No one sets out to become a hoarder, but the fact is that clutter accumulates in little ways, one drawer at a time. One day, you open a cabinet and wonder, “Wait, how did so many random things get in here?”
We talked to a group of seniors to find out more about what people tend to collect, even if they don’t set out to. Some of the items seniors noted were predictable; others not so much. So here are 11 small things we learn almost everyone collects more of as the years pass.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Birthday and holiday cards
As time marches on, more and more cards come from children, grandchildren, friends, and extended family members. It can be hard for many seniors to throw them away because they seem like pieces of love and connection. Years of greeting cards often become treasured collections squirreled away in shoeboxes and dresser drawers.
Keepsake trinkets from trips
Travel souvenirs might seem small at first: a keychain, a magnet, a little figurine. But after decades of collecting them, they can add up fast. These items represent more than decorations; they’re physical reminders of experiences, places, and people. Older adults often hang onto these tightly because each object has a story to tell.
Medication bottles
The more medications, supplements, and over-the-counter products one uses, the more bottles, pill organizers and boxes there will be to collect. Many people use empty bottles to hold little odds and ends (pens, paperclips, screws, pushpins). Before long, a drawer or cabinet becomes a mini-pharmacy of not only current medications but also those that have been replaced or expired.
Specialty kitchen items
Holiday-specific dishes, specialty serving platters, heirloom kitchenware and gadgets for specialty recipes begin to accumulate over the years. Kitchen tools aren’t just for cooking and eating, they are tied to memories of family meals, gatherings and celebrations. So, even if they are rarely used, they are kept and, many people hope, will be passed down for the next generation.
Religious or sentimental keepsakes
Older people often accumulate prayer books, rosaries, statues or other sentimental items over the years. Some of these are gifts from family members and some may be items collected at important stages or events in their life. They may not take up much space, but often carry a deep emotional importance and are therefore rarely discarded.
Family photos (printed and digital)
Older people tend to keep every photo that they are sent or given. They save everything, even blurry snapshots, because it is a photo, and a moment in time that is being captured and saved. Albums, shoeboxes of photos, and even old memory cards and hard drives begin to overflow with years and decades of memories.
Glasses and reading spectacles
Vision inevitably changes with age, and people end up with a jumble of glasses. Prescription, reading glasses, spare pairs, and the ones they can’t bring themselves to throw away. Even old prescriptions are kept, just in case. Before long, there’s a whole collection taking up space in a drawer or box.
Freebies and giveaways
Pens from the bank, reusable shopping bags, and calendars from the pharmacy are all examples of freebies and giveaways that are never thrown away. Each tiny item seems innocuous, so they all get thrown into junk drawers and closets. Many people can’t bear to throw away a perfectly good item that might have a future use.
Cookbooks and recipe cards
Cooking becomes more special over time, with family traditions and stories baked in. Handwritten recipe cards, church cookbooks, and even vintage cooking magazines start to collect over the years. Even if they’re rarely used at all, people keep these books as symbols of care, family meals, and cooking for loved ones.
Candles and scented items
As people age, they spend more time in their homes, and candles, potpourri, and scented oils get accumulated. Many people buy them and keep them for special occasions, but the candles rarely get used. Before long, cabinets are full of mismatched candles accumulated over birthdays, holidays, and gifts.
Buttons and sewing notions
Older generations were taught to mend and repair their clothing, rather than just throw it away and replace it with a new item. This ingrains a tendency to keep spare buttons and notions tucked away “just in case” that they will be needed. So jars of buttons, bits of thread, scrap pieces of fabric, etc., pile up fast.
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