"Hoarders" on A&E is fascinating

[MotionMan]

Just read this:

Clean House/Hoarders/Hoarding:Buried Alive = “slob porn”

LOL.

MotionMan

 

[Doppel]

It's interesting but if you've seen one you've seen them all.

 

[MotionMan]

It's interesting but if you've seen one you've seen them all.

If you watch enough of them, you can definitely spot patterns.

Every blue moon one of the bad ones really turns over a new leaf (until you read the epilogue, of course).

I think they should come up with a show called "Hoarders: Shut Up, Your Crazy and You Crap Is Being Thrown Out!!!" where they go in and throw out all of their stuff and fix up/repaint the house. Then they come back a few weeks or months later to see how the house looks.

MotionMan

 

[coloumb]

My wife is sort of a hoarder - it's nowhere near as bad as what you see on TV, but she tends to hold onto things rather than sell/give them away if they aren't being used. I'd say 75% of the crap that's in the garage [in boxes] hasn't been touched in about 11 years and needs to go...

 

[Kanalua]

Mother-on-law. She was a classic hoarder. when she passed my wife and I spent a week cleaning out her double wide trailer (Indian Reservation). Found canned foods that had expired in 1997 (bloated cans nearly round like balls with the dried contents rattling around inside). She save nearly every piece of clothing from all of her four children, including shoes and bedding. Every square inch, every nook and cranny were stuffed with junk.

My wife is fascinated with the show and I think uses it to remind her not to hoard.

 

[mmntech]

My dad is a mild hoarder. He hangs onto a lot of useless junk, which wouldn't be so bad if he kept it neat. His clothes and golf shopping binges are quickly eating up their storage space. There must be over 1000 golf balls in the garage alone. That's not an exaggeration. He's even still got old, rotted cabinets from their laundry room, which he replaced two years ago.

 

[TheSlamma]

That show makes me shiver... I have the exact opposite problem, I feel possessions tie me down.

 

[Craig234]

I hoard things in MMO's - more bank space doesn't stay empty long.

I also have a full mailbox here on AT, saving the full 1200 PM history.

It's a good thing hotmail and gmail don't seem to have limits since they just pile up for years - and on occasion I do want an old e-mail.

We don't need to get into hundreds of computer game boxes... collectible, right?

 

[Doppel]

Just read this:

Clean House/Hoarders/Hoarding:Buried Alive = “slob porn”

LOL.

MotionMan

LMAO that is Fing exactly what it is, though.

That show makes me shiver... I have the exact opposite problem, I feel possessions tie me down.

That isn't a problem, it's a win!

I don't throw much out but I don't buy things unless I am very confident I'll use them. Absolutely not an impulse shopper so do not have much junk around at all. Basically just tools, and they shouldn't ever be thrown out.

 

[Craig234]

I don't throw much out but I don't buy things unless I am very confident I'll use them. Absolutely not an impulse shopper so do not have much junk around at all. Basically just tools, and they shouldn't ever be thrown out.

We can fix that.

www.steampowered.com

 

[zanejohnson]

i do that with canned goods... example, they'll be a sale of those cans of refried beans that are like the SAME EXACT thing as "bean dip" they sell for 2 bucks for a tiny little tub.. for like 10 cents.. so i'll grab a couple cases.. it doesnt go bad, it's canned... and who doesnt like bean dip.. shit i think that's just smart shopping

 

[MotionMan]

I started recording Hoarding, et al again about 2 weeks ago. I also have been watching a lot of shows on HGTV, like Yard Crashers and Property Brothers.

Yesterday I cleaned out a closet, pulled a bunch weeds and cut down some bushes/trees in the backyard.

LOL.

MotionMan

 

[Vette73]

i do that with canned goods... example, they'll be a sale of those cans of refried beans that are like the SAME EXACT thing as "bean dip" they sell for 2 bucks for a tiny little tub.. for like 10 cents.. so i'll grab a couple cases.. it doesnt go bad, it's canned... and who doesnt like bean dip.. shit i think that's just smart shopping

Not sure what you are on while thinking that, but just stop.

 

[twinrider1]

The show is really about mental illness.

True. There is lazy and there is pack rat. And then there is a hoarder. The junk is just a symptom of the real issues they're having. I keep stuff that is useful, even though I don't have an immediate need for it. But I'm not emotionally attached to the stuff, or think the stuff represents people.
The show is interesting like a a car wreck is interesting. I watched a few, but the appeal wore off quickly. It's really just sad.

 

[nageov3t]

Not sure what you are on while thinking that, but just stop.

reminds me of my grandma.

she was pretty much convinced that, other than fresh produce and meat, anything refrigerated was good in perpetuity.

they had a walk-in fridge in their cellar and there was probably shit down there from the 70's when they cleaned it out (after she was put into a nursing home).

 

[HeXen]

I've kinda taken the opposite approach after living with my dad's mess... I don't keep anything in the house in the way of cleaning supplies, groceries, etc except what I have to. I never have more than 3-4 days worth of food in my apartment.

my mom was a hoarder and i became the opposite like you did too...can't stand clutter, i've thrown away a lot of nice stuff just to be rid of it quickly. However i ended up marrying a hoarder, all our arguements are over the clutter.
but of course its not near as bad as what people have on that show.

 

[MotionMan]

True. There is lazy and there is pack rat. And then there is a hoarder. The junk is just a symptom of the real issues they're having. I keep stuff that is useful, even though I don't have an immediate need for it. But I'm not emotionally attached to the stuff, or think the stuff represents people.
The show is interesting like a a car wreck is interesting. I watched a few, but the appeal wore off quickly. It's really just sad.

The best ones are when one parent blames the other parent (and/or the kids) for the mess, then, when it is time to throw stuff out, it turns out the first parent is really the hoarder.

MotionMan

 

[nageov3t]

I watched that show once for a few minutes, but turned it off in disgust. It is basically exploitation of the mentally ill for commercial profit. Outside of the voyeur factor the show has absolutely no redeeming social value.

BTW I am a semi-packrat, can't stand throwing something away I may use some day. But I have the space for it and don't have piles of rotting food in my refrigerator.

I know I'm responding to a 10-month old post, but... it's a trade-off, I think.

the cameras get their sufferporn to show on tv and the hoarders get tens of thousands of dollars worth of cleaning and therapy for free.

I looked into hiring those Got Junk guys when I moved into my current apartment and they're god-damned expensive (the old tenants were evicted and left all of their furniture behind; I had no use for it and had to get it cleared out before I could move in)... but the guy who was painting my apartment knew another guy and I gave him $100 to clear the place out and do whatever he wanted with the stuff (scrap, resell, whatever)

 

[nanette1985]

I looked into hiring those Got Junk guys when I moved into my current apartment and they're god-damned expensive (the old tenants were evicted and left all of their furniture behind; I had no use for it and had to get it cleared out before I could move in)... but the guy who was painting my apartment knew another guy and I gave him $100 to clear the place out and do whatever he wanted with the stuff (scrap, resell, whatever)

Same here - in my case it was relatives. Couldn't believe how much Got Junk wanted! They get a ridiculous amount of free advertising/exposure from that show. Gotta admit it was the first place I thought of and I knew the phone number without googling it. Found an awesome guy on craigslist instead.

I love watching Hoarders. Every time I watch it I stay up half the night cleaning and throwing stuff out.

 

[Stifko]

my mom was a hoarder and i became the opposite like you did too...can't stand clutter, i've thrown away a lot of nice stuff just to be rid of it quickly. However i ended up marrying a hoarder, all our arguements are over the clutter.
but of course its not near as bad as what people have on that show.

my mom is a hoarder too. this show strikes too close to home for me to watch. I have hoarding tendencies too, but try to fight it. I throw things out, but get lazy and things pile up. I guess I am used to having stuff lying around and being disorganized. When someone suggests that I throw something away, I usually agree with them and pitch it. Mom just yelled at me for the hundredth time for taking one of her precious mail order radios. How people get so possessive over junk is disturbing to me. I can't bear to watch.

 

[Imp]

I haven't seen too many episodes, or even one all the way through, so I'm not in the know. For those who have, are there any episodes where the hoarder goes absolutely batshit crazy and ballistic once people start throwing their shit away? I mean, crazy murderous rage, not crying and being oneself.

Daddy's a hoarder and wow... He was ready to murder his entire family until mom slipped him $500 as "compensation". Stupid retard...

 

[MotionMan]

I am watching "Hoarding: Buried Alive" and there is a woman who claimed she was holding hundreds of purses for her twin sister who does not have room for them. Her husband jumps in and points out that his wife of 28 years, in fact, does not actuality have a sister, let alone a twin sister.

The hoarder then claimed that her husband had an affair with her (non-existent) twin sister.

I love this show.

MotionMan

 

[Joseph F]

^ What the fuck...

 

[VirtualLarry]

Neat thread. I liked that link to the "crazy ebay mom". A relative's apt looks kind of like that. It has two rooms, and one is filled to the brim with boxes.

I "collect" stuff too. I'm not sure if I'm a true hoarder, or just kind of a packrat.
I mostly collect computer parts, and DVDs. Most of the DVDs and PS2 games are still unopened.

I've had a "helper" from a social services agency, come over every week for the past few years and help me organize my tiny apt. It used to be a lot worse. At least there are now pathways to each room and between the boxes.

Edit: I was given a rule - must get rid of items, before purchasing new items. I have a very hard time sticking to that rule.

 

[Doppel]

These people are so mentally deranged it's a miracle not all of them are divorced and had their kids run away from them. The ones who are hoarders are bad enough but the slum dwellers are the worst, those who think that they are hoarders but in fact they are just filthy slobs who never clean the house, trash piled everywhere, infested with mold and insects.