To me, a packrat is a person that saves everything and can't bear to part with stuff just in case they might need it. I have saved some stuff from my younger years, but I don't consider myself a packrat. I'm getting rid of a lot of my childhood toys that I saved and I'm not having a problem parting with them. In fact, I'm wondering why on earth I saved them in the first place.

My dh was kind of a packrat, but he's much better now. I guess I was a good influence on him. My dd has packrat tendancies because she likes to save every little piece of paper. It drives me crazy! My MIL was the world's worst packrat. She literally saved everything! One time she had a lottery ticket that was one number away from being a winner and she saved it. Why the heck would anyone do that?

So, are you a saver or a pitcher?

I am a definite pitcher!!!! My story sounds alot like yours!! I hate saving stuff. My husband is getting better over the years (after 22 years of marriage!) When we first got married he had 2 yrs worth of Wall Street Journals that he moved with us!!! He said he might want to read them again. I finally convinced him that he could get them from the library if he ever wanted to look at them again. Guess what? Not once has he looked at 1983-1984 Wall Street Journals My kids are semi-pack rats, but I go through their stuff occasionally and get rid of stuff. My mil saves everything!!!

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~Happiness is a large family~

I am a bit of a packrat but I am not a hoarder. I have gotten a lot better too. I am in this phase of purging my house right now and trying to get rid of whatever we can, so I am changing my ways. DH tends to hold onto stuff too. I have been on his case to go through his old Popular Mechanics and he swears someday they will be worth something. aiy-yi-yi!

Oh my lord YES!!! I'm probably the queen of packrat. I remember when my kids were little I'd keep every single piece of paper they scribbled on because I thought "well if they died I'd want this". I know....I need major psychotherapy. I'm not quite as bad, but I'm still way worse than most.

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Yes, aliadam,sounds like you need therapy. I saved everything too. In the past year though, I have been letting go of alot of stuff. Now my theory is, if I just put it in a scrapbook, it won't be junk. I am just trying to figure out how to clear out my closets so I can get started. Too bad we don't live closer together. We could have an organizing and scrapping session.

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"It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

-- St. Francis of Assisi

i used to be a "pack rat". my mom would always be the one going through the room i shared with my sister, throwing junk away when i was little. we just moved recently, so i decided to get rid of a lot of the stuffed animals i'd kept over the years, and old magazines and school stuff that i realized i wouldn't look at again.

i'm working on changing my ways, much to my husband's joy.

My parents are! My mom has bags of clothes from when we were babies. Their attic and basement are packed with stuff. I would love to go through this stuff b/c I'm sure that they have tons of stuff that is now a collectible.

Dh and I are both pitchers. Probably because we have fears of ending up like his dad or my mom. IMO they have illnesses.

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Kristy

I wouldn't categorize my parents as packrats, but they have saved a lot of stuff over the years. I bet they have some collectible stuff too.

Im a total pitcher, my DH on the other hand hoards EVERYTHING, he will save Sunday newspapers from months ago. He has way too many clothes that don't fit and he won't get rid of any of them! In our old place he had this HUGE walk-in closet just for his clothes and Emma and I shared her teeny closet!! He then took over the hall closet for his "winter" things!! It drives me absolutely batty!!!

I even brought up this issue the other night to be greeted by him shutting down and not talking. I mentioned something nicely in passing about the amount of un-needed clothes he owns, in response I get "Don't start w/ me I am not getting rid of them"

AHHHHHHHHHH now that i'm done w/ venting the moral of the story is he is a packrat and the girls and I are now