Are You a Collector, a Pack Rat, or a Hoarder?

Are you a high-class collector? A low-grade pack rat? A bona fide hoarder? There are find shades of difference between the terms.

Collectors tend to be focused. They like what they like, and they like it to be high-quality. This definitely doesn’t have to mean new and shiny — many collectors lean towards antiquities — think rare paintings, distressed furniture, or vintage cars. Their stuff may be old, but it’s always top shelf and usually coveted by others of like mind.

Collectors choose quality over quantity.

They search for the best and may even replace something they have previously acquired when the chance to acquire something better comes along.

Collectors will set aside a specific area for the storage or display of their wares. They treat their stuff with respect and care.

Pack rats are a breed unto themselves.

They tend to keep stuff because “it’s too good to throw away.” This form of acquisition covers a multitude of sins. They tend to keep clothing they no longer wear, simply because they are not damaged or worn out so, they reason, there may come a day when they want to wear the garment in question once again — even though they may never again see that fashion trend or body size in their lifetime.

Pack rats are often guilty of making new acquisitions but keeping the items they should be replacing and discarding “just in case” they, or someone they know, may need something just like that someday.

Quality is not necessarily a requirement for pack rats. The fact that they have something is good enough for them. Their treasure may be packed up in boxes or stuffed haphazardly into a closet, attic or basement.

Pack rats spend a lot of time shifting their stuff from place to place — partly to allow space for useful items in their current lives and partly because, subconsciously, they are ever-so-slowly moving these items away from the center of their world into an area where they may, eventually, forget about the items and finally feel justified in throwing something away.

Hoarders — well, true hoarders fit into a category all their own.

At their worst, hoarders can be classified as having a psychological disorder. Hoarding tends to exist right alongside of other psychological disorders such as Obsessive/Compulsive disorder (OCD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Hoarders tend to be overly anxious about their possessions and generally express a high level of anxiety over the mere suggestion that they should discard anything. They are suspect of anyone touching or moving their stuff.

Hoarders are not likely to be organized or neat. They often keep everything — magazines (for some future reading), unneeded items purchased at a bargain price and stockpiled (just in case it’s needed at a time when the price isn’t as attractive), clothing worn years ago (they may lose enough weight to fit into them again), and just about anything else they may have acquired over the years.

Seriously afflicted hoarders may often go out in search of more “treasure” by going through other people’s trash being put out for garbage collection.

When hoarding gets to this level, there is no such thing as “a place for stuff.” It simply takes over every available inch of space. It can take outside intervention to rescue a true hoarder from their fate.

So, looking at the collector/pack rat/hoarder scenario, which one are you?

It’s a rare person who can claim to be minimalist enough to not fall into some portion of one of the definitions.

Ask any low-level pack rat or hoarder and they will deny any possible comparison. They are simply enthusiastic collectors of all the stuff that occupies what would otherwise be their normal living space.

They may point their finger at true collectors of specific items and try to make a comparison between themselves and the more focused collectors.

Still, a distinction must be made between someone who collects an item or items for fun or profit and those who unwittingly allow their stuff to take over their world.

The space you occupy in this world should serve to make your life comfortable and manageable. If you have to navigate around stuff in your home, your garage or your storage areas in order to experience a normal flow of traffic in your daily life, you might just qualify as a hoarder.

Your stuff should be useful or, at the very least, pleasing to the eye. Anything that does not fit into one of these categories probably lends itself to the direction of, at minimum, being a pack rat.

If you’re too close to the action to be a good judge of your motives, consider the opinions of those around you. If friends and family are concerned, maybe even concerned enough to abandon you and your messy ways, there may be a problem. Or, likewise, if you are ashamed to have friends and family see just how out of control you and your stuff have become, it may be time to evaluate your situation.

Collectors are selective about what they add to their collection or evaluating when it might be time to trade or sell a prized possession.

Pack rats are almost mindless in acquiring things at random and refusing to relinquish them once they have them.

Hoarders make little or no distinction about the relative value of the items they gather around them. Often, they simply take possession of absolute junk or totally worthless items and refuse to let go unless and until they are forced to do so.

In its simplest form, a collector owns their stuff. In the case of hoarding, the stuff owns the person. Collectors are more organized and may catalog their collection to stay that way. Hoarders have lost any sense of control over the contents of their living space.

Collecting, pack-ratting (is that even a word?), and hoarding are simply words — but they are words we use to describe our relationship to our stuff. In the end, just remember, your stuff is just a collection of inanimate objects— you, the human, are the one with the thinking, discerning mind that controls what should stay and what should go.

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