I have a friend whose parents live in rural IN and have a barn, which they need for her father's collections. One of the things he collects is vintage apple cider presses.

My DH's family is close to hoarding. They "collect." If they like something, they want ALL of it.

DH has an aunt and uncle who are similar - they travel a lot and collect art, antiques, furniture, books, knick-knacks. Mostly very high quality stuff, but their apartment is so overstuffed that you can barely walk around in it.

It's heartbreaking to realize the things people keep because "they'll be valuable someday" are objectively worthless. I have trouble getting rid of wood things because a tree died for that thingie. I wanted to have a giant bonfire of stuff, but city zoning frowns on such things.

I don't want to go to the thrift store where I donated so much stuff, because I don't want to see the things that were loved sitting there unwanted.

If I end up on Hoarders, it will be me and a house full of Xmas tree ornaments.

I had to relocate multiple boxes-worth of stuff, mostly books, out of the spare room to the garage, because I've got family coming for a visit. My mother suggested I should get a storage space, but I know myself well enough to know what a huge mistake that would be. Just like when you get a bigger purse, the stuff expands to fill available space. I hate how cluttered and crowded I let stuff get, but I know that hating it is the only way I'll ever do anything about it.

My mother at one point counted her antique china (one specific pattern of what's actually earthenware) and realized she had place settings for 32. That's a Victorian place setting - dinner plate, breakfast plate, lunch plate, bread and salad plates, butter pats, coffee cups, tea cups, multiple coffee/tea pots, serving dishes and platters, one complete washstand set (large basin, cold water pitcher, hot water pitcher, tooth mug, case for toothbrush, chamber pot with lid and waste jar) plus assorted other pieces.

Wow, don't you need an entire butler's pantry to store that large a service?

That's a Victorian place setting - dinner plate, breakfast plate, lunch plate, bread and salad plates, butter pats, coffee cups, tea cups, multiple coffee/tea pots, serving dishes and platters, one complete washstand set (large basin, cold water pitcher, hot water pitcher, tooth mug, case for toothbrush, chamber pot with lid and waste jar) plus assorted other pieces.

swoon

If my kitchen weren't so short on storage, I would have this problem. I love buying dinnerware.

I fight the tendency to want everything I like the looks of and hold onto anything that might have value or be useful. I mean clearly, y'all have lived through of me repeatedly trying to reduce my stuff. I also tend to buy in spurts to make me feel better which is a fools game. Right now the house looks cluttered because I have pulled out stuff to go through, get rid of, or fix - rather than letting closets and drawers fill up. It seems to be steadily working.

Tim's hoarder tendencies (as far as I know, after 11 years together) aren't rooted in trauma; they seem to be a combination of executive dysfunction/impulsivity, plus it seems to be a family trait, since his dad, uncles, and brothers all have it to varying degrees. The "this-could-be-useful!" syndrome. I try to combat that by pointing out that if in the future he has a project that needs small wheels (for example), rollerblades can be had for cheap at the thrift store. (That was a real project that required wheels, and he did indeed have a pair of rollerblades in the garage. He used that project as proof that he should keep shit around.)

For the most part, new shit doesn't come in the house and pile up*, but getting the old hoard out is difficult. And I can't let myself think about what will happen when Tim's dad's house is eventually sold, because of course Tim will want stuff, but we have less than zero room for yet more goddamn stuff, even stuff of sentimental value.

*(The notable example is how goddamn many pairs of heels and boots he owns. I am, as always, apparently the guy in the relationship, at least when it comes to asking, exasperatedly, "Do you SERIOUSLY need another pair of heels???" My god.)