What possesses someone to save every scrap of paper that's ever come into his home? What compulsions drive a woman like Irene, whose hoarding cost ...
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Apr 24, 2010
karen
rated it: 
oh, dear. this book was uncomfortable to read. i think i may be a hoarder, a little. not terribly badly, not yet. but the fine line between "collector" and "hoarder" is on the thin side. this is from the inside cover, and why i felt i needed to read the book:
"with vivid portraits that show us the particular traits of the hoarder - piles on sofas and beds that make the furniture useless, homes that have to be navigated by narrow "goat trails", stacks More...
"with vivid portraits that show us the particular traits of the hoarder - piles on sofas and beds that make the furniture useless, homes that have to be navigated by narrow "goat trails", stacks More...
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Jan 21, 2012
mstan
rated it: 
The fourth star is for a few things:
- The engaging way in which the two authors present the cases they have encountered (which, frankly, would appeal to the voyeuristic in most) - young hoarders, animal hoarders, belligerent 'blind' hoarders vs. intelligent hoarders, hoarders with OCD...
- The authors' compassion for their subjects
- Their admission that it is indeed difficult to help hoarders (and there's no miracle therapy that would solve their issues)
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- The engaging way in which the two authors present the cases they have encountered (which, frankly, would appeal to the voyeuristic in most) - young hoarders, animal hoarders, belligerent 'blind' hoarders vs. intelligent hoarders, hoarders with OCD...
- The authors' compassion for their subjects
- Their admission that it is indeed difficult to help hoarders (and there's no miracle therapy that would solve their issues)
More...
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Nov 04, 2011
Michael
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On grabbing this at the library, I thought it was generally about people's relationships with their possessions, but it's actually about compulsive hoarders. The authors developed the work over the course of decades of research into hoarding, which had somehow gone understudied in psychology, even though we all know stories from our childhoods of "cat ladies" with dozens of unfixed felines, and old coots whose attics overflow with decades of accumulated crap. Generally, as they visit t
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Jun 16, 2010
Bookmarks Magazine
rated it:
The individual accounts of hoarders in Stuff are a parade of stifled lives, failed marriages, estranged , personal agony, notes the familiesWall Street Journal. It's almost the stuff of fiction: indeed, E. L. Doctorow recently fictionalized the lives of mid 20th-century hoarders in his novel Homer and Langley (*** Nov/Dec 2009). If Frost and Steketee don't completely answer the question of why hoarders hoard, they identify some psychological commonalities, such as clinical depression (though the
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Oct 25, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I highly recommend this book - the line between collector and hoarder is so vague and the things which blur this line (both genetically predisposed and those things which happen around and to us as we go through life) are so complex and nuanced that reading this book made me step back and examine my own understanding of possessions.
If you know a hoarder (and you do, you just may not know that you know one) this is an excellent resource especially if you are one of us in the helping profess More...
If you know a hoarder (and you do, you just may not know that you know one) this is an excellent resource especially if you are one of us in the helping profess More...
Oct 22, 2011
BonniLynn
rated it:
Fascinating. You may think this could be your problem as you read this book, yet convince yourself it isn't. Odds are, in an effort to prove it isn't so, you'll immediately dive into a clean-up project. Chances are you may quickly become confused, anxious and exhausted. If so, you're suspicions have been confirmed - you're a hoarder - but you aren't alone.
I loved this book that details cases of hoarders, but also tells a story of a condition that goes much deeper than just breaking More...
I loved this book that details cases of hoarders, but also tells a story of a condition that goes much deeper than just breaking More...
Jul 21, 2011
Elliot
rated it:
This rocked my world. I saw some of myself—or one of my friends or ex-housemates—in each one of these chapters. I have accumulated thousands of books, but also hundreds of magazines, papers, articles and mementos. By reading about the pathological collectors—most famously the NYC hermits, the Collyer brothers, who died under piles of accumulated junk in their mansion—I now think about my own habits on a continuum. There are a range of chronic hoarders and shopping addicts who collect animals, ne
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Jun 17, 2011
Melanie
rated it:
Hoarding has become, weirdly, kinda fashionable, largely thanks to those TV shows. This book sheds a lot of light on the psychology of hoarders and some of the issues and histories that can bring it about.
It wasn't a big happy ending book -- it made clear that not all of the people in their case studies were "cured", and how common it is for a cleared out house to be completely filled back up again surprisingly quickly.
What I would have liked to have read more about More...
It wasn't a big happy ending book -- it made clear that not all of the people in their case studies were "cured", and how common it is for a cleared out house to be completely filled back up again surprisingly quickly.
What I would have liked to have read more about More...
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May 02, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
A friend who read last week’s review of Homer and Langley suggested this week’s book, Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy Frost as a follow-up. Stuff cover the story of the Collyer brothers in great detail. In fact, that’s one of the things about the book that appealed to me — they focus on case studies, real people with fascinating stories. Some have more insight into their problems than others, but from each I learned very interesting things about hoarding and the pe
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Feb 06, 2011
Chris
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Not the sensationalized view that the TV show Hoarders gives, this book is great! It breaks down the many different reasons why people hoard stuff, and the various reasons why people become so attached to stuff. This explains a lot about the psychology of Hoarding and the mental state of people who compulsively pile stuff up around them. What I really liked about the way this is written is that it is clinical, yet accessible, and it doesn't feel like it is all "crazy". There is one
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Jan 24, 2011
Lesli
rated it:
I thought this book was amazing, I gobbled it up, I read it in one weekend. I found every case study so fascinating. I love case studies, but not really scientific explanations, so this book was good for me. Only one textbooky chapter and the rest was story after story. It made me question everything, could I hoard, could my husband, is my child destine? It was scary because I share many personality traits with some of the hoarders explained in the book, I am very wordy, I remember everythin
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Jan 24, 2011
Linda
rated it:
I worked for awhile in a non-profit guardianship agency in Washington state and we had many cases of hoarding. One fellow filled up his entire house, then one car, then the other but was sleeping on the back seat of the second. (He lost his false teeth in that mess!!!)
So I had to read this book. The author writes very well and uses people he has worked with to control or eliminate their hoarding. (Obviously, he disguises their real names.) It was fascinating to me to see how many More...
So I had to read this book. The author writes very well and uses people he has worked with to control or eliminate their hoarding. (Obviously, he disguises their real names.) It was fascinating to me to see how many More...
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Jan 17, 2011
Amy
rated it:
"Stuff" is organized with case studies serving as the basis for the broader categorization and analysis of various types of and motives for hoarding. It talks about hoarding based on personification of items, a strong sense of personal connection to items, a fear of loss of self if items are discarded, an aversion to waste, an inability to rate the importance of items, the mentality saving "just in case," and combination manifestations of hoarding. The subjects of the autho
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(4 people liked it)
Dec 31, 2010
David
rated it:
Why I Read It:
I love the shows Clean Sweep, Hoarders, Life Laundry, etc.
Review:
The authors come from an academic background so there is a slight text book feel to the work, but it is all punctuated with example after example. And the truth they find at the bottom of the piles is it’s not about the stuff. I think the common misconception people have when they see examples of hoarding on TV is just to throw it away. Getting rid of the stuff will not be a m More...
I love the shows Clean Sweep, Hoarders, Life Laundry, etc.
Review:
The authors come from an academic background so there is a slight text book feel to the work, but it is all punctuated with example after example. And the truth they find at the bottom of the piles is it’s not about the stuff. I think the common misconception people have when they see examples of hoarding on TV is just to throw it away. Getting rid of the stuff will not be a m More...
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Nov 09, 2010
Are you looking for a more comprehensive and scientific approach to hoarding than the one given by the cable television shows Hoarding: Buried Alive or Hoarders ? If so, “Stuff : compulsive hoarding and the meaning of things” is the book for you. Frost and Steketee, psychology professors, begin the book with the story of the Collyer brothers. After the reclusive pair died in 1947 their New York brownstone, sanitation workers found more than 130 tons of garbage in their home. The two became the c
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Nov 03, 2010
Nancy
rated it:
I've known a few hoarders in my life, among them some very dear friends. The book is a fascinating exploration of the relationship between people and objects, and the traits that lead some people to be obsessively attached to things. Some of the cases described are horrifying. The most disturbing story for me involved a mother who took over her daughter's bedroom with stuff, thus robbing her daughter of her only sanctuary. Many of the characters are also endearing and remind me of the book-h
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Oct 14, 2010
Julie
rated it:
I picked up this book almost at random at the library, but it's a truly fascinating (dare I say, compulsive) read. Frost and Steketee are psychiatrists who specialize in compulsive hoarding, and Stuff is a multifaceted view of hoarders and the lives they lead.
Much of the book documents some Frost and Steketee's various clients, the reasons they hoard, and the consequences on their lives. It's really fascinating, and much more deep and complex than I otherwise might have thought. While More...
Much of the book documents some Frost and Steketee's various clients, the reasons they hoard, and the consequences on their lives. It's really fascinating, and much more deep and complex than I otherwise might have thought. While More...
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Aug 25, 2010
Margot
rated it:
I'd like to think that we all can recognize a little bit of ourselves in these case studies of hoarding, but maybe it's just me. Fortunately for my boyfriend, my "collecting" hasn't made our living space unlivable, and reading this book actually made me think a few times, "Hey, I'm not so bad." Watching hoarding intervention shows puts me into a flurry of cleaning and discarding activity, while this book made me recognize certain similarities in behavior, bringing some self-a
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Jul 28, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Gripping case studies of compulsive hoarders
By Ethan Gilsdorf | Boston Globe, May 5, 2010
Collecting Beanie Babies is one thing. Amassing piles of, say, old newspapers, yogurt containers, and rusty buckets is another. If you’re unable to discard mountains of what most people would consider random clutter, your collecting bug has crossed into the realm of obsession. You can literally drown in stuff.
Take the case of the Collyer brothers, which ki More...
Gripping case studies of compulsive hoarders
By Ethan Gilsdorf | Boston Globe, May 5, 2010
Collecting Beanie Babies is one thing. Amassing piles of, say, old newspapers, yogurt containers, and rusty buckets is another. If you’re unable to discard mountains of what most people would consider random clutter, your collecting bug has crossed into the realm of obsession. You can literally drown in stuff.
Take the case of the Collyer brothers, which ki More...
Jul 14, 2010
Sara
rated it:
Frost's look at hoarding is a valuable one that gets away from the sort of gawking and pointing that goes on normally regarding the subject and those afflicted by it. Yes, there are horror stories in it, but Frost is a psychologist and a researcher and discusses hoarding from an educated mental health perspective while still remaining accessible to the lay reader.
Frost discusses the suspected root causes of individual hoarding, as well as what perpetuates this behavior. He looks More...
Frost discusses the suspected root causes of individual hoarding, as well as what perpetuates this behavior. He looks More...
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Jun 22, 2010
Girls Gone Reading
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Stuff is first and foremost about hoarders-people who keep so much stuff in their homes that it negatively affects their lives- but it is also about all of us. Stuff forces its readers to look at themselves and wonder: why do I have all this stuff?
I agreed to read Stuff because hoarding fascinates me, and my family has had some experience with it. My husband’s grandfather kept a very cluttered house, eventually filling an entire pole barn full of items from yard sales and the trash. G More...
I agreed to read Stuff because hoarding fascinates me, and my family has had some experience with it. My husband’s grandfather kept a very cluttered house, eventually filling an entire pole barn full of items from yard sales and the trash. G More...
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May 30, 2010
Judith
rated it:
Okay, I am officially crazy. I can't get enough of stories about hoarders. Am I becoming a hoarder myself? Hoarding stories about hoarders? I watch the A&E show, and this is the 2nd book I have read in the past 6 months about hoarding.
But I did learn a lot from this particular book. Like a lot of people, when I see those houses of hoarders, I think, just go in and take all the trash out with a dump truck and stop trying to persuade the hoarder to part with his possessions. Wh More...
But I did learn a lot from this particular book. Like a lot of people, when I see those houses of hoarders, I think, just go in and take all the trash out with a dump truck and stop trying to persuade the hoarder to part with his possessions. Wh More...
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May 20, 2010
Desiree
rated it:
Really enjoyed this one. I have a tendency to hoard and have recently been forced to get rid of a lot of things as I moved into a much smaller place. That definitely made me take a look at all the things I had been saving,"just in case."
Lots of psychological theories here. One is that hoarders form attachments to objects rather than people. I can definitely identify with that one. People can let you down, leave, die, etc, but possessions are always there. Other people beco More...
Lots of psychological theories here. One is that hoarders form attachments to objects rather than people. I can definitely identify with that one. People can let you down, leave, die, etc, but possessions are always there. Other people beco More...
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Jan 31, 2012
Mel
rated it: 
My mother is a hoarder and I was curious to see what Dr. Frost and Dr. Steketee had to say about this difficult disorder. The book has some interesting information, but I have a problem with the way the authors viewed the people they studied. Perhaps it’s just me? Does anyone else see a problem with the following descriptions?
Irene – slightly overweight with straight brown hair and a friendly smile
Colin – a gay man in his mid-sixties
Billie - a seventy-five-year-old grandm More...
Irene – slightly overweight with straight brown hair and a friendly smile
Colin – a gay man in his mid-sixties
Billie - a seventy-five-year-old grandm More...
Sep 25, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
REALLY interesting book. I was cringing at points, because gah, this sort of thing really stirs up my emotions, especially because I have family members with hoarding tendencies (depression era grandparents... I think the family actually eventually gave up on cleaning and sorting everything in the house after my Grandma died). The individual stories were super interesting, and very illuminating of the different ways hoarding manifests and the different motivations and emotions that can accompa
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May 14, 2011
Naomi
rated it:
This book will be intriguing for people who like books about neurology and psychology, such as those written by Oliver Sacks or Edward Hallowell. For those struggling with hoarding, or with loved ones who do, the book may be draining and difficult. I started to cry a couple of times reading this, and finished it in private. If you've looked on hoarders -- strangers or the ones you know -- with distaste or incomprehension, I urge you to read this book. Frost and his co-authors spend much of the
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Dec 23, 2010
Sarah
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Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy Frost and Gail Steketee is all about hoarding, people who hoard, and the psychology behind it. The book is very interesting. It is filled with stories about specific hoarders the authors have met. It not only describes their hoarding, but also the type of hoarder they are, and some of the psychology and reasons behind the hoarding.
Each chapter is about a specific type of hoarding, and I didn't realize that there were so ma More...
Each chapter is about a specific type of hoarding, and I didn't realize that there were so ma More...
Apr 13, 2010
Meredith
rated it:
Clutter. Compulsive shopping. Perfectionism. Avoidance. Unused Rubbermaid™ boxes. Andy Warhol.
Welcome to the world of hoarding.
"Stuff" is an ambitious undertaking. Psychologists Randy Frost and Gail Steketee, who specialize in hoarding behavior, explore multiple facets of this puzzling psychological disorder. Drawing upon various case studies spanning decades of field work, Frost narrates this harrowing journey through piles of accumulated stuff. Hoarding is no More...
Welcome to the world of hoarding.
"Stuff" is an ambitious undertaking. Psychologists Randy Frost and Gail Steketee, who specialize in hoarding behavior, explore multiple facets of this puzzling psychological disorder. Drawing upon various case studies spanning decades of field work, Frost narrates this harrowing journey through piles of accumulated stuff. Hoarding is no More...
Dec 07, 2010
Book Him Danno
rated it:
Well that was disturbing. I see lots of people I know and a bit of myself in these pages. I have a hard time getting rid of things so that I have a set of rules for new things coming in the house. Something comes in, something goes out, or the new item goes back to where it came from. The idea of living in a house or apartment with halls created by piles of papers and junk scares me. My kids have to do that same thing and I clean out there rooms a few times a year to be sure they are not co
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