This one's for the hoarders
Abm4n
Posts: 529 Member
Recently I've been a reading about hoarding behaviour. At what point in our lives did we become a nation of hoarders? I have also just read a book about the link between hoarding behaviour and being over weight. I have also started de-cluttering my house.
There is a definite link between our tendency to hoard things and our need to over-eat. I threw out some things. I am hoping that it will help me to lose weight! I can see the connection. Anyone else lose weight after they threw stuff out?
There is a definite link between our tendency to hoard things and our need to over-eat. I threw out some things. I am hoping that it will help me to lose weight! I can see the connection. Anyone else lose weight after they threw stuff out?
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Interesting. I'm the opposite of a hoarder, I toss everything because I hate clutter, and I've struggled with my weight my whole life. My mom and husband are both hoarders, but neither of them have notable weight issues. So it doesn't apply in my circle. But I can understand how the two could potentially have a correlation.2
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That's interesting..I have been cleaning out cupboards and getting rid of stuff lately and I've wondered if it had anything to do with my weight loss. I want to feel less encumbered in general.9
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I unburdened my cupboards of everything with any hint of sugar, corn syrup, wheat or other grain. And voilá! - lost a few lbs. in the meantime...9
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I have been uncluttering for months. Not affected my weight loss but has affected my well being. I feel better now that there is less clutter. I am sending items to the local charity shop every couple of weeks.
What I have noticed though is how I am changing and my personal tastes. This is something I was not expecting.6 -
I am slowly de-cluttering simplifying my living and working environments. I seem to have more space and MORE TIME. OMG! I just realised this right now; I have less to do and more time to do it in. It feels a bit weird right now - having more time and MORE SPACE.7
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I watch the show when I slow down on cleaning out the "stashes." I try to make at least one big trip to the goodwill a month. It's also been motivating to do a monthly closet cleaning to get rid of baggy clothes. Started this all a year ago and I have lost weight too!4
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I love clean clear spaces and I am for ever decluttering and streamlining - what drives me to overeat though is my partner - he is a hoarder because of his many hobbies - the worst one is his wargaming - there are little soldiers in all our rooms.
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I hate clutter! I'm one of the few I know personally that hates knick knacks. Not only do I have to dust them but having too many makes me anxious. I know that's weird but I would rather see a shelf with one or two pictures and a live plant then one cluttered up with "stuff".6
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@Abm4n What's the book title? I'm always struggling with my spouse's hoarding, especially because he keeps proving his response that the scrap of wire, wood, paper, etc., will solve a problem one day
I do, though, keep him away from collector-type RPGs. Good luck with your decluttering! 0 -
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I love clean clear spaces and I am for ever decluttering and streamlining - what drives me to overeat though is my partner - he is a hoarder because of his many hobbies - the worst one is his wargaming - there are little soldiers in all our rooms.
Yes!!! I struggle with my husband's hoarding too, though I wouldn't say it contributes to my food problems. When we lived in America, I got him a 10x20 storage unit for his hoarding, to keep it out of the house. I was horrified when we were preparing to move to Scotland when I found it so full of junk you couldn't even safely open the door. We sold, gave away and threw away everything we owned, except for 10 small boxes of stuff and 4 gigantic suitcases of clothes and bits and bobs that came with us on the plane. It was really hard for him. He had a bag of rocks he wanted to keep! Well, he's gathered some new rocks here now, so I think he finally forgives me for throwing his rocks away. This is a man who literally packed a bag of garbage in a box during a previous move because he though that something important might have been in the bag. And by garbage, I had mean things I deemed unworthy to pack.
We have a 3 bedroom house here so that in addition to my office, he gets a junk room so that I can't see his crap. I refuse to even open the door and he's required to keep it closed, otherwise it drives me batty to see all the junk he finds. The junk is simply not allowed to leave his room.
Can your husband not contain his war games to one room or the garage? Maybe it's time your army invaded and captured his soldiers lol I feel for ya so much!!! 0 -
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Recently I've been a reading about hoarding behaviour. At what point in our lives did we become a nation of hoarders? I have also just read a book about the link between hoarding behaviour and being over weight. I have also started de-cluttering my house.
There is a definite link between our tendency to hoard things and our need to over-eat. I threw out some things. I am hoping that it will help me to lose weight! I can see the connection. Anyone else lose weight after they threw stuff out?
I agree with your thought....mainly because the clutter made me depressed looking at it....knowing I needed to start somewhere, but feeling overwhelmed and deciding to go eat a snack..... But that was before LCHF journey....now I have no need to snack...but I still find it hard to part with my clutter...Arts & crafts, Books , Magazines, Stuff! A work in progress!
I am glad you are finding it a bonus to declutter. It gives me hope that I can get there!2 -
@Abm4n What's the book title? I'm always struggling with my spouse's hoarding, especially because he keeps proving his response that the scrap of wire, wood, paper, etc., will solve a problem one day I do, though, keep him away from collector-type RPGs. Good luck with your decluttering!
I'd like to know the title too.
I loved Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Great read. I used her ideas on my pantry and freezer. Awesome. It was easier to prepare food without digging past the junk. I didn't lose weight from it, but it was mentally satisfying.
I hoard a bit.... Average? My husband and kids have a lot of stuff though. I could easily move to a smaller house but getting their stuff into something smaller would be a problem.1 -
PaleoInScotland wrote: »Interesting. I'm the opposite of a hoarder, I toss everything because I hate clutter, and I've struggled with my weight my whole life. My mom and husband are both hoarders, but neither of them have notable weight issues. So it doesn't apply in my circle. But I can understand how the two could potentially have a correlation.
Me. I hate clutter and if I forget I have it or don't use it out it goes. My children pack rat everything1 -
Nope. I love to simplify. However my parents are awful hoarders. And both slim energetic ppl (even in their 70s).
My exception: books. I'd love to have a small room to turn into a library.
I LOVE that picture, KetoGirl!1 -
I feel there is a connection for me. I have extra things for security....even as I child I figured out if under the bed was stuffed with things...no monster! Food has been my go to for emotional security...so I was a morbidly obese hoarder.
As I lost my weight I started throwing out fat clothes and as I got closer to goal weight, I cleared out alot of junk as well.
OveraIl, it's working pretty well.
In maintenance, as I struggle with new social and eating habits...I do have periods when I seem to overshop for some retail therapy, or overeat when I feel rejected or lonely. So, I think it will be awhile before I really get a handle on it, but it's all a work in progress.
And my house and body are now very functional for my needs, even if it's not at all perfect.8 -
I was never a hoarder and have always enjoyed lack of clutter. That said, one thing in @elize7's post (just the word "extra") brought to mind is: I always had to have my "back up" regarding food. Open a jar of something I used often, buy another. "1 and a back up" was my mode. I never got too low on anything and I was definitely never without.
Losing weight did not seem to cause the change. I've noticed the behavior change in just the last few months eating keto. I don't think about food as much. No eggs? Eat cheese. No cheese? Eat meat. I do keep coconut oil and mascarpone cheese on hand for fat but don't really consider getting another jar/container until they are close to empty.
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I am an art supply hoarder.
One can never have too much!
But, I am not sentimental about stuff. We just moved and I love purging things that have accumulated over time!1 -
@kpk54 , one and a back up was my mum and I have picked it up too. Although, I now only apply it to things like mustard or mayo, not to everything. She was feeding a family of 6; we are a family of 2. I realized some time ago that I could put it on the list when it was getting empty not when I just opened it.
We went to Costco today (rejoined). Things are just too big there and I feel as if I am hoarding TP, PT, kleenex, napkins, dish soap etc. now. You can spend a lot there and then have to go shopping. We went back because it is so much easier to go the basement for more TP, than head out to the store. However, we have to head to the store for food anyway so that doesn't make sense! I think I just fell for it again. Is it really cheaper to by a 2 year supply of garbage bags? Do I really feel better knowing that I won't run out of napkins for a year? There is some ease to it though.1 -
When I say reading I really mean watching a heap of YouTube videos and TED talks etc. Hoarding is now "out there" in the public domain now that it has been included in the DSM V as hoarding disorder. The guru of hoarding seems to be Randy Frost. There is a good episode of our locally produced show called Insight (Australian ABC show) which features Randy Frost.
I have placed a "hold" at our library for Randy Frost's "Buried in Treasures" and have read Dorothy Breininger's "Stuff Your Face or Face Your Stuff". Dorothy is a professional organiser who is featured in "Hoarders" along with Robin Zasio. I am facing down my shopping and food storing compulsion and have been cleaning out my pantry once again. I am trying to overcome crap English diet after enduring many years of restricted calorie eating with a heavy emphasis on cheap and stodgy carbs, white bread, WW2 surplus foods like powdered scrambled eggs, industrial strength margarine, etc. Thirteen years at English boarding schools starting from the age of 5 can predispose a person towards food hoarding. I still have a little tucker box filled with chocolate!2 -
@kpk54 So your Mum used an n+1 protocol. There is a science behind this believe it or not. I once studied the design of data centres - those buildings that warehouse the computers that back up all the data from our banks, health centres and MFP. Most of the critical features such as power generators and air conditioners use either an n+1, 2n or 2n +1 protocol.
So if you were having say three guests for dinner = 4 people in total; you reasonably calculate that 2 bottles of wine would suffice for 4 people at 1/2 bottle each. So, "2n" would be 4 bottles and "2n+1" would mean that you would have 5 bottles of wine at the ready. This of course assumes that none of the guests would bring a bottle. Now, supposing that each of the three guests brought a bottle you would end up with eight bottles between four people => two bottles each.
Anyhow, you can see that we live in an age of abundance and oversupply of everything when people think like this.2 -
@coloradoartst Re: hoarding art supplies. Me too! I hoard pens, pencils etc. I can see now that it is part of my identity - being an artist and the best way for me is to "act out" my inner artist - i.e. to create something artistic rather than just collect arty stuff.2
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When my next door neighbor passed away, her executor had to put a construction dumpster in her driveway to catch all the hoarded crap from the sort/clean out of that house... and it was my neighbor's vacation house!! It took the executor 6 weeks to get everything squared away. I started closet sorting at that time.7
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Being members of MFP we all like apps, I like to collect stuff and have a problem with it myself with not wanting to throw things away but I downloaded this app called WITH the bad word in there you have to type it into your android app store as Unf*ck Your Habitat -replace the '*' with a 'u' and download it I highly recommend it as a cleaning motivational app, it even has a sayings generator called Random Unf*cking Motivation for when you lack motivation or whatever. Then they have a 20/10 Timer (clean 20 rest 10) and a Challenge by Room that you can choose which based on the amount of time you have -highly recommend it!-2
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PaleoInScotland wrote: »I love clean clear spaces and I am for ever decluttering and streamlining - what drives me to overeat though is my partner - he is a hoarder because of his many hobbies - the worst one is his wargaming - there are little soldiers in all our rooms.
Yes!!! I struggle with my husband's hoarding too, though I wouldn't say it contributes to my food problems. When we lived in America, I got him a 10x20 storage unit for his hoarding, to keep it out of the house. I was horrified when we were preparing to move to Scotland when I found it so full of junk you couldn't even safely open the door. We sold, gave away and threw away everything we owned, except for 10 small boxes of stuff and 4 gigantic suitcases of clothes and bits and bobs that came with us on the plane. It was really hard for him. He had a bag of rocks he wanted to keep! Well, he's gathered some new rocks here now, so I think he finally forgives me for throwing his rocks away. This is a man who literally packed a bag of garbage in a box during a previous move because he though that something important might have been in the bag. And by garbage, I had mean things I deemed unworthy to pack.
We have a 3 bedroom house here so that in addition to my office, he gets a junk room so that I can't see his crap. I refuse to even open the door and he's required to keep it closed, otherwise it drives me batty to see all the junk he finds. The junk is simply not allowed to leave his room.
Can your husband not contain his war games to one room or the garage? Maybe it's time your army invaded and captured his soldiers lol I feel for ya so much!!!PaleoInScotland wrote: »I love clean clear spaces and I am for ever decluttering and streamlining - what drives me to overeat though is my partner - he is a hoarder because of his many hobbies - the worst one is his wargaming - there are little soldiers in all our rooms.
Yes!!! I struggle with my husband's hoarding too, though I wouldn't say it contributes to my food problems. When we lived in America, I got him a 10x20 storage unit for his hoarding, to keep it out of the house. I was horrified when we were preparing to move to Scotland when I found it so full of junk you couldn't even safely open the door. We sold, gave away and threw away everything we owned, except for 10 small boxes of stuff and 4 gigantic suitcases of clothes and bits and bobs that came with us on the plane. It was really hard for him. He had a bag of rocks he wanted to keep! Well, he's gathered some new rocks here now, so I think he finally forgives me for throwing his rocks away. This is a man who literally packed a bag of garbage in a box during a previous move because he though that something important might have been in the bag. And by garbage, I had mean things I deemed unworthy to pack.
We have a 3 bedroom house here so that in addition to my office, he gets a junk room so that I can't see his crap. I refuse to even open the door and he's required to keep it closed, otherwise it drives me batty to see all the junk he finds. The junk is simply not allowed to leave his room.
Can your husband not contain his war games to one room or the garage? Maybe it's time your army invaded and captured his soldiers lol I feel for ya so much!!!
He has the third bedroom and the loft. I try to follow one of the rules of decluttering "only declutter your own stuff" but I have thrown away some of his stuff. He has never noticed.
I get rid of books read; just keep 3 cooking books, - I limit myself to less than 10 pairs of shoes and 3 handbags. If the house was robbed, I have nothing much to lose. No one could work out anything about me by my stuff only my size and shoe size. Cannot wait to be my ideal weight of 140 lbs to get rid of more stuff - still a long way to go though!0 -
I am feeling a rare urge to purge some extra stuff today. Think I'll do one of The Fly Lady's quick "27 fling boogie" sessions. Don't think I got the name right, but it will feel like real progress after I get rid of 27 items in one fell swoop!! Yowza!4
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I suppose you could say I hoard footwear (over 80 pairs of shoes, not counting sport specific footwear, boots, or flipflops). I guess the difference would be that I use them all, except for a few pairs of 'dinner shoes' (too freakin' high to walk in
, while I wait on a call from the hospital for ankle surgery) which get used much less often. My husband though tends too keep crap, because "you never know when you'll need it". Things like small nuts, bolts, etc in baggies stashed here & there (he does know where they are though), and several boxes of slides from his family history that he keeps saying he will organize and digitize one day, and old jeans & t shirts that he cuts into rags and stuffs in bags. 0 -
I hoard guitars. They stay in my home office. The rest of the house I want completely clutter free.1
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I loved Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Great read. I used her ideas on my pantry and freezer. Awesome. It was easier to prepare food without digging past the junk. I didn't lose weight from it, but it was mentally satisfying.
Teehee. In her list of comments from clients at the beginning is, "I finally succeeded in losing ten pounds."1
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