Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things [Hardcover]

Homer and Langley Collyer (circa 1940's New York City and immoralitized in Marcia Davenport's book "My Brother's Keeper" in 1954) are probably the most recognized hoarders in American history. They are not alone. An estimated 2 to 5 percent (6 to 15 million) Americans are considered "hoarders".

Hoarding goes far beyond the display of German Beer steins your father has in the family room. But what tips the scales from innocent collecting into "pack rat" behavior and then further into full blown psycho-pathologic hoarding?

Illustrated through personal accounts and case studies this non-fiction book is a vivid, interesting account even for the non-clinican. Who are hoarders? What are the common demoninators, the genetic/family influence? What does all those tons of useless, unsanitary "stuff" mean to them? What is the impact of hoarding on the family members? Can the hoarding cycle be broken? These questions and more are addressed by the authors. This book could have easily been dry or overly clinical. It was neither. I could not put it down (does that make me OCD?) You will see your co-workers, friends and even yourself within its pages. If you ever needed an incentive to clean out the basement or garage this book will provide it.

If you are a fan of the two current television shows documenting hoarding behavior you will find this book even more interesting. It goes beyond what is shown on the small screen and delves into the true being of a hoarder. The book is a great source of information to friends and family of hoarders.

Fascinating Read!

Updated 4/23/10: The May 3rd edition of "People" Magazine reviewed this book and gave it 4 out of 4 stars and was their "People Pick" of books for the week. Whether you are a "People" person or not, this book deserves the attention.

Stuff is first and foremost about hoarders-people who keep so much stuff in their homes that it negatively affects their lives- but it is also about all of us. Stuff forces its readers to look at themselves and wonder: why do I have all this stuff?

I agreed to read Stuff because hoarding fascinates me, and my family has had some experience with it. My husband's grandfather kept a very cluttered house, eventually filling an entire pole barn full of items from yard sales and the trash. Going through his items after his death was excruciating, and it was difficult to understand why he kept a broken rake, toy cars with only two wheels, and Tiffany lamps all together.

According to the book, my husband's family is not alone. In fact, SIX MILLION Americans suffer from hoarding, and only recently are doctors beginning to understand its complications. It is a bizarre combination of nature and nuture-both genes and family conditions have been identified as factors. I had the misconception that most hoarders were elderly, and that the Great Depression had led to their condition. Frost and Steketee quickly addressed this false logic by explaining that in their research most hoarders have never experienced a period of extreme need or want.

Instead, they argue, most of them had a childhood of extreme disconnect/isolation from their parents. Their "recent research indicates that an absence of warmth, acceptance, and support characterizes the early family life of many hoarders, perhaps leading them to form strong emotional attachments to possessions." Therefore, as children they learned to become attached to objects rather than people.

Still, I was amazed to learn that there are a variety of reasons why hoarders keep these items.

* utility: Everything has a use, and the hoarder believes that they will use the broken rake later to fix another one.
* opportunity: That piece of newspaper is an opportunity to be smarter, go on a trip, understand something greater, etc.
* fear of error: The hoarder can't decide if this item is important or not, so he/she just keeps it.
* perfection: In an attempt to perfect a collection, he/she keeps all of the magazines published in 1999 together.

Millions more are affected by hoarding when you factor in their families, their caregivers, and their neighbors. At one point Dr. Frost participates in a house-wide cleanout in NYC. After speaking with a representative from the cleaning company he learns that a house-wide cleaning can cost upwards of $50,000 and that this particular company averages four such cleanings a day!

Ironically most of these cleanings are paid for by the city as a result of legal issues/social work, and they don't end the hoarding because they don't address the reason behind the issue. In fact, these house-wide cleanouts usually make the issue worse. The authors are concerned that hoarding is on the rise-with 11 million Americans owning storage space around the country-something that did not exist forty years ago.

Consistently in the book I was puzzled by the question: what is the difference between clutter and a hoard? What distigushes a collector from a hoarder? Apparently I am not the only one with these questions, and the authors argued that "(p)erhaps the best way to make the distinction between hoarding and normal collecting is to determine whether the behavior creates a problem for the family." Still vague huh? Well Dr. Frost developed a Clutter Image Rating to help diagnose potential hoarders. Patients look at the pictures and determine which one looks like their house. Doctors are then in the difficult position of deciding if children in the home are endangered. If so, they legally have to report the hoarding issue which usually results in legal action and the patient not returning to therapy.

I really enjoyed this book because it was a combination of stories and scientific data. It also made me constantly aware of the items that we choose to keep in our home, our cars, and our lives. I still have not come to an answer about all of my stuff, but I do know that my fridge is cleaner after the chapter about food hoarding!

I just finished my copy a couple of days ago. I am a moderate to severe hoarder myself. The book is great for at least two audiences. Those of us trying to figure out why we hoard, I could identify with various aspects discussed in the book. Perhaps the audience that would benefit even more from this book would be those who are friends or relatives of hoarders who are trying to understand the behavior. The many aspects and forms of hoarding are discussed in a non-judging way and with a level of compassion that is missing in most of the now popular haording television shows. While many of those shows seem to go for the shock value of the severe hoarder this book shows compassion and looks at the many differing reasons people fall into the trap of hoarding. The road out from hoarding as Dr. Frost points out is a difficult one and this book is not intended to be used as a gide to dig out but instead is the best if not the first book that instead concentrates on giving the hoarder a human face that perhaps more people can find compassion for.

The book would also be a good source for a therapist starting to work with hoarding clients. Through the insight given in the people the therapist most likely would be better prepared to find some of the core reasons why an indivual hoards and that understanding of course is a key step in any long term gains.