Mid Week 5 Questions -- Hoarders Edition

Off Topic
#1

I was listening to a podcast last week about hoarding. While not wanting to make light of what those that suffer with hoarding go through (the podcast was pretty insightful), it did get me wondering about designers and the urge to save things vs. the urge to pitch things.

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?

2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between?

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

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#2

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?

I’m not a big fan of having extra stuff sitting around, so my tendency is to get rid of anything I don’t need or use.

2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between?

Definitely neat and tidy. Fortunately, my wife is the same way. We can’t sit down to relax in the evening if something is a mess.

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.

I have an aluminum mechanical pencil that was my dads that I enjoy using.

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?

My wife and I have a running joke. We have a 25 year old fig tree.She doesn’t like it and would love to get rid of it. For some inexplicable reason, I’ve talked her into keeping it. Although, we might have killed it. Every spring, we drag it outside where it lives until the fall. This year, the early cold snap might have done it in before we brought it inside. We’ll see if it bounces back.

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

Not really. Maybe CDs, but I don’t buy a lot of those any more.

#3

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?
The just in case thing. I’m lucky though, one of my best friends is a professional organizer, so she keeps me in check.

2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between? Inbetween.

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.
Oh, where to start… an old boyfriend’s drivers license, a couple of 35mm film cameras…

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?
No, they know me.

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?
Flashlights, backpacks, Doonesbury Collections.

Great questions!

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#4

I try not to keep just-in-case things, but if there’s a significantly good chance I’ll need something down the road that would cost more than a few dollars to buy again, I’ll keep it. I once had a boss who said that if he hadn’t used something in six months, he would throw it away. I suspect there were exceptions, but I thought it was a good rule to live by.

Somewhere in between. I’m reasonably neat and well organized, but my wife has all the neatness characteristics of a tornado.

I keep a few sentimental things that belonged to my parents and a few projects from school. My first ever design/art class was in my first year of college. I took it as an elective since I had an open space between a couple of other science classes. I only got a B+ on the project, but it was enough to get me interested in this whole field. It sits on the bookshelf next to my desk at home as a reminder. I also have a book of dinosaurs that I drew in 3rd grade with crayons. It’s stashed away in one of my flat files.

My wife doesn’t understand half the things I do, so whatever it is that I’ve kept just gets lumped in with everything else she never wonders about.

No, not really.

I have a complete set of the U.S. 50 state commemorative quarters from a few years ago, but I never set out to collect them. I think I just signed up to get them on a whim one time. Each year they just kept showing up until I had them all. I nearly used them to pay for car wash one time, but then thought they were totally uncirculated and might be worth more than a quarter someday to someone in the far distant future (who will likely use them at a car wash).

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#5

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?

I keep the bare minimum. I can’t stand clutter, I start to feel really nauseated if I’m in a cluttered environment for too long. Probably because my step dad would beat me if my room was messy as a child

2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between?

My area (my bedroom, my closet, my bathroom) are spotless. My wife’s bedroom and bathroom has piles of clothes and papers lying around. The rest of the area is a mix. There’s stacked of (her) books, (her) mail. But I tend to make them into neat stacks. She cleans more than I do, in that, she’ll scrub her toilet, shower walls and mop more than me, but then she’ll leave the mop, sponge, spray bottle in plain sight- whereas I’ll put everything out of sight when I’m done.

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.
Absolutely no material possession of mine has sentimental value.

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?
I do not

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?
I do not

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#6

Oooh, good questions.

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?

Lately I’ve really been into minimalism. In part form watching a documentary on Netflix (Minimalism) and reading a book about Japanese Minimalism. On top of that I moved from one house to another about 3 months ago. With all of that being said, I tend to pitch things/donate things/sell things to minimize, minimize, minimize!

2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between?

Like others, I’d say I am neat and tidy. My wife and kids on the other hands. Ugh. I’ve tried to impress upon them the ideas of minimalism (well, not so much my kids, they’re kids, they enjoy their toys, gadgets, etc.), but definitely my wife. Unfortunatley my wife isn’t on board. Sigh.

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.

I have my grandfathers drafting kit (he was an engineer) and I have several of my elementary age schoolwork (thanks to my mom keeping it) that I like looking back on. But that’s abut it that I can think of.

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?

Not really. Other than my comic books which my wife tolerates (but they’re meticulously stored in a file cabinet)

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

Comic books. I also have some stamps and coins. And I had/hav a lot of CDs, but am now purging. I don’t need CDs any more. They’ve been digitized anyway.

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#7

I considered myself a minimalist until I saw that documentary.

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#8

Ha. I know that between my wife and 3 kids that I will not be a minimalist any time soon, but I’d like to think as far as “my possessions”, that while I am not a minimalist, I have been purging quite a bit.

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#9

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?

I’ve been burned soooo many times from purging. I get so sick of looking at things I’ve kept “just in case” so I do a sweep through and blamo! Need it! LOL . … It never fails. So yes I tend to keep certain things just in case. I held on to a bag of wires and connections for nearly a decade and figured since most of those connections types no longer exist I was safe in throwing them out … so far so good. I also kept boxes that were moved from place to place unopened. After a couple arguments of “why do you have this” I forced myself to go through them. They were boxed up after my marriage collapsed and I nearly did as well. So it wasn’t something I looked forward too. But after nearly 10 years. I went through them. I could have kicked myself for not doing it sooner. It was all crap for the most part. It was very freeing to purge it from my life :wink:
(well that was longer than I expected lol)

2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between?

LOL … Umm no. I always say “clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy” The place always looks a bit disheveled do to my craft mania. I usually have paper, material and other craft stuff on nearly every surface :wink: But, it’s organized in it’s own special way :smiley: I will never be a household where you feel like you can’t touch anything because it’s so pristine. Too many kids in my life :wink:

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.
I have a box of items that were my Mom and Dads. They will always be with me. Old family photos, my Dads camera and shave set. My Moms favorite cooking spoon. I use it almost daily :slight_smile:

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?

Not really. But, I do get ‘‘the look’’ when I save grocery containers for leftovers. They are a lot cheaper then Glad or Rubbermaid. :slight_smile:

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

I don’t collect anymore. I have no space. I used to collect anything miniature, especially shoes. But, that’s all safely packed in a tote … no room to display it right now. I used to collect fans. I have some beauties from around the world that folks would get me on trips. I also used to collect carnival glass. But again … no room to display so it too is safely packed away.

While I’ll never be someone who has cat turds in the corner and rows of old newspapers stacked up, with a thin aisle to walk down … I will always struggle with throwing away Chinese take-a-way dish lol. My battle to recycle vs “it’s just trash, it’s ok to toss it”, is always a struggle for me :wink:

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#10

Delicious!

#11

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?

In case …just.

2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between?

Dust is a natural patina … isn’t it?

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.

3ree that I’m willing to share with you ‘us’… a photo of my grandfather (father’s side) taken just after he was shot on duty. (every male member in my family has served going back generations … including me). The other … my great grandmother’s (mother’s side) moccasins she wore on her wedding day.

And, press about … me.

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?

Yep … skulls.

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?.

Feathers.

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#12

I have my Mom’s favorite cooking spoon too. I think it was her mother’s spoon as well. It’s not just an heirloom; it gets used.

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#13

That is so awesome. I believe this is going on 4 generations old now. It was my Great Grandmothers and passed down to my Gram, then Mom and then me :heart: It’s stainless steel with the measured spoon markings engraved into the spoon and has a wooden handle. It’s my go to spoon unless I’m using a non stick pan. I love that silly spoon :heart:

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#14

One of my wife’s treasures is a binder that is full of recipes. Some of them are garden variety recipes that we’ve torn out of magazines. But some of them are hand-written by my mom, her mom, and my grandma. If the house ever burns down, everyone is instructed to grab the recipe book on their way out. (I really need to photograph this thing one day so we’ll have a digital backup.

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#15

I’m reasonably sure the spoon I have was my maternal great grandmother’s too and, perhaps, her mother’s — at least my Mom thought so. It’s stainless steel, a little bit crudely forged and with no ornamentation of any kind. It’s just a large, heavy, sturdy spoon.

My great grandparents (and their parents) were Mormon polygamists (no kidding), so this spoon might very well have been hauled across the plains in a covered wagon and used to cook food for the 25 kids in the family. Below is a photo of my great grandparents. My great grandmother is in the middle with her sister wives on each side.

image

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#16

Yessss you do! Something like that is priceless :heart:

I can’t even imagine!!! There were times in my youth it was interesting keeping 6 mouths fed. I just really can’t imagine what a family with 25 kids must have gone through especially in those settler days.

You definitely have an interesting background Just-B. Love hearing little snippets of it ::slight_smile:

#17

Also delicious! :smiley:

#18

Yeah…he was the love of my life and he died young of cancer, in his early 40s. He was a pretty awesome guy and no one since has been able to fill his shoes. Can’t seem to give up that driver’s license… :smiley:

I should have mentioned my dad’s Air Force medals and stuffed Hooded Merganser duck. Got them too!

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#19

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?
I keep a lot of things “just in case.” But I will give something away if someone needs it (except money, LOL.) Little bit of a prepper as well. Grew up during the Back to the Land movement so things tend to still get bought in bulk and stowed away. Sometimes it’s cheaper that way too.

2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between? If neat = 10 and mess = 0, where I live is somewhere around a -2. But only around the edges, like the spare room, cellar and garage. The rest of the house is neat and tidy if you don’t mind cat toys everywhere.

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.
Most of my great grandfather’s hand tools.

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?
I have a few things I keep that even I don’t know why I keep them. Every time one of them surfaces though, I can’t bring myself to throw it away. I still have my first doggy’s squeak toy. He died when I was 5.

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?
Hmm… I have an old Dark Shadows comic book collection in a box around here somewhere. A collection of sharp tools, mostly grandpa’s, hanging on a wall in the den. Love the look of worn wood and old metal patina. Some skulls, shells and other odd bits of nature found while hiking to fishing locations. Old bottles dug out of several late 1800s house dumps near where I lived growing up. A box full of dryer sock singles? I keep thinking the other one might just show up sometime.

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#20

1. Is your natural tendency to pitch things (or sell or give away) or do you keep things “just in case”?
I get the packrat gene from both sides, so it does come naturally to me. As I’ve gotten older though it’s easier to pitch things or keep them from following me home in the first place. I do tend to keep odds-and-ends of spare hardware or things that can be easily repurposed. For example, after our last dishwasher died, I took off the front sheet metal panel because I can always use a piece of sheet metal. I’m usually building or fixing something.
2. Would you describe your dwelling place as “neat and tidy,” “I really need to clean this place” or somewhere between?
In between. Much better since we moved to a larger house with a walk up attic and a couple outbuildings. The kids are really good at leaving things out though.

3. Tell us about something you’ve kept that’s full of sentimental value.
My dad’s thoroughly battered Vicegrip pliers with his initials stamped into them. He carried vicegrips practically every day of his life.

4. Do you have anything that your friends / family / loved one / spouse doesn’t understand why you keep it?
I could stand to get rid of some old college art projects that haven’t seen the light of day for several years.

5. Do you collect anything? If so, what?
I’ve collected things like coins and marbles over the years but they aren’t growing collections. I have a pretty good accumulation of old video games and consoles, but haven’t added to that recently either. My kids like to play some of my old games but haven’t expressed much interest in modern systems. I wouldn’t call it a collection but I do have quite a few books because I love to read and it makes me feel good inside to look at a nicely filled bookshelf.

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