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Very simplified mamas--were your parents packrats?

post #1 of 42
10/3/09 at 11:30pm
Thread Starter 
Just curious

I feel like my parents are one extreme (keeping EVERYTHING!) and I've gone to the other extreme (keeping nothing--LOL!) Wondering if other people have had the same experience?
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post #2 of 42
10/4/09 at 1:17am
Well, I'd call myself a recovering packrat. I definitely have a long way to go but my mom is still a huge packrat. With DH and at least two of his siblings they are like you describe. They came from a packrat home that was always cluttered. DH had a really hard time growing up with the clutter and now keeps his possessions to a minimum. He's been a huge inspiration and help to me as I've been shedding the burden of stuff.
post #3 of 42
10/4/09 at 1:28am
I think the pack rat gene has been watered down in my family. My grandmother is a HUGE pack rat. She keeps everything. My mom is very sentimental about the oddest things, i.e. her old vacuum cleaner, her old phone, her old clothes that she hasn't worn in 20 years, etc. And won't get rid of such things. Although, she's not as bad as grandma who keeps every single scrap of paper and piece of twine.

I, on the other hand, am definitely a minimalist. I tend to be hardcore about de-cluttering, and will routinely go through the house and put things in the Goodwill box. I also have a rule about buying non-necessities - if I buy a non-necessity, then I have to give something away that I already own.
post #4 of 42
10/4/09 at 9:33am
I am the most minimalist person I know, although I always see room for improvment!!

My parents are not big packrats, although if I had my way I would certainly clear out a bunch of stuff- especially clothes- my mom has closets and closets full. I will never understand this womenly desire to have so many clothes. Dh and I share a closet both of our clothes for all seasons fit in there. If I cannot fit something in = organized than I have too much. For my and dh's parents that just means you need more storage. Dh's parents are definitely packrats. His mom is a hoarder, but his dad packrats other things- you have to keep every building equipment/ car piece etc because you might need it later. We refuse to put the time and energy into keeping up with it- not to mention now he is spending thousands of dollars building new sheds becasue he cannot hold it all- it seems to me the small amount saved here and there would take a long time to add up to that. We save basic things, but not every small scraps. So, I am sure they think we are wasteful. Having nice uncluttered spaces is everything for my piece of mind. I like knowing where everything is and that is nicely organized for every part of our house!
post #5 of 42
10/4/09 at 11:49am
On the other side both of my parents have minimalist tendencies and I have to be really really careful or else nothing would ever leave my house.
post #6 of 42
10/4/09 at 11:53am
Yes! My parents and both sets of grandparents were packrats or hoarders. Or rather, they seem to start out packrats and by the time they're elderly they have cupboards full of ancient, sticky general mills proof of purchase things carefully cut out decades ago.
post #7 of 42
10/4/09 at 12:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by EviesMom View Post
Yes! My parents and both sets of grandparents were packrats or hoarders. Or rather, they seem to start out packrats and by the time they're elderly they have cupboards full of ancient, sticky general mills proof of purchase things carefully cut out decades ago.
LOL!! When I was younger, I used to have to sneak stuff out of the house into the trash so it wouldn't find it's way back in the house courtesy of my dad
post #8 of 42
10/4/09 at 12:41pm
Yes. I think there are many emotional reasons for clutter. Dh and I have worked through ours (which stem from our childhoods) and keep a decluttered/simple home.
post #9 of 42
10/4/09 at 3:18pm
Yes, definitely. Dh's parents are hoarders, and he sees this and actively tries to let go of things we don't need. I see that they have a basement and several bedrooms that they can't use and a house that you can't be comfortable in...and I actively work against that. My parents - not as bad with keeping stuff, just with organizing it.
post #10 of 42
10/4/09 at 3:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee80 View Post
I feel like my parents are one extreme (keeping EVERYTHING!) and I've gone to the other extreme (keeping nothing--LOL!) Wondering if other people have had the same experience?
Oh, yes. My mother is still wearing MY old clothes from high school. (I'm 31 years old.) She picks things out of my Goodwill boxes and squirrels them away in her closet.
post #11 of 42
10/4/09 at 3:30pm
Yes, I am definitely inspired to not keep things because of family members who would keep everything. I want empty space in my house!
post #12 of 42
10/4/09 at 7:09pm
I have packrat tendancies, unlike both of my parents. I think it stems from being lonely as a child. I had a great family life, but very few things. I would keep things that reminded me of the few friends I did have. DH comes from quite a packrat family. His grandmother and mother were both extreme hoarders. It looks like his brother will be one, too. DH definitely has those issues. He will hold onto a lot of things because of sentimental value. I've been working with him and we are slowly doing better. Before me, DH never lived in a house with more than a 1 foot wide trail between clutter in which to walk.
post #13 of 42
10/4/09 at 9:40pm
Not to an extreme degree, but yes. Growing up our house was always messy- with 5 people in a small house, and my mom didn't really care, or make us declutter, things got sloppy. I was embaressed to have friends over.

Now as an adult I hate clutter, hate the thought of gobs of boxes packed away with crap, etc. My DH, on the other hand..... sigh. I am trying to convert him to the tidy side.
post #14 of 42
10/4/09 at 10:15pm
Yes! Very severe packrat parents. My husband's parents keep nothing much at all. I am trying to slim down now as I see the packrat in myself. I am also trying to teach the kids to learn to manage their stuff as well and realize it is not the things that are so important.
post #15 of 42
10/4/09 at 10:25pm
Umm, yeah
post #16 of 42
10/5/09 at 1:59am
Both of my parents (divorced when I was 3) are more minimalists than I am, but I am only slightly less minimalistic.....nothing significant.

DH's parents keep a nice home and always have, but the attic and closets and underbeds are far more crowded with sentimental "stuff" than I would ever want to have. DH has some minor packrat tendencies, but it isn't anything major.

We don't have an attic or basement or garage. I would love a garage for our cars and tools, but we live fine without any of those. I love having tidy closets where anyone can open any of them and find what they want. I strive to keep the space under our bed clear, but it is invariably the largest flat space we have for random, short-term items. Our DD's bed has a trundle underneath, which suits me just fine.
post #17 of 42
10/5/09 at 2:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee80 View Post
Just curious

I feel like my parents are one extreme (keeping EVERYTHING!) and I've gone to the other extreme (keeping nothing--LOL!) Wondering if other people have had the same experience?
Yes!!!
post #18 of 42
10/5/09 at 2:37am
Your question fits my family perfectly. The only think that I do keep plenty of is food.
post #19 of 42
10/5/09 at 9:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by simple living mama View Post
Your question fits my family perfectly. The only think that I do keep plenty of is food.
Yep, totally agree!
post #20 of 42
10/6/09 at 1:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beauchamp View Post
Oh, yes. My mother is still wearing MY old clothes from high school. (I'm 31 years old.) She picks things out of my Goodwill boxes and squirrels them away in her closet.
My mother does this too! The clothes thing I don't mind, but the saving my refuse for a rainy day? Annoying. That and her definition of declutter (because she does get rid of some things) is "give to dd (me) or dgs (my ds)". Drives me INSANE. I just got a bag of 30 seashells. And all they're almost identical. ETA: by the way, we live 3 months of the year on an ISLAND. Why would I require a bag full of shells????
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