Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things in 100+ Books in 2025

Apr 23, 2010 Evan rated it really liked it

Shelves: pop-culture-misc, _lfpl-library, 2013-reads, materialism-schism

(*2019 note: False alarm; this was not my last review here. Realize this is an old review and proceed with that context).

*It's appropriate that this will be my last review on Goodreads because I realize that one of my main motivations for writing and posting reviews here is one of the primary rationales used by hoarders to justify their habit: to have a physical, tangible record of a memory, to quell the fear of memories forgotten. Even when hoarders do manage to purge, they often keep some part (*2019 note: False alarm; this was not my last review here. Realize this is an old review and proceed with that context).

*It's appropriate that this will be my last review on Goodreads because I realize that one of my main motivations for writing and posting reviews here is one of the primary rationales used by hoarders to justify their habit: to have a physical, tangible record of a memory, to quell the fear of memories forgotten. Even when hoarders do manage to purge, they often keep some part of the purged thing: to make a photocopy of an album cover, for instance, to be able to hold onto something that was the essence of the thing.

The researchers in this book astutely pick up on earlier work in which pioneering psychologists realized that objects continue to serve us much as they did in primitive times: as surrogates of sorts, as fetish idols, as receptacles of magic: magic and memory that rub off and stay, things that outlive their possessor, things that can be passed to family, friends, associates and keep memories alive. The authors cite the example from a class in which a student admitted to buying and owning a shirt once reputed to have been worn by Jerry Seinfeld. The shirt itself was just that: a shirt. Its association with Seinfeld lent it meaning; some kind of magic that somehow might rub off. Its meaning and significance are completely mental, emotional.

The point is, that I write reviews to have a detailed or semi-detailed record of a book that would otherwise become lost in time as details of it become quickly obliterated in the mists of memory. When I go back and read my own reviews, forgotten details and feelings of my reactions to the books are brought flooding back. In the process, I've logged hundreds of reviews and in a sense could said to be a "hoarder" of same. The upshot now is that I don't need to be spending my time on this anymore. Goodreads has become a censored Disneyfied corporate arm of Amazon, and its contents are now free fodder for marketers that earn me nothing. I refuse to contribute free material toward the enrichment of a taking class that pisses on the rest of us, so this is the end of the line.

As for the book: Frost and Steketee are legit professors of psychology and social work, respectively, and this book is a primary popular work delving into a phenomenon that is only now beginning to be sorted out and studied. The authors try to bring together the known research and compare it to their own studies, while presenting often heartbreaking case studies of people mired in their odd love-hate obsessions. The researcher-authors struggle mightily to reconcile many of the conflicts and overlapping aspects of the various psychological symptoms observed in hoarders, and they do very well in enlightening. This is a very good attempt and a fine place to start reading if you want to get your bearings in the complicated jungle of hoarding.

It's been fun. Enjoy the museum. Write if you want; I'll continue to check my email and comments here and will be perfectly fine using Amazon's platforms in which to freely socialize. I won't give them a thing more; I'll be the taker for once. Otherwise, my life goes elsewhere.

Evan (aka, Kevin) ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Jan 31, 2010 Gaijinmama rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, self-help

While this book doesn't really offer much concrete advice about how to deal with hoarding problems, it is nevertheless a fascinating read. As a third-generation Clutterbug/Pack Rat/ Not Too Far from Being Buried in My Piles of Books and Papers, I found the case studies fascinating. Hoarding can manifest in many different ways and for many different reasons, and this book covers a wide spectrum in a very readable, even entertaining manner. I found myself having a hard time putting the book down, ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2010 Dolly rated it really liked it

Shelves: science, education-school, 2010, other-usa, nonfiction, england-english, new-england, france-french

This is a really readable book on the neuroscience of hoarding, describing this variation of OCD and how it manifests itself in different people. In today's consumerist, materialistic society, there are probably few people who don't have too much stuff in America today. As one reviewer mentions, "you will surely recognize, to one degree or another, a part of yourself in these portraits." That is a scary notion, but was true for me as well.

Occasionally, I wonder if that general clutter will warp This is a really readable book on the neuroscience of hoarding, describing this variation of OCD and how it manifests itself in different people. In today's consumerist, materialistic society, there are probably few people who don't have too much stuff in America today. As one reviewer mentions, "you will surely recognize, to one degree or another, a part of yourself in these portraits." That is a scary notion, but was true for me as well.

Occasionally, I wonder if that general clutter will warp and allow me to transform my home into the horrific scenes that are so garishly depicted on reality tv shows like "Hoarding: Buried Alive." I am comforted that I'm not headed that route anytime soon, but reading the book still inspired me to get rid of some of the things that I just never "had time to go through," a common phrase in the book. I'm just glad that at this point, it was procrastination and not an unhealthy attachment to those items and I just hope that any compulsions I have in that regard don't get any worse!

Some interesting bits from the book:
"People who hoard often speak in overly elaborate ways, including far too many details and losing the main themes...Each detail seems as important as the next. People with hoarding problems can't sort them out or draw conclusions from them." p. 203

"...humans can be characterized by one of two basic orientations toward the world, 'having' or 'being.' These orientations determine in large part how peole think, feel, and act. A person with a 'having' orientation seeks to acquire and possess property and even people. Ownership is key to the person's sense of self and meaning in the world....In contrast a person with a 'being' orientation is focused on experience rather than possession, and he or she derives meaning from sharing and engaging with other people...Materialists expect possessions not only to enhance their sense of self but also to make them happy. Ironically, possessions seem to do the opposite. Many studies have documented the fact that highly materialistic people are less satisfied with their lives and less happy than people without such an orientation toward 'having.' It's not clear from this research, however, whether materialism leads to reduced satisfaction and happiness or whether people who are unhappy pursue materialistic goals." p. 264-265

new words: somatic ...more

2 likes · Like · see review