Anyone else's DH a hoarder?

[BroccoliRob]

Title may be slightly misleading...but was struggling to come up with a concise one.
Anyway...DH isn't a hoarder like the horror programmes on TV, but he is constantly coming hone with things that someone has been throwing away and he thought it was too good to ditch. I am all for recycling and I hate to think of perfectly good items going to the tip, but I just don't want them in my house/garage when we have no use for them whatsoever!
Latest item is a fish tank - we don't have fish, no-one in the family is interested in fish, including him, but he thought it would be nice for the kids. All kids adamant that they do not want it in their room.
What's the best way to handle this? Just accept it?

What causes hoarding disorder?

Having a relative with the disorder.
Brain injury that triggers the need to save things.
Traumatic life event.
Mental disorders such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Uncontrollable buying habits.
Inability to pass up free items such as coupons and flyers.

@Horsemad

From my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17682-hoarding-disorder

Mine’s just bought a tandem. Thankfully we don’t live together and are quite happy living apart. I’ve never met his dad as he’s got a bit odd but I suspect that’s where mine gets it from.

@SweatyBetty20

Mine’s just bought a tandem. Thankfully we don’t live together and are quite happy living apart. I’ve never met his dad as he’s got a bit odd but I suspect that’s where mine gets it from.

A tandem 😂

A tandem?! Oh God, mine doesn't really buy stuff, he just refuses to throw stuff away. Leaflets, information/literature relating to his hobby, old magazines, old computing paraphernalia that is waaay out of date. Clothes, old work paperwork, old newspapers with a tiny article that interested him when he read it years ago...
The list is endless. 🤨

Yes, my dh is. We live in a small house and most of it is taken up with his stuff. Saying that, I do keep the pressure on him not to hoard and he will get rid of some stuff, but I have to go with him to the recycle centre. He'd be worse if it wasn't for me and the dcs getting onto him about it. I think hoarding is selfish because it takes up the room which is supposed to be shared and other people have to sort through it when the hoarder dies.

Tell him he has the garage and house / shared space is out of bounds as storage for his collection- I couldn't be with anyone like that.
I have regular clear outs and treat myself to new stuff.
Clutter makes ti difficult to clean your space and the energy to low in these areas which doesn't make you feel great.
How is his mental health ?
Happy? Or anxious abs depressed?

My DGM was not a hoarder but her house was stuffed with all sorts of useful things (washing powder, cans of food, light bulbs etc) and it took ages to sort out. What really helped us was that we could give the stuff to people who would use it up and saved them money. One lady said she hadn't had to buy laundry detergent for months. Might your DH be open to giving stuff to people who will use it? We have got rid of loads of stuff on facebook. Someone would absolutely snap up that fish tank and they would use it.

The trouble with keeping stuff you dont use or will not use soon is that it means that you will accept more stuff.

Yep, a tandem. To be fair to him, we're both cyclists, it was a bit of an ebay bargain, and he thought it would be fun. I'll give it a try. I'm just glad he has a garage, a loft, a cellar and a shed at his place...