No offence taken either.
I agree with a number of replies that the term ‘hoarder’ has negative connotations and is often associated with those with some form of mental illness, generally triggered by some unfortunate event in their lives. They tend to be indiscriminate in what they hoard, not recognizing their situation and having severe anxiety should anyone suggest they reduce what they have. They certainly don’t spend time discussing their newspaper collections or posting pictures of their latest dumpster haul on online forums (at least I hope not). While many won’t understand the interest we have in MTs, a collection of one or more products (be it stamps, coins, watches, knives, etc) gives the collector joy and MTo is a place to meet those with similar interests regardless of having a collection of 10, 100 or even 1,000 items. I’m sure we are all users, it’s just a case of degrees.
i worked for a small building company that renovated old houses as a carpenter and the decorator would often take the mickey about my love of multitools as it was no secret at work. But i had the last laugh as i lost count of the many times he asked to borrow my wave when he came across a rouge nail or screw when doing his prep work before painting.
"take the mickey" ?
Make jokes at my expense
Well articulated post as usual, Max! I personally know three true hoarders...
Still think I am a hoarder. A hoarder with a little more directional sense. Mental illness, maybe a little...
Well articulated post as usual, Max! I personally know three true hoarders, and am good friends with one of them. The fact of the matter is that it is definitely(as you said) a mental illness with severe anxiety to changing their ways.Based off of these experiences, I am certain, that while the underlying illness may be treatable to an extent, the behavior is life-long and unchanging. I have tried countless times to help my friend organize and clean up, only to find out he went to the dumpster we took the stuff to the same night and reclaimed almost everything that was thrown away. When I confront him about it, he says stuff like "I had to find CC statements", and "There was money stashed in there" and etc. Full well knowing I checked everything AND he checked everything before it went out. What went out was bags of garbage to be clear. It took hours to look at everything making each bag of trash to go out.. And this would only pertain to maybe 1/2 of one room or the foyer of his home.He is a decent person at heart, but the hoarding addiction is like a powerful drug. He even makes it a point to text me photos of stuff he drags out of people's garbage piles like he is proud of making his situation worse. Like a drunk who brags about being "F'ed up all the time" with no regret.
Points well made GLBM. It’s more a case of sensitivity and working within their self-imposed thresholds than trying to force a complete mind shift. It’s difficult to rationalize their behavior and until you’ve seen it first-hand, difficult to appreciate just how challenging it is for these individuals. One particular A&E episode was especially distressing as the hoarder, Sandra Cowart, was a recognized interior designer who fell from grace and lost her house to foreclosure after a long battle. I can recommend this particular episode to anyone looking to understand a little more about this sad compulsive disorder.
Sorry to hear about your friend's situation, I am no psychologist, but wonder would this have something to do with insecurity?I too have been using 'collector' and 'hoarder' interchangeably here just for humor, but didn't consider some friends here might have personal experience associate with the possible negative connotation of the word. So a quick apology to that, and hope didn't offense anyone.