Hoarding: did anyone watch Oprah's show?

#31
I am so much the opposite of a hoarder that seeing things like that show just boggles my mind. I go through our closets and storage areas (for things like holiday decorations, which need to be stored) several times a year and donate things to GoodWill. I go through my children's clothing as soon as they outgrow it and either give it to people I know who are interested or donate it.

I cannot stand clutter! I never could. My mom always tried to encourage me to collect something, but if there is anything I am NOT, it is a collector!

My dh, on the other hand, believes in keeping... oh, everything he has ever owned. I've never eliminated anything I thought he might consider sentimental, but I go through his things to clear out the clutter, too. In 10 years he has never missed anything that I've thrown away or donated, so my system of cleaning and not mentioning it seems to work pretty well!

Oh, and I think that the majority of people, myself included, have too much stuff. Almost no one is immune. For me, the key is just keeping on top of it.
 
#32
I watched it too. My dh grandmother is a hoarder. Her basement is about 1000,sq feet and is full of useless stuff. Some of the things DH, I and mil found were 30 year old paint, every issue of national geographic, every issue of the L.A. times from the last 30 years, ceiling tiles that contained asbestos :wtf: and thousands of sewing patters. She refused to get rid of any of it. For her I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that she grew up in the depression and never had anything as a child. It's sad really.
 
#35
^ I guess that's the part that really threw me for a loop. The acquisition part. Hey, I can outshop the average shop-a-holic. And I've got a whole lot of stuff. And I keep a ton of it even though I do share the bounty with friends and my sisters. I never thought I would say this, but it's a good thing I don't have more money! lol.
Seriously though, the things I like to buy cost a lot so I am limited in what I can buy. But if I had more money I would probably buy way more stuff.
 
#36
That scared the heck out of me! I love to shop, but that lady's house was horrifying. My eyes started to tear up when they showed the warehouse full of all that stuff she had accumulated and told her to choose between quantity (masses of stuff) and quality (her family). She must have felt light as air once all that stuff was out of her life. I hope she is strong enough to keep her house clear now.
 
#37
I tend to keep things for sentimental value, but then I find way too many things have sentimental value to me. So that causes a tad of an issue, but I def do not hoard.
 
#38
I watched these episodes too and absolutely was glued to the tv. I have had moments where things were getting unmanageable and have a few family members who consider everything anyone from past generations ever touched to be 'priceless heirlooms'. That gets old real fast for me now - I live by the 'if everything is important than nothing is important' mantra... the biggest thing for me after watching the show was to ease up on the Target runs - seriously, I cannot get out of that place for less than $100!!!

p.s. GO TINK!!!
 
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