I wonder, is my family the only ones that are pack rats? Over the years, I have been involved with cleaning out LOs homes when they moved or passed away. The last one was my Aunt Ruth's 4 story house and 2 car oversized garage. Before that it was my Uncle John's house that had also been my Grandparents home. We also moved Aunt Nettie from a home of over 50 years to another home when she was forced to relocate due to urban growth. In each case we found many things that were hoarded, duplicated or hidden in a very interesting place.
Most of these LOs are gone now or living in NH's and their homes have been cleaned for the last time and I can look back on the process of the move with a little humor. They all lived through the depression and I attribute some of the "thrift" to that but they all had a lot of stuff. Do any of you have any experiences that you would like to share about this or is this just my family?

Here are some examples:

Aunt Nettie
Every issue of TV guide up to the point of her move in 1976.
A big candy box full of little bitty pencils. The box was labeled "Pencils too short to sharpen".
Every aluminum TV dinner tray and pot pie pan she ever had come into her house.
All of the paper bags from groceries.
All of the plastic bags from bread.
Suitcases full of crochet thread. Lots of suitcases full!
Bags full of the stays out of old corsets.

Later in life, she would save her piddle pads, dry them and reuse them. We found used ones in drawers in her bedroom, bathroom and in the back porch.
She would also stuff wet toilet paper on the underside of the toilet seat to reuse. Gross!



Uncle John
About 200 bars of ivory soap
Cases full of paper towels
5 gallon Water bottle full of Beer can pull tabs
Stacks and stacks of the little tin cans that the flavored instant coffee comes in. He had used some to sort nuts, screws and bolts. Others to save coins and some for burnt wooden match sticks.
He smoked cigars and saved all of the paper cigar rings.

Aunt Ruth
50 gallon drum in attic full of toilet paper
Big coat closet clear full of full Avon bottles
All of my uncles clothes still in the closet even though he had been dead for over 20 years
25 rolls of used adding machine tape neatly rolled up so she could use the other side
The oven on her downstairs kitchen was clear full of plastic trays from cookies
The upstairs oven was clear full of cigar boxes full of screws, nuts and bolts.
Her cedar chest had all of her wedding gifs in it still in the boxes that they came in
In the attic, we found stacks of used gift wrap saved to re use
She had over 150 boxes of greeting cards
Also in the attic was a 50 gallon drum full of Avon
She had saved every little gift box from jewelry that she had ever received. Besides the three drawers full of ones with jewelry in them we found a huge box full of empty ones in the attic
The dishwasher in the upstairs was packed full of old wornout sheets that had been saved for rags
There was a whole closet full of empty or dried out paint cans
All of the clothes closets had the top shelfs packed with full shoe boxes. Some of the shoes dated back to the 1920's.
In a refrigerator in the garage was every single box of candy that she ever received as a gift. All of it spoiled.
We found box after box of dried up easter marshmallow bunnies and chicks all with the 1/2 price tags where she bought it after the holiday on sale.
We found marbles in everything. After several times of tossing a single marble, we started keeping them just to see how many we would find. We ended up with a gallon of them. She never had any children so we don't know why all of the marbles. It became a loving joke that we had found another of her lost marbles when we would uncover another one.

I could go on and on with Aunt Ruth treasures because she had lived in her home for over 50 years and had such a large house to stash them in. It took over two years to clean out the house and garage. We cleaned out a bedroom in the basement and would fill it full of trash bags then have a dumpster delivered to haul it away. The big roll off dumpster. I think we ended up having six of them before it was over.

Now I am staying at my parents house and I am finding more stuff.
Mom has no less than 6 food processors and she doesnt cook.
Dad has been hoarding empty perscription bottles by the bag full.
There are broken clocks, lamps and small appliances everywhere.
If a shirt or blouse wears out, before it can be tossed, the buttons need to be cut off. After all you never know when you might need 500 white shirt buttons at the same time.

Anyway this is a few of the things that we discovered along the way and I was wondering if this is just my family or have others found the same type things. Please tell me I am not alone in this.

Your certainly NOT alone. When I was unpacking Mother Dec 29th, I found a 1973 drivers license. I knew if I threw it away, she'd be looking for it, although she hasn't driven in 20 years. I'm sure there are also pictures I drew when I was 3 in there too.

I got lucky, my niece moved her to Tx in 02....she did the major throwing away. I was able to get all her stuff in my master bedroom.

These are Mom's treasures. When she's gone, I can go through then. Till then, its "her stuff". Thats the way I look at it.

I know I have my own "stuff" although I'm far from a packrat. I know how I'd feel if anyone thew any of it away.

Sorry your the one thats had to go through all this stuff for so many. Yea, packrats do run in families!

BLB, glad I am not alone with this idea.I think it makes the finished product much nicer, .I went to our good will shop and they had so many so cheap.I bought 2 large ones for 1.95 each.Plus they make it safer to burn the candle.

Mae, I also love to make wreaths to use as centerpieces with the hurricane globe in the center! I don't know why, but I always gravitate towards that hurricane!

My friend makes frsh carnberry sauce and outs them in the canning jars to give at xmas , also make capanota and puts in jars for gifts,
I know of so many who save old candles , melt them down and make new ones.
This is something I want to try as I have mucho candles .
I watched a show last night , HGTV,.they took a leaf from a prayer plant, pressed it, to flaten , between the pages of a book.They they put the cadle on wax paper, rolled the paper, then took a hair dryer to melt the leaf innnnnnnto the candle, using their hands to remove and bubbles in the paper.When finished they removed the paper and the leaf was embedded in the candle.Looked so nice.When I make a wreath.I have in mind to use it as a candle ring.Then I use a hurricane globe to prevent fire or wax from going on the wreath.

Actually Hap, I happen to have a large box of canning jars in my own attic. I used to can green beans, tomoatoes, and pickles when my kids were small I had a huge garden. I miss those days.....

Think I will try the candles, I do remember seeing the wicks at my craft store.

another rat pak idea. for all those canning jars you are bound to find. make up batches of goodies in a jar and give as gifts. the choc chip cookies and brownies are great. so are the multi grain pancake mixes!! merry christmas!

blue, great, free christmas presents! just remember to melt the wax slowly. add a drop of scenting oil if you choose, available in craft stores, tie on a piece of twine from the barn and ta da! you did it. wick is also in the craft store. now, what else do you folks have out in the old barns and attics?

OMGOSH!!! Hap, I think I will take that candle wax and make some candles for the family!!!

Oh, I hope no one has thrown it out!!

I have never made a candle before, but I bet I can google it up!

Thanks for the idea!

blue, two thoughts on the candle wax. one they used to dip pine cones in wax to start fires. another thing wax is saved for is to make new candles. those who went though the depression had a possible use for everything and this makes sense. i used to do the same thing, i would just buy wick string and make new candles with a drop of scented oil. i made them as a craft with the kids at school. they all saved candle stubs of all kinds, we slowly melted them in old coffee cans, the kids would decorate jars since the new candles were a rather sickly color to put in clear jars, and they would take home a christmas present for their parents.so it may not be so far fetched. use that wax and make some memorial candles for the family! merry chrsitmas!

Dochka, it is possible that he had a wood burning stove, or fireplace when he was a boy. He used to tell stories of how his Mom would cook hamburger patties, layer them in a tin can and pour lard over them for preservation.

Thanks for looking this up, I can't wait to talk to my H about it!

The saving of candle wax made me curious.
I googled and found out that candle wax is an excellent fire starter. Did he have a fireplace or wood burning stove at one time?

My fil used to wash the paper plates, he always had a paper towel laying on top of the placemat in front of his chair. Those ppt would get so grimy, from cigarette ashes, food, coffee, they would be covered in crumbs because he could not see that well. One day I was there and before I realized what I was doing, I had picked the ppt up, threw it out and replaced it. You would have thought that I had tossed a one hundred dollar bill!!! No lie!

He and mil always had several candles burning, I never could understand how these candles would burn down to nothing in a matter of days, these were in glass jars, nothing small by any means. We were always buying candles for them. If we tried to throw away an empty glass they had come in, it was WW3. One day my H called me out to the barn, there were about a dozen coffee cans sitting on an old desk, full of candle wax. He would pour that melted wax off of the candles as it melted,into a coffee can until it was full, he was "saving" that wax. He would go ballistic if we told him it needed to be thrown out. He has been gone for about 9 months, the candle wax that seemed like such a silly thing, is still sitting in the same place in the barn. I don't think any of us will have the heart to throw it away for a while!

Something else he would NOT do was trim his finger nais, or let anyone help him with the task. When he had his first stroke, we were sitting in the hospital, and my H sweetly reached over, took his Dad's hand and trimmed those nails. They were discolored and extremely dirty. It was in his best interest, and everyone assisting in his care, with his flailing arms to have them trimmed.

Taking a bath and changing clothes were another big issue, every night he laid his clothes across the arms of a chair that at one time had been beautifully upholstered, every morning , he would put the same clothes back on. There were times when H or his brother would go in and take those filthy clothes that were so badly stained and wreaking, and throw them away. Afer laying out nice clean ones, of course. H would go and tell his Dad, to take a bath, fil would tell him that he did not need to, he was fine and that he did not smell.

Once we were worried about having to leave because a hurricane was coming towards us. I told H, that if he wanted me to go in the same car he was taking his Dad in, that the man had to have a bath and put on clean clothes. He did bathe and do as he was asked, when H went to tell him that we were not leaving after the storm, he said,"Why not?, I even took a bath!!""

wootito, welcome back. Hey everyone, look who's here!! Can you guess?

Well, I had to create a new account but I finally got back on this forum. I just hope I can remember my new name. When I moved Mother down here, we had 60 bags of trash--just junk she'd saved over the years. We also put a lot of stuff on the back porch and invited her friends to come and take anything they wanted. We got rid of just about everything. I have 4, yes 4, days to do all of this. Mother spent her time talking to her friends so I did everything. When we got here, she'd ask about certain things that were probably given away. I had to buy another shed to store her stuff so I don't know what we have. So I'd just tell her the stuff was probably in the shed. The problem is that Mother doesn't have Alzheimer's. She's sane as the day is long which is good, but that means she remembers stuff. Bummer! We had all sorts of things, but the best pack rat thing I ever heard was from some folks in Texas who cleaned out their grandmother's house. She had saved the wire thing that goes around turkey legs for every turkey she ever cooked. Well, you just never know when you'll need turkey wire. Mother saves used paper plates, used paper towels and just about everything else. Depression kids are very different from their own kids and grandkids. I just want to get rid of all of this stuff, but Mother refuses to part with it. I sneak around and throw away the dirty paper plates and towels, but I can't find everything she saves. The greatest generation were certainly thrifty.

Lord, I hope I never get as attached to anything as our LO's are. I think I'm safe from that particular bug-a-boo when I'm old because I once lost everything I owned---everything---and after a couple years of mourning some things, I came to the conclusion that it was all just "stuff" and I needed to stop mourning and start living again. I can relate to how they feel from my experience, I just wish I could pass that bit of wisdom along somehow.

My mom gets in a cleaning out mode every now and again though the task is really beyond her. What bothers me about that mode is that she tends to keep the crap I couldn't care less about and discard some of what I'd love to have. I was almost ill when I learned she had decided to get rid of the love letters my dad sent her from the front during WWII (and I certainly could have understood her weeding through them!) while keeping every cancelled check she has ever written---that's 62 years' worth!

The next "project" on our list will be the old photos. We are going to LABEL them---that is, those we can figure out! It may work out just fine, she seems to remember her co-workers from the 40's and her sisters' babies better than she remembers her grandchildren at this point. That's okay, I remember her grandkids just fine---and she loves looking at the old photos. It will be a good way to spend a few hours as the weather gets cold.

I read the news article you posted sisterawake, it had some good advice. As a long time antiquer, I think everyone ought to be made aware that some of the most ordinary stuff has great value. When you're overwhelmed, an auction---real time, live auctioneer---is often the way to go. They have a good idea of value and collectors always know. Everything is worth what someone will pay...

Except, along with her house, my mother insists that nothing of hers is to be sold. Yeah, right...

The loaded question ... yep. Very familiar

Our LO sold her home years ago, and does remember that ... usually. But she asked me again just this weekend where her "things" were from her house. I told her that all of her possessions were in boxes in our garage. This was technically true, but "all of her possessions" don't mean everything that was in her house. LOL She'll occasionally ask me for some specific item, and I tell her "When I have time, I'll try to find what box it's in and bring it to you." She acknowledges that I'm busy, and drops it. Then the next day, she doesn't remember she ever owned the item.

We just learn to go with the flow, don't we?

My mother was attached to two things in her life.The home she had sold but did not remember and a cedar chest that was visable to her at all times.
One time I made a bad judgement call and told her she had sold it along time ago.Her reponse was one of disbelief.I was a thrief, liar , you name it.I learned to never say that again.I just told her she was staying at my home until they put a new roof on hers.Her cedar chest, whic I still have, meant so much for her.It was the place she put her most cherished assets.
I always let her open it to see her treasures were still there and safe.
After she passed I found electric bill that dated back to 25 years.All kinds of receipts etc.
My husband is always concerned about the business receipts for the day.Everything about business he wants to see are safe.Thank god I saved some to at least let him see and touch them
I know both would have gone crazy if I told them the truth about certain possessions.Both had , have paranoid tendencies.So truth becomes absolete.They trust anyone from the beginning .
We just learn to stretch the truth to keep them happy.After a while it becomes easy because you know the end justifies the means.
If I told my hubby anything but the positive he needs to hear, he would become so angry and start using language you would not believe.Also do some swinging hoping to be able to make contact with my nose.

Oh Debbie, you poor thing!
If she ever asks that again, I suggest saying something like, "Oh I don't know mom, that's so horrible to think about! What would you like us to do?" Even if you don't AGREE to do what she wants, you'll know what kind of answer she's fishing for.
I just posted an article about this in the News section, actually. It's good to know we're not the only ones dealing with this!

This is so funny and actually cute.I think you will find those who save everything came up when you wasted nothing .Always thought of a purpose for everything.My grandmother would save things .Because she lived during the depression.Same with my mother and aunt.Waste not want not they use to say.I can recall my grandmother going around gathering a safety pins and have a long line of pins on the front of her dress.I was so use to it I thought something was wrong when they were not there.Always an old candy tin loaded with buttonsJars were in boxesby the dozens.String was never thrown away.She wrapped around toilet tissue holder.Never through sheets away.Saved old ones to use for patches on worn sheets.
When time presented itself, we would actually love going through the stuff, especially old news papers.It actually told a story about them.

Never found some of the things you were so fortunate to find, lol.But it still says so much about them.