Do you hoard anything? Fine line between being a collector and a hoarder. Here are some famous book hoarders

[Just Jack]

8 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Did you ever see Brewster’s Millions? Collectibles can be a great investment. If you buy investment quality stamps, however, and lick them and put them on your Christmas cards, you have ruined your investment. There is a difference between a wise investment and being an idiot. 

 

Having said that, if it’s for personal enjoyment that is a different story. 

 

I once went to appraise a nice looking house on the water in Florida. The Realtor met me at the door and stuck her head thru the crack in the door saying “now, don’t be alarmed”. HUH? The lady was a hoarder, BIG TIME!

 

The house was filled floor to ceiling with only narrow passageways you could barely pass thru. I’ll give her credit, she was VERY organized! Books in one area, Christmas broken up into rooms with ornaments vs rooms with Santas, etc. Word was she had a disorder (duh!) and didn’t want her kids to inherit anything so she tried to spend it all online. I have never seen anything quite like THAT! 

Watch a few episodes of Hoarders.  There was one episode that the cleaners had to basically crawl across piles of stuff to get from room to room.  Another where the lady had so many books, that the floor joists had started breaking from the weight.  

Edited December 12, 2021 by Just Jack

[Beerball]

On 12/9/2021 at 9:09 AM, Pete said:

There was an LA Times article last week that defined a book hoarder as someone who has over 1,000 books.  I find that number low to be considered a hoarder.  But think I might qualify as book hoarder.

I have over 1,700 vinyl, and I collect cassettes, CDs, bluerays.  And I love commercial cooking equipment- half pans, cast iron skillets, copper saute pans, etc- I can't get enough lol

I don't consider myself a hoarder, Im a collector.  But LA Times and my girlfriends disagree.

What do you hoard?

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/10-famous-book-hoarders?utm_source=pocket-newtab

How many pounds of belly button lint are needed to qualify as a hoarder?

[TheCockSportif]

Music gear, and really, to anyone but a musician it has zero $$$ value.  I've gone through two rounds of purges, and want to see what I can sell starting this spring.  Just want to keep a couple of mics, a couple of guitars, and my favorite bass.  Mixing board, desk, dozens of cables, remaining rack mounted effects, mics, amps, studio monitors, etc are going to be gone finally.  Our basement, which previously was basically a hovel where I set up shop in an area that I treated to be able to mix tunes, is now a moral outrage.  And it's on me 100%.  My wife won't go downstairs anymore.  Plus my workshop needs to be revised as well.

 

The upstairs of our home and our second floor are pure bliss.  Everything else below ground level, as noted, is my project starting on December 26th.

 

My mom, though?  That's hoarding.  My uncle and I had an experience in the fall of 2019 where *an entire room of the house* had boxes piled 8' high, and without lanes to walk through, and we had to get everything to the basement... as my mom didn't want to give anything away.  Took 3 days, and like you see on tv, we found dead mice, mouse poop *everywhere*, other rotten and decomposed stuff, and a drawer filled with... doll parts.  Ugh.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Groin

[Just Jack]

5 hours ago, Beerball said:

How many pounds of belly button lint are needed to qualify as a hoarder?

 

More than three of the black contractor size garbage bags will qualify you. 

[Nextmanup]

10 hours ago, Groin said:

Music gear, and really, to anyone but a musician it has zero $$$ value.  I've gone through two rounds of purges, and want to see what I can sell starting this spring.  Just want to keep a couple of mics, a couple of guitars, and my favorite bass.  Mixing board, desk, dozens of cables, remaining rack mounted effects, mics, amps, studio monitors, etc are going to be gone finally.  Our basement, which previously was basically a hovel where I set up shop in an area that I treated to be able to mix tunes, is now a moral outrage.  And it's on me 100%.  My wife won't go downstairs anymore.  Plus my workshop needs to be revised as well.

 

The upstairs of our home and our second floor are pure bliss.  Everything else below ground level, as noted, is my project starting on December 26th.

 

My mom, though?  That's hoarding.  My uncle and I had an experience in the fall of 2019 where *an entire room of the house* had boxes piled 8' high, and without lanes to walk through, and we had to get everything to the basement... as my mom didn't want to give anything away.  Took 3 days, and like you see on tv, we found dead mice, mouse poop *everywhere*, other rotten and decomposed stuff, and a drawer filled with... doll parts.  Ugh.

I think there is definitely a certain kind of person who thinks: "You never know when I might need that or be thankful that I have it, so I need to hold onto it" WITH EVERYTHING.

 

It's kind of a malady in a sense.  

[Mark90]

On 12/9/2021 at 4:09 PM, Pete said:

There was an LA Times article last week that defined a book hoarder as someone who has over 1,000 books.  I find that number low to be considered a hoarder.  But think I might qualify as book hoarder.

I have over 1,700 vinyl, and I collect cassettes, CDs, bluerays.  And I love commercial cooking equipment- half pans, cast iron skillets, copper saute pans, etc- I can't get enough lol

I don't consider myself a hoarder, Im a collector.  But LA Times and my girlfriends disagree.

What do you hoard?

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/10-famous-book-hoarders?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 

It seems to me that collecting books is a very interesting hobby! It's like carrying several parallel universes in your head. My grandfather has a large home library. True, I don’t know how many books have accumulated there. But, now my goal will be to read at least some of them. I can't call myself a bookworm, but I still love to read. Especially after I found this site https://freebooksummary.com/category/nervous-conditions thanks to which I can read the summary before the book itself. For example, I really wanted to read Nervous Conditions, but after reading its description, I realized that I probably would not like it. Although, perhaps I need to give the book a chance.

It seems to me that collecting books is a very interesting hobby! It's like carrying several parallel universes in your head. My grandfather has a large home library. True, I don’t know how many books have accumulated there. But, now my goal will be to read at least some of them.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Mark90

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 12/9/2021 at 8:09 AM, Pete said:

There was an LA Times article last week that defined a book hoarder as someone who has over 1,000 books.

 

As someone who has dealt with hoarding in the family, I find that definition silly.

 

Hoarding, to me, isn't just acquiring objects, it's acquiring and keeping objects without boundries and without the ability to set up and implement appropriate storage so that the objects can actually be utilized and don't interfere with ordinary living in the space.

 

If someone has the space and the willingness to set up bookshelves and arrange 3,000 books so that they can go back and look at them and use them, and the books don't interfere with their ability to write a letter, or pay bills, or have some friends over for tea or drinks, that's not hoarding.  It's collecting.

 

If someone has 300 books and they're piled up in the hallway and on the dining table so there's no place to eat a meal and it's a trip hazard, that could be hoarding and probably is, unless it's transient.

 

"Boundries" are a hoarder problem because hoarders don't have any.  If every wall is covered with bookshelves and filled with books, there's no ability/willingness to say "OK, let me go through and see if there are a couple of boxes of these I no longer want or need, so that I have room for the books I want to buy this year".  The hoarder just buys more, and piles them in front of the bookcases blocking access to what's already there.

 

Not that I've known tons of hoarders, but I would think it's unusual to have a hoarder that's limited to just books, too.  Magazines, newspapers, cassette tapes, newsletters - all forms of paper not to mention other things.  If a pantry cabinet of shelves filled with canned goods is good, a pantry cabinet of shelves crammed with canned goods jammed in on top of each other is better - even if that means it's less functional because the cans can't be easily seen and retrieved.  On and on with every life item.  "I'm going to use it someday".

 

I've also read something about abnormal oxytocin release.  Say you want to give someone a present - your grandkid, the boy across the street.  You buy a doll or a ball.  For most people, they wrap the gift and mail it off (or walk it across the street) and receive thanks and THEN they get the oxytocin burst.  For hoarders, they think about doing it, and buy the doll and take it home and that gives them the oxytocin burst.  In fact they may get that burst repeatedy every time they look at the doll and think about what a generous gift it will be and how the grandchild will smile and give that little skip when they retrieve it.  So the doll sits there until the kid ages out of playing with dolls.  That's one theory.

 

There's also difficulty making decisions and fear of making the wrong decision - what if they give something away and then need it?  but the fears are very specific and tunnelized.  There are no fears of being unable to entertain guests (maybe that's anxiety producing and it's helpful to have a reason not to "can't have someone over until I clean up, but I need to keep all these big pots and fancy serving plates so that someday when I'm ready, I can do it!"), being unable to meet a loved one or partner's need for a comfortable and functional living space, having a safe home that's not a fire hazard etc.

 

On 12/9/2021 at 8:09 AM, Pete said:

  I find that number low to be considered a hoarder.  But think I might qualify as book hoarder.

I have over 1,700 vinyl, and I collect cassettes, CDs, bluerays.  And I love commercial cooking equipment- half pans, cast iron skillets, copper saute pans, etc- I can't get enough lol

I don't consider myself a hoarder, Im a collector.  But LA Times and my girlfriends disagree.

 

Well, you see my vote above.  If your cooking equipment is organized and functional and doesn't interfere with your ability to use the kitchen or other parts of the house, you may be a collector.  But if your kitchen and pantry is so full of cooking equipment that you can't access what you need when you need it, or can't even cook in your kitchen, or worse it's filled up the house and there's no room for anyone to drop by, sit down and drink a cup of coffee with you, then you're a hoarder. 

 

If you can go through it and give away stuff you no longer need or that is superceded by stuff you like better, you're a collector.  If you can't, you may be a hoarder.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 12/13/2021 at 12:16 AM, Nextmanup said:

I think there is definitely a certain kind of person who thinks: "You never know when I might need that or be thankful that I have it, so I need to hold onto it" WITH EVERYTHING.

 

It's kind of a malady in a sense.  

 

Trust me on this.  It's a definite malady, even if the person is a "sanitary hoarder" who carefully washes out every fast food container they save and throws out food scraps.

 

At some point, the loved one of such a person will find themselves having a conversation that goes something like this with a hospitalist: "Doctor, I understand that in the ordinary way of things, she might safely be released to the care of her family....but the truth is, the minute she comes home from the hospital, I will be moving to a hotel because there isn't enough floorspace in her 3 bedroom home for me to spread out a camping air mattress, and if she requires a wheelchair initially there isn't enough space in the hallways to manoever it.  What are our options?" (accompanied by photographs)

 

The person's health will also suffer from living in such a space because it can not be kept clean, and if a floor leak or plumbing problem develops the person may not be willing to allow a repairperson to enter, and there may not be access to effect repairs.  Asthma, lung problems, skin problems etc.

[Just Jack]

12 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

The person's health will also suffer from living in such a space because it can not be kept clean, and if a floor leak or plumbing problem develops the person may not be willing to allow a repairperson to enter, and there may not be access to effect repairs.  Asthma, lung problems, skin problems etc.

 

A lot of times on the show Hoarders, the person won't be able to use their toilet because either they can't get to it, or the water has been shut off, because it needed a repair, and a plumber couldn't get to the spot to fix it.  So instead, the hoarder will poop and pee in buckets/bags and (hopefully) toss them out with the regular trash. 

[TheCockSportif]

On 12/11/2021 at 10:51 PM, Marv's Neighbor said:

My wife says "we"need to downsize.  I say, OK, you first, so not much ever happens!

This is super familiar, and is exactly what's happened with my parents.  My mom has had serious mental health issues over the years: nervous breakdown, and other undiagnosed issues.  My dad refused to get her the psychiatric care that she needed, because he worked and she was stay at home, and he didn't want the stigma of having a wife who had/has mental health issues.  This is a macabre story, but sadly it's also a true one.

 

So, 12 years ago my parents decided to move out west where our sister, brother in law, and nephews live.  At first they were going to sell the house and just move.  Then, after having looked at various retirement communities out west, my father dropped the hammer and said that he refused to move until my mother cleaned out all of her hoarding ***** from their house (I spent my teenage years in said house, and my sister spent four more than I).  Well, that sealed the deal.  No way they were moving.  Over the years, starting in 1997 or so, more and more "stuff" kept appearing in the house.  Suddenly, every nook and cranny was filled with stuff: books, trinkets, chochkeys (sp?), collectables, etc.  Even the kitchen counter was filled with "stuff".  You couldn't even cook a meal in there, in particular because my mom would get upset if you moved her *****, without moving *****.

 

They are both in their 80s now, and we moved a ton of ***** to the basement so that they could live on the lower level of the house, after a major renovation of the downstairs, and without them climbing stairs (my wife and I live 600 miles away, and my sister and family live 1600 miles away, so us triaging them after a fall, regardless of whether or not it is our obligation to do so, is really, really difficult).  On one hand, it pisses me off that my mother went from a "you will have no clutter in your room" custodian to someone who was both lonely (empty nest + absent husband) and suffering from mental illness to someone who literally spent thousands of dollars on everything that you can imagine.  Hoarding is a ***** nightmare.

[Metal Man]

On 12/9/2021 at 9:09 AM, Pete said:

There was an LA Times article last week that defined a book hoarder as someone who has over 1,000 books. 

 

Does digital hoarding count?

 

If so I am a book hoarder several times over. though the space it takes up is only what the small external hard drive occupies on my desk. Well that and I guess wherever my kindle happens to be.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, muppy said:

PREACH Hap. I identified with every word u posted right down to the air mattress stuffed between junk in the living rioom in my case. Mom was eventually placed in a nursing home. She did NOT want to leave her hoard it was a low time. Once the house was vacant we hired an auction place to empty and salvage sellables. Which she had Many...a lot of antique vintage stuff that sold very well in retrospect. It caused rifts in my owwn family. and I reiterate that hoarding stinks and then u add pets into the mix lord have mercy.

 

Thank God my mom's dog had passed some years earlier and while she fed cats, they were outdoor strays.

 

We had to clear a hoarded 3 BR house in Miami, moving mom into a 2 BR apartment near us.  Because of our work clearing the house and prepping it for sale, it sold for a very good price and we got her apartment set up very nicely.   We tried to give her agency, taking photos of everything and having her make lists of what she wanted or didn't want.  Some things that she wanted were moldy or smelled horrible and we discarded them.  It was a huge job.

 

She bitched for years (still bitching) about this that and the other she "really wanted" and can't find (or were discarded), including some items that weren't on her list.

 

Things became Far More Important than people.  And she's still at it.

 

It's an awful disorder.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, TheCockSportif said:

This is super familiar, and is exactly what's happened with my parents.  My mom has had serious mental health issues over the years: nervous breakdown, and other undiagnosed issues.  My dad refused to get her the psychiatric care that she needed, because he worked and she was stay at home, and he didn't want the stigma of having a wife who had/has mental health issues.  This is a macabre story, but sadly it's also a true one.

 

So, 12 years ago my parents decided to move out west where our sister, brother in law, and nephews live.  At first they were going to sell the house and just move.  Then, after having looked at various retirement communities out west, my father dropped the hammer and said that he refused to move until my mother cleaned out all of her hoarding ***** from their house (I spent my teenage years in said house, and my sister spent four more than I).  Well, that sealed the deal.  No way they were moving.  Over the years, starting in 1997 or so, more and more "stuff" kept appearing in the house.  Suddenly, every nook and cranny was filled with stuff: books, trinkets, chochkeys (sp?), collectables, etc.  Even the kitchen counter was filled with "stuff".  You couldn't even cook a meal in there, in particular because my mom would get upset if you moved her *****, without moving *****.

 

They are both in their 80s now, and we moved a ton of ***** to the basement so that they could live on the lower level of the house, after a major renovation of the downstairs, and without them climbing stairs (my wife and I live 600 miles away, and my sister and family live 1600 miles away, so us triaging them after a fall, regardless of whether or not it is our obligation to do so, is really, really difficult).  On one hand, it pisses me off that my mother went from a "you will have no clutter in your room" custodian to someone who was both lonely (empty nest + absent husband) and suffering from mental illness to someone who literally spent thousands of dollars on everything that you can imagine.  Hoarding is a ***** nightmare.

 

Dude, I Hear That.  My mom will spend literally thousands on gidgets and gadgets - microwave pasta cookers, this and that - sometimes duplicating items she had, but couldn't find because they were buried behind hoarded packages of toilet paper.   (I believe we found 5 coffee makers, 3 missing parts.)

 

Meanwhile, she'll save and re-use freakin' paper towels, napkins, and coffee filters, crumbs at the bottom of cracker boxes (useful for breading, dontcha know) and explain to me how she has money because she's so frugal. 🙄

 

2 hours ago, Just Jack said:

A lot of times on the show Hoarders, the person won't be able to use their toilet because either they can't get to it, or the water has been shut off, because it needed a repair, and a plumber couldn't get to the spot to fix it.  So instead, the hoarder will poop and pee in buckets/bags and (hopefully) toss them out with the regular trash. 

 

Yeah, I can't watch that show.  It is extreme.  I guess I should be grateful my mom never got to that point.  Well, Yet.  Heh.  But our neighbor's mom couldn't use one of her bathrooms for just that reason - needed a plumbing repair, and she wouldn't clear out access or allow a plumber into her house.

 

It's such a sad and negative cycle - it's hard to visit her because her table is covered with crap and there's no place to sit and have a visit, but then the fact that she doesn't get much in the way of visits makes her cling all the harder to all that stuff.  She might read it someday!  She's going to use it when she gets around to it, someday!  She'll repair that bag of socks - someday - in the meantime, they're taking up the chair I might sit in.