Avatar Posted by twentytroubles 35 days ago (Question)
I saw a show on hoarding on HGTV today. People had crap stacked up in their houses... it was disgusting! Gross.

Why do people hoard junk like that?
There houses were horribly disgusting.

What's the difference between hoarding crap like the show, vs. being cluttered/disorganized, vs. collecting (hobby collecting)? Is it the extent, or the type of items?

If someone has a hobby and collects stuff (such as scrapbooking, photos, antiques, vintage toys, stamps or coins, etc.), are they hoarding or collecting?

At what point do their clean/nice collections become problematic hoarding? I read that hoarding is collecting non-valuable stuff. What about items that others don't see as valuable, such as too many vintage stamps or some other collectible? Doesn't everyone collect and clutter to some extent (just not nearly like the nasty hoarding on TV shows)?

Is there something that's the reverse of hoarding, like extreme minimalist?


Answers

Written by bellacutie 34 days ago Rating: 0 | Rate Answer: + -

Well for people who hoard - they clearly might have psychological issues. I saw a family on Oprah and every room in her house was packed from floor to ceiling - some areas had cases of rotting food/black mold with mice. She was an obsessive shopper and suffered from depression. They literally filled a whole wharehouse with her things(300 purses) and held a public sale. Some hoaders also have problems with throwing away even useless garbage(newspapers up to the ceiling).

Collectors usually focus on certain items that are interesting to them. They usually take pride in organizing and displaying their items.

I think there are varying degrees of hoarders and people who live in cluttered living areas. Some people may lack the motivation or lack common organization skills. They could possibly have psychological issues relating to the clutter.

Yes there is a condition where it's the reverse of hoarding - such a neat freaks or compulsive cleaners. In the latter it would be considered a psychological condition.

The ideal situation would be to keep living areas nicely organzed - where there's a place for everything. Some religions and cultures believe it's best to keep your living areas simple/neat which is believed to promote peace of mind.

Written by Clyde 33 days ago Rating: 0 | Rate Answer: + -

People who hoard have the psychological issues. Collectors usually focus on one kind of item or one kind of issue--such as stamps, comics, books.

Hoarders may keep all three, and never read them.

Some people have actually died because of their hoarding efforts...Collyer brothers for instance, one brother was crushed under a pile of junk, and if I remember right, his brother died because he was blind and couldnt be fed. He literally starved to death.

Hope that helps.

Best,

Clyde


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