hoarders
They accumulate obsessively
Hoarders are people who accumulate and keep things beyond practical use, often unable to discard possessions others would consider worthless.
The term gained currency from reality television depicting extreme cases where homes become impassable with clutter.
Hoarding exists on a spectrum—from the merely acquisitive to those with a recognized psychological disorder: The house was packed floor to ceiling; classic hoarders.
Disorderly, troublesome condition
- junkWorthless discarded items
- disarrayLack of order
- chaosComplete disorder and confusion
- debrisScattered broken fragments
overflow · pileup · shambles · disorganization · detritus · litter · tangle · muddle
Accumulated reserve supply
- cacheConcealed storage spot
- stashHidden reserve
- amassmentAct of piling up
- troveAccumulated valuable collection
surplus · backlog · inventory · collection · aggregation · heap · pileup · reservoir
Irresistible urge to act
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- disorderAbsence of organization
- OCDCompulsive repetition disorder
- attachmentConnection or fondness
trauma · depression · therapy · intervention · denial · distress · shame · isolation
Compulsive accumulator of objects
- magpieChattering corvid, loves shinies
- accumulatorDevice storing incremental charge
- gathererOne who collects things
- amasserOne who accumulates
philatelist · numismatist · bibliophile · antiquarian · archivist · curator · connoisseur · preservationist
Persistent mental attachment
- preoccupationAbsorbing mental focus
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
- attachmentConnection or fondness
- sentimentalityExcessive tender emotion
acquisition · shopping · freebies · couponing · scavenging · collecting · just-in-case · loss aversion
mess
Disorderly, troublesome condition
debris · overflow · pileup · shambles · disorganization · detritus · litter · tangle · muddle · squalor
stockpile
Accumulated reserve supply
trove · surplus · backlog · inventory · collection · aggregation · heap · pileup · reservoir · storehouse
compulsion
Irresistible urge to act
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- disorderAbsence of organization
- OCDCompulsive repetition disorder
attachment · trauma · depression · therapy · intervention · denial · distress · shame · isolation · overwhelm
packrat
Compulsive accumulator of objects
- magpieChattering corvid, loves shinies
- accumulatorDevice storing incremental charge
- gathererOne who collects things
amasser · philatelist · numismatist · bibliophile · antiquarian · archivist · curator · connoisseur · preservationist · custodian
fixation
Persistent mental attachment
- preoccupationAbsorbing mental focus
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
- attachmentConnection or fondness
sentimentality · acquisition · shopping · freebies · couponing · scavenging · collecting · just-in-case · loss aversion · emotional attachment
- collectorscoin collectors, coin collector, stamp collectors, stamp collector, art collector
- stockpilerspreppers, packrats
- enthusiastsenthusiasts, fans, devotee, enthusiast, buff
- guardiansguardian angel, protector, protectors, guardians, keeper
- nuisancespest, ants, bugs, flies, roaches
- patientspatient, inpatients, inpatient, outpatients, outpatient
hoarderspurgers
Those who cleanse forcibly
declutterers · disposers · tidiers · organizers · minimalists
hoardersgivers
Those who donate
sharers · philanthropists · donors · distributors · spendthrifts
hoardersminimalists
Advocates of deliberate simplicity
ascetics · essentialists · monks · Marie Kondo · renunciants
- compulsive hoarderOne unable to discard possessions
- hoarder houseDwelling overwhelmed by accumulated possessions
- book hoarderOne who accumulates volumes