BBC on-line article on the psychology of hoarding and decluttering

[SteveinMN]

I've seen variations of this basic paradigm of decluttering before, but perhaps the author says it in a way that strikes a more responsive chord with people.... http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120717-why-we-love-to-hoard?selectorSection=health

[iris lily]

That is a useful way to look at "stuff"--how much trouble would you go to acquire it? This analytical apporach might help some people.

I am constantly amazed at people's attitude toward their "stuff." Just last week my freind who is in dire financial straits said that she had taken her spare gold jewelry in to sell but "they wanted to steal it" and so, no sale was made. I just commented that the amount they offered was more than what she had now and said that I was happy to get whatever I could get for the gold jewelry I sold in recent years. Gold is up, time to cash in.

Re:emails. I share an email aco**** with DH. I operate on a "clean inbox" principle (like Tradd!) and I don't keep anything in the inbox other than action items. So, I am constantly moving emails to a subject folder but I regularly and ruthlessly clean out folders. DH OTOH keeps every email he gets. We have a freind who sends DH up to 5 emails a day, you know. those stupid political ones (and they would cause peggy's head to exploed) and DH saves those ridiculous things. I'll bet that I can go into his folder and find 3 instances of the faux Bill Cosby "I'm 83 and Tired" email.
OUr email provider stores this stuff and so, I can't complain to DH about taking up storage space.
DH also has real angst in letting physical items go, but fortunatley, he is very frugal and seldom buys anything. HE simply cannot understand how I will take bags and armfulls of things that I once loved and get rid of them. I want to clean out my life for the next hobby or interest phase, I do not want to keep remnants of things that once amused me. That said, I keep things I do love, and there are some things I've had for decades becaise I DO love them.

[ToomuchStuff]

Good article, but that seems to cover one aspect of keeping things, which isn't really Hoarding, IMHE.

[SteveinMN]

Good article, but that seems to cover one aspect of keeping things, which isn't really Hoarding, IMHE.
Agreed. The connection to pathological hoarding was pretty much nonexistent beyond suggesting how hoarders (like all of us) assign a value to what we own.

[Mrs-M]

Happy to know I'm stronger than a lot (out there) psychologically. I for one, when the time comes, have no problem unbuckling the leash and letting things go. That said, I do have things/stuff I have no intentions on parting with.

[jp1]

I think that article's premise might be quite useful to me. The example of the computer cables completely resonated. Having bought assorted computer gadgets over the last 14 years since getting my first computer, I have tons of them. Most of the gadgets have long since passed into the afterlife. Or at least been given away on craigslist, but the extra cables live on in a large box in our storage room in the basement. After all, the power cable for a computer or monitor is always the same, so I shouldn't toss them in case the current one quits working... Never mind that I've never had a computer power cord fail and, alternatively, won't ever likely have 10 computers or monitors in use at once. And even if I did, these new gadgets would come with new cables of their own...

The other problem for me is that once in a blue moon I DO actually use something that I've been saving for years. And I think "Great! I just saved $3! (or whatever)" And that then justifies keeping all the other things that I hold onto because I "might" find a use for them one day. I mean really, just looking at my bookshelf I see a 5 boro NYC street atlas that I probably haven't used in a decade. I haven't lived in NYC for 8 years, or even NJ for 3 1/2. And I haven't looked at a map other then google maps or our GPS for years. But will I get up from this computer and take it to the trash can? Probably not.

[SteveinMN]

The biggest challenges for me are that stuff like cables are a sunk cost -- I've already paid for them -- and we have the room. If we were talking a spare washing machine or piano, different deal. But so long as I don't have six or ten USB A-B cables, a few can hang around on a shelf or in a box. No harm, no foul. And I do use them on occasion. Now, the parallel-printer cables ... they can go!

[cjones]

Great article---I'm going to make an intentional effort to re-evaluate my stuff from this point of view. I do think that real hoarding, where every surface is blanketed with stuff, goes beyond just this one issue, although it includes the endowment effect. I hate clutter, and I "go through" my stuff regularly and actually enjoy doing it.

[cjones]

Wow, I actually was so inspired by this post, Steve, that I did go "drawer diving." That psyched me up so much that I went on to a closet and some cupboards and I'm about the power on through a few more.

I pride myself at how much of a non-clutterer I am but I found a LOT of stuff to discard. ALL stuff I haven't used in years--amazing. Thanks again for this post.