Packrats vs Purgers [Archive]

EvansvilleMom

10-09-2008, 01:33 PM

So my friend Josh and I were talking today about how clutter can accommulate despite our best efforts. One of the points that came up was the challenge when one spouse tends to be a "collector" while the other is a "purger."
Do any of you deal with this?  For myself, I'll say that if you look back over the years, I'm pretty bad about keeping things except for my wedding momentos and my kids' keepsakes. (I have boxes and boxes of that kind of thing, but they aren't organized even a little bit, so every year, that issue becomes more frightening!)  That said, I also contribute more than my fair share of clutter; it's just not cool or memorable clutter like the stuff my husband keeps.
What about at your house? Do you think women or men tend to be the collectors? Purgers? Is anything piling up at your place? (I mean besides - or maybe, beside - the dishes!) 
-- Kim

NeeNee

10-09-2008, 03:29 PM

I'm the collector in the family.  It is genetic, passed on through my mother's side of the family <grin> from female to female!  Just ask my father and my husband.  My grandfather said the same thing when he was alive.  Uncles?  Cousins?  They will all swear in court that the females in the family are unable to throw anything away!
Danny, on the other hand is the purger.  He throws things away that send me into a tizzy!!  You never know when you might need that free magazine on skydiving!  His mother will always announce when she is cleaning the closets or getting rid of something.  She knows I will run over and grab it!  Saves her a dump fee (hehehe)! 
To be honest though, most of mine is sentimental.  I mean c'mon!  Wouldn't you keep the picture frame that your husband's baby picture was in, even though the picture is long gone?!?!?!  
Just kidding, I'm not that bad.  I don't think?

lehatfield

10-09-2008, 06:32 PM

I'm def the collector!  I love to stuff "just in case."  My husband throws everything away when he gets to cleaning!  I can't stand watching him clean.  I always stop him from throwing stuff away, which in turn stops him from cleaning.  Oh well, I get to keep my stuff!

Belinda4

10-09-2008, 06:44 PM

I am the "purger" of the family. I don't like clutter. I like nice neat organized. So if I can't organize it someway....then it's outta here! LOL!!! I have special rubbermaid on wheels containers under my bed.....that are full of the kids keepsake stuff! (organized) :D I have all my pictures and photo albums labeled and organized on a special shelf in my closet. I just love everything in it's place! I'm STRANGE like that!!!
Now hubby on the other hand....would keep everything! He tries...I do give him credit for trying...but I usually sneak it out of here!
I can't stand clutter!!! It makes me anxious! :) Ok, now you all know how silly I am!!

MommyMcQuay

10-09-2008, 07:55 PM

Belinda, we are married to the same man....I ask him over and over and over again to address the 'piles' he has...of just stuff that needs to be cleaned up or thrown out...finally - I ask him one more time and when he says 'I will get to it' I show up with a trash bag and say, 'That's alright, I will handle it.'
He left for an over night trip and I have been dusting his desk and throwing away things. He collects things all the time (like brochures at Lowe's on stuff we will NEVER buy) and that stuff gets tossed....I can't stand his office. It is the first room you see when you come into the house and it is so cluttered and junky - and dusty - I refuse to touch it.

EvansvilleMom

10-09-2008, 08:18 PM

You ladies need to come to my house and help me with the organization part!  GRIN    I know how...I could write a book on a lot of really cool stuff!  But finding time to do it is another matter entirely!
You all are my heroes!

ENDsmom

10-09-2008, 08:20 PM

My husband is definitely the purger and I am somewhere in between a packrat and a purger.  I hate it when he wants me to throw my stuff away.

Julie

10-09-2008, 08:55 PM

i am a purger. i have a rule that if it hasnt been used in a year or if i am PRETTY sure i wont ever use it, it is gone.  the only exception is my keepsakes. each of the kids have one rubbermaid container in their closet and that is all i will allow myself.  i have to have organization. my house is not always perfect by any means but my closets are always organized, everything has its place and it has to be right or im not happy. the only thing i "collect" is art supplies and anything to go along with teaching my kids but it is all organized on my desk and in a cabinet next to my desk. my husband clutters his desk but for the most part nothing else. he leaves mail and stuff all over it. that is always the last thing i clean and that way he knows it is coming and if he doesnt do it, i will.

my2boys

10-09-2008, 09:28 PM

My husband and I are both purgers, although we both have different methods.  He used to be an Ebay fanatic and would sell anything he could get his hands on.  I would go to watch a DVD and it would be gone (yes dear, I am still bitter over the selling of "American President").  My BIL got my oldest son a onesie with "Do Not Ebay" printed on the front of it.

zillygal

10-10-2008, 09:04 AM

I am definately the packrat in the family.   I have a tub full of clothes that all three boys wore when they were little - and it was such a joy to put the grandkids in those outfits.   I also kept their baby blankets - too many of them which made it worse when I kept buying new when the gk's came along.  But it was neat to hold the gk's and know that those blankets also held their daddy.  I kept most of the books that were sentimental, but only a few toys. 
The boxes (yes plural) of school papers, and cards were much harder to weed through.  One year we cleaned out the garage and I was going to go through all of them, and then get rid of some.  So glad I didn't because that summer my grandpa was fine, then he got an infection in his toe, and a year later he passed. I still have the cards that he signed and the notes he wrote on them.  (Too much of a grandpa's girl I guess.. it has been 8 years and I still get tears in my eyes typing this).  SO I was glad I wasn't in pitch mode that day.  So needless to say I still have those boxes to go through.
When we do get in pitch mode I will look at things and think we might need them. Keith will say "we don't need it" and then a few months later we will end up needing it.  So funny when that happens.
I am getting better about organizing what I do want to keep.  Although I think it is easier because we don't have all the kids in the house anymore, (well other than the added stuff for the grandkids).  So I do have a bit more room to store stuff. It is just getting to that point of what I really want to keep.
We are going to have a pitch-clean fest this weekend - so expect to see some of my stuff listed in the momshop!  That is if I can bear to get rid of it.  LOL
 
Oh yeah - as far as my kids - my oldest and youngest would pitch me if it meant more room. My youngest is the worst at it.  But is always thrilled when I have dug something out he was going to get rid of and show it to him later on.    My middle one I fear is as bad as me and loves the memories behind things and his collections.  And I think Ethan (gs) will be a collector, mainly because he thinks it is neat now when I read him a book that was his daddy & uncles favorite, or a blanket they used, or one of their toys.  I am not sure if that is good or not!

Mom216and5

10-10-2008, 09:58 AM

Neither of us are really "packrats"  My husband does have "his drawer" and it completly drives me crazy. He keeps receipts, change and whatever happens to have been in his pockets that day in there.  After a while I will clean it out and put aside anything the remotely looks important.  I am definately the "organizer" of the family.