Where does prepping end and hoarding start?

[Trolltoes]

Just that really. I’m having to force myself to throw rubbish away having had an internal monologue of it might come in useful for something unspecified really don’t want to become a hoarder but being new to prepping, and seeing the benefits of it, I don’t know where to mentally draw the line

I’ve no idea and when this thing kicked off I found myself regretting some things I had got rid of during the last two years intensive decluttering. But then I realised that I know where pretty much everything in my house is now. Whereas before I would have known I had it, but searched for three days to find it.

So for me, I’d say that the line between hoarding and prepping is to do with what I can keep track of. If I have more food than I can keep track of, some goes to waste. If I have more stuff than I can remember (where it is or that I even have it) then it’s not actually useful to me.

That’s a fair point Barbararara. I realised I was being ridiculous after I was agonising over throwing even packing away. I think prepping light has given me a bit of a feeling of being in control but I don’t want it to take over me.

I get that. There’s definitely an element of anxiety in it for me.
I make lists too which is find calming. And then I prep from the lists. They become a buffer of sorts because they give me a chance to evaluate what I’m doing. I get it out of my system onto paper and then after a while I can weed out the sense from the anxiety.
In my case, it’s more about balancing financial planning.

Prepping is very different to hoarding I should say. Remember the line can never be drawn as you go. It should also be prepped ahead and be drawn from the first. When you can afford aim to stock a little more and then stock rotate. I’ve personally always aimed to prep for 3 months of good food and 3 months of lean food, and 6 months of non food non perishable items, 1 year of essential seasonal weather dependent supplies. Nothing more and nothing less. Make sure you find good deals of the non perishables and seasonal stuff ahead (bulk buying wherever possible like kitchen rolls, dishwasher tabs, washing up liquids, laundry detergents, seasonal items like slug pellets for the garden, Pest control like ant stop, rat traps etc) I personally prefer Costco and sometimes amazon. But whenever you can, always top them up with replacements as you go and while you use them up every week.

I know what you mean. I used to use ziplock bags a couple of times until they were manky and throw out but I'm keeping all of them now. I find myself looking at jam jars thinking 'could that be useful for something I haven't considered'. I'm very well prepped due to starting for brexit but just keep thinking 'what eventuality haven't I thought of?'... Just added ant powder 😂🐜

@TipseyTorvey I have always reused lot of things here in the U.K. Once I had dd’s small paddling pool that was nearly new - used once or twice in a month but started to leak, instead of throwing it away , i made that into a small planter to fit into an awkward space to grow mint. It’s still going strong 😀 no spiders near roses because of mint, a win- win. May be we should start a new thread to discuss how to reuse and things during this covid times! For me Prepping is incomplete without forward thinking and planning. It also includes essential crafting supplies and things to keep everyone entertained for a while. always buy things like make your own kits to keep yourself and everybody occupied. I bought a soap making kit mid February this time and some essential oils so if there is a shortage it might come in handy and even if there is no shortage it is still exciting to learn something new. Jam jars can be reused into making candles and storage. I had some tiny ones last year and was wondering what to do but mum suggested to save the plant seeds in them with labels. They are perfect. Only now I need a nice garden shed to store and display them beautifully!

I’ve basically turned into my Nan (born 1909 and would keep EVERYTHING!). So far this week I’ve kept the bottoms of veggies to grow more from, elastic bands from the postman, jam jars, ziplock bags, and I cut the bottom off of a tube of toothpaste to get more out of it.

@Coughsyrupsucks I was thinking the same. May be nature is asking us to slow down but I feel old already saving all the milk cans and things I would normally throw just because it might come in handy one day for dd’s activities. If I look back last couple of months I have spent more on cleaning items and non essential items like tissues and ziplocks more than food lol Never in my life I thought a pack of dettol wipes in my trolley can excite me this much - I am getting them in my dreams . (Even when I was in a phase of watching omnibus of Kim and Aggie’s how clean is your house this never happened)

I think prepping is when you store things that you know are going to be useful - food, medicines, batteries etc,. You are ‘preparing’ for a future event such as Brexit, snow etc.

Hoarding is keeping things for the sake of it, and keeping things that have gone past their usable life (excluding items which have a sentimental value) Eg, old magazines etc.

Thank you for the replies. I’m trying to be firm with myself and not keep EVERY box, milk carton and so on

It might be worth exploring your relationship with things, and your feelings around throwing things away, and maybe evaluating how well those ways of thinking are serving you.

My ds has a very different relationship to things than I do. Asd plays a part in his attachment but I am, I think, more detached from material possessions than most people. I itch to clear out the “junk” from his room but to him these things hold memories and other attributes. We both have to stretch a little bit to understand each other and find compromises we can live with.

I’m not suggesting that you have asd at all. But there are different ways of thinking and feeling about stuff, and trying to discuss it with someone who doesn’t share your perspective, or at least understand that there are other perspectives than their own, can lead you round in circles. We have lived in a throw-away, single-use society for a long time and only recently the concepts of reusing and recycling have gained traction.

Having a creative mindset, where you can see multiple potential uses for items that other people would throw in the bin, can be a blessing but also a problem.

I have found the container concept a really useful rule of thumb for making decisions about what is worth giving space too in my home. The link is to a podcast about decluttering, not prepping, but as I said above, being able to keep track of and manage my preps is a key part of prepping for me.

Thank you Barbararara

That's quite interesting, I'd never considered prepping as hoarding but I guess it is in a sense but it's more about finding the right balance of items that WILL be used before its use by date. Non useful items must be discarded. My mum has a hoarding tendency and is usually well prepped for many situations. I'm a prepper light but also a minimalist. I love decluttering to only what is useful. Eg. I have a years supply of tea bags, shampoo and washing powder but will happily get rid of stuff I'm not using. Having a small house helps.

I think it’s in the planning, control and organisation. So, thinking about keeping milk cartons etc for junk modelling/craft projects - fine, have a storage tub for those things. But once it’s full, just keep it topped up and recycle the rest. You don’t need rooms full.

This is interesting. I have worked around it by going minimalist first, so then I had space for storing things I knew we would be able to a) find and b) use.

I think it’s the ‘this might come in used for something’ scenario . Knew I was in trouble when I was debating with myself about throwing away a small bottle with a dropper that had facial oil in. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a dropper let alone used one so why I might need one is anyone’s guess

@Sprayitall have you a list of what you need for that prep of food? I'm terrible at meal planning but great at batch cooking & having a full larder & wouldn't know where to start calculating how much food we had in stock. I would like to know & best guess would be 3 months clawing around emptying cupboards