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Post by glimmercat on Jun 30, 2010 2:19:44 GMT -5
First question: Has anyone noticed a temperature difference between a hoarder's room and a non-hoarder's room? Every time I've lived in a shared accommodation setting, I have always ended up with a very warm room. I had always thought the reason for this was because of the sheer volume of stuff in my room. It acts like a sort of insulation or something, and prevents air flow or whatever. I can't count how many times I've moved into a (cool and pleasant) room, previously occupied by someone without a hoarding problem, and ended up with an oven, after all my stuff got in there!
My sister E insists that it can't be because of my stuff, but I can't understand how it could be anything else! Does anyone have any input/experience that might shed some light on this? I'm hoping there is a correlation so that I can look forward to more pleasant "room-weather" once I've culled enough stuff.
Second question: Is it possible to be a collector without being a hoarder, if hoarding has been a problem? I have a firm desire to have collections of certain things (in my case: books, cds/lps, and Rolling Stones memorabilia) but I obviously don't want to have the hoarding issue. To my mind, if the collections are orderly and not overwhelming the allotted space, they shouldn't be a problem. And if there are no other hoarding symptoms elsewhere in the home, I think it would be fine. Once again, sister E is full of foreboding doom and gloom warnings about having collections of any sort! Any thoughts?
meow
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Post by lizzie on Jun 30, 2010 5:20:30 GMT -5
Hi Glimmercat, I don't know about the first question. But the second, I would think it completely possible to be a collector without being a hoarder, in fact we used to have a show on Oz tv called Collectors, which regularly displayed very large collections of stuff which was nevertheless contained, cared for, and organised, and frequently very impressive.
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Post by dtesposito on Jun 30, 2010 6:53:27 GMT -5
First Question: This is a fascinating one, I have to admit I never thought about it before, but there has to be some effect because stuff DOES insulate and it DOES block air flow. I'm sure there's a psychological factor too, because when I'm too warm it just feels suffocating when there's a lot of stuff around me.
Second Question: I certainly hope so, because I intend to never give up my books. Maybe I'll have a somewhat reduced number, but to be in a home without lots and lots of books is not how I want to spend the rest of my life.
If I had to come up with a personal definition I would say that if your collection is displayed in a way that you can enjoy it regularly (doesn't necessarily mean every item visible, but easily accessible and actually looked at and enjoyed on a regular basis) then you have a collection. If you find yourself taking in every single possible example of that item and keep them all in boxes and cabinets where they are never seen and you can't proudly show them to others who are interested in the same collectible (because they are dirty or in disarray), then it's closer to hoarding than collecting.
Diane
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Post by Script on Jun 30, 2010 7:10:03 GMT -5
Your questions are very interesting to me.
My cousin Brad has been a stamp collector all his life. For the first many years, he maintained his albums and was good about keeping up with things. Then his work and personal life got out of hand. He stopped caring for the stamps but he NEVER stopped buying stamps and other related 'collectables'.
Right now, there is are TWO huge cupboards stacked floor to ceiling with stamps. None of it has been touched through THREE MOVES. Plus shelves of books; another whole credenza unit elsewhere; much more in the basement.
It is thought that there is about $100,000 of stamps in the house [maybe 60 years of collecting?]. Also maybe coins.
Brad is no longer a collector. His kids think he has crossed over the line into being a hoarder.
NOW some questions to you: *do you have an unlimited amount of income to keep adding to your Stones collection? *do you have a miniscule amount of time to devote to its maintenance? *do you have any place to display some of your collection? *does seeing, touching, revisiting your collection give you pleasure? We think Brad's 'collection' now makes him feel anxious and/or ashamed.
*could other people see the value of your collection? Example: it's one thing to display in a funky memory frame the shirt Mick wore to his mother's funeral. It's another thing to have some of the grass clippings from the lawn of Mick's next-door-neighbours, mouldering forgotten in a bag under the bed. Brad has many-years'-worth of envelopes from a former family business in one of the closets: we aren't sure what he is looking for...
only you can decide how and WHY to proceed.
xxoo from someone who saw the Stones in their first trip to Toronto [1966 maybe?] I love them!
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Post by Chris on Jun 30, 2010 7:36:11 GMT -5
My Mom has always said that having too much stuff makes a place hotter -- she's probably right ... I'm not sure. It's always hot here in South Texas. We need a scientifically savvy person to explain the physics behind it.
Your question about collecting is very interesting. My personal belief is that a collection would only be considered a hoarding problem if it had a negative impact on your ability to use the spaces in your home for their intended purpose; like using the table to eat, the kitchen to cook in, the bedroom to sleep in, etc' or if it became a safety issue - fire hazard, tripping hazard, insects, etc. The hoarding self assessment tool/checklist in the book: Buried in Treasures is excellent for determining severity/existence of hoarding.
If the collection caused you financial difficulties and if you crossed over into compulsive buying then that would be a problem. If buying too much of the collected item caused you to have difficulties paying other bills or living expenses then that's a problem, although it still might not be a hoarding problem.
The whole subject of question #2 is very interesting. I think that in my life my various collections have at times been hoarding and also definitely gotten me into trouble financially. I have to be continually watching myself to see if I'm crossing the line.
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Post by dtesposito on Jun 30, 2010 9:33:03 GMT -5
Script, what does your cousin say about the stamps? Does he say he still enjoys them? Or does he say he just doesn't have time now but will some day have time to organize and enjoy them?
When talking about collections vs. hoarding I'm using the very basic definition of the word hoarding. To me the word specifically means 1) having way more of something than you will ever be able to use, and 2) resisting releasing those things because they represent something other than their usual purpose. The other issues (money, space) are secondary.
So, if someone just never throws their garbage away and it collects around them, but they would be happy if someone cleaned it up for them, that's not hoarding. But if an extremely wealthy person purchased a house next door to her property specifically to store her collection of 10,000 pieces of tupperware and they sat in the house for years never being touched but she couldn't bear to part with them, that would be hoarding. It doesn matter that she could easily afford to buy the tupperware AND the house, and that it wasn't cluttering up her living space in her main house--it's still way more than she could ever use, she's not letting anyone else use it either, and she won't give it up even though it is not being used.
So, that's the question I would ask about the collection--is it being used and enjoyed on a regular basis? Are you collecting every possible thing slightly related to the subject of the collection, or is each item you add to the collection adding some kind of unique value to it. (Do you have one program from the 1966 concert or do you have 15 copies of the exact same program, which adds nothing to the collection except bulk?).
I've actually have started following this guideline when it comes to my books that I consider my "collection". Those are only the old or special books, I would say 75% of the books I have are just books that I think look interesting and would like to read. By my definition of hoarding above, they already cross that line because there are probably already more books in this apartment than I could read in my lifetime.
Diane
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Post by Rory on Jun 30, 2010 9:41:14 GMT -5
Twenty years ago my basement flat stuffed to the ceiling in places was nevertheless very cold and damp with an unpleasant smell of decay. After the fire and after the flat was rebuilt it was warmer and had no smell. I never lived there. My present first floor rooms are warm as is the whole house and I don't know why.
I collect gemstones almost all of which I have cut (faceted) myself. They are small and fit into a very small box. Also they are not particularly valuable. I have a slight excess of rough to facet but it is all stored neatly and labeled so I feel fine about it.
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Post by clutterific on Jun 30, 2010 10:21:08 GMT -5
Agreed about the stuff making it hotter...sort of. My bedroom has always been colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. Now that my stuff is mostly gone, it is fairly cool in here like in the rest of the house. If it is warmer this winter, I guess I'll know why...
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MiSC
Banned
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,611
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Post by MiSC on Jun 30, 2010 11:58:19 GMT -5
I don't know about the heat, but I know for a fact that I can breathe better in a house that's uncluttered. Literally breathe better.
About the collections though, you can absolutely be a collector and even before you ever attempt to declutter. My house is cluttered throughout, but I do have a real collection. I collect glass Christmas ornaments.
Maybe my collection works because it's not out and visible 365 days a year. I don't have to try to deal with finding an appropriate spot to display them nicely since they belong on a tree, which is up, at most, for about 6 weeks. When the tree (the display area) comes down, so do the ornaments.
So, yeah, I have a collection, and they're properly displayed, even if my house is still cluttered.
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Post by Peach on Jun 30, 2010 13:02:55 GMT -5
In reference to the heat question: My mother's home is a rancher. Half is an open plan with LR, DR and kitchen. The other half is divided into 3 BRs and 2 baths with a hallway down the middle that leads from the 1st half to the 2nd. Heating and AC of the entire house is controlled via one thermostat located at the boundary of the 2 halves.
All the rooms in each half have a lot of furniture and stuff. None of the stuff is on the floor.
The open air half is always cooler than the BR/bath half. I frequently wear a sweater while in the LR but take it off while in Mom's BR. As soon as one walks in the hallway from one half to the other, there is a noticeble temperature difference.
I've always attributed it to the multiple walls in the 2nd half holding in the heat. But perhaps it's also the amount of stuff in each room.
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Post by success19 on Jun 30, 2010 14:31:19 GMT -5
Doesn't everything have energy - and energy creates heat?
Stuff - it is to resale - it makes you happy - it is pretty? What for and how much and how stored or displayed? Having it just to have it? I had tons of books - but books and everything degrades and yellows and falls apart. Do I like tossing it all - no - do I want a different life - yes - can I get a different life with this stuff - no - these are questions I ask myself.
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Post by def6 on Jun 30, 2010 14:54:57 GMT -5
Is there a difference between the temp of a full cluttered room than a room that has the proper amount of stuff in it?? I don't think so But The sounds Are different , the sound carries better in a cleaned out room. Second question; It is possible to be a collector not a hoarder. A collector just collects sets of things...a hoarder, well we know about that we have all seen the shows.
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Post by slothzilla on Jun 30, 2010 16:07:53 GMT -5
Hi Glimmercat! Rolling Stones fan, huh? Me too! Love your name, long live the Glimmer Twins!
Re: collecting/hoarding. Other folks have already made some excellent points. Basically the way I see it, is be the boss of your stuff, don't let it be the boss of you. Keep it organized and in its place, and don't let it take over your floor, your dining table, your couch, your bed, or your life!
Sounds like you already have this attitude, so you will be fine. It's when you accumulate too much stuff, let it get out of hand, and let the piles creep up on you, that the trouble begins (I've been there on a grand scale, and don't want to go through that again!)
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Post by Meme on Jun 30, 2010 20:13:46 GMT -5
according to the web page-- how stuff works--- some or too many things will make your room hotter or cooler depending on weather and heat source-- due to energy flow -- or something like that-- if u let sun shine on a 100 metal cups more heat is created than if sun shines on one------they become mini heat sources- so the best thing is to cover windows and use fan for circulation-- I googled it for fun by asking your question and there are a few websites to gleam this info off I am just telling it how my mind read it rather than using specific scientic terms---hugs from Meme
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Post by glimmercat on Jun 30, 2010 20:38:01 GMT -5
Your questions are very interesting to me. Thank you, Script! * I wish!! Alas, I am on welfare. But even if I had an unlimited income, it would be literally impossible to "complete" a Stones collection. There's just too much! 40+ years is a long time. * Time I have. But I really need to get off welfare one of these days, so I really should be using my time for that. * Now that my room has been rearranged, yes, I do have a space for my Stones Shrine again. And when I get a place of my own again, I will be able to have more of the collection "out' on display. * Absolutely! For the two years that I was homeless and my collection was in my brother's basement, it was like part of me was missing. Having it out for me to see on a daily basis is essential!! * LOFL!! "Grass clippings"! I wouldn't care about his neighbour's grass, but his own lawn, hmm... In any case, it wouldn't be stuffed under a bed. It would be under glass and on display. Yay, always happy to find another Stones fan! Wish I'd seen them back in the day; I often lament that I was born in the wrong decade.... meow
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