Hoarding

[jyoutz]

That's a block for use on the drill press, or cribbing if needed.

Fire kindling

 

[ultrarunner]

It’s only hoarding if you have to pay to haul it away.

At the farms of moms youth there were a lot of bonfires getting rid of the old horse drawn wagons and such… even spinning wheels, butter churns all tossed… many later generations still in disbelief.

I see a guy like Jay Leno as a collector and preservationist… but some have said he is a hoarder?

I’ve become the family repository which is fine but what I don’t like is rescuing something years ago and then expected to hand it over… because I’m not “Using” it.

Dad was US Heavyweight Boxing Champ years ago and I kept as much as I could through the moves…one of the grandkids showed interest and asked for items which is really great… thing is it was only a passing fancy as the items are no more…

Friends wanted their grandparents beautiful piano and I offered to come with the lift gate to help move… great grandkid wanted to learn piano…

It was a family heirloom but not particularly valuable.

Three years later they asked if I could take to landfill… they said no one was taking lessons so put it on the back porch…

I could tell grandparents deeply hurt as it came from accomplished great grandparent who saved 10 years to buy it…

 

[dj1701]

Here are a couple of pics of before and after. My girlfriend came up from Virgina and helped me out. What we accomplished in a week without a tractor is unbelievable. We are no longer spring chickens.

Thats just part of the barn, the greenhouse and the driveway. The house was even worse!

 

[Oaktree]

The first went to the dump where I had to pay $10 to get rid of it. Then a lightbulb flashed and I checked on scrap metal prices. The next two trailer loads went to recyclers. Between the two, the total was around 1,400 pounds and I got a little over $100

Scrap metal (especially steel) can be tricky. Sometimes what you get for it barely covers the cost of gas to bring it to the scrap dealer. Our town dump/transfer station doesn't charge to drop off metal.

Scrap dealer is a better option for aluminum, copper/brass or batteries but even still I'll coincide a visit there with times where I was going to be in the area anyway.

 

[MossRoad]

Here are a couple of pics of before and after. My girlfriend came up from Virgina and helped me out. What we accomplished in a week without a tractor is unbelievable. We are no longer spring chickens.


View attachment 763943

View attachment 763944



View attachment 763945

View attachment 763946



View attachment 763947 View attachment 763948


Thats just part of the barn, the greenhouse and the driveway. The house was even worse!

That's a hoarder.

 

[Oaktree]

Friends wanted their grandparents beautiful piano and I offered to come with the lift gate to help move… great grandkid wanted to learn piano…

It was a family heirloom but not particularly valuable.

Three years later they asked if I could take to landfill… they said no one was taking lessons so put it on the back porch…

I could tell grandparents deeply hurt as it came from accomplished great grandparent who saved 10 years to buy it…

That's a whole separate can of worms, sentimental value to the grandparents but essentially junk to successive generations. Do you keep stuff you don't want just to avoid hurt feelings?

 

[UOFan]

New development...

Today I put 2 more 3" long 2x4's in the "just in case" bucket.

Maybe I am a hoarder.

The fact that you have a just in case BUCKET immediately tells me you’re not a hoarder. It would be a different story if you have multiple “just in case” PILES of scraps that you’ve got to step over/wade through

 

[Joel/ak]

When my bro in law died we had to clean out his apartment.

I've never dealt with a real hoarder before. Holy crap it was nasty. Took about 3 days to be able to see the carpet. Filled many dumpsters and a few dump runs. Ended up hiring a company to remove the furniture.

No one knew he had a couch in there.

 

[Oaktree]

Here are a couple of pics of before and after. My girlfriend came up from Virgina and helped me out. What we accomplished in a week without a tractor is unbelievable. We are no longer spring chickens.

Just mowing the yard made a huge difference!

 

[GeneV]

I was a paramedic in the late 90s, we got sent on an EID call, Elderly in Distress. Basically, that's when the dept of human services is in contact with a reluctant client (not always elderly) who's deemed in need of a mental/physical exam. So we show up, the cops are already there and busted open the door, and are like "he's all yours". This was your typical Chicago bungalow, like a long narrow house...living room to dining room, and then kitchen in the back. Bedrooms/bathroom off to the side.

So this dude, he liked newspapers and stuff like that, he had them stacked up, I mean STACKED! Like a good 5' tall or more, some places to the ceiling, and the entire place was filled in with this crap except for a narrow pathway he had leading back to the kitchen. No way this was just him buying newspapers/magazines, obviously his hobby was to go out and find this stuff in garbage bins or whatever, drag it home. One bedroom was completely filled, couldn't even get in there. And the kicker, you could hear critters moving around behind those stacks, most likely rats. Not to mention the smell, omg that place reeked!

We had to wrestle him on the stretcher and strap him down to transport him, although that was often the case with these EID calls. But anyways, in the ER, they start stripping him down, he's like caked with his own crap and dirt and stuff...obviously hasn't washed in years, like for real. When they got his shoes off, oh my friggin lord, his feet/nails were and absolute disaster! Yeh, that was a crazy call lol!

 

[ultrarunner]

That's a whole separate can of worms, sentimental value to the grandparents but essentially junk to successive generations. Do you keep stuff you don't want just to avoid hurt feelings?

If junk don't ask for it and then throw it away while they are still alive.... at least offer to return it or some other agreed upon avenue.

It cost them nothing to get it so my guess is it was of no value to them?

The simple way for those with property is call a removal company and have the estate pay for it.

As a property manager I have had to clear out a few places where family wanted nothing to do with it which is OK.

On the other hand if you come in to cherry pick you take all of it and exactly what I have done a few times... tipping fees are expensive so they can sort at their place or pay the next months rent.

My sister in law says I need to start getting rid of cars, tractors and parts... because no one has time... I'm sure plenty would gladly accept a fully restored NAA Jubilee or 68 Mustang convertible no questions...

It's not my job to put a bow on it and leave Certificate of Deposits and a Brokerage Account...

Might as well spit on the grave as far as the piano goes and I still feel bad about being a part of it...

Putting it out in the elements is throwing it away.

 

[m1garand762]

I have become a hoarder of some things mainly pertaining to my daughter. She has the appetite of a horse and my wife has not been able keep the supply up to tue demand so I have hoarded enough formula to get her through the end of needing it. It’s a good thing too , as when I was in tue store yesterday all they had was the sick kid stuff

 

[Joel/ak]

I have become a hoarder of some things mainly pertaining to my daughter. She has the appetite of a horse and my wife has not been able keep the supply up to tue demand so I have hoarded enough formula to get her through the end of needing it. It’s a good thing too , as when I was in tue store yesterday all they had was the sick kid stuff

Smart

I still can't believe we have a formula shortage in this great country.... unbelievable

 

[ultrarunner]

The simple solution would be to say hoarders are organizationally challenged and therefore protected under their Americans with Disabilities Act…

Grants to purchase additional storage sheds, racks and bins would be available to help…

Law Enforcement would then need to respect the individuals lifestyle choice and the community would need to make allowances…

And should intervention bring necessary those impacted could sue for loss of treasure and duress suffered…

 

[cqaigy2]

I temporally moved into a smallish shack/small house, when i was doing some contract work. I got to know the older women next door, and over a short time start doing some stuff around her yard, to help out. It became apparent to me that she was having some problems so i contacted her family etc. Not going into the CF that turned out to be.

This is the first time i'd run into or heard of a "hoarder". One day she walked over to my shed asking for help, with a plugged toilet. I walked back with her and entered the house and stopped. I was completely taken by surprise at what i saw. The place was filthy, narrow trails thru the house to bedroom, bathroom, kitchen. The smell was amazing too. I'd knew something was going on, but i'd no idea. Cleared her toilet, kitchen sink etc, shoved some of the stuff back so that it wouldn't collapse on her, cleaned the refrigerator out, cleaned up the stove. I'm not going to lie, i was completely out of my depth. I tried to contact support services, difficult to find, no Internet at that time, and not help cause im wasn't family.

I talked to her a bit, trying to understand what was going on with all the "junk". I'm not going to be able to get the completely right but, she told me that each piece of stuff was a memory/ a piece of her life, to throw it out would chip away at her life and memories.

 

[stephenh]

My wife's brother died [unexpectedly, 61] and my wife inherited his home way away from us in Mass., we live in Colorado. He was a hoarder, not of trash like on some of the TV shows, but everything else. It took us five years to completely clear the place and get ready to sell the house. My wife actually moved there for the duration [visits home now and then], and I flew up there numerous times to fix and repair and so on.

Anyhow, we got it done, but it was a long, long five years. We had talked to him about his shoulder-high boxes of old phone bills, ancient computer parts, and etc. to no avail. He just could not see parting with anything.

 

[scootr]

Smart

I still can't believe we have a formula shortage in this great country.... unbelievable

How can we be spending money on a war that's not ours and have baby food and clean water shortages in this once great nation?

 

[California]

Scrap metal (especially steel) can be tricky. ...

Scrap dealer is a better option for aluminum, copper/brass or batteries but even still I'll coincide a visit there with times where I was going to be in the area anyway.

Dad didn't keep things of no value. But over 20 years I've found here nearly everything I've needed to replace sink drain traps, to repair or replace drippy garden faucets, to put a 2 inch valve on a new water storage tank, much more. I bought a HF pipe threading kit to make use of the rack of spare pipe, and still have plenty of pipe left. Looks like all of it was bought used.

And more to the point I've made $75 or more each time, three times now, taking a heavy bucket of used brass plumbing parts to Sims Metals. (an exporter of scrap).
_____
Edit, added: 6-27-22 Sims Metals - 40 lbs Yellow Brass Solids $77.20 @ $1.93/lb

 

[ultrarunner]

My current home was bought as-is and the family spent 4 solid months moving things out… no junk but lots of antiques like every type of phone made, shop tools, kiln maybe 300 bottles of artist paint etc.

I still don’t know all that was left behind but a little looking and I find what I need.

Don’t know when I will use the band saw, radial arm, wood and metal lathe etc…

The family had to pay rent after 90 days so made the decision to walk…

The living quarters are Spartan but the workshop and basement not so much…

I’m in no hurry as work and taking care of mom is my full time job at this stage…

 

[dmccarty]

In my opinion, a true Hoarder is a person with a mental issue that does not allow them to throw anything away....

A true Hoarder isn't able to let it go. They see value in every single thing that they have. ...

Had a family member, who along with two other couples, bought a parcel of land and subdivided it.

They were all friends.

We went to visit one year for an annual get together. This one couple, call them Couple A, had brought salsa and chips to the get together. At the end of the party, the salsa and chips were all gone, and a person was going to throw away the empty jar and bag. The Couple A lady who had brought the food was really rude and nasty about keeping an empty jar and bag of chips. Right after Couple A had built their house, our family member went over to visit and the house was already full of stuff, disorderly, dirty and smelly. Couple A had cats and were letting the cats just run all over the place peeing and pooping. They would leave out food which the cats would eat, walk over, sit on, etc... They were hoarding cats in a brand new house. When Couple A brought food to a get together, we would only eat packaged food that was opened in our presence...

The husband of Couple A would collect junk and leave it in the yard. Placed looked like junk yard.... Not sure what happened to him but his wife was put into a mental hospital.

The husband of Couple B who had bought into the parcel, died of a brain cancer and eventually, the wife moved away. The person who bought Couple B's home ended up hoarding animals and not taking care of them. This person went off into the weeds and poisoned our family member's dog.

Our family member's spouse horded cats but kept them outside. It was a mess with the number of cats, cat crap, and the inbreeding. The spouse also had mental illness.

Another part of the family has a farm. Almost anything of value gets kept. Even if it has all but useless. They have the barn space so it gets "saved" because somebody might want a 50 year of range. Or old mattress that has been kept in a barn full of mice... Going to be a mess to clean up.

Later,
Dan