We all like to hoard, don't we?

[andrews]

On my recent trip to Manchester, while indulging ourselves in a splendid afternoon tea, an interesting conversation took place - whether we hoard - in every cupboard, under the bed, on top of wardrobes etc etc, or whether we throw things out (not many of us confessed to throwing much out).

So, to start the ball rolling, let me tell you that I hoard shoes. I have a wardrobe full of them - in boxes, with photos on, so I can see where they are. I hate to throw shoes out - they are like good friends - even the ones which have caused my feet to ache! (My shoes, that is , not my friends).

[superhero]

lol...film tickets anyway? hehe

[jojojoanne]

amongst other stuff, which i'm sure i'll inform you of later on: clothes ... jeans that i will NEVER fit into again (and even if i did, they would be out of date/too short) .. tops that either don't fit or i've gone off, but i don't want to throw them out "cos i've hardly worn them" - even though i know i'll never wear them again!!! i actually give a lot to charity when i do clear stuff out, i just need to clear out more!! and i think i mite make an effort to throw just one thing out every day or so .. it makes sense .. carol mcgiffin (from 'loose women') throws something out everytime she buys something new .. we should all follow her example!!

[Rainey]

I have nothing...... I can't think of anything I hoard, it was a tight squeeze in our house growing up it used to drive me mad, never enough room, so now I like space and emptiness. My OH is the same, his mum used to collect things, so there would be shelves full of tea pots or whatever until she got bored of them and they got put in the loft to make way for the next collection, he's even worse than me, took me 5 years to convince him we needed a picture on the wall.

The loft is completely empty, the garage has 2 boxes of paperwork which I need to sort through, but that's a time thing, infact I had a sort out of mine and the kids wardrobes a few weeks back and was rather too ruthless and have left myself a little short and in desperate need of a shopping trip but with no funds! In fact my sister is the same, everytime we visit we swap a bag of clothes to see if the other wants it before getting rid or kids toys or books etc.

[jojojoanne]

i'm desperately trying to be like that, Rainey .. i dont have a load of ornaments (the only ones being in a display cabinet, and they're trophies that the boys have won over the years and artwork that i've had to put in there so their sister isn't left out!!) .. i ask myself "why not use the 'posh' glasses?!" .. they're just stored away and never used!! in my shed and loft, there's stuff 'that we better not chuck out, cos it might be needed one day' - it never will be!!! i do have my 'ruthless' moments .. only recently, i threw out a load of kitchenware/saucepans that we never use .. but off the top of my head, i know i have a lawn mower that no longer works properly - why have i kept it then??!!!

[akh43]

Where do I start ... probably easier to list what I dont hoard than what I do, think this thread was made for me

I grew up with little and most of my clothes were hand me downs so once I left home I made sure this didnt happen. My cupboards are always wellstocked with food and I hate to run out of anything, I could probably last for weeks if not months on my supplies, other than the fresh items like bread, milk and fruit and veg. My 8 door wardrobe is full to capacity of my shoes, clothes and stockpile of toiletries, some of them going back to the health and beauty days at tesco when they pa*d us to take them away, I never could resist a freebie and points as well. I must admit I am not as bad now but I find it hard to get rid of certain items and I wont get rid of items I know I will use at some point. I have enough dishwasher tablets to last for years, also bounty kitchen rolls, washing liquid, washing up liquid, various cleaning stuff, Branston beans and handwash just to name a few items, toilet rolls are waning a bit now though so looking for the next glitch I did donate a very large box of toiletries about 18 months ago to a woman's refuge charity and I also did 2 car boot sales and still have loads left. My daughter comes up from Uni every couple of weeks and always takes a pile of stuff back with her, so at least it saves her some money. I also find it hard to throw away clothes, always thinking one day I may wear again, even though that dont fit l usually donate most of it to charity as still in good condition and I regularly get rid of a bag full of clothes every couple of months, but still b*y more clothes as I spot something I fancy in the shops. Shoes, I have far too many pairs (not as organised as you Andrews) and should really get rid of some, especially now I have been told off for the shoes I wear, but I find it hard to get rid of shoes that I still like but just cant wear

Maybe admitting it will help, I have started to make a bit of a dent in my stuff and say I wont b*y any more, but most of the stuff I do b*y nowadays is at such a good price or free that I just cant resist.

[jojojoanne]

.... i take full advantage of 'BOGOF'!! it makes monetary sense ... but have to keep a list of the use-by dates on the tins and packets cos more often than not, i b*y waaayyyyy to much!! andrews has made me more determined to slowly but surely, purge!! i'm glad in a way, but in another, it's one more thing i have to deal with!!

[rawsalsa]

OMG. What a great thread. It certainly is relevant to me.
It appears that my condition is similar to yours akh43, but far worse .
Ok it's not as bad a some of the conditions shown in the series shown on tv, however it made me realise that I really need to start clearing out now! All my friends tell me that if there was suddenly no food or supplies in the shops that they could all live at my house for several months without b*ying food, toiletries etc...Even my loft is full to the rafters and definitely needs clearing. I have clothes in several sizes, some worn, some not & I am definitely a shoe-holic. In Feng Shui they say that even if you can't see it, emotionally it creates negative energy, reduces mental & physical well being & even wealth & I believe that, so I really need to sort the clutter. Help somebody!!!

[Rainey]

It would be foolish not to take advantage of freebies and extremely good discounts and BOGOF when they are relevant to you, but my mum will b*y virtually anything on BOGOF, or the 1 for £1.20 or 2 for £2.00 just because it seems like a bargain, but then it may just sit in the cupboard forever, so instead of being a bargain is a waste of money.

Why not sell some of the stuff your never going to use again, one of the mum's at school has set up a selling page on FB for the local area, I have been putting things on there, it's surprising what junk people will b*y and the incentive being, no real effort or selling fee's etc. Even if that top you have never worn sitting in the wardrobe only fetches 3 quid, if you sell 10 of those things that's £30 quid in your pocket.

[jojojoanne]

when you think, years ago, our parents didn't have half of what we have now .. as children they had a few toys .. as adults, just what you needed .. clothes were work clothes and 'best' clothes ... we've become spoilt i suppose .. lucky to have all what we have, but it's not necessary. even bedding!! i've got soooo many duvet sets - why??!! realistically, you need 2 at the most .. one to use, one for the wash .. when i first left home, i only had one set .. it was washed and put back on within the same day .. and why do we need sooooo many towels?!!!! i'm starting to feel really, really guilty!!!!