is your SO a JUNK accumulator?

[pinkstars]

Thanks Haven! I notice when you talk about organizing your house and it sounds so nice.

 

[Yimmers]

I hoard bills and some magazines, but I have no problem throwing out furniture, clothes, shoes.

DH on the other hand...has some hoarding tendencies. He has a hard time getting rid of furniture ("we can use it elsewhere in the house"), some clothes (which have "sentimental" value) and material things. For goodness sakes, he has his old baby blanket, called "Woogie" that he won't give up - it's completely tattered, is unfixable, the stuffing is coming out...and he won't give it up. I've relented and now the dog has possession of Woogie.

This habit comes from his parents. His mom will re-use everything, styrofoam containers, take out containers, you name it. She has a TON of stuff. But, his dad is even worse b/c his mom claims he is hoarding stuff to the point she has no room. So, guess who she offers her stuff too...

Since we have a home now, they have offered us all the old furniture just sitting downstairs in their basement. A lot of it is dated furniture or just simple way to Asian-y for my tastes. Sorry, no, I don't want a picture of a cat in front of a bento box (uh, we're 30 somethings, not in college). She also offered us the drapes from my SIL's bedroom and the horizontal blinds from their living room. A) I don't even know that the window treatments even FIT our windows. B) Why would I want dated, 10+ floral print curtains that are shredded in places and have CAT fur all over them (sorry cat people, I'm really allergic). I know she's trying to be nice, but man, even my own mom (who likes to penny pinch as well) wouldn't do that.

 

[Luckyeshe]

I'm a purger, it's an illness. Unless it's valuable (money or sentiment) or a picture, nothing is sacred.

This is me.


BF (a 30 year old man) however, still has all his childhood soft toys stored in his parents loft ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD and wont let them throw them away So that's the kind of person he is.

I'm definitely a purger too, but SO isn't so bad with being a hoarder or anything. But both of us do still have our childhood toys at both of our parents home and we don't want them thrown away for sentimental reasons. We think that it would be awesome to have something that we cherished as children to be loved by our own children some day.

But clothes, books, furniture, I would get rid of them as soon as I had no use for them! I do it for my parents as well since they are major packrats! That's probably why I'm a purger....

 

[blackberry16]

Oh my gosh! My DH is a such a pack rat. We had to move from a one-bedroom apartment to a three-bedroom condo so that he could have an office to keep all his crap in. I just went into his office and counted, he currently has 18 computers in various stages of repair all over the floor. That does not include the computers in our storage unit, under the bed, behind the dresser and in his car. They multiply like bunnies everywhere I look. I am the person who throws everything away so this junk accumulation is pretty much the major issue in our marriage.

 

[gemgirl]

My husband is an accumulator- period. It's not junk, it's just stuff, tools, things for work, things to fix other things, and of course his fishing stuff which is not junk, he just *has to have* a LOT. I think it's his obsessive compulsive disorder. If I took pics of our garage and posted them? No one would believe what it looks like. And it's not only the garage, it's literally every square inch of free space inside and outside the house. I try very hard to throw things away, but somehow it all finds it's way back- in spades.

I need a bigger house so I can breathe again. I feel like I'm suffocating.

 

[blackberry16]

My husband is an accumulator- period. It's not junk, it's just stuff, tools, things for work, things to fix other things, and of course his fishing stuff which is not junk, he just *has to have* a LOT. I think it's his obsessive compulsive disorder. If I took pics of our garage and posted them? No one would believe what it looks like. And it's not only the garage, it's literally every square inch of free space inside and outside the house. I try very hard to throw things away, but somehow it all finds it's way back- in spades.

I need a bigger house so I can breathe again. I feel like I'm suffocating.

I totally understand how you fee! Hang in there!

 

[zoebartlett]

We have things that we're not using at the moment (accent pillows, throws, etc.), but I can't get myself to get rid of them. I hold onto some of that stuff because I figure I'll use them one day, when we finally end up in a house or a larger condo. Sometimes it bugs me to keep things we're not using, but I can't get myself to throw them out. My husband feels the same way.

 

[ZestfullyBling]

Yup. He knows when I have had enough I go through the house like a tornado and get dumping... (in the trash) . After 19 years of that, he has signifantly decreased the accumulation of "junk". But whenever he needs assistance....here comes the tornado again. LOL

 

[Skychick]

No, it's me? I recently decided to sell my town house and build a single family home so I had to stage the townhouse. I made 4 trips to Goodwill so far. I will not have clutter in my new house!

 

[jas]

Yannow, a thread with a title like this belongs in the sexual harrassment thread.

No carp collectors here, but DH has a lovely halibut, er, habit of leaving his moderate possessions strewn about in a most unlovely fashion.

Floors, closets -- it's all the same.

My grandmother, on the other hand, wasn't so much a horder as a compulsive bulk purchaser. When she passed away (before Costco and Sam's Clubs were the rage, back in the mid-90s) she has something like 20 cans of creamed corn, 15 boxes of Cheerios, and at least 7 bathroom shelves of makeup items, mostly the same colors/brands...as if she were afraid they'd stop making a particular shade. Her house was neat and tidy and nothing was overflowing out of the closet. It was like she took pity on some poor door-to-door creamed corn/cereal/cosmetics salesman.

 

[Haven]

Thanks Haven! I notice when you talk about organizing your house and it sounds so nice.

Thanks pinkstars, that's so sweet of you to say.