out of room

Southpaw · #1 08/31/11, 11:04 AM

Hubby is a hoarder, clutterer, junk collector. My home, as hard as I have tried, is full! Would it be worth it to rent a storage shed until I can gain my sanity? How much do they charge, ballpark figure? Anyone want a hoarder hubby?

sisterpine · #2 08/31/11, 11:10 AM

DO NOT rent a storage room! Either get him some help, tell him you cannot live with this, or just start removing stuff to some good charity (tell him you are doing it) Please do not enable his disease.

anniew · #3 08/31/11, 11:24 AM

I guess it depends on what he is hoarding...food, yes...non-electric gadgets, yes...tools, yes...others..depends.

luv2farm · #4 08/31/11, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sisterpine

do not rent a storage room! Either get him some help, tell him you cannot live with this, or just start removing stuff to some good charity (tell him you are doing it) please do not enable his disease.

ditto!!!

KnowOneSpecial · #5 08/31/11, 11:48 AM

Storage=more space for him to put his stuff. It's called enabling. You'll just be getting him more space for more junk.

How many storage units are you willing to rent before you get to the root of the problem?

Ever watch Hoarders? There's usually something psychological that keeps them from tossing their junk. Try to figure out what that is (childhood trauma, fear of poverty, etc) and then it'll be easier for him to give up his stuff.

Go slow or it'll make his issues flare up and you'll never be in a decluttered home.

Southpaw · #6 08/31/11, 12:23 PM

Let's see he hoards
food, 2 full freezers for 2 people
old cars, 6-8 or so, got rid of 1 but added 1
old clothes, not just his but his dad's stuff too
tools
broken appliances
his mom's old pots and pans that she used for 50 years
coolers, can't even explain that one
lumber
magazines
egg cartons
paper sacks
you get the idea

Parttimefarmer · #7 08/31/11, 12:40 PM

Don't rent a locker, the hoard will expand to fill any scrap of space you get. I love coolers, so I can kinda understand that one...

manfred · #8 08/31/11, 01:34 PM

My wife is a hoarder. I totally understand. She gets very emotional when I try and discard junk, and I mean real junk. She loves jars that food comes in. I try and only buy cans. Our house got full and I got a storage building. She hasnt seen that junk in a few years. Our house is filling up now,I'll not get more buildings.
I can't take stuff to the dump, she really goes nuts.

Michael W. Smith · #9 08/31/11, 01:51 PM

I think most storage lockers are rented by people that "ran out of room". The only problem is - "Out of sight, out of mind."

I pass a storage locker every day on my way either to or from work. You hardly EVER see anyone there - and usually if they are there, there is "stuff" scattered all over the outside because the person is looking for something in particular and the locker is so full, the only way to get from the front to the back is to make a path and move stuff outside trying to find it.

I think most people that have storage lockers probably don't even go to the storage locker - they just continue to pay rent month after month. If you haven't needed anything from your locker in the last 2 years, why do you continue to pay rent on the "junk" then?

Depending on the area - cities are going to more costly than rural places, but I think here in rural PA you can expect to pay $75.00 / month. That's $900.00 per year or $4500.00 after 5 years.

For that price you might as well build something on your ground. But it doesn't solve the problem because that creates another place to fill up.

Since much of the stuff is his parents - has he gotten over their deaths, or is he holding onto their stuff to hold onto them?

Freya · #10 08/31/11, 02:10 PM

Half the people on the various Hoarding shows have at least one storage locker or shed/trailer. Many have many many more. Several have lost it all or are in danger of losing their houses due to the amount they pay every month.

Hoarding is an actual mentall illness and can be dignosed along with the underlying illness that is driving it.

Families are ruined, marriages break and children suffer. People end up having their homes condemed and losing everything. And some people are literally killed by their hoards. Please look for help!

{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}

Countrygent51 · #11 08/31/11, 02:19 PM

Well, not to be an enabler of hoarding, because if it is truly a problem the other advice you are getting about tossing out the junk is probably good but....

Is there any chance this is a case of procrastination or overwork, not a genuine hoarding mental illness? Has stuff piled up because he hasn't gotten enough "rainy days" to sort through tools, old lumber, etc....some of which could be of some value on a homestead....and he is acknowledging it needs to get done? Does he have any handyman skills that could make use of parts from old vehicles and applliances, but (admittedly) that needs to get done instead of sitting in a pile?

Just wondering. The folks on "Hoarding" are pretty extreme cases. Not everybody with extra junk is quite ready to be featured in an episode. Just sayin'

texican · #12 08/31/11, 02:27 PM

If the SHTF, your hubby's 'hoarding' could save your life.

Would you rather have a neat and uncluttered life, living day to day? and if the 'system' fails, to either be dependent upon the kindness of others, in a FEMA concentration camp (if lucky), or just die? Wealth is not always measured in (worthless) dollars. I have some tools I've never had to use, but if I need them, I have them, and those with those tools will survive, and those without, will die.

Always amazed that neat freaks (would say a... retentive, but don't know if that's allowable or not, although I believe it's the clinical definition) get hooked up with 'hoarders'.

Btw, if not obvious, I'm an unrepentent hoarder... if it doesn't eat (or eat too much) I can find a place for it. I've saved tens of thousands in cash, by having 'something' in one of my numerous barns, that I got for free, instead of having to pay real money for it.

Chad · #13 08/31/11, 02:33 PM

Since you didn't ask for a bunch of advise on the "hoarding" and just asked about storage rates, I will give you my input as I have NOTHING to add on hoarding.

I live in a small home with 3 teenage boys and no garage, so I chose to rent a cargo container. I got a 40' high cube for $100 a month. They are water tight, and are quick and simple. Most places that rent them also sell them, I could have bought the one I'm renting for around 2k. Mine is temporary and hope to not need it in a few more months so renting worked for me. Plus when if I move, I just empty it, give them a call and they come take it away. Best of all it is "on-site" so you have access to what is in it.
You can run electricity to them, they are easy to deal with and store a lot of stuff especially if you put shelving in.

I will say they are hot as hell in the summer and cold as hell in the winter.

Callieslamb · #14 08/31/11, 02:44 PM

Dh would save everything I let him....so I don't let him. We've been married long enough that we are rubbing off on each other- i used to throw everything - he used to save everything- happily, we're meeting in the middle - (at last). Remember: things only have value if you can find them when you need them.

We rented a climate controlled unit for $70 a month and another smaller/non climate controled for $45. This was in a town of 60K people. The only way I would do this for him was if you put shelves in it and boxes.....if it fits inside he can keep it. Then start cleaning out the house to fill it up AS FAST AS YOU CAN. You'd be better off to put the money towards a barn for him to use. A storage unit isn't always available when you want your stuff. At least, by renting or building, he will get an idea of what all this stuff is costing him.

SueMc · #15 08/31/11, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Let's see he hoards
food, 2 full freezers for 2 people

I recently bought a new freezer. That makes two for the two of us. The new upright is huge and almost full of grown/purchased/foraged fruit. The older chest is not so full now of meat, stock, grain items, etc.
My husband kind of gave "that" look when I purchased the new freezer but I think it was because he had to give up a little more space in "his" garage/shop.
It maybe overkill for two but I have a little peace of mind especially when I see recent broadcasts of long lines at the grocery stores in VT.

PulpFaction · #16 08/31/11, 02:58 PM

Do you manage the bills?

You could always rent a storage unit and fill it with the most useless stuff and then "forget" to pay the bill! It will be sold off to the highest bidder in no time flat! (If you feel bad about sticking them with a bunch of junk, you can pay the bill afterwards, LOL.)

Sneaky, though. I only suggest this because it was done to me! Grrrr. However, it DID work! It got rid of a ton of crap I never looked at or needed. My mom did the same thing to my dad.

(Also unintentionally, limited funds? It's really easy to pick that one as the bill that doesn't get paid!)

Rental fees vary so widely by area, you'd just need to call around.

rambler · #17 08/31/11, 03:14 PM

I am the hoarder of the family.

My wife was pretty neat & pick up sort of person until we got together.

My farm - now our farm - I am the 3rd generation of hoarder on it. Never really been cleaned out.

I'd say we both understand your question.

Renting a storage locker will only add a bill to your life. It will not help clean up or sort out the stuff.

People like me - hopefully not with a serious problem like the TV shows, but just keeping 'good deals' and not getting around to serious cleaning very often - will not make things better over nite. We will just fill the place again, and now have the new stuff and the rental full of stored stuff, only thing that will change in your life is you will have a storage bill to pay every month from here on out.

That is what the storeage places count on, actually.

In no way would getting s storage locker help me.

My opinion.

What does help is my wife gentle encouragement to tackle one tiny small area every now & then. Not clean out a whoel shed, or a wghole room. Just, maybe work on a little corner....

Depnds on both your personalities, how you 2 sort out such things. It helps for us, and I appreciate her work with me on this.

I just don't mind the clutter one bit, so it is difficult for me to be motivated to change it. I hope to be mindful of her feelings, but it is difficult when I have so many things to do, and I see nothing wrong with a month's worth of papers sitting in the corner.....

--->Paul

Silvercreek Farmer · #18 08/31/11, 03:52 PM

How about some pictures? So we can really see how bad it is, things like this tend to be very opinionated. I guess it is only a real problem if it alienates you from the ones you love (which sounds like it might be getting there), or gets you in trouble with the law. After all if it makes you happy to buy a house and fill it with stuff, why not?

I prefer the term "pack rat" to hoarder for some reason. What ever you call it, I am certainly the one in our family. As Tex pointed out, smart hoarding can add tremendous value. For example when my sister and I moved to college, we were able to almost completly outfit our apartments with stuff our mom saved in the family storarge shed (in the back yard, not rented). My wife is more of a purger than I am. I occasionally accuse her of whisking things away when I am not looking. All in all we get along pretty well though. We have some rules though, most are self imposed. Nothing in the living area with the exception of books (which would be damaged by humidity) otherwise if it is not used at least once in 30 days it needs to go in the basement or shed and nothing in the front yard. Books (although the internet has pretty much turned this one off for me), construction materials, and tools/mechanical stuff is my weakness, but I'll admit there is an old 8 track player in the basement that I have not gotten rid of yet. Luckily I am not really into keeping old cars, mainly because they are just too bulky. We have 3deep freezers (because we grow our own meat) plus the fridge but I try to keep everything well rotated (my mom was bad about letting things freezer burn into oblivion). If he is remotely willing to sell things, try a yard sale or taking pictures of things and listing them on craigslist (or, a little more complicated, ebay), he might enjoy getting the cash and motivate to sell more things (even the egg cartons, I had a buddy sell quite a few). Careful though, he might find some good stuff too! If anything build a storage shed in the back yard (complete with tons of shelves) and insist that everything be moved into it. May cost a little upfront, but will be cheaper than a rented shed in the long run. A lot of times the chore of moving/organizing all of your hoard can motivate one to get rid of some of it.

oregon woodsmok · #19 08/31/11, 04:04 PM

Ahem, funny, but I save a lot of that stuff. Not the glass jars, those go to recycle.

I save paper shopping bags to put the recycle in-- but then they do to the collection point.

Egg cartons, well, I raise eggs and have to have something to put them in. I don't ever buy any new cartons, because I raise eggs, not buy them from the store.

5 vehicles here, for 2 people, but they all run perfectly because the son is a compulsive mechanic. He can't stand a squeak or a rattle. Everything is waxed, too.

2 freezers full of food. Check.

Broken appliances? There is one broken washing machine that will eventually get it's tub removed to be made into a fire pit. And a working refrigerator, that is used to chill fresh killed poultry and is getting converted into a smoke house as soon as there is time to do it.

You can never have too many tools. Or cook ware,

Old clothes, not so much, although old T-shirts get torn up to tie up the veggies. We wear clothing until it is falling apart. Then it is thrown away.

Magazines, I tear out the articles that I want and the rest go to the recycle. Except a couple of stack of gourmet cooking magazines, but I consider those to be cook books. Each one has a list of recipes I want and the page number on the front.

Newspapers, I haven't a clue. Those go to recycle. Can't burn them in the wood stove because it messes up the spark arrestor.

Coolers. I use my 3 good coolers all the time and the styrofoam ones can be used to ship large orders of hatching eggs. Can also be made into incubators.

I never throw out lumber until it is less than 2 inches and then it gets burned in the wood stove. Occasionally, I find a use for a scrap of lumber 2 inches long.

I suggest that you start taking a few things to the recycle: newspapers, eggs cartons, maybe the paper sacks. If he doesn't use them for anything, he won't know they are gone.

Billie in MO · #20 08/31/11, 04:11 PM

I'd call around to get quotes. The price everyone is quoting doesn't come near to what I paid a couple of years ago when we were moving from CO to here. Ours was $185 a month and we had to do it for about 5-6 months until we found a place to buy.

I understand on the hoarding issue. I have a sis-in-law who is a hoarder of junk. She has been paying on 2 units at $195 a month for 3 years!! Add that up!! Plus, I understand she has a couple of other units before we ever knew her. And it is junk because I was there as it was being put in and no, I did not help, she had movers do it but I opened the unit for them. So glad I am now over 900 miles away from her drama (the hoarding is just one of many!!!).