clothes out to dry even in the winter. Of course weather permitting then we have an opportunity to hang the clothes inside. As for stuff I have two rooms full of things piled in just so they are not in the way. As soon as I can I will have to go through the stuff and just get rid of it. Of course now that we have to be careful about what to spend nothing new is coming in so cleaning up should not be too difficult.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (80030)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
29 Jul 17
@andriaperry we only use a debit card so what is in our account is in there and it makes it easier to shop for groceries using the card. But no credit cards either. We already have too many financial problems.
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
28 Jul 17
I remember when I did not have an electric dryer and it was hard when the weather was bad.
See I refuse to own a credit card so if I got no money I dont shop for anything.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
28 Jul 17
I did not know buying color was a problem.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (43209)
• United States
28 Jul 17
I wish you could come here and help. We don't have enough room and everything is everywhere. I keep donating to the thrift shop and trashing a lot of stuff but it is out of control. I'm not a hoarder, it is just that my son does not have a room so he sleeps in the living room.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (43209)
• United States
28 Jul 17
@andriaperry Sometimes, someone else can judge the worth of things better than you can.
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
28 Jul 17
And I would come and help you too!
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99405)
• Atlanta, Georgia
28 Jul 17
No, I'm not a hoarder other than books. We live in an apartment and don't have room to hoard. I do have a deck closet I need to clean out but it's mostly a Christmas tree and suitcases.I wouldn't get rid of my washer and dryer in any case. Those are necessary.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
28 Jul 17
Same here, that one woman is what caused this discussion, that was more than I would ever do.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99405)
• Atlanta, Georgia
30 Jul 17
@andriaperry She must enjoy hard work, that's what washing by hand is.
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
28 Jul 17
Yes nd I once was a junk dealer
1 person likes this
