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Coming Clean


A story about recognizing where you come from and understanding the ...
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Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

Created: 07/22/13

Replies: 14

Posted Jul. 22, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

Do you relate to Kim's father's hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
marys

Join Date: 05/24/11

Posts: 59

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I can relate to the father's hoarding habit on a superficial level. I am incredibly sentimental and have a hard time letting go of things that belonged to my grandparents--even though I know I will never use them. Unfortunately my family and I live in a house that is bigger than what we need and have more stuff than what we need. It is a never ending battle and I am one of the worst offenders. I am trying my hardest to live by the rule that if something comes into the house, something must leave the house.


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
bonnieb

Join Date: 09/11/11

Posts: 132

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I used to collect first edition autographed books but when I moved from Alaska I donated them to my daughter's alma mater. I still have way too many books and, as a knitter, way too much yarn. I just can't get rid of these two parts of my life.


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
beac

Join Date: 08/23/11

Posts: 73

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I do like to keep favorite books I have read, and since I read one or two a week they really pile up. It is unreasonably hard for me to give them away. I like having something I can lend to other people and feel it is my responsibility to keep good books for them to read. I don't get back a lot of books I lend out, and I don't miss them. Eventually I do get rid of them, thinking that I can always buy a used copy if I really want to read it again or know someone who needs that particular book.


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
joyces

Join Date: 06/16/11

Posts: 410

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I am at heart a neat and tidy sort who can not stand clutter and yet there are things in my house that remain for strictly for sentimental reasons. Some are family heirlooms which I chose myself when they were made available to me and are in use in my home and some are from my own life that will someday be my kids problem but are small and easily accommodated. I have listed most of those in a attachment to my will that tells their story so they know why I have them and yet directs them to chose for themselves if they wish to keep them or not. Though they mean something to me they may mean nothing to them and that is okay with me.


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccak

Join Date: 05/26/12

Posts: 78

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I own a few things that I won't get rid of because of sentimental value, but they don't take up much space and I wouldn't consider it hoarding at all. However, I think I do have a borderline issue with hoarding books. I tend to think of hoarding as objects that have basically no value (garbage, scraps of paper, etc.), and while I have way more books than I really have room for (some are at my place, and the majority of them take up 2 closets at my mother's house. Some of them are my favorite books and reference books, but I haven't read the majority of them. Honestly, I could probably live to be 150 and not read them all, but I don't want to get rid of them on the chance that I might read them.


Posted Jul. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
janeh

Join Date: 06/15/11

Posts: 222

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I am terribly unsentimental about "things", so don't feel I will ever be in danger of hoarding. I don't enjoy anything more than a good sweep through the house to rid myself of clutter. However, that said, I will say that I do border on being a hoarder of books! I regularly clean out my shelves, donating to libraries and schools, but right now I own far more unread books than I will ever logically be able to read before I leave this earth....and they are a great comfort to me.


Posted Jul. 31, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Navy Mom

Join Date: 04/12/12

Posts: 294

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I am not a hoarder and I keep my house relatively clean, but I do think that America is a very materialistic country. There is always more to buy! I do have difficulty getting rid of the family "heirlooms". I have things from my grandparents and parents. I feel guilty if I get rid of their things. They kept them so I guess I feel that I should. My family has lived in the same town and many of the things I have have family history value to them. I am torn in half. One half loves all these things and the other half wants to de-clutter and redecorate! I am also a book hoarder like rebbaccak. I have piles of unread books. I am very good about passing on the books that I have read, but I keep collecting books that I want to read. There is no way I'll get to them all, but I love that I can look through the pile and pick my next book.


Posted Jul. 31, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I enjoy cleanliness and order, and yet, there are a few things I can not part with. Hand written letters from grandmothers and my mother mean a lot. It's funny that other people have mentioned being a book hoarder because I DO love to buy (and read) books. I own an iPad but really prefer a "regular" book, and I also like the ease of exchanging "real" books with friends. I am always behind on my reading.


Posted Jul. 31, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
norahp

Join Date: 04/27/13

Posts: 22

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

Do you think that hoarding is primarily an American problem, a byproduct of the materialism that Navy Mom wrote about? Or do you think that hoarding, as a mental illness, could manifest itself in a variety of cultures?


Posted Jul. 31, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
bonnieb

Join Date: 09/11/11

Posts: 132

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I think that hoarding can occur in any culture. Mental illnesses differ little from culture to culture. For instance, with paranoid schizophrenia, in the U.S., people think that the FBI or CIA are after them. In Russia, they think that the KGB is after them. I believe hoarding is part of OCD or a vestigial left-over from our early days as hunters and gatherers gone awry.


Posted Aug. 01, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
susanj

Join Date: 06/18/11

Posts: 25

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I too am a book and yarn hoarder. I had 400 unread books in my guest room, and I recently forced myself to give up 100 of them, admitting that I'd always find something more appealing to read. Now they all fit on the shelves with no piles on top. I am going to try to read one of them for every current library book I read (I always have a list on reserve). My goal is to get rid of 100 more by next summer. Most of the books I have bought at library sales, and will go back to be resold. I have to remember that the library has copies of most of these books! I still have children's books, classics, and foreign language books in another room, so I still have a long way to go.


Posted Aug. 03, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
CoventryReader

Join Date: 08/04/11

Posts: 27

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I can relate to Kim's father and his hoarding very much. I have a lot of trouble discarding meaningful items, such as cards from people I'm close to, some schoolwork from my children's elementary years and any item that might have some sentimental value. This book has allowed me to see how my own saving of things could develop into an obsession such as Kim's father had.


Posted Aug. 06, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
craftymbs

Join Date: 06/12/13

Posts: 5

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

Although I am a voracious reader, I am pretty good about reading and then passing the book on. There are very few books that I would read twice or more- those i save! I am a quilter and a teacher. I can always (ha) find a use for the smallest piece of fabric and by nature I think most teachers are hoarders. My classroom is better than most. The advent of the Smartboard has helped that!


Posted Aug. 06, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
juliaa

Join Date: 12/03/11

Posts: 271

RE: Do you relate to Kim's father’s hoarding habit? Do you own anything that you can't get rid of because it has too much sentimental value?

I am a hoarder of books and shoes. It is extremely hard for me to part with either. I am beginning to take books to the local places that accept such donations because I have far too many and no room for more shelves. I also have a hard time giving up things of sentimental value, and find I have to have a disinterested party help me with purging. I am trying to give away 30-50 books a week, and a few pairs of shoes on every trip to the thrift store so that I will have a more orderly apartment by the end of summer.


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