Today I want to talk about my recent visit to see family in Tennessee. After this visit, I’m completely convinced that hoarding does indeed run in families. I’ve read that there’s different levels of hoarding but there’s definitely different kinds of hoarding too.
The hoard in my house is a combination of too much stuff combined with a lack of organization, or lack of storage space – not sure which would be a more accurate description – maybe both. The more things I get rid of, the easier it is to organize the remaining things but my organizational skills are minimal. But things were the complete opposite here.
Lots and lots of things but everything has a proper place. There’s definitely a lot of hoarding going on but it’s VERY organized. They have way more of everything than two people could possibly need and most of it is used frequently or is useful in some way.
You never need to run to the store because you can’t find something, it will always be in it’s place. I’m just not this organized. The amount of stuff was a little overwhelming to me but it didn’t take long to get used to it. The house is very clean, there’s just a lot of stuff, and I am used to that.
The Very Organized Kitchen
There is way too much food. Way too many storage containers. A million cooking utensils.
How many cooking utensils can one house have? I have enough to fill up two drawers so maybe I have just as many but it doesn’t seem like it because they aren’t out on my counter. They are put away in the drawers. Maybe it’s easier to put them away when you’re done using them if they’re out on the counter. Or maybe they just ran out of drawer space.
Storage containers apparently come in every shape and size imaginable. There’s not a drawer of them, there’s 4 full drawers of them, each one very neatly stacked with about a hundred little containers. The refrigerator is packed full in a very organized manner too. Everything has a place and if you put something in the wrong place when putting it away, everything ends up a mess. You put it right back where you got it from and then everything stays organized.
And then there’s the pantry. Two people live here but you would think there’s at least 6 or more by how much food is in the house. They frequently feed the entire neighborhood which is good because there’s no possible way that two people could eat this much food in a year, maybe even two years.
How Much Food is Too Much?
If you want to eat something in particular, they have it. They probably have at least 10 of them but the problem is that they can’t eat it all. You can pick something up and find that the expiration date was years ago. They’ll still eat it. I just can’t do it. Maybe a few months past the date if it’s a dry item but years? No thanks. Sometimes you’re lucky and you’ll find something new because they never stop shopping but so much of it goes bad.
I’m not sure why they need hundreds of cans of soup or 40 boxes of crackers. They have two full pantries. The main one has a big refrigerator and a big upright freezer. The other one is full of chips and snacks. Even lots of candy!
It’s Not Just the Kitchen
I’ve talked a lot about the kitchen but that’s not the only place in the house where you can find anything. It’s just the most fascinating. How they can organize this much stuff is way beyond me! So let’s move on to another room in the house. The Man Cave.
The Man Cave is full of collectible cars and things like that. It’s a bad case of collectible hoarding but you can still get in the room because once again, the organization is phenomenal.
Most of the other rooms are the same way. Every closet in the house is neatly packed. All the shelves are being fully utilized and if there’s an empty space, it won’t be for long! I don’t have enough time or energy to organize like this. It’s great they can do it but it’s not for me. I’d rather keep getting rid of things until there’s a manageable amount of things in my house that’s just right for me.
Is your mess organized? Are you a collectible hoarder?
Oh man, This would have stressed the heck outta me… I would have felt like a elephant in a China store inside that pantry, scared to bump something and have it all go crashing to the floor 😏
my food cabinets are full too.. but its ONLY two upper cabinets over my kitchen counter…
It’s quite fascinating! It’s like you can’t believe what you’re seeing in there.. lol!
It runs in the family. My in-laws collected stuff. Now my house is cluttered with things that need to be gone.
I saw that pantry and immediately thought of expiration dates and food waste. I’m not that organized either but that would stress me out! I’d forgotten that clutter can take such an organized look!
Yea I got there and thought.. am I going to survive this with all this stuff? But once I realized how organized it was, I felt a little relief. My clutter is not organized like that at all.
Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!! Do they coupon by chance? Did they live thru the Depression?? Since I’ve pared down so much, I got kinda jittery seeing all that overload!!
It’s very overwhelming for recovering hoarders! Yes, lots of couponjng whether they need it or not. I know they used to buy every single thing in the sale flyer each week. And one is the daughter of someone who hoarded everything because of the depression.
Maybe you could tactfully suggest that they shop for food pantries, or homeless shelters, and donate???
Even if they cleaned out once a year or something and donated anything that’s getting old or outdated it would help a few people out.
Well, not outdated stuff, but everything else!
I have assignments that I have had since University and I have all the papers I wrote at work, plus copies of assignments I created for other people. These are sealed in boxes in the garage and I keep threating to get rid of them ( have the shredder working overtime), but I never do. It’s not really hoarding because nothing is added to it. But I also have stacks of magazine that I no longer use nor read, so I suppose they should go. I think I am more of a clutter-bug than a hoarder.
Yep, I think you’re right! I think we all keep some things as memorabilia and when you find people who don’t (I have a cousin like this) they will say that they regret throwing everything away. I’m sure it’s not everyone but I know that my cousin regrets it a lot.
boy – so much food 🙂 I got some kind of pleasure seeing the pictures, which tells me that I like to hoard myself (nothing that much, though) 🙂