Addendum to Hoarding

Note that I'm not an expert on this subject—at best, I'm an "instant expert" from reading a few books and doing a little research. But since Sunday so many people have mentioned to me privately and publicly that they share some of the characteristics I wrote about yesterday, that I thought I'd clarify this question a bit more: what's hoarding and what's not?

You're not a hoarder just because you have a lot of stuff. My guy the expert from the A&E show, Brendan McDaniel, says "hoarding" is defined not as the amount of possessions you have, but whether it interferes with your life and, especially, whether it jeopardizes your safety.

People with lots of possessions are fine if they can keep them organized. I once visited the photographer Arnold Crane in his penthouse apartment by the lake in Chicago and he had thousands of items from many collections displayed—it was a like a miniature museum. But the items were displayed beautifully and the whole place was fastidiously orderly and perfectly clean as far as I could tell. We had no problem moving around the apartment or using the furniture. He's not a hoarder, at least not on the basis of what I saw of his place.

Organizer Brendan McDaniel on the A&E show "Hoarders."

The diagnostic criteria for hoarding are things like, are you able to use your rooms for the purposes they're intended for? Where that's concerned, the most extreme case I saw on the show featured a man with a wife and four young children whose large foursquare home had an infestation of bedbugs. He was told he needed to clean the clutter out the house in order to fumigate it, but, rather than do that, he set up a tent in his yard and moved his family into it. And he had a whole rationale worked out about how people pay good money to go camping but that his family "enjoyed" camping right there at home. And freezing temperatures were on the way! The show joined him at that crisis point. I think everyone (well, everyone except that guy) will agree that that's not normal behavior.

One young adult woman had to move out of her own bedroom and sleep in her mother's bed when her mother's things invaded her room and she (the daughter) could no longer use it. Other hoarders haven't seen the top of their dining room tables for years. One mother and her child lived in a 6x10' space in the middle of a 3-bedroom house, doing everything in that space, from eating to sleeping. Several hoarders on the show could no longer use their own bathrooms—one woman borrowed buckets of water from a neighbor's spigot to use to flush her toilet—another woman used adult diapers to defecate in, and then kept the filled diapers, because they were "part of her" and she didn't feel right parting with them. The cleaners removed 3,000 pounds of full diapers from her house.

When you think about it, whether you've got a problem with this or not, the more room you devote to stuff, the less room there is for you. Hoarders effectively reduce the size of their own living spaces. The book Stuff recounts some cases in which hoarders were asked to draw plans of their homes, and they drew maps of narrow pathways or left whole rooms out of the floorplan, simply because the room was so full of stuff it couldn't be entered. It becomes like not having that room at all.

Other people have interference in their lives such as: they or their children cannot invite guests into the home; their spouse separates from them or divorces them because of their living conditions; they get into fights or disputes with neighbors or authorities; they get evicted from housing and become homeless.

Less spectacular criteria include things like: can you find things when you need them? Are your belongings stored such that they are safe, or are you ruining them by keeping them where they are? I personally have had an issue with not having any clear flat surfaces to work on when I want to do a project. An old girlfriend of mine used to sort her laundry on her bed, and sometimes there wasn't room in the bed for her—she would have to push the mass of clothes back and sleep uncomfortably on a narrow strip at one edge.

I realized only a day or two ago that I had become launched on a career of hoarding cameras without really even realizing it. As I determined what had to go yesterday, I first decided to keep only three, then expanded that number to five, and have ended up keeping seven—which, of course, is more cameras than anyone sensibly needs. Besides those listed for sale yesterday, I have two antiques (both Zeisses—and neither of which I'm counting among the "seven" I'm keeping), three lesser models that I'm going to put on Ebay, and two or three junkers or "repairables." They weren't getting in my way, but I had clearly gone more than a few steps down a road I didn't even realize I was on. Now, according to the criteria, if those were kept in nice condition and displayed in a clean and orderly fashion, there would be no problem. But let's just say that the camera cabinet was not in good order. I've been working on that today.

Still, the major criteria for hoarding is this: are you jeopardizing your health or safety, or that of children or pets? It doesn't happen often, but it's not ususual for hoarders to die because they become trapped in their homes—the fate of the prototypical Collyer brothers*. They get buried under an avalanche of stuff, they fall and can't get up, a fire occurs in the home and they can't get out easily, or they have a medical emergency and the emergency crews can't get in to administer aid. Or, they get diseases because of bugs, vermin, or rotting food. Things like that. Ironically, some people who hoard animals (the classic "cat lady" for example) perceive themselves as helping the animals, but they're really hurting them because they can't care for them properly and the conditions become so poor that the animals are at risk.

So, bottom line, some people do just have a lot of stuff—but that doesn't automatically make them hoarders.

Mike the non-expert

P.S. I'm still swamped with work today, so "Book o' the Week" will appear tomorrow. I hope.

*The article mentions that the white Collyer brothers stayed in Harlem as the neighborhood turned African-American. Curiously, my mother once lived next to a man who was the exact opposite. She had a house in Georgetown, D.C., a fashionable and expensive neighborhood in the nation's capital. The neighborhood had formerly been slums, "gentrified" in a process begun by Jacqueline Kennedy in the very early 1960s. But my mother's neighbor, who was black and not well to do, had never left. And he, too, was a hoarder—his house, like the Collyers', was stuffed full of stuff. He was a companionable if grumpy old fellow who I chatted with on many occasions (although he had a memorable eccentricity: on some days he just would not speak to anyone at all, even his son). Apropos my comments yesterday, I can picture his face, his cataracts which were worse in one eye than the other, his house, and where he used to sit on his front steps in the shade of a streetside tree, but of course I can't recall his name. I presume the situation was a bonanza for his son, because once the old guy passed away the house would have been worth a large fraction of a million dollars—or maybe even more than a million.

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Robert: "My wife and I have agreed regarding all the clutter in the house: the one who dies first, wins."

Mike replies: Macabre, but funny!

Featured Comment by Nolan: "A small correction Mike: No one gets bed bugs (two words) because they're slobs; you get bed bugs by carrying them into your house after which they'll find where you sleep at night and start eating. People who are unclean and/or cluttery often times don't notice they have an infestation for a variety of reasons; they think bed bugs aren't real, they don't change their sheets, the bed is surrounded by crap, etc, however such conditions don't give you bed bugs, they just flourish because it takes people forever to notice them between their belongings. The problem with saying a person had bed bugs because they're a slob is it creates and perpetuates a stigma that undermines the reality of the situation; they affect everyone everywhere, and going forward it's likely that you and everyone you know will have to deal with bed bug activity first hand, so now is the time to declutter and educate yourself about them. I am a pest management technician with five years of experience under my belt. I have extensive training in bed bugs, directly from Gail Getty and Jerome Goddard, two of the foremost experts in the world."

Mike replies: Thanks Nolan. I modified the wording of the post a bit to reflect this information.

Featured Comment by Christopher Lane: "Mike, Interesting that we should intersect yet again. While you were cleaning up, so was I. As a result, I have a great collection of pristine photo books for sale. All hardcovers have dust jacket protectors. Many are way under going price. Most were recomended on this very website, Sorry, no Outside/Inside (I wish). Here's the list."

Comments

[James]

Mike, are you swamped at work because you are hoarding distractions?

I know I often am...

[Rick]

Macabre, good choice in words. I had to look it up. Just a fringe benefit of T.O.P.!

[Christopher Lane]

Mike,

Interesting that we should intersect yet again. While you were cleaning up, so was I. As a result, I have a great collection of pristine photo books for sale. All hardcovers have dust jacket protectors. Many are way under going price. Most were recomended on this very website, Sorry, no Outside/Inside (I wish). Readers can view the list at http://www.amazon.com/gp/shops/storefront/index.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sellerID=A3PKQZ9SBQMBJY.

Cheers,

Chris

[Jim Hart]

Mike,

Slightly off topic; the bookshelves here at the Swamp are full. After culling volumes that were no longer needed or wanted...they're still full.

So I "invested" in a Kindle. The plan is to buy hardcovers where hardcovers are justified (tech manuals, photo books, etc.) and e-books where there is no justification for a hardcover (mysteries, sci-fi, etc.).

Of course with the Amazon model there is a risk that the ebook "library" can be lost or hacked or mauled by Amazon staff - but the Swamp could burn down too, and the loss in hardcovers would be much more painful.

The hope is to build the ebook library and reduce the strain on the Swamp bookshelves - there simply isn't room to put in more shelving.

But that's not the point of this post...

Have you (can you) cut a deal with Amazon that gives TOP credit when I buy ebooks directly from the Kindle? It's more convenient than using my laptop to log in using the TOP shortcut, locate the book, "Buy With One Click" and send the purchase to my Kindle, then fire up the Kindle to complete the download.

If you're not able to get credit for direct off-of-the-Kindle purchases, your readers oughta know that. Also - is there a minimum amount that your readers must order in any given sale before it rings the TOP bell? A number of Kindle purchases I've made are at the 99 cent level...and there's no way to "bundle" book purchases in the Kindle store to ratchet up the total sale.

What's the scoop on Kindle vis-a-vis TOP?

Jim

[erlik]

Yeah, hoarding would be gathering all kinds of really useless stuff like the filled diapers. Burned-out lightbulbs. Irreparably broken toys. Whatever.

I don't think having a lot of cameras qualifies as hoarding. Concerning the guy with the beautifully organised camera collection, a friend of mine has a theory: you have only so much organisation in yourself, and when you're organised in one area, it means the other areas will be disorganised. :)

BTW, there was a recent episode of The Simpsons where they deal with hoarding - the cat lady is a hoarder, they help her and then Marge catches the bug.

[hugh crawford]

I haven't seen that hoarders show, it sounds too depressing and I only watch the cable channels when I'm on Jet Blue. I'm much more into that other show "American Pickers" that seems to revolve around people who accumulate a lot of junk that gradually becomes valuable.

You had a post about that in 2009
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2009/02/the-trough-of-no-value.html

I seem to come from a family of hoarders, one uncle accumulated over 50 wrecked 1959 Chevrolets, another uncle left a barn full of dead Porsches, the history of the adding machine from the 19th century, 2 issues of every Life magazine etc. Of course on a farm you can indulge in habits like never selling any old cars and never throwing out old magazines. For some reason my grandfather in an attempt to tidy up took all the depression era Fortune and Scientific American magazines to the dump and kept the Life and Nat Geos. When my family sold the farm I had to winnow the interesting stuff that my relatives didn't throw away ( someone dumped a box with 50 years of advertising pens and pencils, and almost threw out a first edition of Peter Pan) down to what would fit in a couple of shipping containers.

I really need to get rid of some cameras myself, I have somehow accumulated a dozen Bolexes and I don't even make films, and I remember having a bunch of weird French light meters around here somewhere.

[Lior Segev]

At the other end of the scale are site like mnmlist.com, which is a little extreme by with an approach I could live with, unlike the clutter approach.
I showed my wife the hoarding images, and we agreed that we occasionally get to #1. She was horrified by #2, which is at the very extreme end of chaos in our home - maybe once or twice a year, and very briefly at that... Thank God we are coordinated in this.
As for cameras - the only reason I now own three is that I upgraded a week ago (Sony A55) and haven't had a chance to sell the old Sony A300. The third is a compact Canon.
My gear 'closet' is just two drawers.
Books are a bigger problem, but I'm getting rid of every book I read which I don't really like, and that helps a bit. I applaud your determination in getting rid of so many books (and such a large percentage of them!)

[Friedrich]

My parents are hoarders. It's not too bad, but it's going to be a hassle when we inherit the house - because between all the crap, some jewels lurk. Otherwise I'd just throw it all away.

I am actually trying to organize my life so that I could carry everything that is of real value to me. Computers have made this pretty easy; I have all personally important documents on my MacBook Pro (and keep a Backup, of course). I could literally carry all the things that are important to me in my backpack.

While I do get the beauty of beautiful things, in the end they're just, well, things to me, and I don't really have an emotional connection to them. If I lost my home to a fire tomorow, I'd be inconvenienced, but that's about it. Actually, owning stuff weighs me down. Owning only what's necessary (if possible in a quality that's a lot higher than necessary) is really liberating.

What I really value in life can't be bought: Friends, mostly. By definition, stuff that can be bought again has no emotional value to me, and goes out once I don't need it anymore.

This even extends to books, which some of you might consider a sacrilege: It's not about the medium; I really don't care about the paper. It's all about the content, and once I've read them, I give most books away. Only very few are so good that I can foresee to want to read them again.

Sometimes I wonder if I miss anything by throwing away letters, postcards etc. once I've read them. By not keeping stuff around for nostalgia. But every time I try to keep something "useless", I can't find a place to put it, and I can't picture a time when to look at it again. Maybe I'm just really bad at organizing, and that's why I try to minimize stuff that needs to be organized. But I'm really fine with that. Maybe I'll regret it when I'm 90.

[Jim Roelofs]

Heh! In our empty nest, this goes under the heading, "What's yours is mine and what's mine's me own."

[Mike Johnston]

Friedrich,
It's interesting--I distinctly remember seeing a show about cults, and the show claimed that some people join cults because they're so deficient in organization and life skills that they just have a terrible time running their own lives--the cult helps organize them and provides them with a leader who tells them what to do at all times, and they find this comforting because it relieves them of a sense of significant ongoing distress. Oddly enough, the show claimed that some people join the army for the same reason.

There's an organization for children of hoarders, COH--

http://childrenofhoarders.com/wordpress/

--who sometimes have anger and/or personal issues stemming from their parent's or parents' behavior.

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

"Have you (can you) cut a deal with Amazon that gives TOP credit when I buy ebooks directly from the Kindle? It's more convenient than using my laptop to log in using the TOP shortcut, locate the book, "Buy With One Click" and send the purchase to my Kindle, then fire up the Kindle to complete the download. If you're not able to get credit for direct off-of-the-Kindle purchases, your readers oughta know that."

Jim Hart,
No, I don't think there's any way affiliates will ever get a spiff for direct downloaded Kindle ebooks, because there's no sense in which we created the sale. But thanks for asking.

Mike

[David Dyer-Bennet]

I must say this talk of getting rid of books horrifies me. But then, the fantasy and SF collection in our house is simultaneously recreational, scholarly, and reference (my wife writes fantasy). I need to look up exactly what was actually said in some book I hate, rather than misquoting it from memory, when I'm explaining how much I hate that book sometimes ;-).

[MHV]

I did like most people who read your post and read up on hoarding: I thought about my clutter, worried about it, and tried to make some introspection about it.

Given that I'm about to embark on a Ph.D., I suddenly remembered how difficult it was during my M.A. to deal with the insane amount of information one tends to accumulate in academic learning. In a way, it's also very similar to hoarding, and sometimes you end up piling up article upon article near your desk, thinking "I'll never forget myself for not reading this" like a true hoarder.

But I also remembered that the academic world relies on a powerful anti-hoarding mechanism: bibliographies. Instead of keeping the actual information, you keep pointers to this information. Hoarders live with a 1:1 map of the world. You have to move to a reduced scale map if you want to function.

I know I've been guilty of having "one of everything" with various pursuits, but the turning point appears when I suddenly realise that I can live with knowledge rather than things.

And finally, one must remember the Jimi Hendrix Principle to cure the accumulation of loved possessions: "The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar."

Sacrifice your beloved possessions every once in a while, feel the pain and the anguish, learn to love it, and admit that you feel a bit post-coital after the pain has abated.

[Friedrich]

Mike, thanks for responding - though I'm not sure what the connection is between my post and yours, and whether I should feel offended by the suggestion that I might have problems organizing my life. Maybe it's the language barrier. I'm actually quite OK with my life, I'm just not good at keeping lots of things around in an orderly fashion, so I don't. Maybe my post sounded more dramatic than I meant it?

What I was trying to say was just that I think most people - even non-hoarders - have way more stuff than they'll ever need (partly because they're emotionally attached to inanimate things, and partly because most of these things are not actually, generally useless - so they can't throw them away, even though they're useless to them).

[Roger Moore]

Oddly enough, the show claimed that some people join the army for the same reason.

I've heard something similar about some habitual criminals. They can't function in society without somebody telling them what to do 24/7. When they get out of prison they do incredibly stupid things, either because they just can't control themselves or in a deliberate attempt to get back into what is, to them, a more comfortable environment.

[Mike Johnston]

Friedrich,
No offense meant, and my response wasn't necessarily aimed at you personally, merely inspired by your point about your radically simplified possessions. As for COH, there might be no relationship between your own minimalism and your parents' hoarding, but others might be interested to know about the organization. (Curiously, I'm a bit the opposite of you--I've always been "messy" and a "collector," but my parents are both fastidious about housekeeping and very neat.)

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

"I must say this talk of getting rid of books horrifies me"

David,
Again, the criterion is not the number of books you have, but whether they're organized and useful to you. Sounds like yours are.

Mike

[Tom Duffy]

"Ended up keeping seven - which, of course, is more cameras than anyone sensibly needs."

I'm very disappointed, Mike. All these years, I thought you were one of us...

[Ed]

The problem is simple Friedrich, we buy too much, and thus own too much stuff we really don't need. Personally I couldn't agree with you more. I owned to much until I had to sell (almost) everything in 2009. I thought that would be painful but instead it turned out to be very liberating. By owning things like computers, cars, paintings, guitars (6 of them! Hell I'm not that good a player), music equipment and the like, I had become a slave of my possessions and each purchase was the seed of a new purchase (new HDR spurred the acquisition of a new set of microphones and that spurred the buy of a new microphone pre-amp) until I had so much stuff I stopped making music altogether. Nowadays I take pictures and do that with a single GF1 and 2 lenses. My whole outfit fits into a single Vanguard hipbag. And that gets me what I want, results I can share and be pleased with. And when I get back to work, I will be free of any debt within minutes. Since that has been reduced considerably...and as you will agree (and Mike will soon discover), happiness is not to be found in owning, but in using (to its full potential at best) of your stuff.