Findings from some years ago suggested that the average U.S. household owns 300,000 things, ranging from paper clips to ironing boards, implying that Americans own too much stuff. While these findings need to be updated, America's clutter problem seems to be as relevant as it was almost 10 years ago. However, the main question remains: why do people hoard? And the answer is far more complicated than just buying unnecessary stuff.
It's complex because there is no single answer to what causes hoarding. However, the most common reason is that particular things have feelings and memories attached to them. The second one is keeping things "just in case." People often save items for occasions that never seem to happen. Fortunately, many people realize that owning too much stuff is simply unreasonable. Hence, when a while back, someone in the AskReddit community asked, "What do you own a ridiculous amount of?" many were open to sharing their absurd collections of the most random things.
Below, we've compiled some of the most interesting replies from a thread where people shared unnecessary stuff they keep around the house that they can't seem to get rid of. Or don't want to! Can you relate to any of these absurd collections? Then give those entries an upvote! Also, are there items around your house that you have embarrassing amounts of? Let us know in the comments!
#2 Cables. There Is An Unwritten Law Of The Universe, If You Throw Away A Cable, You Will Need It Within A Month
AdvocateSaint replied: "Similar to the law that you'll always see random objects just laying around until you actually need them. Then they're nowhere to be found."
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41points
#3 Empty Boxes From Ordering Stuff. Im Taking Them To Recycling As Soon As I Decide Im Not Gonna Use Them
hydroalien replied: "I was so bad with boxes, and with three people in one house, we were getting a lot of boxes built up. I finally got rid of them all, broke them down, and recycled them. Then I had no boxes to wrap anything in for Christmas and had TO BUY BOXES. The box cycle is a savage and heartless one."
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37points
#4 Rocks
"I have a rock collection (precious stones, fossils, and other cool minerals). When I tell you my room shines purple because of all my amethyst clusters and points I mean it."
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36points
#5 Toilet Paper
"We moved during the pandemic and everyone thought they’d be clever and send us a pack as a housewarming gift. The first couple were helpful and appreciated, but the many others that followed were not.
We haven’t bought toilet paper since May and we still have 70+ rolls left. We couldn’t finish unpacking a few boxes because an entire closet is filled with toilet paper."
31points
#6 Houseplants. It’s Hard To Stop Buying/Trading Or Just Propagating And Making More
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31points
#7 Crafting Supplies
I’m a serial crafter in that I like to get really into a crafting hobby for a period of time (could be months, years, or sometimes just weeks), and then I move onto the next craft. I usually buy supplies for that hobby as though it will be a lifelong passion.
I’m also an aspirational crafter: I’ll see the potential in raw materials which “forces” me to buy said raw materials, but then I get lazy and the project never comes to fruition.
In short, I have two separate hobbies: collecting crafting supplies and crafting.
30points
#8 Board And Card Games
"At least to me it’s a ridiculous amount. Over 70 unique games. I have played almost all of them but some came from my wife and take more than two people to play so we haven’t gotten to those yet."
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30points
#9 Socks. Socks. Socks. I Got Socks For My Socks' Socks
death_goblin replied: "Are you the sock monster in my dryer?"
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25points
#10 Moomin Tea Mugs. I Have Close To 60, All Different. My Mother Gifted Me Them For Years In My Advent Calendar And She Got A Bit Carried Away
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25points
#11 Plastic Bags From The Grocery Store
Mrminecrafthimself replied: "I use them for trash bags in the bathroom."
24points
#12 Cat Toys. All For My Cats To Only Play And Fight Over The Same Damn Toy. They’re Like Toddlers
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21points
#13 Non Working Tech
"Old computer towers, cords, broken game system, etc. I know I should get rid of them because fixing most are out of my league but the first piece of tech I got was a Nokia phone in 2008. Some people get what a Nokia brick in 08 means. Anyway, I have a slight obsession with tech and like to hold on to whatever I can get my hands on."
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21points
#14 Regrets
Derekthemindsculptor replied: "I was going to post this exact comment over 2 hours ago... Now I have even more."
20points
#15 Mad Magazines
"I started collecting them in the 80's. I have just about every issue published between 1970 and 1990, plus a bunch more on either side."
20points
#16 Hair Ties. I’m A Woman Married To A Woman And There Has Never Been A Shortage Of Hair Ties At My House
IHeartChampagne replied: "I'm in the opposite boat. I'm a woman with two daughters and I feel like we are always searching for hair ties despite having bought a 100-pack yesterday. Where do they go?!"
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20points
#17 Squishmallows
"Technically they're my daughters but I bought almost all of them. She has probably 30. We could get rid of her bed and she could sleep on them. She loves all of them and I would quit buying them but they're so damn cute."
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20points
#19 Nuts And Bolts
"Every time I get a new thing that needs to be assembled, I keep the leftovers 'just in case'. Now I have a ton of random, particular nuts and bolts with severely limited applications and I just can’t seem to throw them away."
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19points
#20 Dog Toys
"One of my dogs becomes obsessed with whatever new toy he gets and eventually destroys it. Rips it apart, tears out the squeaker, or just starts trying to eat it.
Even the big 'indestructible' ones that companies advertise, he finds a way to wreck them.
So why don’t I throw them away? Well, he’s a lab mix, and pretty much at all times, he carries a toy with him. When I get home he throws one at my feet. When I feed him, he brings one to his bowl. When we go to bed, he snatches one up and sleeps with it.
And he seems to go through different moods. One day it’s an old destroyed toy. The next one’s a tennis ball. The next day it’s one of his newer ones.
Every few days I pick them all up and stuff them in a box... which he promptly tips over and sifts through to find whatever toy he wants to play with. Yes, it’s annoying but it’s also adorable. Every time I’m about to throw one of them away, he starts playing with it again. So yeah, here I am with 50 or so toys, bones, and balls."
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19points