pack rats
Never throw anything
Pack rats are rodents native to North America that collect and hoard objects in their nests, especially shiny items.
The term extends to people who compulsively accumulate possessions and resist discarding them: My grandmother was a pack rat—she kept every newspaper from the last forty years.
The tendency suggests sentimentality or anxiety about future need rather than deliberate collecting.
Untidy collection of items
- accumulationCollected mass over time
- stockpileAccumulated reserve supply
- stashHidden reserve
- cacheConcealed storage spot
amass · possessions · junk · saver · compulsive · attachment · materialism · collector
clutter
Untidy collection of items
- accumulationCollected mass over time
- stockpileAccumulated reserve supply
- stashHidden reserve
cache · amass · possessions · junk · saver · compulsive · attachment · materialism · collector · keeper
woodrat
Collecting rodent species
nocturnal · foraging · whiskers · gnawing · incisors · furry · tail · scurry · desert · critter
memorabilia
Collected items of significance
- antiquesValuable old items
- collectiblesItems people amass
- curiosRare collectible objects
ephemera · keepsakes · mementos · souvenirs · treasures · rarities · artifacts · stamps · coins · figurines
- rodentsmouse, guinea pig, squirrel, mice, beaver
- ground crittersmice, ants, cockroaches, spiders, centipedes
pack ratsminimalists
Advocates of deliberate simplicity
declutterers · purgers · Marie Kondo · tidiers · simplifiers