Prepping vs Hoarding

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Witch Doctor 01, Jul 13, 2011.


  1. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    a fellow prepper called me as members of his family think he may be a hoarder... his preps are obvious if you go to any room outside of then common family rooms... with 5 gallon buckets lining many walls... It turns out that one of his sisters is afraid that his preps may be pulled down by his 2 year old daughter and that he should therefore dispose of these buckets of junk and live/have a normal safe life for his family......

    what are your thoughts?
     
    inAsia likes this.
  2. wags_01

    wags_01 Monkey+

    If it's junk, it's probably hoarding. He doesn't sound like he's keeping junk.

    Either way, he's gotta make it safe for his family. And probably work on his opsec...
     
  3. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I think it's a valid concern, but can be controlled. How high are the buckets stacked? How heavy are the top ones? How much of a climber is the child? Are the stacks where a climbing kiddo can fall thru an unguarded window?
     
  4. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    build some false walls to hide the stuff behind
    leaving his supplies out for all to see isnt good
     
  5. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    consider one room if possible for storage, and keep the room locked from the outside.
     
  6. mysterymet

    mysterymet Monkey+++

    The basement also works. That is where our stuff is. As for the busy body sister i would tell her to mind her own business.
     
  7. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    Where we live the water table is too high to have a basement...... I suggested that there is a difference between hoarding and prepping... Hoarding is a negative conatation for collecting junk while prepping is a whole different animal... i suggested posssiblly building some shelves to store his preps on and using a wire mesh to keep the kids out...
     
  8. goinpostal

    goinpostal Monkey+++

    I take the Neal Boortz view of what people call hoarding."If your not denying others their right to life,liberty,or property,it shouldnt be anyones damn buisness what you do in your home,or with your belongings".
    I do agree that the stuff should be kept in a manner,that no harm can befall others.Otherwise what a person does with belongings that have been lawfully procured,shouldnt be anyones G0@ D@%# buisness.
    I hate the term"horder".The libturds consider anyone that keeps more than a weeks food,and other preps a horder.
    I feel the same way about the term"GOUGING".If you own something you want to sell at 10times what it's worth during a time of need,,that should be your buisness,and no one elses.
    Those terms are both use heavily by commies in their wealth redistribution skeems.
    Matt
     
    Homer Simpson likes this.
  9. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I think I figured it out. Buying and not stockpiling means the groc shoppes have a steady inventory that will justify JIT deliveries. If everyone that planned ahead bought mass quantities once in a while, then the groc shoppes would not be able to achieve a steady income/outgo and mess with their accountant's heads.

    If groc shoppe isn't your bugaboo, fill in your fave supplier's store name. Either way, YMMV and just say'n ----. (Ol' BTPost has to buy in lumps 'cause the freight barge doesn't come too often. Wonder how his supplier manages to live with the spikes in revenue, eh?)

    goinpostal is right. Who does it hurt if I have a couple more jars of peanut butter than the guy across the street?
     
  10. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    From little I can understand, hoarders usually hoard just about everything without purpose. That is what I would call the difference between a hoarder and a prepper.
     
    dragonfly, STANGF150, Cephus and 2 others like this.
  11. Catullus

    Catullus Monkey+++

    Hoarding is a psychological disorder in the OCD family. My aunt is a hoarder. Her house is stacked floor to ceiling with about everything she has ever bought in her life...trash or treasure. Most of the stuff is eaten through by rats and other vermin. She only has running water in her kitchen and about 20 cars in her yard packed floor to ceiling. When my uncle died they had to take him out of the window because the EMT could NOT get into the house.

    That being said, she is free, white, and 21 so if she wants to live like that what the hell are we supposed to do about it?

    I also want to admit that I watch the Hoarders show on TV and have seen every episode. :)

    Prepping however is a whole different beast. My aunt is not worried about the sad state of affairs going on right now. She is not worried about rights or freedoms. She is worried about her crap..period.

    The machine just wants to lump preppers with hoarders so they can be "diagnosed" and controlled.


    end rant
     
  12. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I've heard the same argument proposed as the difference between a collector and hoarder. I guess collectors have a particular item or items of interest where a hoarder just piles stuff on. So preppers are best described as collectors, maybe?
     
    Cephus likes this.
  13. Catullus

    Catullus Monkey+++

    great thread btw...


    What a major issue this has to be in this community. I am sure that there are many in the prepper community that are compulsive hoarders and hide behind the prepping label.

    My determinate is if your "preps" consist of a big unorganized pile of garbage and there are vermin of all kind living amongst it you are NOT a prepper. You are a hoarder. (This does not count if it is your "scrap" metal pile in the backyard.:)
     
  14. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    By definition; what I consider "prepping" is described as hoarding.:oops:

    Hoard - an accumulated store hidden away for future use.

    However, if you deem yourself Prepared (as opposed to being a "prepper"), then you're okay.

    Prepared - properly expectant, organized, or equipped; ready

    It's all a matter of perspective. :cool:


    In this case: He is (or should be) - first and foremost - a parent to his 2-year-old child. The child's safety should not be compromised by items that he is gathering for her security/longevity. Though his sister should keep her mouth shut about the way that he lives his life, she should also have the guts to speak for the child who cannot speak for herself. If there is a real safety hazard in his home - then it should be brought to his attention so that he can deal with it. He should then, in turn, take care of it. Parental rule of thumb: If it can be climbed; it will be climbed. :) If anything happens to her because of his ill-placed stores - will those buckets comfort his loss?

    Preparing isn't just gathering stuff for the just-in-case times; it's also being ready for dangers (like crushing hazards).
     
    ghrit, E.L. and tacmotusn like this.
  15. craneje

    craneje Monkey+

    I pulled out the BIG dictionary and looked it up. Hoard: 1. "a supply or accumulation that is hidden or carefully guarded for preservation, future use, etc." 2. "to accumulate for preservation, future use, etc, in a hidden or carefully guarded place." So, technically, we are hoarders. So what? Its still better to be prepared! My accumulation is not keeping any one else from doing so if they wish. It is not a bad thing, to be ready when others aren't.
     
  16. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    before overnight shipping
    before instant gratification syndrome
    before tv and a store on every corner
    people stocked up
    my grandparents spent the summer filling
    their root cellar and smokehouse
    their parents and my parents did the same
    you didnt run to the store every month or week
    never every day
    you thought ahead, planned your meals
    and you stocked ahead enuff to keep you
    until the next harvest season
    the way most live today is out of laziness
    and selfishness, its easier to go to the store
    than it is to grow it, harvest it, preserve it
    and stock it ahead for the next year
     
  17. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    We are all hoarders in the eyes of the sheeple and TPTB. We have a mental disorder. We all need drugs and therapy to resolve our condition.

    On the other hand, a collapse in society will also resolve our condition.

    The sheeple will be surprise that our previously diagnosed and untreated mental incapacitation actually turned out to be a evolutionary boon for our spawn.

    TPTB will be worried cause we can wait them out.

    I for one enjoy being a mental case.:oops:
     
  18. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    Beast,

    I am not sure that it is out of laziness or selfishness per say. More likely it is out of convenience and variety and cost.

    the supermarkets have food from all over the world, 'fresh' (i use the word loosely) corn in February, strawberries in january, blueberries and grapes in march. Growing it yourself , you are not going to see any of it until late spring at best from your garden spot (at least up here in Michigan).

    It's all a matter of choices and what time is worth to you. People choose to spend 2 bucks and 5 minutes to get a loaf of bread from the store or a few cents and several hours to bake bread.

    anyway, people should grow more of their own food as some people think that raising and killing an animal is cruel because you can just buy meat made at the supermarket .. bwahahahaha .. I kid you not! I've met some of them city slickers. They are gonna be the first to go in a SHTF scenario
     
  19. Cephus

    Cephus Monkey+++ Founding Member

    No offense but if was I , I'd tell them to mind their own business and let me live my life the way I saw fit !!


    JMHO
     
  20. goinpostal

    goinpostal Monkey+++

    Once apon a time people saved everything of possable use.
    If it wasnt reusable,it was either buried or burned.
    People couldnt afford to throw anything away that might have a use at a later date.
    It's only been since the 70's that humans have gotten away from this practice.It's not really odd behavior for humans,but being in a throw away society is,if you look at human history as a whole.
    Matt
     
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