Do You Live With a Packrat?
By khalablue
@khalablue (309)
Canada
January 12, 2007 12:12am CST
My husband is a serious packrat and I am starting to get to be as bad as him, even though I wasn't one when we got married. How do you get out of the habit of storing junk because it just might have some future value? I know you should throw it out if you haven't used it in 2 years, but we have newspapers from the 60's.
Any suggestions?
2 people like this
3 responses
@khalablue (309)
• Canada
14 Jan 07
I sometimes think that the things that we choose to keep are a reflection of the environment in which we were raised. I think if you grew up poor, then you try to see the potential value in just about everything.
1 person likes this
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
13 Jan 07
I think it's pretty normal to want to save things because we think they will be useful later on. However, excessive packratting can be a form of OCD that needs treatment. I have seen houses where the collecting got so out of control that the homeowners just had little paths through the piles of junk in their homes.
I'm not saying that your husband is that bad, but keep an eye on him. It may be very hard for him to part with some of his treasures, so try to purge some of the older, useless things when he's not at home. Maybe you can sit down with him and ask him to choose 10 things to throw away every week. Every little bit helps.
@CraftyCorner (5600)
• United States
21 Mar 07
my stepfather is a packrat. he is a hopeless packrat, and to make matters worse, mother and he live in a rv that is 20 feet by 8 feet.
he will collect everything under god's green earth "oh isn't this wonderful!" including a five foot tall stuffed selvester the cat hanging from a shade tree outside the rv for all the world to see. their storage rental is a sight best not for eyes with hubcaps without matching cars and tires likewise.
