Hoarding: a behavioral pattern characterized by excessive acquisition of and an inability or unwillingness to discard large quantities of objects that cover the living areas of the home and cause significant distress or impairment.
What triggers hoarding?
people hoard because they believe that an item will be useful or valuable in the future
What is a hoarder personality?
Why do people hoard objects?
persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them.
The items they hoard are scarce
people feel sentimental value in an item
an item is too unique or irreplaceable or too big of a bargain to throw away
inability to decide where something belongs, so it's better to just keep something
belief that the item serves as a reminder that will jog their memory
How do hoarders feel?
they experience embarrassment about their possessions and feel uncomfortable when others see them
in contrast, collectors have a sense of pride about their possessions and they experience joy in displaying and talking about them.
How do these types of spaces often look like?
hoarder's spaces have clutter, often at the expense of livable space
hoarders usually feel sad or ashamed after acquiring additional items, and they are often in debt
collectors tend to have a sense of pride about their possessions and they experience joy in displaying and talking about them
collectors usually keep their collections organized, feel satisfaction when adding to it, and budget their time and money.
What type of scenarios would lead to a person hoarding stuff?
an old immigrant lady who once grew up poor and has a fixed mindset that everything is scarce. Therefore when they enter a new environment where they are finacially secure, they still have the poor mentality and hoard everything
What type of objects would this person hoard?
plastic bags
expired coupons
they would have clothing hangers with underwear all around the house as a way to conserve energy
shamelessly take as many free samples as possible
trash bags full of stuff
cardboard boxes full of stuff
old appliances like fans
What type of living situation do they have?
Hong Kong/ Kowloon style cage apartment
bicycle
soysauce bottles/packets
pots and pans
tofu boxes
dirty dishes in the sink
clothes everywhere
An old mechanic whose son has died, so he makes and hoards robotic toys because he can't move on.
How did the son die?
what type of toys are these?
What kind of room?
work related accident, so the mechanic feels guilty
children's toys
What time period is this?
retro scifi
tiny robots
larger mech
mechanic's workroom, filled with tools, gears, etc
Post apocalyptic world where water has run out
A fisherman is obsessed with catching this large cot, but has failed multiple times.
What fish is this?
Why is he so obsessed?
He is the best fisherman in town and has caught many kinds of rare fish, but the fact that he can't catch this one is driving him insane.
What room are we looking at?
bedroom
workstation