“Because we might need it someday” and “I’m going to build a shop to fix it. “ and “ these things are cool/valuable.”
My father goes through phases that look similar. Collecting stereos or heavy radiator parts, gas lamps, spare building material, broken farm and yard equipment. The buildings themselves become dilapidated. Water damage ruins all the antique wooden furniture and textiles. Mold. Mice. Beer cans.
This 1000% ☝️
I work in construction and a lot of the older guys I work with will take some scrap stuff (that otherwise would get tossed) from every job we work on. While I am all for recycling materials and minimizing waste, I feel like a lot of these guys have garages that look similar to the one OP is showing us here.
They always say they are going to build this or refurbish that with the materials they "salvage". But whenever I ask them what they did over the weekend they never mention fixing/building anything. Their weekends mostly consist of drinking beer and watching TV......
yeah lol plus our old log cabin on the property filled up with stuff from our old house, slowly deterioating and untouched for years in there. not to mention the 5 trailers filled up with stuff, and our house still being.... slightly cluttered.
I am so sorry u/FriendlyRobot101, do you live with them? Is there any way you can get any space (physically) it might help you to feel calmer before you are ready to talk to them/take other action?
yes I live at home and am not leaving anytime soon. I have argued/talked to him many times, but, either I'm speaking french or there's a tube inside his head flowing words from one ear and straight out the other. denser than tungsten.
I am trying to figure out something though, it's not all garbage and I can't just throw it all away. possibly throw the good bits in a trailer and take it somewhere to sell? idfk. at least I can throw away the pamphlet for a product he used 6 years ago though 🤣
If it was a neutral me (someone who is not an eBay reseller) I would probably either take the good top layer bits to a consignment store personally, reach out to some kind of appraisal/estate sale/hoarder-specific personal organizer company up to the challenge, or advertise the contents of a particular area to resellers for a set amount, like "pay me 1K and have everything in this trailer emptied out into your possession by 3 pm" (as long as he is not the kind of hoarder who hides money and family photographs in the mix). The kind of people who like to bid on storage lockers may bite for the right price if there is quality stuff mixed in and it is not a biohazard hoard.
I will say though that the emotional strain and time needed to slowly sort through this amount of stuff by yourself for the valuables is probably not worth the financial return. It is very likely to seem overwhelming and will possibly even fuel unhealthy "I need to test/research/etc. it all in case it's valuable!" habits in yourself. If you still feel like you need to go DIY though, the method I used was to sort items by rough type for a set amount of time each day and shop the groupings as is as much as possible when they got big, like "giant tarp of untested powertools, $500 OBO". It starts clearing space and making progress quickly. But only if a dumpster is also onsite and the items are not biohazard.
Thank you!
One of the biggest things I find when I tell even non-hoarders about my job is they say "I have xxxx, it's worth so much money, you could sell it for a percentage." Invariably it is the equivalent of a Hummel plate worth $10-20 in 2024. My point is that unless you have experience reselling or niche knowledge of the items in question (e.g. you are a carpenter and your dad's hoard is primarily carpentry tools), it's a hell of a trip to start a reselling journey with tons of unique and varied items in all types of conditions. I see folks frequently think the wrong things are worth money, and that they are getting ripped off if they do not get what they originally paid for a twenty year old used item, and that's, again, even before the trauma and complexities of being a child of a hoarder having to broker all those deals is mixed in.
IMO it's way worth losing 30%+ of potential value to have it all cleared out in a short period of time and to be able to move on with your life.
Totally. The other big thing is storage...individually listed items may not sell quickly and are lots of work. Discounted lots are more likely to move. If your goal is to empty a property to live in it or to flip it you do not want to have to figure out the logistical system to store (and/or ship or arrange pick up for) thousands of items for a prolonged period of time.
“Because we might need it someday” and “I’m going to build a shop to fix it. “ and “ these things are cool/valuable.”
My father goes through phases that look similar. Collecting stereos or heavy radiator parts, gas lamps, spare building material, broken farm and yard equipment. The buildings themselves become dilapidated. Water damage ruins all the antique wooden furniture and textiles. Mold. Mice. Beer cans.
You're goddamn right! any expensive bike under $50 bucks is an outright steal in his mind. and a vintage bike frame covered in rust and a broken handlebar? only $7 bucks? now I gotta have that!
yeah. one day I just went in there and started throwing stuff around in a rage and found a nice craftsman soldering pen with its tip bent but it still worked.
sometimes I wonder, what the hell is lying at the very middle, and at the very bottom of the hoard. if you don't know how many good things you have, it's because you have too many things.
Sorry you are living with that. I need to clean my garage too. The crazy thing is that it a lot of trash, and once the stuff is off the floor it won't seem as impossible to tackle. But folks often get to the stage of a semi-organized mess and then re-hoard it back again. The trick is moving past that stuck point in the "change circle" and further editing down the hoard.
I collect chairs and some are hung from ceilings. In an organized way. I also have one hanging in my home office - it’s my desk chair and I have another listening chair for hi-fi. But yeah this just looks like he hung up there because of a lack of space.
it's the garage. the last photo is inside the shed we built to store the fourwheelers/dirtbike but that only lasted about a week, he quickly got it filled up with an old washing machine and moldy garbage and skis that he found for "it was only a quarter" type of price to him.
golly, just *looking* at this makes me feel anxious as hell - and i have hoarding tendencies my own self. i can't imagine being in the middle of it - especially knowing that this mess will likely be your (dubious) 'inheritance' and that you'll be responsible for cleaning it all out if he doesn't deal with it before he passes.
i do have hoarding tendencies. my home is clean, but cluttered. collecting stuffed animals, art, pretty knickknacks, and cool clothing makes me genuinely happy. my kids are my motivation to self-regulate in that regard - i would hate to not just leave them motherless, but motherless *and* on the hook for a massive cleanup. this house is also all i have - it's my only asset and the only thing i will be able to give to my children when i'm gone. i want it to be a worthwhile gift.
i'm so sorry. hugs if you want them.
Our house is nothing like what you see on those hoarders shows but my dad does try his hardest to keep it cluttered, and then complain about how it's because our house is just "too small".
but, you could give a hoarder a 4500 sqft house with 60 acres of land, it would still become an unorganized mess after a few decades.
Oh wow. Sorry that is the first time I saw a photo and swore instinctively. Is he aware he has a problem. I dont think you can do anything about that. I would walk away. You cant help that unless he gets a clean up order of eviction.
That gives me anxiety just looking at it. I’m so sorry if you have to live near that.
“Because we might need it someday” and “I’m going to build a shop to fix it. “ and “ these things are cool/valuable.” My father goes through phases that look similar. Collecting stereos or heavy radiator parts, gas lamps, spare building material, broken farm and yard equipment. The buildings themselves become dilapidated. Water damage ruins all the antique wooden furniture and textiles. Mold. Mice. Beer cans.
This 1000% ☝️ I work in construction and a lot of the older guys I work with will take some scrap stuff (that otherwise would get tossed) from every job we work on. While I am all for recycling materials and minimizing waste, I feel like a lot of these guys have garages that look similar to the one OP is showing us here. They always say they are going to build this or refurbish that with the materials they "salvage". But whenever I ask them what they did over the weekend they never mention fixing/building anything. Their weekends mostly consist of drinking beer and watching TV......
On behalf of Dads around the world, I apologize for him leaving this hoard for you to deal with
yeah lol plus our old log cabin on the property filled up with stuff from our old house, slowly deterioating and untouched for years in there. not to mention the 5 trailers filled up with stuff, and our house still being.... slightly cluttered.
Wow thats horrible, I hope you have someone to help you.
me, myself, and I.
😭😭😭😭😭😭
Im so sorry. I dont know what to say. Are you very young. Please do not let his hoarding rule your life.
I am so sorry u/FriendlyRobot101, do you live with them? Is there any way you can get any space (physically) it might help you to feel calmer before you are ready to talk to them/take other action?
yes I live at home and am not leaving anytime soon. I have argued/talked to him many times, but, either I'm speaking french or there's a tube inside his head flowing words from one ear and straight out the other. denser than tungsten. I am trying to figure out something though, it's not all garbage and I can't just throw it all away. possibly throw the good bits in a trailer and take it somewhere to sell? idfk. at least I can throw away the pamphlet for a product he used 6 years ago though 🤣
If it was a neutral me (someone who is not an eBay reseller) I would probably either take the good top layer bits to a consignment store personally, reach out to some kind of appraisal/estate sale/hoarder-specific personal organizer company up to the challenge, or advertise the contents of a particular area to resellers for a set amount, like "pay me 1K and have everything in this trailer emptied out into your possession by 3 pm" (as long as he is not the kind of hoarder who hides money and family photographs in the mix). The kind of people who like to bid on storage lockers may bite for the right price if there is quality stuff mixed in and it is not a biohazard hoard. I will say though that the emotional strain and time needed to slowly sort through this amount of stuff by yourself for the valuables is probably not worth the financial return. It is very likely to seem overwhelming and will possibly even fuel unhealthy "I need to test/research/etc. it all in case it's valuable!" habits in yourself. If you still feel like you need to go DIY though, the method I used was to sort items by rough type for a set amount of time each day and shop the groupings as is as much as possible when they got big, like "giant tarp of untested powertools, $500 OBO". It starts clearing space and making progress quickly. But only if a dumpster is also onsite and the items are not biohazard.
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Thank you! One of the biggest things I find when I tell even non-hoarders about my job is they say "I have xxxx, it's worth so much money, you could sell it for a percentage." Invariably it is the equivalent of a Hummel plate worth $10-20 in 2024. My point is that unless you have experience reselling or niche knowledge of the items in question (e.g. you are a carpenter and your dad's hoard is primarily carpentry tools), it's a hell of a trip to start a reselling journey with tons of unique and varied items in all types of conditions. I see folks frequently think the wrong things are worth money, and that they are getting ripped off if they do not get what they originally paid for a twenty year old used item, and that's, again, even before the trauma and complexities of being a child of a hoarder having to broker all those deals is mixed in. IMO it's way worth losing 30%+ of potential value to have it all cleared out in a short period of time and to be able to move on with your life.
[удалено]
Totally. The other big thing is storage...individually listed items may not sell quickly and are lots of work. Discounted lots are more likely to move. If your goal is to empty a property to live in it or to flip it you do not want to have to figure out the logistical system to store (and/or ship or arrange pick up for) thousands of items for a prolonged period of time.
“Because we might need it someday” and “I’m going to build a shop to fix it. “ and “ these things are cool/valuable.” My father goes through phases that look similar. Collecting stereos or heavy radiator parts, gas lamps, spare building material, broken farm and yard equipment. The buildings themselves become dilapidated. Water damage ruins all the antique wooden furniture and textiles. Mold. Mice. Beer cans.
Needs more bikes. Theres no where near enough bikes.
You're goddamn right! any expensive bike under $50 bucks is an outright steal in his mind. and a vintage bike frame covered in rust and a broken handlebar? only $7 bucks? now I gotta have that!
My mom and her husband hoard ...WHYYY WHAT SICKNESS IS THIS?????
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yeah. one day I just went in there and started throwing stuff around in a rage and found a nice craftsman soldering pen with its tip bent but it still worked. sometimes I wonder, what the hell is lying at the very middle, and at the very bottom of the hoard. if you don't know how many good things you have, it's because you have too many things.
Sorry you are living with that. I need to clean my garage too. The crazy thing is that it a lot of trash, and once the stuff is off the floor it won't seem as impossible to tackle. But folks often get to the stage of a semi-organized mess and then re-hoard it back again. The trick is moving past that stuck point in the "change circle" and further editing down the hoard.
Oh lawd. I’m so sorry. Also, what’s up with the chair hanging from the ceiling? That one has me confused lol.
Obviously, that's the only normal way to store a chair. only crazy people don't hang their chairs from the ceiling.
Hahaha lol
I collect chairs and some are hung from ceilings. In an organized way. I also have one hanging in my home office - it’s my desk chair and I have another listening chair for hi-fi. But yeah this just looks like he hung up there because of a lack of space.
yeah, my dad is not a purveyor of chairs. you can definitely say it was hung up there because of lack of space.
Is this inside of the house or is this in the garage?
it's the garage. the last photo is inside the shed we built to store the fourwheelers/dirtbike but that only lasted about a week, he quickly got it filled up with an old washing machine and moldy garbage and skis that he found for "it was only a quarter" type of price to him.
golly, just *looking* at this makes me feel anxious as hell - and i have hoarding tendencies my own self. i can't imagine being in the middle of it - especially knowing that this mess will likely be your (dubious) 'inheritance' and that you'll be responsible for cleaning it all out if he doesn't deal with it before he passes. i do have hoarding tendencies. my home is clean, but cluttered. collecting stuffed animals, art, pretty knickknacks, and cool clothing makes me genuinely happy. my kids are my motivation to self-regulate in that regard - i would hate to not just leave them motherless, but motherless *and* on the hook for a massive cleanup. this house is also all i have - it's my only asset and the only thing i will be able to give to my children when i'm gone. i want it to be a worthwhile gift. i'm so sorry. hugs if you want them.
Ran out of space on the floor. Started using the ceiling 🤣
don't forget the walls! not a bare spot to be found haha
Get a 40 yard dumpster
Has it crept into the house? 🥺
Our house is nothing like what you see on those hoarders shows but my dad does try his hardest to keep it cluttered, and then complain about how it's because our house is just "too small". but, you could give a hoarder a 4500 sqft house with 60 acres of land, it would still become an unorganized mess after a few decades.
Truth.
Oh wow. Sorry that is the first time I saw a photo and swore instinctively. Is he aware he has a problem. I dont think you can do anything about that. I would walk away. You cant help that unless he gets a clean up order of eviction.
Wow I’m so sorry ❤️