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No one wants to rifle through old food, rope, duct tape…...
Mr. Dokie’s grandparents had an entire kitchen drawer full of rubber bands.
I shouldn’t talk, at one point in my life I had about a half drawer crammed full of plastic produce bags. I have made a conscious effort to no longer keep more than a few on hand.
I think being a prepper is quite a bit different than being a hoarder or a collector.
A good prepper has a supply of practical items that are rotated out as used. And some things you may not need, which is a good thing. We've never had to use our generator but we have loaned it out several times to friends who lost power in their area.
Personally, I draw the line at old food. We only buy food that we will eat. We store it and use it in date order. Everything else, flashlights, batteries, home remedies, repair books, tools, cooking/canning equipment, etc has a place. It's not out on display. Very different from a cluttered hoarder home that's full of items that are only valuable to the person who bought them.
I know my kids would take it all to supplement their own "prepper" items.
My wife passed away a few years ago. I'm still cleaning out stuff she had that she felt she needed. It's a pain in the butt. What may have been useful to her isn't really needed now.
The funny thing is, that she probably thought the same thing about your stuff. Every now and again my husband will hold up an item and ask "Do we still need this?" and I'll say "of course we do!". The latest thing was some of our Halloween decorations. Yeah, he's right, we didn't put those particular decorations up this year. But maybe we'll use them next year...or so my thought process goes.
In the meantime he's got boxes of old record albums, as well as, some framed movie posters which are cool but they have literally been stashed away in a closet not being used for years. I'll ask him if it's time to get rid of them and nope.
The big difference between women's stuff and men's stuff is that women's stuff tends to be a whole lot lighter than men's stuff is. While it might be a pain to sort through closets filled with clothes, shoes, perfume, knitting supplies, gift wrap, wreaths and home decor that your wife may have, just imagine what a chore it is for women to lift and drag around heavy boxes of old record albums, tool boxes, weight lifting equipment, etc.
No they won’t appreciate it. It’s a huge burden and not fun to clean out houses stuffed to the gills with junk. That’s why junk removal companies are so popular because the younger generation just throws money at the problem versus their time which is precious to them. I love my kids too much to do that to them.
I know hoarding is a mental illness so no amount of reason will convince a true hoarder not to do it. I can’t stand to watch the tv show Hoarder’s because it’s too disgusting. You can’t keep a house clean when it’s too full.
The show Hoarders is one of the few real reality shows on TV. Sadly most of the people on there go instantly back to the way they were before. They did a show with a friends mom who lives 2 blocks from me. Not only did they completely redo he house they also completely cleaned and refurnished the business(motel) she owned. The house she lives in had garbage/junk piled in the yard within weeks and less than 2 years later the Motel was condemned and tore down. It is so sad they do all that work and spend all that money to help someone so people can laugh at them on TV.
Many preppers are hoarders but few hoarders are preppers if that makes sense.
Why not? I mean, would you have a flashlight in every room? Would you have a fire extinguisher in every room? So why not have a first aid kit in every room? Because look at it this way, it's your house, you know where you put the first aid kit but what if someone needs it......and it isn't you?
I know hoarding is a mental illness so no amount of reason will convince a true hoarder not to do it. I can’t stand to watch the tv show Hoarder’s because it’s too disgusting. You can’t keep a house clean when it’s too full.
It did not occur to me until I read this where if I am mentally ill being opposite -- minimalist. I'm the guy who does not own a couch. Once I brought a friend in to the house and his first reaction was, "Hey, you just got robbed!". I thought it was just a lifestyle choice, similar to those who like to accumulate stuff, not a disease. I do collect one thing though - my Blu-ray collection (between 151-200 titles as of now).
I can't, either. Watched a bit when it first came out, and I'd get antsy and start picking things up in my house and thinking I could get rid of them.
I also can't stand how they pick up one thing at a time from the thousands of pieces of crap in the house and ask, "now can we get rid of THIS?"
I say put them in a straightjacket, strap them to a tree, bring in the bulldozer and let them scream it out all at once. It will be traumatic, but it will rip off the bandage fast, then they can begin to heal.
Somehow I suspect no mental health professional is going to grab on to this idea, though, lol.
I love that show! They don't do that because it would further traumatized the hoarder making the problem worse. It seems like hoarding, in part, is an attempt to control their environment to feel safe. Throwing away all of their possessions would violate their autonomy as well as announce "you can't make good choices so we'll do it for you" further eroding their efficacy.
Source: the mental health professionals on that show
Last edited by L8Gr8Apost8; 11-17-2022 at 08:17 AM..
Reason: How I know this
Why not? I mean, would you have a flashlight in every room? Would you have a fire extinguisher in every room? So why not have a first aid kit in every room? Because look at it this way, it's your house, you know where you put the first aid kit but what if someone needs it......and it isn't you?
No. I would not have a flashlight and a first aid kit in every room. Do you? Seriously? I have bandaids in the kitchen and bathroom. Larger bandages and medications in the linen closet. The fire extinguisher is in the hall right outside my unit next to one of the 4 sets of fire stairs. I keep a small flashlight in the bedroom and in my one concession to prepping, a radio/flashlight that runs on 4 types of power is kept in the closet.
I cleaned out my godparent's house after they both died months apart, my mom's house after she died. Later my own house when I sold and downsized. None of us were hoarders or preppers but there was still a lot of stuff to go through and get rid of. The easiest place to clean out was my aunt's apartment. Not a lot of junk. Just what was in the dresser and closets plus furniture and kitchen stuff. She had already downsized from her house in the country.
You can't expect your survivors to keep all the stuff you think is useful. They may keep some things but the rest they won't want or need. They may like somethings but not have the space. Who has room for a lot of stuff from someone else's house?
Downsizing has made me feel much freer. It reminds me of when I was just starting out before I had accumulated so much. I don't want to leave rooms full of stuff behind when I die. It's not for everyone but it works for me.
I love that show! They don't do that because it would further traumatized the hoarder making the problem worse. It seems like hoarding, in part, is an attempt to control their environment to feel safe. Throwing away all of their possessions would violate their autonomy as well as announce "you can't make good choices so we'll do it for you" further eroding their efficacy.
Source: the mental health professionals on that show
Yeah, I am aware of all that.
I still like my idea better. An immersive treatment. Hey, how do they know if they don't try?
I don't understand having first aid kits in every room. My bathroom closet is no more than 30 feet from every room in the house. If I can't walk 30 feet to get a band-aid or an ice-pack, then I need more than first aid. I can see having one in the garage or potting shed, but I don't need one in every room. What's next, multiple defibrillators?
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