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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

My parter is hoarding and I’ve had enough of him, I’m not sure how to fix this!

767 replies

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 07:05

So long story short he moved from his house into mine with ALL is stuff as I became pregnant. His is rented out. I just want to say he is a good man but when it comes to this he is incredibly selfish.!

He has a giant shed, a garage, a large outside storage box, most the loft, his van is now a shed, half the spare room and drawers and cupboards every where stuffed full of shit so that I can’t use the house. I’ve repeatedly told him he needs to start getting rid of it because it’s not fair. I’m having to sell my stuff , I can’t store any of the kids stuff so now all the bedrooms are getting piles. He just can’t stop bringing stuff in. His face is like a child’s when he brings stuff he is so incredibly happy and it’s making me so incredibly unhappy. I want his stuff gone!!! I’m at a point in telling him that if that includes him also because he can’t be without it then so be it.

What do I do? I can’t stand all this stuff anymore, I want space, I want to store stuff. He doesn’t touch any of it, it’s just there taking room doing nothing.

OP posts:
TheCultureHusks · 27/09/2024 11:56

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 11:50

So in his head I am the problem?

Yes, right now, anyone in the way of his hoarding monster would be. You’re horrible because you’re trying to stop him. His parents will be next if he moves in with them. The aim is to get him out before it’s your kids being told they’re sad weird fuckers because they are upset that he’s filled the shed with broken bikes so they can’t have a new one, or because he’s insisting on putting his collection of x in their wardrobe.

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 11:57

OrdsallChord · 27/09/2024 11:54

He doesn't think his hoarding is a problem. You don't have the power to make him see that. Has to come from him.

You are very right, I feel utterly powerless. Before living with him and when I posted a couple of years back I thought I had more power then I did unfortunately.

OP posts:
iwfja · 27/09/2024 11:57

redboxer321 · 27/09/2024 10:45

She hasn't done the right thing. She hasn't done anything that will resolve the issue. She can't. She's trying to reason who's is behaving in an unreasonable way. Everyone on this thread is just wasting their time. It's sad but that's the truth of it.

Yes, they are wasting their time. She started a thread before he moved in (I remember the stuff about giving him the shed and the garage for his stuff). Posters very clearly warned her about what would happen and that he should stay where he was, seek help for the hoarding and if he was able to get it under control he could move in at a later date. I was one of them and remember posting just that.

But here he is, he has moved in and exactly what posters warned her would happen has happened. The stuff is not confined to the places she gave him and she is now struggling to cope with it.

I suspect he'll still be there in 2 years time and it will just get worse and worse.

Inertia · 27/09/2024 11:59

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 11:33

Well he had replied as expected with all of my difficult behaviours. Telling me I’m taking my stress out on him. I’ve just said in return regardless the stuff needs to go. I’m fed up with him.

So nothing will change.

You’ll be permanently stressed and squeezed out of your home and your children will go without toys and bedrooms because you can’t say no to a man who squeals and giggles when he brings shit from skips into your children’s home.

You won’t change him- you can only change your response. He really does not care what you say. He is controlling you, and he is turning the blame back on you because he knows it works.

If you say it’s over, it’s over. He moves out, and he moves his stuff out .

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 11:59

iwfja · 27/09/2024 11:57

Yes, they are wasting their time. She started a thread before he moved in (I remember the stuff about giving him the shed and the garage for his stuff). Posters very clearly warned her about what would happen and that he should stay where he was, seek help for the hoarding and if he was able to get it under control he could move in at a later date. I was one of them and remember posting just that.

But here he is, he has moved in and exactly what posters warned her would happen has happened. The stuff is not confined to the places she gave him and she is now struggling to cope with it.

I suspect he'll still be there in 2 years time and it will just get worse and worse.

I’ve reached out to a good friend of his that is aware of this and has told him he needs counselling before. They are worried and are coming down to speak to him.

OP posts:
Singleandproud · 27/09/2024 11:59

I think you should call a skip company and order it asap. Even if you don't get rid of him (which I think you probably need to) you can get rid of all his crap.

Think how cathartic binning all that stuff will be. How nice and empty those rooms will be. How much calmer your brain will be from not having to mentally juggle things so much. Just send the entire lot to be disposed of, it's your house you don't need his permission. If he as such a great dad he'd get help for his MH issues, stop filling his children's spaces with crap. Being able to play and run children around doesn't make him a good dad. Putting all their needs as priorities does including the need for a calm and happy home.

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 12:01

Singleandproud · 27/09/2024 11:59

I think you should call a skip company and order it asap. Even if you don't get rid of him (which I think you probably need to) you can get rid of all his crap.

Think how cathartic binning all that stuff will be. How nice and empty those rooms will be. How much calmer your brain will be from not having to mentally juggle things so much. Just send the entire lot to be disposed of, it's your house you don't need his permission. If he as such a great dad he'd get help for his MH issues, stop filling his children's spaces with crap. Being able to play and run children around doesn't make him a good dad. Putting all their needs as priorities does including the need for a calm and happy home.

I can only imaging the display if that happened. I think I’d be worried for peoples safety!

OP posts:
LAMPS1 · 27/09/2024 12:01

He will only start slowing down on bringing new stuff into the house when he is a lot older and more infirm. How many years is that?
Even then he will find a way to order stuff online and his deliveries will stack up in the hall… unopened. Meanwhile, stuff will be piled up against the outside of the house, and around the perimeter of the garden, covered by tarpaulins that will eventually blow away, making the garden look like steptoe’s yard. He will become depressed with no way out.

It would take a whole new hundred life-times for him to go through the stuff and mend it and even then he would want to hang on to it, not sell it. It truly is an impossible task and there is no motivation to sort it, just to add to it.
It’s a massive problem when he dies. Somebody else has to sort it, get it all valued, sell it or, mostly simply dump it. It’s too much for one person to do. Again, an impossible task.
It’s such an expensive affliction too.

I have experience of this, indirectly. My friend would discreetly put one or two bits out for the garbage collection in the early days, but he would somehow know and bring it all back in again with even more stuff that other neighbours had put out. The hoarding behaviour really ramps up if it goes unchecked by a passive partner and neighbours become affected, causing arguments.

It’s impossible to live a normal life with a hoarder even if they do have other wonderful qualities.
Thirty years later my friend has built up the habit of staying out of her own house as much as possible, never looking forward to going home. She still loves him and makes excuses for him but has lost all hope that it will ever be fixed. She can hardly get into her garden to park her car and can hardly get through the front door. Danger lurks everywhere in the house. Everything gets lost very easily. He is no longer physically well enough to even contemplate doing anything about it but refuses to let anybody else throw anything as he knows it will come in useful one day. Sometimes he is right too - he might just have the perfect spare part if only he could find it. He sees it as saving money not spending.

It’s utterly impossible to talk him out of it OP or to make him see sense.
Do yourself a massive favour and stop banging your head against a brick wall because he will never ever seek help even if you threaten him. You are currently at the early stages of suffering from his illness. You need to act quickly before you suffer any more and go downhill with him.

Your one and only option is to live in separate homes.
Don’t discuss it with him. You are lucky in that it’s your home you live in, not his. So no more discussing, just tell him firmly and walk away. Refuse to discuss. Your mind is already made up.
Give yourself a deadline. Separate all finances.

Tell him your relationship with him is now over until he is back living in his own home for good. Tell him to make the plans to do that immediately or you will have no choice but to make him homeless.
He will ask why you are being so cruel. So then you tell him that one of you needs to stay well, balanced and reasonable for the sake of the children as they are more important than either of you. Don’t argue any more, walk away.
Stick to the deadline
Make him homeless if necessary. He will sofa surf.

He has had plenty of chances to conform, but he can’t, you have seen that.
You must now stonewall him.
It’s a very sad thing OP.
You have to bite the bullet and do it so that he can eventually visit and parent the children in a lovely, safe, uncluttered home environment without causing you any more grief.
Good luck !

Inertia · 27/09/2024 12:03

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 10:07

It may seem selfish but I love my children more than I love him. He deserves to get help and I would be more than happy to help him through it but I don’t think this is going to happen. He won’t admit it anything. His parents don’t like me so will be more than happy if we split. They couldn’t care less that he is struggling with this disorder and will use it to see us split. It feels hopeless.

If his parents are more than happy for you to split then great- his stuff can go to their house .

TheCultureHusks · 27/09/2024 12:04

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 11:55

That giggling yesterday has broke the camels back. That was this little devil showing himself to me, laughing at me and my utter disparity. That yesterday has shown me something that has really got to me.

It comes across as deeply creepy. There’s something utterly scary about that - someone who is so dissociated that they can find your unhappiness funny. You cannot live with someone like that. OP I do think that this is where your previous experiences might be coming into play. This is another form of abuse, to steamroller over you and to dismiss you to the point that your frustration and anger makes him giggle. He can’t process you as real. You are ill equipped to deal with him - someone else would have not let him move in, or thrown him out by now or skipped all his stuff in a rage. You instead start selling your own stuff in despair. You can’t be with someone like this, your children as you say need a mum in a better frame of mind to give them her best.

Singleandproud · 27/09/2024 12:04

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 12:01

I can only imaging the display if that happened. I think I’d be worried for peoples safety!

That is concerning in itself. Give him a month to sort it out then as you've hired a skip for October half term and will be decluttering.

Time40 · 27/09/2024 12:05

It would be totally wrong to throw away someone else's possessions - a horrible, unforgivable thing to do. But what you could do is have it all moved into a storage unit, and tell him he's got to pay for it. Then tell him to give his tenants notice and move back into his own house. You don't have to end the relationship if you don't want to (although I'd probably end it - that giggling sounds deeply unattractive and very childish).

TheCultureHusks · 27/09/2024 12:06

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 11:59

I’ve reached out to a good friend of his that is aware of this and has told him he needs counselling before. They are worried and are coming down to speak to him.

Will his friends listen to you and help him move out? You need help with this. You can’t physically throw him out I’m sure and he will utterly overpower you mentally by the sound of it, if you try and demand he leave.

whatwouldlilacerullodo · 27/09/2024 12:07

It is a mental health illness. If it was alcoholism, people would be saying very different things.

Isn't it similar? His main relationship is with the stuff, and it makes him selfish. I would treat it as an addiction and act accordingly.

Bthebestucanb · 27/09/2024 12:07

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 12:01

I can only imaging the display if that happened. I think I’d be worried for peoples safety!

I absolutely love a skip 🤣

Seriously OP, perhaps it's time you gave him an ultimatum. It's either me or the crap you are hoarding. If he picks the crap you know he has a serious problem as have you.

Can you imagine how your house will look in another few years if steps aren't taken now ?

MondayYogurt · 27/09/2024 12:08

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 07:49

The living space is fine because it’s all stuffed in outside spaces really. But it’s a worry for the future.

Sorry OP, I remember your previous thread.
A great father would see the distress his mental illness causes and take steps to medicate or active therapy to control the OCD.
You’re enabling it with “problem for the future” talk.
Yes, you will definitely be posting another thread in the future.

thepariscrimefiles · 27/09/2024 12:09

LemonCandle · 27/09/2024 11:31

My OH has hoarding disorder (and ADHD I suspect) and it's really hard to live with. However we've just moved house and had to clear out his hoard which gave me more of an understanding of how distressed he gets when he has to sort things - it's not just laziness or stubbornness. I've been guilty in the past of judging him. I don't think he'd ever get professional help unfortunately.

It's difficult to offer advice but standing with him and helping him make decisions without losing my temper or getting impatient worked sometimes. Having another male (neighbour, friends or in law) helped a lot as well as he couldn't wriggle out of things or have a tantrum with them. However he still kept a lot of stuff I wish he hadn't and I know it will be an ongoing issue between us.
Ultimately it boils down to how much you love him. I am committed to OH and have to accept his faults as well, even if he is infuriating and makes no sense. You'll get loads and loads of replies saying bin him off, LTB he'll never change. That may be true but it's easy to type out a glib reply when it's not your life. Relationships are about compromise and it's tough sometimes. At the end of the day, it's down to how strong your relationship is.

I think in OP's case, it isn't a matter of how strong their relationship is. It's a matter of who OP should prioritise, her partner or her children.

He doesn't recognise that he has a problem, and just accepting his faults and let him continue to fill their home with his stuff would mean putting her children at risk.

blueberrycherubandbump · 27/09/2024 12:09

OP get an EA round, to value the property. Ask them how much the hoarding/piles of crap impact the value. It might be eye opening.

Staunchlystarling · 27/09/2024 12:12

Zahariel · 27/09/2024 09:58

I literally do have a hording problem. One kept in check nowadays through good strong support, my own partner and a therapist.

Edited

Ok that makes sense. Mental illness by definition makes people selfish. And you are refusing to see the impact on his partner and kids, simply putting as it’s her job to help him.

Aquamarine1029 · 27/09/2024 12:13

Ultimately it boils down to how much you love him.

FFS, don't be ridiculous. Loving someone isn't going to prevent their children from being permanently scarred by growing up in a hoarded home. What a childish, nearly delusional, statement.

Fluffytoebeanz · 27/09/2024 12:13

It is clear he has a problem and needs help. But I don't think berating the OP is fair, she has two children and needs to put them first. He is not doing that. And constantly dismissing her.

OP you need to give him notice so he can sort his accommodation out.

thepariscrimefiles · 27/09/2024 12:13

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 11:50

So in his head I am the problem?

It doesn't matter what he thinks. You can still tell him to leave your home and to take his hoard with him. If he says that your behaviour is the issue, he should be glad to leave.

Staunchlystarling · 27/09/2024 12:16

Rainbow03 · 27/09/2024 11:47

I am sad because he had blamed my being un happy on me, it’s not related to his stuff it’s the fact I’m just a miserable person with difficulties. He is blameless and he is sat their at work now putting all the blame on me and feeling righteous.

thats gaslighting and abuse. Deep down he knows. He just doesn’t want to change,

Staunchlystarling · 27/09/2024 12:23

Ultimately it boils down to how much you love him. I am committed to OH and have to accept his faults as well, even if he is infuriating and makes no sense. You'll get loads and loads of replies saying bin him off, LTB he'll never change. That may be true but it's easy to type out a glib reply when it's not your life. Relationships are about compromise and it's tough sometimes. At the end of the day, it's down to how strong your relationship is

this is awful. The passive aggressive faux innocent. “But if you’d a good relationship and you loved him it would be fine” nonsense.

she counts too. Her children count. It’s not all about being a mug and standing by your man,

RhannionKPSS · 27/09/2024 12:28

You must put your children and yourself first . He is a selfish arse and your children and you deserve better. My mother was like this and my mental health was almost destroyed by her. Please take on board what people are telling you about him.