Hoarding vs Clutter Phobia

[MaxineRyder]

Popular thought seems to think that hoarding is OCD. But what about clutter phobia?
I am clutter phobic and feel that we get way too little attention. So any fellow clutter phobes, out there, please contact me
Hoarders can contact me too. In fact I'd like to get an idea of who's out there so that I can write about it and try to debunk some annoying myths.
Maxine xxx

 

[Agent_Violet]

I'm clutter phobic...and my husband is a controlled hoarder.

 

[BlueDays]

I am a hoarder, but only with certain things. I don't like clutter around my house, so all of my cupboards/draws are just about to explode with the pressure.

 

[WeirdyMcGee]

I'm not 100% sure, but if I were to be either, I'd definitely be a clutter phobic.
My father is a hoarder, my mother is a pack rat - I'm terrified of the mess and the mass amounts of things they build up.
I keep a minimal amount of 'things' and prefer there to be no clutter of any kind.
Each time I get anything new- I throw out something old.
When something is unusable, I'll toss it.

 

[Agent_Violet]

Lol I throw tons of stuff away or donate it. Thought my hoarder husband was going to have heart failure when I told him I was donating everything haven't used in a year. If it didn't get used in the last 12months..i didn't need it and it went to charity.

 

[MikeyC]

I have CD clutter.

When I move out, they're going to be placed neatly and I'm going to have minimal furniture.

Need space to play twister with supermodels, you see.

Heh, nah. Seriously, I wouldn't want too much useless items when I move out. I want it to be just me, so I'll get the minimal amount of furniture necessary and I won't buy any more, simply because it's not needed.

My dad is a little bit of a hoarder and he'll keep things for years. He's a bit of a scrooge with his money, though, so he hates having to buy things, which could explain his nature.

 

[awkwardamanda]

Hoarding isn't necessarily synonymous with OCD or OCPD, but it can be a symptom. Some people are hoarders while others are neat freaks and I think sometimes it can even be a mix. I definitely have some hoarding issues. My bedroom looks a lot like what you see on those TV shows.:: I try to clean and I get off to a good start sorting and organizing, but then it never really works out. I wish I could be an organized hoarder. Like, keep stuff, but have the boxes and shelving and drawer space to keep it relatively organized too. But since I don't have that space it all ends up strewn on the floor. I really would like it if things weren't so cluttered but I've grown accustomed to this. My life is overtaken with entropy. I posted a rather long rant in the hoarding thread awhile back if you care to read it all. It's an awful lot to repeat so that's all I'm going to say here.

 

[coyote]

i don't consider myself a hoarder

but i avoid attending to things like house cleaning

so the end result is the same

i much prefer to have a clean, uncluttered, minimally filled space to live in

so i just go somewhere else and hang out instead of my own home

 

[Hamelech]

Dunno what to say. In one hand, I take a shower twice a day, but in the other hand my bedroom is a Francisbaconian pigsty. In fact, the less anxious I feel, the less I worry about things like hygiene, order or rules. I'm trapped in a retarded anal-sadistic spiral. It's the end of my old being as I know it, and I feel fine.

 

[Hamelech]

Cara De Cocou y Pirín (La pesadilla de Carlitox) - YouTube

 

[elek2ronik]

I'm a Clutter Phobic. I hate clutter and I hate things out of place. This includes at home and at work, and even other peoples homes or work areas.

If things are neat and organized, then I feel like I can think with a clear mind and not have to worry about things being out of place.

I usually throw out or give away things that I don't use. I regret it sometimes, because I usually end up with the minimum amount. When I moved out of my apartment earlier this year, I gave away so much stuff to my friend who was helping me move! I just couldn't handle the 'clutter' that seemed to be building up as I was packing and moving.

 

[Hoppy]

If you don't like clutter, google the 100 things challenge.

Having a life only owning 100 items. I am very much almost there but my tool and book collections is messing everthing up.

 

[Silatuyok]

I considered myself a collector...until I had to help clean out my grandmother's mansion full of crap. Now I try to get rid of everything that is not used or absolutely treasured by me. So I guess I'm somewhere in between.

 

[Silatuyok]

i think i have a mild/moderate case of clutter phobia. the less material possessions i have to keep track of, the better.
my tiny studio apartment (230 sq. ft in entirety) can get kind of messy sometimes, and i'll get anxious if too many things are strewn about. i also evaluate all of my possessions from time to time and sell or donate / give away anything i don't find myself using. i take a little bit of pride in being able to live in a small space comfortably -- i don't think many adults could without having to rent space in a storage facility.

Wow, that's a tiny apartment! Sometimes I wish I only had that much living space...I would feel so much more efficient.

 

[Silatuyok]

If you don't like clutter, google the 100 things challenge.

Having a life only owning 100 items. I am very much almost there but my tool and book collections is messing everthing up.

Can you consider "tool collection" and "book collection" as one thing each?? Otherwise, I'm screwed, because I own at least a couple hundred books alone.

 

[Luka]

I think I'm a hoarder... I just always buy new things I don't need and I've only just realised it. At least I'm organized!

 

[Feathers]

I think I'm both a 'collector'/packrat (I like things, lol - books, pretty things, clothes... and always think, 'Aww, I could use that/make something creative out of this'... I hate throwing things away... )
and also I can be a bit of a 'neat freak' (I freak out at my Dad's lack of hygiene and not putting things away at the table etc.) Basically some places bother me if not clean/organized (eg kitchen), but I can have 'chaos' temporarily too... (until it freaks me out and then I have to organize/clean it lol or someone else does it and I just avoid the scene, I don't really like cleaning though I like organizing/interior decoration/making good feng shui..)

We've had some 'battles' at home though lol, cause different things/levels of pack-rat-ism/disorderliness, and different things bother us... (everyone would give away other person's 'stuff' lol..)

I'd love to live zen/minimal, love my Granny's stuff/heritage too... (like pretty glassware or china..)

I've given some clothes to a friend and now I miss'em lol!! Every few years they become modern again!!

 

[lilmutegirl]

My parents are hoarders--big time. There are only 3 places to sit in the house (their bed, couch, and a chair in front of the computer). Most of the stacks of stuff in the house are taller than me (okay, I'm only 5"2', but still, that's a lot of stuff). Most rooms only have a narrow pathway through them, if that. And, it is impossible to enter my old bedroom because it is stuffed with things. I think this has contributed to my severe anxiety and has caused me to be a bit of a clutter phobic--I hate the fact that I have so much stuff that I do not use (mostly from my parents). However, I never really learned organizational skills, so I get frustrated when I try to clean and sort things. I hate having people over, for fear they will judge me based on my messy house. My boyfriend of over a year came over for the first time recently, and he expected it to be worse based on what I had told him.

 

[kilojoule]

I throw out everything. And I have an obsession with storage. I could spend days in Howards world of storage. I even have boxes that store boxes. My system is unforgivingly complex so it just gets cluttered and then I throw stuff out so theres no stuff to store and it goes on like this in a perpetual cycle of storage. Right now whats cluttering my computer table ( not my bedroom in my dining room which I use as my computer room hahaha good use of a mahogany dining table, storing a computer a printer )is as follows : a small box for keepsakes ...that I've thrown out, a slightly bigger box for nail varnishes, a medium box for nothing, a jar thats empty but I like it , 2 large boxes for writing which I do use, a jewellery box, an atique bottle for a vase but I don't have flowers in........and many many more storage options around the room. You could say that I hoard storage....but I throw out the stuff that's meant to go in them.......yea I make sense

 

[Moa]

Clutter completely stresses me out, even to the point of panic attacks and tears. Of course my boyfriend, whom I live with, keeps EVERYTHING. Any flat surface in the house is bound to buried by stuff... it's frustrating. I have yet to figure out how to deal with it, since I no longer have 100% control over my living space.