midge wrote:
Well, I know for me it's not so much a predilection for collecting (although it's certainly part of it) but because I attach sentimental value to many things, including things people would consider garbage or junk like candy wrappers, plastic bags, rocks, receipts, bottle caps, pieces of paper with drawings on them, blankets, stuffed animals, old clothes, etc. and can't bear to throw any of them away because I'm so attached.
My family are the same way, so it's always been "the norm", only recently realized it's "unusual" or problematic. They've never said anything about it-since everyone kept stuff, no one was outside the situation to point it out.
Hoarding, yes I do it too. As a defense against uncertainty & tough times, etc. Mess & confusion menace me but also comfort me, so I'm a conflicted packrat. Painfully sentimental or emotional about things that contain memories for me, don't feel able to get rid of these things. Disposal bothers me, I'd much rather re-gift or give away instead, but recycling (and thrift shops) are too picky to take most of what I've got. Not at stage of mountains of trash, but can mostly understand how a person can lose control of their environment/possessions.
Don't want to have to buy a new thing every time one little part fails, also as soon as one buys newest thing it's instantly obsolete. That's technology for you, another price of progress. But that's a whole other multi-faceted issue.
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*"I don't know what it is, but I know what it isn't."*