Old guy hoarding question.

[Selena]

Last Sunday we got brave enough to try and clean out the loft of one of my late uncle's storage sheds. We came across two large metal "ammo" boxes. The metal kind with latches on both sides and both ends. Inside we found a large number of vacuum sealed bags of sugar and various spices (peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, etc) even coffee beans. Now I admit my uncle was a bit of a pack rat but why spices, sugar & coffee? Was there some kind of method to this particular madness?

 

[gramps]

Yep, when SHTF, those things would be good for bartering.
gramps

 

[Selena]

Yep, when SHTF, those things would be good for bartering.
gramps

Except the man had a degree in chemical engineering. He could make sugar from corn anytime he wanted.

 

[Dave P.]

except the man had a degree in chemical engineering. He could make sugar from corn anytime he wanted.

Ah, are you sure it was sugar.....?
Dave

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Yep, when SHTF, those things would be good for bartering.
gramps

Except the man had a degree in chemical engineering. He could make sugar from corn anytime he wanted.

Yes, indeed. But when the stuff is already processed and is readily available at reasonable prices, that's the time to "stock up" for future eventualities.

One could say the same about various essential commodities we all take for granted because they are so commonplace in good times.

I'll bet there will be a list of suggestions following this post.

:mrgreen: :wink: :wink: :mrgreen:

 

[powder smoke]

Coffee Spices and Sweets heck imo makes nothing more than a prepper. I
see absolutely nothing wrong with that. BTW does he know you were snooping
around his stash? Man has the right to save what ever he likes. Your approval
not necessary. By all means no criticism intended. jmo ps

 

[coach]

Y2K. BTW- first post mentions late uncle.

 

[Selena]

Coffee Spices and Sweets heck imo makes nothing more than a prepper. I
see absolutely nothing wrong with that. BTW does he know you were snooping
around his stash? Man has the right to save what ever he likes. Your approval
not necessary. By all means no criticism intended. jmo ps

Considering that he died in 2001 I doubt he will find out until the Rapture and after that I doubt he will care.

 

[mistermills357]

Last Sunday we got brave enough to try and clean out the loft of one of my late uncle's storage sheds. We came across two large metal "ammo" boxes. The metal kind with latches on both sides and both ends. Inside we found a large number of vacuum sealed bags of sugar and various spices (peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, etc) even coffee beans. Now I admit my uncle was a bit of a pack rat but why spices, sugar & coffee? Was there some kind of method to this particular madness?

He may have been a prepper, lots of people stash and hoard stuff, that may need in an emergency situation. If the supply chain were interrupted for a long time, coffee would be worth more than money. He may have been preparing for a nuclear attack, there are people who do that.

 

[GunnyGene]

Not every old fart is a hoarder. Most of us just don't know what to do with all the junk we've accumulated in the last 60 years or so. :lol:

 

[powder smoke]

Coffee Spices and Sweets heck imo makes nothing more than a prepper. I
see absolutely nothing wrong with that. BTW does he know you were snooping
around his stash? Man has the right to save what ever he likes. Your approval
not necessary. By all means no criticism intended. jmo ps

Considering that he died in 2001 I doubt he will find out until the Rapture and after that I doubt he will care.

Sorry to hear that, may he RIP. ps

 

[32shooter]

And I thought you were hoarding old guys and wanted to know how many you needed?? :lol: :wink:

 

[TRanger]

He sounds like a wise man. Sugar, spices, and coffee would be in great demand in the event of some type of social collapse. Along with liquor and tobacco.

 

[RolandDeschain]

I know some old guys that just like going to auctions and yard sales and buying crap they will never use or need just because its cheap.

Then they stash it and forget they own it - kinda like squirrels and their nuts.

I know one guy that probably has maybe 30 lawnmowers. Not a single one of them run, except for the piece of crap that he makes his wife use to mow the yard. He recently just built a new barn and is in the process of filling it up with junk too.

 

[any ruger]

Tell me the difference between a prepped and a hoarder?

 

[blackhawknj]

Hoarders usually buy, stash-and forget, preppers buy with specific needs in mind and are more careful about organizing and storing properly.

 

[exavid]

I'm an un-hoarder. I've been selling off things for the past couple of years. Tools I won't use again, lawn equipment we don't need, lots of electrical parts, pieces and wire. I gave away about 60bs of nuts and bolts, though I saved a small supply just in case. My table saw is gone, the acetylene welder, and chain saw have been converted in a bit of cash. I'm still keeping enough tools and stuff to do small jobs but really thinning the junk out. At 76 whats the point of keeping stuff I don't have the oomph to use anymore? The guns, my BMW scooter and my Jeep stay... so far.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I've known a couple of old guys (actual ones, not just anyone more than five years older than the speaker who's presumed by that fact to have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel) who have left "oddities" to be discovered after they were gone, for the simple reason of screwing with some of their survivors. How's the old saying go: "Don't mess with old folks. If they can't beat you in a fair fight they'll just kill you." There are many variants on that theme, not all of them involving a homicide!

Rick C

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Tell me the difference between a prepped and a hoarder?

In my view, a prepper is one who attempts to anticipate what he'd need in the event that TSHTF and he's going to have to survive on what he has on hand, thus he "stocks up" on those things with a detailed plan.

A hoarder, on the other hand, is one who is the classic "string saver" and never throws ANYTHING away, accumulating a large pile of miscellaneous stuff with no apparent plan other than to "save" it . . . all of it . . . everything. They may not even be aware they're doing it.

JMHO
:mrgreen:

 

[toysoldier]

Don't forget salt. Very valuable in such situations. It's cheap, and kept dry, will last forever.

 

[32magfan]

I just completed a partial “un-hoarding “ when I sold my house in TN. I kept ammo, tools, etc. but hauled away loads of “stuff” and about a pickup truck load of old books and magazines. Before anyone tells me I should have donated the books to the library, that’s where lots of them came from in the first place!!

I filled a storage unit with furniture and other stuff. It will take a few weekends to go through it all and organize it. Complicating matters is all the stuff my Dad kept for reloading and guns, some is really good stuff and some is crap.

My wife is all about “Throwing it away”. I like to keep gun and reloading magazines. She just doesn’t understand why. Again, the old axiom is appropriate: “To those that know, no explanation is necessary. To those that don’t, no explanation will suffice.” :shock:

32Magfan

 

[gramps]

The difference between a prepper and a hoarder. Prepper’s stuff still works, hoarder’s stuff usually doesn’t.
gramps

 

[coach]

I’m not a hoarder or prepper, but over the years I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff/junk. It’s funny this topic came up as I’m in the process of going through the attic and basement and getting rid of stuff or ready to sell it.

 

[Selena]

I’m not a hoarder or prepper, but over the years I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff/junk. It’s funny this topic came up as I’m in the process of going through the attic and basement and getting rid of stuff or ready to sell it.

I've been trying to organize Uncle Lee's stuff since I inherited his "homestead" 17 years ago. It's not an easy process. First off I doubt the man ever threw anything away. Case in point- in one storage shed we found a "toy" labeled a Mold Master that melts a paraffin like wax and injects it into molds for toy soldiers and vehicles. Then there are his own little inventions that is best left for another time. Just to keep things fair, about anything we find I feel compelled to contact my cousins to see if they might want them which often causes... disagreements. Especially if my Dad finds out and the item happens to have... shall we say murky ownership. And last- almost invariably we run into a pile of books that are just begging to be read which slows the progress down to a crawl. Or worse, some of the man's mechanical drawings that my help finds interesting and makes him disappear. This is the reason it takes me a lot of bravery to start cleaning. Men shouldn't be allowed to have lathes, milling machines and other items of mass construction available to them at their whim.

 

[Dave P.]

Men shouldn't be allowed to have lathes, milling machines and other items of mass construction available to them at their whim.

Well then, some women need to go back into the kitchen where they belong.
So there!
Dave

 

[coach]

No good deed goes unpunished. :?

 

[Selena]

Men shouldn't be allowed to have lathes, milling machines and other items of mass construction available to them at their whim.

Well then, some women need to go back into the kitchen where they belong.
So there!
Dave

Uh... Mr Bobbit... Keep in mind, the kitchen is where most of the knives are. Your call.

 

[Dave P.]

Men shouldn't be allowed to have lathes, milling machines and other items of mass construction available to them at their whim.

Well then, some women need to go back into the kitchen where they belong.
So there!
Dave

Uh... Mr Bobbit... Keep in mind, the kitchen is where most of the knives are. Your call.

oooh.....Back a few weeks ago I remember a post where you were after an uncle, I believe,
for "playing" with his old car. Then it was men shouldn't have real tools to use for
their manly projects, and now you threaten us with a knife.
Starting to sound like a left wing feminist.......
Next week we'll learn you've been watching the Ellen Degenres Show.
I'm sorry, but being the neanderthal that I am, I've failed to learn
to use the smilies.
Dave.....bravely going where few have dared.

 

[blackhawknj]

The difference between a hoarder and a prepper ?
When people find a hoarder's stash:
"Oh no, look at this junk, expired food, what was he thinking ?"
When they find a prepper's:
"Oh wow ! Look at all this neat stuff !"

 

[Selena]

Well then, some women need to go back into the kitchen where they belong.
So there!
Dave

Uh... Mr Bobbit... Keep in mind, the kitchen is where most of the knives are. Your call.

oooh.....Back a few weeks ago I remember a post where you were after an uncle, I believe,
for "playing" with his old car. Then it was men shouldn't have real tools to use for
their manly projects, and now you threaten us with a knife.
Starting to sound like a left wing feminist.......
Next week we'll learn you've been watching the Ellen Degenres Show.
I'm sorry, but being the neanderthal that I am, I've failed to learn
to use the smilies.
Dave.....bravely going where few have dared.

What is this? Pick on Selena day? I was after my Dad trying to get my children in that overpowered death trap. He can take that car to the clay track at Mudville and drive it to his heart's desire, it's not any of my business. When he wants my kids in the car with him then it is. The difference may be hard to see with bifocals but it's very real and very important. So in essence you are trying to get between a mother and her child. A place many have gone and few have survived.