Are you a hoarder?

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I find it hard to get rid of stuff. There is a lot of stuff that holds sentimental value to me. I feel the need to hold onto something that I got when I was a little kid, something I got on a trip, something that I got during a happy time in my life, stuff that a deceased loved one gave me, and many other reasons. I just got a lot of shirts for Christmas and I have no room for them in my closet or my drawers. I would say that 70% of the shirts in my closet I never wear. The reason I keep them is because I wore them during a significant or happy occasion, a deceased loved one gave it to me, or I got it on a trip. I not only have clothes but I have so much stuff in general and very little room for it all. The older I get the more stuff I am going to accumulate. Hoarding runs in my family. I've never had a clean house. All of the houses that I have lived in throughout my life have all been cluttered. I hate that my family and I have this problem. I worry about who is going to handle all of our stuff when we are all dead. I do get rid of things from time to time, but it never seems like it is enough. Some things that I have gotten rid of I have regretted. I just can't win. If I keep stuff my place is just going to be more cluttered, and if I do get rid of stuff I could end up later being depressed that I got rid of it.

I used to be a hoarder and couldn't bear to get rid of anything. I had a huge collection of natural stuff I had collected from beaches, I had piles of DVDs that I hadn't watched in years, CDs that I hadn't listened to for years, clothes that I would never wear, old bits of obsolete electronic equipment that would never be of use to me again, old climbing and kayaking equipment that was no longer really serviceable but I was keeping "just in case".

It all made it so much harder to keep the house and garage tidy and having a messy house was causing me a lot of stress. To start getting rid of stuff I had to be really honest with myself about whether it would ever again serve any real purpose for me. Getting rid of things is a slow process for me as I felt that would be better than getting rid of a lot of stuff all in one go. I can get things out of drawers and boxes and out from under the bed and leave it where I can clearly see it for several days. A few days of actually looking at all this stuff usually makes it clear as to whether it is something I really need to keep or not.

There is plenty of stuff I could sell on ebay but I can't really be bothered so anything that is still in good condition and could be resold goes to charity shops. I try to ensure as much of the other stuff as possible goes for recycling and only throw things away as a last resort. Most of the stuff collected from beaches has gone back to suitable places where it will ultimately be recycled by the sea although I have kept a few special items.

The only things that I really cannot get rid of are any of my books so I make sure I have suitable tidy storage for those. The house is much easier to clean now although it is still a work in progress and is beginning to look much tidier. If I need to get something from the garage I can now find it easily without having to look through piles of other stuff. Coming home to a clean, tidy house is far more relaxing than opening the door to piles of clutter and that certainly makes it worthwhile for me to continue the process of decluttering. The only other thing that is very important is to simply stop accumulating yet more stuff (books excepted!).

I have some sort of emotional attachment to things, especially when memories are connected.

It is VERY difficult for me to discard things that remind me of people.

No, but I feel sentimental about a lot of things and have kept things for a long time, thinking I could never get rid of them.

Clothes can hold memories, but as long as you have photos from when you wore them, I’ve noticed there’s no difference between keeping them and getting rid of them. I’ve heard that you should hang your clothes backwards in the wardrobe and as you wear each clothing item, you hang it normally. Anything that is still backwards after 6-12 months will usually be something you won’t wear again and you won’t miss it if it’s gone, unless you really like it or it stopped fitting you and you are going to lose weight and wear it again.

It’s nice to keep things, but some things really wouldn’t be missed if they were gone, especially if it’s something you barely look at or remember having. Then you can get nice new things instead (with the money made from selling what you don’t need anymore) and there will be enough room.

In my case that's a difficult question.

When I was a kid I'd bring home all the kind of garbage I'd find on the streets. I'd collect small objects of every sort. This kind of qualified me as a hoarder.

These days, I don't think I am a hoarder but think that maybe I'm at a very feeble limit. Besides collecting old computers and videogame consoles, I will still find odd objects and gadgets and bring them home now and then. The difference from the regular hoarders would be that they don't seem to ever stop. I have a special room for my things and they don't keep growing out of proportion. My house is always clean. I don't gather perishable stuff. I will periodically review, classify, organize my collection and throw the rubbish away.

In short: am I a hoarder? I don't think so but maybe it would take a small step forward to cross the line.

Not only am I a hoarder but I was raised by hoarders. I used to get very upset to the point of panic if I had to throw away something because I hate being wasteful. I’m not as bad now, though my house desperately needs to be decluttered.

I’m slightly comforted by the fact that my psychiatrist is also a compulsive hoarder. Makes me feel like less of a failure, knowing that a successful and respected person in his field is scatterbrained and barely manages to pass for a functioning adult.

No I'm not. I had a sister-in-law who was.

I don't like people to touch or move my things, but in many ways I'm closer to the opposite of a hoarder. I'm more inclined to be a minimalist. When I was single and living alone I had a futon to sleep on, enough kitchen utensils to cook well, a table, a few chairs, books, records, a stereo and a limited amount of clothing and that was it. Sparse.

With regards to furniture, I'm a total minimalist. I own the minimum required to exist inside my place.

Now, I have this room, which I call "the lab". These days people refer to that kind of place as "a man cave". That's where my collection is. A truck load of useless - and gorgeous - things.

I'll toss stuff to make room for different stuff.