would you say you are minimalist or a clutterbuck

[puddicat]

would love to be a minimalist to a certain degree, but keep on gathering clutter, my mother is a hoarder, do you think it is a genetic thing, as she keeps on dumping her excess clutter on me, which i dont want , but dont want to hurt her!,but find that i am turning in to her, maybe if my father was still alive it would be different!!

[theonlyone]

Just take what your Mother gives you , and then put it in the charity shop , as you have to break the cycle .

[puddicat]

the only one where do you think she gets the stuff from lol!!!she is a life member of charity shops and local boot sales!sometime she brings things that she has given me 3 or 4 times before!

[theonlyone]

Think you will just have to be brutal and tell her ,or you have a boot sale !! A difficult one .

[leelapops]

Have a bootsale, but not a local one: then it won't turn back up with you! My mum brings me stuff; we don't talk so much, so I think it's her way of saying she loves me! But I have so many toiletries I don't know what to do with them all! In fairness, she gives me very useful things (edible or household-y usually!) so I don't mind really. When I moved out, I had to buy one of those plastic storage drawers with 3 compartments, just to fit all my toiletries in! Now it's 4 years later, I am 21, and I still get a boxful of stuff whenever mum and dad visit! And dad has to carry it all in!

I would like to have less stuff, but I have cut down a lot! It's less to dust too! I love candles, and "bits", that's my downfall!

Tell your mum that other peopl emight need the stuff she brings more, then get her to give it to other family members!

[Curry King]

I love car boot sales and sometimes pick things up and think they are nice but think what do I need it for. The only problem is if they say it is 20p I end up buying it and bringing it home. I try to keep my living room more clutter free, I just end up with ornaments on the kitchen windowsills and fireplace. I need to do my own car boot sale soon.

[WendyS]

By preference I would be a minimalist - no clutter makes it so much easier to clean and dust.
Unfortunately I' m married to one of the world's worst hoarders and clutterers who is so emotionally attached to his junk that he cannot bear to to get rid of any of it.,
I've tried small sneaky clear-outs from time to time but now nothing works for long. The annoying thing is that 95% of the stuff which is hoaded because "one day it might come in useful" never is useful, or there is so much clutter around that we can never find it anyway when we want it.
I suspect it's something to do with emotional security. We need to realise that our life won't end tomorrow if we throw stuff out. Very often it can be liberating. I wish I had carte blanche to go through our house and have a good clear out. It would make it so much easier to keep the house clean and tidy.