Comments on: When Clutter Kills: Man Trapped By His Own Pile Of Junk And Dies

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:13:36 +0000

This type of hoarding is a mental illness and cannot be dealt with through conventional methods. It has about as much to do with clutter as a headache has to do with a brain tumor. All of the techniques described by the commenters, while helpful to your basic packrat, wouldn’t have helped this guy a bit.

Sad.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:32:39 +0000

I think some hoarding is a generational thing that may have been passed down. My grandma was a hoarder; she lived through the great depression and the dust bowl and came to california with nothing. I think those experiences made it hard for her to ever get rid of things. she also passed it on to my aunt.

My wife and go through our house every 6 months and get rid of whatever we can. Clothes especially. If i don’t wear it anymore it goes to good will and we take the tax deductions. It helps reduce the clutter and forces you analyze your life and possessions.

By: Tammy Brackett

Tammy Brackett — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:57:44 +0000

I do the twenty seven things game. each month i divest myself of 27 items. I sell, redistribute or donate things in my environment. It’s a great alternative to spending money and a wonderful project for a rainy weekend. I like FD’s commnet about mental energy. As one who shops sales and clips coupons, sometimes I find myself spending way too much time to save a nickel. Everyone has to decide what is right and what works for them.

By: AmyDe

AmyDe — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:34:31 +0000

You’re right – is IS a fine line. Not everyone who uses grocery game and coupons has a dedicated room to stockpile or 37 tubes of toothpaste. The point is to buy only what you need, but for the lowest possible price.

By: Sheryl Barker

Sheryl Barker — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:15:22 +0000

That is a sad story. I can`t imagen my kids letting me build things up to the point where I couldn`t walk through lol but I of course don`t know thier side of the story!
Your story triggered a memory where I had stockpiled shampoo. I had lived right next to a CVS store and was a shampoo rebate queen! My boyfriend at the time finally suggested I had bought enough after 15 bottles of shampoo lol
This all stemmed from not haveing enough beauty supplies earlier in my life so I bought and bought.
Those shampoos lasted a couple of years!

By: Shauna

Shauna — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:10:13 +0000

Just as we should have an Emergency Fund for our money, we need to have food stored for emergencies too. The *emergency* doesn’t have to be an natural disaster such as a hurricane or an earthquake–it can be used for months when the budget’s tight, or if the wage-earner loses their job or has to go on disability. The motto is: Store what you eat, and eat what you store!….Rotating the food is important, and also replenishing that which you’ve used during your particular *emergency*. I didn’t see the show the other day, but I heard that Suze Orman was on Oprah and said we should now have EIGHT MONTHS income saved up for emergencies–or the amount of money it costs you to survive for 1 month X’s 8. It’s a good idea to have a year’s supply of food on hand, but you can build up to that: start with 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and so on. Just my 2 cents!

By: L. Hernandez

L. Hernandez — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:05:31 +0000

Being a native New Yorker, this immediately reminds me of the Collyer Brothers

By: Mrs. Accountability

Mrs. Accountability — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:40:50 +0000

I can’t decide if being a packrat is genetic or learned behavior. My husband and I grew up in poverty situations, and were poor as young adults. Not that we’re rich now, but we don’t really NEED to save every mayonnaise jar with a wide lid just because it washes easily. We have relatives before us that did the same thing. Then there’s our youngest son, who is frustrated to no end with our hoarding tendencies. However, he didn’t grow up poverty stricken. Another thing is our parents (my husband’s and mine) would routinely go through our things and get rid of them and throw them away – which we never did that to our children since we don’t get rid of much. LOL. Ironically, our son has gone through our stuff and thrown things away on a cleaning spree!! Good stuff, that’s worth something! You know, like VCR movies!

By: Tina Brooks

Tina Brooks — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:47:46 +0000

True hoarding is a mental illness. It stems from an inability to determine that something of no value is actually of no value.

Simply cleaning out a legitimate hoarder’s home, without addressing the mental problem will result in more stress and strife for the hoarder than necessary.

By: Ari Herzog

Ari Herzog — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:23:30 +0000

Wow. Death by junk mail.

During a conversation yesterday about apartment clutter, I realized there are some boxes and material goods I haven’t touched since I moved-in 16 months ago. Maybe it’s time to either put into storage or give away.