Minimalist meets hoarder

[Sandi Bo]

My daughter is a minimalist, I might be a hoarder.

Hopefully she just moved into her forever home. She has huge beautiful bookcases on each side of her fireplace and wants the 35 year old encyclopedias we bought when she was born! Of course I still have them. She just put her kids in twin beds - and would love to have the matching comforters that were hers.

Time and again over the past couple years I have been thankful she was minimalist (they have moved 5 times in the past 2 years, I think). And we kept joking about how dangerous it is to ask a hoarder if they want something (before she threw it out).

My turn to give back, this has been kind of fun.

 

[pittle]

You should be pleased that she has a sentimental attachment to some of your stuff. I am closer to minimalist than hoarder, but my mother was definitely a hoarder. When we cleaned out her place, I chose 2 curio cabinets that she had - but without all of the stuff! Instead of being crammed full, each shelf has a few special things on it so that you can see what is there.

My biggest "hoard" is Christmas ornaments. I have spent the past 3 days packing them all back up for next year. The house seems almost empty now!

 

[DaveNV]

It’s nice that your daughter wants some of the things you’ve saved. It’ll be nice when you visit, too, so you can see your things again.

I’m far from a hoarder, but I am definitely a “put it in a box and shove it in the garage until I can sort it out later” kind of guy. I never seem to find time to sort out that box until there’s another box to add to the mix. I am SO looking forward to retiring, so I will finally have time to deal with everything. I really dislike clutter.

Dave

 

[SteelerGal]

I’m glad she appreciates. My Mom and sister are the Hoarders while the rest of us are minimalist. It does work.

 

[WinniWoman]

That is nice she wants those things. I am a minimalist. My son and husband are hoarders who I have to fight every step of the way. Limiting what you own is very freeing.

 

[Snazzylass]

haha...I learned in Real Estate Class that invariably the neat nick marries the hoarder. I've prayed for years, Oh Lord, do not send me to live with Son1. Love the kid. Love his minimalism, but I'm messy!
And, now Son2 buys a house and asks about my china cabinet...um...gave it away. Yup! I've got one of each - a minimalist and a sentimental one

 

[Rolltydr]

That is nice she wants those things. I am a minimalist. My son and husband are hoarders who I have to fight every step of the way. Limiting what you own is very freeing.

I’m a minimalist and my wife is, maybe not a hoarder, but darn close. We have had many arguments about it. She has now decided that we do need to sell our house and downsize so she has the task of doing something with all the stuff she has accumulated. But, she as a brother who is a full fledged hoarder so he is telling her not to give stuff away, he’ll come get it. Argghhh! I just want to donate the things that have value and the rest is garbage. It’s really simple. Why do people make it so difficult?

 

[Brett]

I'm trying to become a minimalist, - getting rid of junk isn't easy sometimes

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Being a techie, I have found a way to have the best of both worlds - De-materializing!

Convert all those old pictures to image files. Make multiple back-ups, both on-site and in safe deposit box. Then pitch all the old pictures.

I do the same for books, and old computer software. Virtual box lets you run old operating systems as a subprogram. load all the old software in the virtual machine, and I now have a pile of different machines in one machine.

Scan all my business papers, and save in a tax file, one file set for each year. Keep three years in paper, and burn/shred the older paper stuff.

Of course, this doesn't work for everything, but, boy have I been able to get rid of stuff. . .

(My new title is - A Fistful of Chips, For a Few Chips More, and The Good, The Bad, and the Shredded!)

 

[Rolltydr]

I'm trying to become a minimalist, - getting rid of junk isn't easy sometimes

Can you explain why? Is it sentimental attachment? The feeling that you might need it one day? What is your primary reason for wanting to hang on to stuff?

My wife has both but mostly she thinks somebody she knows may need this thing some day in the future. It doesn’t matter how long she’s had it or how many times she’s moved it from place to place without ever needing it, she’s afraid if she gets rid of it, somebody is going to need it in the next few weeks. This means she has to have the ultimate say on whether we keep or get rid of everything. I can’t clean up any room in our house without her having to go through everything I’m going to get rid of. To me, if I donate items to charity, that means someone is going to be able to use it. She prioritizes by deciding if 1. we may need it, 2. if someone in her family may need it, 3. if someone she knows may need it, 4. can it be given to charity, or 5. should it be thrown away? As you can imagine, very few items make it through that process without a yes to the first 3 questions.




Harry - Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Cornell]

I am absolutely a minimalist and actually get anxiety when I'm in someones home where they have lots of "stuff". It just stresses me out. I don't get sentimentally attached to "things" -- they are just things. I also have a habit that when I get something new I get rid of something in my home. I belong to a Facebook group called "Be more with less" and it's very illuminating.

 

[clifffaith]

I’m a minimalist and my wife is, maybe not a hoarder, but darn close. We have had many arguments about it. She has now decided that we do need to sell our house and downsize so she has the task of doing something with all the stuff she has accumulated. But, she as a brother who is a full fledged hoarder so he is telling her not to give stuff away, he’ll come get it. Argghhh! I just want to donate the things that have value and the rest is garbage. It’s really simple. Why do people make it so difficult?

Tell her eBay for the small packable stuff. I started downsizing collections after we got settled into this house in 2011 -- way before I knew we'd be moving to a two bedroom apartment in a few years. Last month I just got past the $35K threshold of money I've taken out of PayPal after all the fees and shipping were paid. Also hit 1,000 feedback which means I've sold between 3,000 and 4,000 items. And in recent years I've unloaded larger items on my neighbors through Nextdoor, which I'm on every day anyway to see what's going on nearby.