Our definitions of "used" are different I guess

[cindybubbles]

My dad likes to hoard old electronics and stuff. He got a hold of my old phone after the battery inflated like a balloon, insisting that he could fix it. He hated moving from the old condo into my sister's basement and threw a fit because that meant getting rid of half his stuff. I just had to give him a hug.

[KellyHabersham]

My dad's sister was renting a room from an ex-boyfriend a few years back, and just to share a few things she said the guy did with hoarding...

- when attending outdoor music festivals, he would pick up paper cups people left on the ground, took them home, washed them, and put them in his kitchen cabinets.

- got upset with my aunt because she didn't want to take aspirin which had expired in 1982.

- ate an Easter ham which was over a year old. (I don't remember the details of that story, unfortunately)

[EricKei]

Year-old ham?!? Dear <Diety> o_O Even it it was frozen solid, pork really doesn't last more than six months...

[morgana]

Mom insists that I am the reason the house is messy. When I was younger I used to clean, and haul out bags of garbage. Mom would scream at me for throwing away "her stuff", then pull the bag out of the trash can and bring it back into the house.

Your Mom is outright insane, isn't she? Stay strong, girl.

[Argabarga]

I can't throw out any old car parts without dear ol' Dad telling me I'm throwing away money because "someone may want that"

He's never willing to actually try and sell it himself, but he's absolutely certain I made a mistake by just throwing it in the junk bin.

He also keeps his shirts until they're full of holes and unraveling... and then he gives them to charity..... when you try to explain to him they can't take something like that, he always says "What? You tellin me some shirtless aborigine wouldn't want THIS instead?"

Proof that being smart doesn't mean having social skills, I suppose.....

[KellyHabersham]

Year-old ham?!? Dear <Diety> o_O Even it it was frozen solid, pork really doesn't last more than six months...

I think the ham had been frozen solid....beyond that, I just remember that "Aunt Bonnie" was completely grossed out that the guy had actually eaten it.

Sad thing is, this was apparently a guy who had gone from being a neat freak, to someone who would be a great candidate for "Buried Alive".

[Minflick]

When my husband died last year, in going through his mess, we found many many old tech manuals that were ancient enough that nobody would want them (filled the recycle bin), years and years of documents I had to shred (50 pounds worth - thank you UPS for having a pay-by-the-pound service), and 12 old floor towers. Jesus Effing Christ. I made quite a few trips to the dump and visited all their various divisions. Cried through most of it - with rage, sorrow and frustration.

[raudf]

My mom gets really upset when she knows I got rid of something. I think it's some kind of compulsion. She doesn't hoard, not seriously. But... She has those tenancies.

Ugh. When either my sister or I start cleaning out our houses, we conspire with Dad to have him take Mom somewhere, anywhere, away from us. Otherwise, it's a constant stream of "That might be worth something," "Keep it, because it meant something to so and so," or "Oh, those were so cute on you when you were a kid!"

Dad also arranges for a distraction when he goes to clean their house out, for the same reason. I think my mom finally started getting over it, when she saw how much shit they had to move when they changed mobile homes, because now it's more, "You kept that? Why?" "Because I actually USE it, Mom."

My mother... the creature of extremes.

[dendawg]

ate an Easter ham which was over a year old.

I think we finally know where Dr. Seuss got that story from.

[protege]

I can't throw out any old car parts without dear ol' Dad telling me I'm throwing away money because "someone may want that"

Some older stuff--especially things now impossible to find--could be worth something, no matter what the condition. For example, I have an old set of lever-arm shocks for the MG. There are many companies that will rebuild them on an exchange basis. Send in your old ones and a (refundable) core charge, and they'll ship you a freshly rebuilt pair.

Same with the electrical bits. I've built up a small collection of original Lucas dash switches. Sure, they might look grotty, but they can be repaired and are better quality than the cheap reproductions. The only things I don't bother with are brake parts--trashed discs go into the scrap bin, and I don't bother attempting to rebuild calipers. Sure, you can do it with new seals and pistons. But, you can get new calipers for less than the repair kits.

Anyway, I've had to deal with getting rid of crap over the years. When my grandfather died many years ago, he left entire buildings filled with crap. Most of it was just junk--rotting boards, bags and boxes of old bills/tax returns/paperwork/newspapers. One building, a 12x20 shed (later my workshop/train room) had all of that crap stacked all over the place waist-deep.

Same story in the farmhouse basement, the barn across the road, and the carriage house. I know he grew up during the 1920s and the Depression (remember even in the 1920s life in rural SW PA was pretty hard--his area was still pretty isolated) which was probably why many farmers didn't have "clean outs."

Even though Grandma had hired someone to clear out the barn and carriage house, my dad and I filled up the station wagon multiple times. Some of it got sold, but most of it got torched. I hauled all of the paperwork into a field, threw some diesel on it, and lit it.

Similar to my great-grandmother on dad's side. She would spend the entire winter in Florida. Instead of simply relaxing or playing shuffleboard...she would go to garage sales. Boxes of crap (and I'm being nice) would constantly arrive at my grandparents' door. When she lived here, she would literally be surrounded by junk. That shit was piled all over her bedroom--the floor, the shelves, any furniture, the closets, everywhere. Then she moved up to Maine, and again, that shit got peddled at garage sales.

I admit, that I have a bit of clutter here and there. "Here and there" being my office...and the basement workshop/train room. Lots of old magazines, kits, parts, and other crap that needs put away. At least the magazines can be cut apart and dropped into the scanner, and most of the kits will eventually get built.

[Argabarga]

I'm talking a fender, folded in half, kind of useless old car part.... "hey, someone may want that to straighten out"

"If it COULD be straightened, I'd do that instead of buy a repro, it's only good for scrap"

"Fine, if you want to throw away money.... I'm only trying to help"

THAT kind.