[rationalist]

I'm not a hoarder, but my dad is.

I have a couple of items from my dead grandparents, and it's a connection.

It's a tangible connection that feels more real than something intangible like memories.

As for my dad though, I have no idea. He recognizes that it's a problem, but can't stop. It's stuff like plastic ship models, or stuff he wants to buy on eBay - postcards from defunct airlines that he used to fly on.

[laborcontract]

That makes sense, but don't you think hoarding muddies the signal? Do you know what of your father's you'd want to keep of his hoarded goods?

[rationalist]

There is nothing that he has hoarded that I want to keep. I have told him that.

I have told him that he has so much stuff, that it would be impossible for me to recognize the $1,000 model boxes from the worthless model boxes, and that when he dies, I'm just going to have to wholesale the lot for probably a penny on the dollar.

I told him him that the people who will pay money for plastic model kits are the same age as him, and if they all die around the same time or before him, there will be no one to buy the model kits.

[criddell]

I've had the same discussion with my parents. They wanted me to go through their home and mark down everything I want. I don't want any of it and frankly dealing with a full house of stuff after they die is something I dread. I wouldn't even know where to start. Are there companies you can hire that will take care of everything?

[technion]

Australian here. I paid a garbage removal company to basically empty a house. Their qebsite called it "estate cleanup". It took a whole day for a team with crowbars to smash up every piece of furniture and load it in a truck and take it.

People take this offensively and insist someone must have wanted an old chest of drawers or something if only put it on facebook marketplace and work with interested parties and assist with them obtaining it - but those people dont realise how much they are asking of someone who is dealing with loss.

[a2tech]

Yes, they’re called clean out companies. They’ll swoop in and put everything in a dumpster. You can engage an auction house-+cleanout company if you think they have anything worth selling.

[astura]

The only people who want to pick through a hoard to find the "good stuff" is other hoarders and flippers.

Also, 90% of the time that the act of hoarding ruins the objects hoarded so everything becomes trash anyways.

[rationalist]

> 90% of the time that the act of hording ruins the objects horded.

I can also attest to this.

[rationalist]

> don't you think hoarding muddies the signal?

Yes, which I am thankful now that I only have a couple of items and haven't had to make the choice of what to keep or not.

[laborcontract]

Thank you for sharing.