Are you or your OH Hoaders?

Cherrytree59 - That's why I 'm not downsizing 'til after I retire so I can de-clutter first. Can't face it while still working.

I'm one hundred per cent with Granstender on this. There's no satisfaction in clearing out either a parent's or spouse's hoardings. I found it pain, pain, pain all the way on both occasions. Still remember it now. Ugh. As a result I'm a 'disposer'. Will not do this to my children. Have to confess to wishing I had not parted with a couple of items along the way but, at the end of the day, they are only things and can often be replaced if desired. I actually re-purchased a picture but that's it. Think the most difficult release was from my books. Wall lined case of treasures I kept kidding myself I would re-read and reference books by the score when I use google. All madness. Yep, I'm daily freeing myself of 'stuff' and it feels liberating. Have a friend who insists on throwing out an item of clothing when she buys something new. Haven't quite mastered that strength yet!

Purplepoppies........have you considered a kindle? You can store hundreds of books mostly for a fraction of the price. Quite a few of the classics are free, I got the whole collection of Charles Dickens and many others at no cost.
As for paperwork: If you use a pc rather than a tablet you could scan and save in various folders in documents, even take photos with your phone and transfer to pc. You would have them in 2 places then for added security. If this is not an option do one subject at a time, energy, household etc and just tear up any with duplicate info ( it should be enough to just keep the last 3 months with a reference number clearly showing) and distribute the tiny torn up pieces between several rubbish bags. I doubt even the most ardent id thief would bother trying anything ?

Wish a declutter would help me, I am stuck with three lap tops, notebook, chrome book, four iPads and cables which I have no idea which of the above they belong to.

Oh gosh I’m total opposite I have a clear out every 6 months. I get bored and frustrated seeing items laying around especially if it’s not been used or moved for period of months ( other than furniture obviously) it’s either stored away , sold or charity shop.

I'm a book hoarder. I'm living in temp accommodation & have stuff in storage, including books. I downsized my book collection to move from one end of the country to the other 15 yrs ago. I have amassed and decluttered my book collection several times since! I swore I wouldn't collect more in this temp place but I have ?. I know I have too many.... they collapsed the other night! (Bookcase in storage).
I also have a fear of discarding paperwork. I broke the shredder before the last move and don't have a garden in which to burn it. Any ideas???

Limited time!

Hi Jocork you may you sell your house still full of your treasures in every room
But...
How much will get knocked off your asking price?
Estate agents could under value!

Much better clear out before putting on market and allow prospective buyers to see what the rooms actually look like.

If you are lucky and sell before your decluttering you will be faced with the massive challenge of clearing out over a very limited space

I wasn't so much a boarder, as a collector. I had stuff for every type of craft you can imagine and, living in a very small house, it was starting to cause big problems. Earlier this year, I went to retrieve an item I needed but to get to it, I had to dig through a mountain of stuff I'd forgotten I had and hadn't used in years if ever. I decided that day to declutter. What started in the crafting stuff area, spread to kitchen cupboards, wardrobes, books, Christmas decorations, garden shed. By March, I could see parts of my house I hadn't seen in years! And the feeling of being liberated was amazing! Like someone said upthread, it actually made me feel lighter! Since then, I've acquired nothing new that I've not actually needed and used. The clear out was cathartic.

So sorry for your loss Keffie.
Good luck with the house sale Panache, a friend sold hers in weeks recently so here’s hoping you do too.
I hoard books, fabric and weight - wish me luck with the last “downsize”!

Hah! I could have written this exact post, for we are just the same

I find it difficult to throw away Waitrose Food and Waitrose Gardens magazines. They are not yet threatening to become 'piles' you could use as coffee tables but they are so full of interesting recipes and garden ideas that it seems a shame to consign them to recycling. The same happened to Time Out which I had sent to me weekly. Their occasionally glossy covers were so colourful and interesting that I had some of them framed and displayed in the entrance hall. I stopped my subs as it was getting out of hand. I try to sell other unwanted stuff on eBay.

I'm a bit of a hoarder - mainly books/sewing stuff. I put it down to coming from a large family with not many things to call my own as a child, many of us from that type of background become collectors.
At least I can move around the house safely. Down-sizing a few years ago didn't help and I've every intention of improving matters. I simply can't do 'minimalism' though - to me a home looks soul-less without the personal touch of these things.

No, total opposite ! Have frequent clear outs and quite minimalistic .... often have to go to my “ hoarder Mum” and say “ do you happen to have .....as I’ve got rid of mine !”

I'm a terrible hoarder. When my husband and I split up but continued to live in the same house I started acquiring stuff in anticipation of him taking half of everything with him when he moved out. In the end he got a job abroad so took minimal stuff with him, so I had loads of extra stuff. I plan to downsize when I retire in a couple of years as I can't face de-cluttering while I'm still working full time. I have a big 4 bedroom house where I live alone most of the time and there is barely room to put anything! I dread to think what is in the loft as I can't get up there to look!
My only consolation is I've seen worse when house hunting last time we moved. One house had a whole room piled from floor to ceiling with magazines with just a passage way round the edges, and a shed full of similar magazines! I guess he would have called himself a collector!

Ninathenana......those mags will probably be worth loads in a few more years! But yes, I too hate hoarding but often get rid of something and within a month find a need for it. I recently had some electrics done and couldn't bear to get rid of my 3 shade light fitting. It now hangs in my garden displaying a lovely array of flowers in each shade lol.

Three years after retirement, I've just got rid of my suits, so I've started on the wardrobe. I regret throwing out books years ago, so I don't now (bookcases makes excellent insulation and soundproofing btw). Craft stuff can always come in handy (actually I threw out fabric and wool at the same time as the books, and regret that too, maybe even more as I do patchwork and crochet now!).

I am a hoarder too,and every now and then I have a declutter,....only to move items to my car_boot pile,kept in the garage in plastic boxes.,and as you can guess,when I do said carboot,I open the boxes ,and promptly put certain items back for keeping again as I had "forgotten"i had such a nice item.

Oh and it doesn't help that I volunteer in a discount charity shop with everything £2 or less!

Good luck with the house sale Panache !

We gave away or sold the lot as we downsized.

But I still keep a drawer full of useful cables and chargers and my quilter wife has a trunk full of fabric.

Neither me nor Mr. Finn are hoarders, but when we lived in France, had a big house and loads of outbuildings, we accumulated quite a bit. Living in deepest country also meant that we kept things that might be useful, rather than driving miles to find the right sprogget etc! When we sold, we got rid of a great deal, but as we didn’t have a clue as to what we would end up buying in the uk, we now still have a sizeable amount in storage. Half of it still has to go, as we’re shortly moving into a very small modern house.
I guess that if one has room in their houses, then they get filled, simply because one can.

I really haven’t missed much at all. Made some chucking out mistakes, but overall it’s been a refreshing, freeing experience.

I Am A Hoarder! Before I downsized my last flat was "crammed"!!!!!!
It took 4 of us 2 weeks and 30 trips to the dump!
Then my D and SIL helped me unpack in my much smaller bungalow and another 15 - 20 bags went to charity shops or on ebay.
After nearly 5 years it's time for another clear out - but I'm NOT getting rid of my wool stash.

I was until I saw a dress exactly the same as one I had in the wardrobe sell for over £100 on ebay. I bought it for a wedding and will not wear it again due to numerous photos on Facebook. So I dug it out and put it on ebay and have now seriously reduced the contents of my wardrobe. I think I have replaced my hoarding habit with a selling habit.??

D H is a hoarder. He can't throw anything away just in case. Worse than that if anyone offers him anything wood, paving slabs, bricks, old vehicles which sometimes he has to pay for, he grabs them with both hands, our once nice garden is like a reclamation yard. I must admit it's all tidy and in order but it's a constant source of conflict.