Why do little old ladies horde things?

[erik316wttn]

So today a lady came through my line who was probably in her 70's. She had about half a cart full of groceries and was pretty nice. Nothing sucky about her. However, when she handed me the coupons at the end of the order, there was a coupon for 25 cents off Rice Krispies...... from 1985!!! It was one of those "no expiration" deals. And the coupon was in very good shape. Not wrinkled and only very slightly yellowed.

Somewhere this woman kept this coupon safe in her home so she could save a quarter on cereal 22 years later. Crazy.

[Retail Associate]

My mother was terrible about such things. She passed away in '02 at the age of 84. When we were getting ready to put her house on the market we couldn't believe what we found.

She had rolls and rolls of toilet paper that were nearly empty. Under her bed we found several plastic bags filled with those little styrofoam cups that KFC puts their cole slaw in. Mom had washed them and stored them away...for whatever reason. In her closet we found about 50 plastic shopping bags stuffed full of, well, more plastic shopping bags.

The kitchen cabinets were full of margarine tubs and their lids, plastic silverware, empty bread bags and assorted containers from fast food joints.

I don't think she ever threw anything away.

[CaroPhoenix]

My mother saves the margarine tubs & the bread bags.

Margarine tubs are good for putting leftovers in. Or for transporting said leftovers from one house to another.

The bread bags are used to wrap around a loaf of bread to be placed in the freezer - keeps the bread from getting freezer burned.

Plus, you're recycling stuff. Good for the environment!

[tamezin]

Because they can

Many of the older men and women who are horders do so because of the experiences they lived through during the great depression of the 30s. My grandparents were the same way. Save everything you never know when you might need it later.

[Shabo]

Yeah, we save margerine and butter containers too. It's much better than buying containers to put leftovers in, and you don't feel guilty about throwing them out when they're nasty or you don't want to bring it home, because hey, you've got a ton more there. For no extra cost.

My mom used to have us wash out the ziploc bags to reuse, and I always tossed them out when she wasn't looking. It was just gross to me to try and reuse something like that since they always felt greasy afterwards. And yes, she's a horrible packrat too. But that's another story.

[Tigress]

My grandmother used to horde old Cool Whip and butter tubs, jelly jars and anything else that looked reuseable. The reason was that she had six kids and, at one time or another, babysat every last one of her grandkids. And kids can be very destructive little beasts. So if we broke a jelly jar glass or lost a plastic bowl, it was okay because she had a hundred more.

If she noticed that she had a few too many, she gave them to us as toys to play house with or keep baby frogs and tadpoles in. They also made handy feeding bowls for all the animals we picked up.

And when I was the Cat Empress, I developed the same hording habit to feed all my cats and the few dogs I adopted. Old towels, blankets, and torn-up clothing got tossed into big, overturned buckets as bedding. Old butter tubs, meat trays and ice cream buckets were feeding and watering bowls. They really came in handy and I threw them away when they started to get disgusting. My babies were spoiled rotten, I tells ya.

[protege]

My grandfather was a *serious* pack rat. You name it, he probably had it stored somewhere on the farm. Old car parts, doors, tools, and other assorted crap called that place home until he died. It sucked though that most of it was worthless...and went right to the dump. Even the furniture from his office. Most of it was good at one time, but was falling apart. We were hoping to save his desk, but after one of the sides broke, it had to go I saved most of the smaller things though--all of his tools are at my house...along with his Lions Club pins (framed), his awards, and even his beat-up green recliner. That doesn't quite go along with my blue living room, but the kitty likes to sleep on it. He had a cat at one time, so it came full circle

Anyway, I think the reason he held onto things, was simply because his family didn't have much--many people in that area got hit hard by the Depression, and cash was hard to find then. Rationing during WWII probably made it worse for some folks. Anything that could be repaired and reused usually was--I remember one room in the basement of his house...had some "interesting" pipework. That is, several pipes were made up of multiple sections welded together simply because pipe costs money. I wouldn't want to be the poor bastard who got stuck fixing that

[ArenaBoy]

It's the Depression era thing, if you wonder why a lot of old ladies keep change in jars it's because they have a large distrust of banks due to the Depression.

My great-grandmother was the definition of packrat. When we cleaned out her apartment (rather small) we found enough stuff to fill 2 Costcos alone.

[cinema guy]

My nana used to horde sugar. She would have bags and bags of it. Whenever she brought a new bag, she would write the date on it so she could use them in order. Sugar was one of the things rationed during the war, I guess she never wanted to be short again.

[CaroPhoenix]

when I buy Eggo's for my daughter I take the packed eggo's (they're wrapped in a plastic bag in the box) out of the box and put them in a freezer bag. After the eggo's are done, I re-use that freezer bag until it falls apart. Just easier for me.

I have also been using the same freezer bag that says "cooked italian sausages" for the past 6 months. I wrap the sausages in plastic wrap before I put them in the freezer bag. This way, I pull out how many I need to put in my spaghetti sauce. (And frozen sausages are easier to cut than non-frozen).

[XCashier]

Anyway, I think the reason he held onto things, was simply because his family didn't have much--many people in that area got hit hard by the Depression, and cash was hard to find then. Rationing during WWII probably made it worse for some folks.

That's probably why my grandmother was such a packrat. Mom started cleaning Grandma's house shortly after she died, and threw out THREE large garbage bags full of margarine tubs and coffee cans, and that was just the beginning!

[Andara Bledin]

Yup. Speaking up as a "collector," it's because of being poor.

A lot of people who went through the depression have an elevated estimation of the value of things.

I grew up fairly poor, myself, and never had much in the way of things. Now that I'm an adult and can buy my own things, I tend to never let them go. I'm getting better about it, though.

The thing with jars & plastic tubs is just being frugal. I'll save useful containers for future need, myself, and I don't even cook. Oh, and it's good for the environment and conservation.

^-.-^

[Ducky Dew]

My Papa always kept coffee, paper towels, sugar, and those big size cans of Crisco shortening. Lots of Crisco, like... stacks of these things, 4 and 5 high, in the closet. And we were eating frozen peaches and okra they'd put up in the late 60's well into the 80's.

At least these things are useful. I keep the plastic tubs and the jelly jars and all that myself, but I also seem to accumulate a bunch of JUNK.

[blas]

My dad was born on the tail end of the Baby Boomers, but I nickname him "Depression baby" because he acts just like a little old man packrat. It's most likely because his father was a teen during the Depression and he learned it from him.

My dad picks shit up off the side of the road. Like sunglasses and CDs and the like. Doesn't matter what condition they are in. For a while when I was living at home, he'd go through the garbage and take stuff out if he thought it was still worth it.

My mom got so mad that she told my brother and I to immediately throw all the garbage into the outside dumpster so that Dad wouldn't rummage through it.

Now he's a prestigious businessman who makes well over the average income. He doesn't need to be doing that anymore. What if his boss or one of his customers saw him acting like a bum? I shudder to think.

We aren't dirt poor anymore and there's no reason for my dad to still be doing that.

[Sofar]

Oh, I had an old relative who wouldn't throw away anything bright red. More a compulsion than actual learned behavior, or anything beneficial. But no matter what it was, bits of packaging, plastic parts, old books, if it was red he would save it. He'd keep red things until eventually the paint or dye faded enough to be no longer recognizable as red, and then he'd throw it away as if that was what he was intending to do all along.

Anything that could be repaired and reused usually was

Behavior that should be encouraged, I say. Use it up, wear it out, make it last or do without. Too much is disposable these days. People don't even keep their cars for longer than three years on average.