[ENFP] NF Pack-rats

[Atomic Fiend]

I still have a long sleeve blue shirt from when I was 11. Used to be my favorite shirt, I would wear it all the time. To this day I can't find it in me to toss it out, despite the fact that no matter how much I wash it the stench won't come off and it's way to small to fit me.

 

[prplchknz]

I don't think I'm a pack rat as much as I'm too lazy to throw anything out. There's a difference, a pack rat implies an emotional attachment to things which unless they have a face such as dolls stuff animals and pictures I don't have. Laziness implies laziness besides those books might be useful one day, and what if I have children and remember this awesome toy I played with when I was younger and they stopped making said toy? Well I'd want my children to have a chance to enjoy that same toy. And what if some old clothing I have would work in a film I'm doing?

 

[Wandering]

I've never attribute feelings to stationaries... to bigger objects such as cars and computers yes... but not stationaries.

That's because bigger objects DO have feelings :rolli: My car definitely has feelings (she is much more agreeable when I compliment her on her efforts), and my computer too (just look at how he straightens his act up when I call my husband to check on him because he's been acting up lately )

But I do have a hard time throwing things away. Especially paper. I mean...if it has a blank space on it that might be used for anything, I hang on to it

I can't believe I still have a sketching pad I bought 15 years ago in Canada. I mean, do you know how many moves that pad went through !?!?

 

[Lateralus]

I'm not a pack-rat, at all. I've never had a problem with tossing out things that I don't need. But, I do have a few sentimental possessions. Pictures...I'll never get rid of those. I think someone would have to put a gun to my head to make me do it.

 

[SolitaryPenguin]

I think something snapped in me about 5 years ago when I threw out everything I had. Now, I am literally down to a PC, a TV, an XBOX, some clothes and a bed. All of my pictures and music are on the PC so I don't have clutter. Any books I read I donate to the library when I am done. It really makes moving easy, but the feng shui is rather non-existent.

 

[cascadeco]

There are certain childhood things that I have kept because I don't want to get rid of them (I suppose some of it's sentimental; also, on some level I still kinda like them! And yes, I do have about 10 stuffed animals that I find myself unable to part with, although I think I'm silly for this - but keep in mind, I used to have more like 50-70, or more), but I got rid of most of my childhood toys/clothes years ago. Even while I was still a kid, my mom was always giving old clothes to goodwill, and I remember getting excited about selling a lot of my toys at a neighborhood garage sale and making $85!! Wow, I was rich!! Anyway: what I have kept from my childhood is fairly minimal.

I don't think I'm a packrat at all. If anything I try to get rid of all of the clothes I never wear anymore, or things I haven't used for years -- just take all of it to the Salvation Army. My aim now is to try to keep things leveled out; I don't want to keep on accumulating -- if I get new clothes, get rid of older ones. Or if I haven't used something for years, I never will - might as well give it to someone who might actually use it. Or if I buy something on a trip, get rid of something else I don't have much attachment towards anymore.

Photos, artistic stuff, and truly meaningful items fall outside of this though!!

 

[nightning]

I've never been big on thinking objects "feel" things, except when I accidentally ram a chair into a desk and say "ow" for either the chair or the desk without even thinking about it.

As to whoever mentioned the projecting thoughts onto animals, I do the same thing. Sometimes I'll try to mimick what I think they're thinking, and sometimes I'm right (especially if it's a pet of mine).

I do both of those things. I say "ow" even though the stuff's not damage in anyway. I also say "ow" if I did something dumb while gaming.

That's because bigger objects DO have feelings :rolli: My car definitely has feelings (she is much more agreeable when I compliment her on her efforts), and my computer too (just look at how he straightens his act up when I call my husband to check on him because he's been acting up lately )

Uhhhh I rather think of it as that sometimes they have feelings... Otherwise I think I should take myself to a psychiatrist... but my car is a he and my computer is a she... the reverse of what you have.

 

[Wandering]

but my car is a he and my computer is a she... the reverse of what you have.

You know, now that you mention it, I realise that I've never actually asked THEM what sex they are Just because "car" is of the feminine gender in French while "computer" is masculine, I've automatically assumed that the objects were necessarily of the associated sex Talk about hurting their feelings if I got something as basic as their sex wrong !!!

(Are you sufficiently convinced by now that *I* do need to be taken to see a shrink ?)

 

[Ender]

How can any inanimate object be a he?.. I thought it was some unwritten law that all inanimate objects were female?

As for keeping things from your childhood. I still have some of my old school work and report cards from grade school, not quite sure why but I do. Plus I still have my stuffed dog with no ears, no tail, no eyes, and a missing leg who is known as The Earless Fearless Limpy Gimp.

 

[AliciaS2R]

I am a terrible packrat. I do not assign feelings to my "stuff" and so have difficulty throwing it out. I keep things because "you never know, I may need a straightened wire coat hanger again someday" My family makes fun of me, I threw away a broken blender and my dh wrote it on the calendar! Every so often I get a wild hair and sort through it to throw some away or recycle it.

I have 6 cats and 2 pomeranians. Often I will talk to them and/or give voice to their actions or expressions. I do not however expect them to answer me.

 

[prplchknz]

um so now that we're on the subject of feelings and non living things, does anyone else talk to their computer and car when it's not working? I do and I'm convinced it obeys me. I don't care what any logical T says my laptop loves me and I love my laptop. and sometimes me shouting at it is nesssecary.

 

[heart]

um so now that we're on the subject of feelings and non living things, does anyone else talk to their computer and car when it's not working?

Yes. About ten years ago I opened up on my vacuum cleaner in a very abusive way and then I realized that somewhere along the way I had become capable of being verbally abusive and it was a wake up call to work on other ways to express feelings like that!

 

[nightning]

You know, now that you mention it, I realise that I've never actually asked THEM what sex they are Just because "car" is of the feminine gender in French while "computer" is masculine, I've automatically assumed that the objects were necessarily of the associated sex Talk about hurting their feelings if I got something as basic as their sex wrong !!!

Uhhhh I don't think I asked THEM either... I just thought so because of how they act like to me. My car growls a bit... the turbo engine and all. So I went with masculine... the old car was feminine though. As to my computer... my laptop is a little 12incher... but yah I really really should have asked shouldn't I?

(Are you sufficiently convinced by now that *I* do need to be taken to see a shrink ?)

Why don't the two of us visit together?

How can any inanimate object be a he?.. I thought it was some unwritten law that all inanimate objects were female?

Uhhh I'm not sure... why don't you ask my car?

*nods to purple* All the time. I say hello to my car whenever I drive it out... say sorry and pat the steering wheel whenever I do something dumb while driving. When the computer doesn't feel like working... I ask it nicely and top it off with a please.

I also talk to the birds and stuff outside... but yes, I'm :crazy:

 

[heart]

I also talk to the birds and stuff outside... but yes, I'm :crazy:

I don't count talking to birds as crazy. They are talking to us in their language all the time. Why not answer back?

 

[wedekit]

My toys when I was little were my best friends. I was really OCD about keeping the boxes and styrofoam they came in and putting them back in their respective boxes and styrofoam slots. Especially my Power Rangers (original cast) toys! My mom thought it was unhealthy and threw the boxes away and I cried and cried. One time my dad took away my catwoman toy because he said it was a doll (I still haven't forgiven him; it was only 4" tall and made of plastic... >___>) and I felt like I lost one of my best friends or something. When they didn't have boxes I would sit them all upright in my toy chest so they would be "comfortable" and all that. Toy Story really reminded me of my childhood and how I thought my toys were alive when I wasn't around. Omg I was a total nut case.

 

[Atomic Fiend]

I was really OCD about keeping the boxes and styrofoam they came in and putting them back in their respective boxes and styrofoam slots. Especially my Power Rangers (original cast) toys!

My ENFP friend I was talking about earlier has all of the Zords in the original boxes. It's between those and Transformers for best toys of the nineties.

This post made me feel 8 again.

 

[prplchknz]

My toys when I was little were my best friends. I was really OCD about keeping the boxes and styrofoam they came in and putting them back in their respective boxes and styrofoam slots. Especially my Power Rangers (original cast) toys! My mom thought it was unhealthy and threw the boxes away and I cried and cried. One time my dad took away my catwoman toy because he said it was a doll (I still haven't forgiven him; it was only 4" tall and made of plastic... >___>) and I felt like I lost one of my best friends or something. When they didn't have boxes I would sit them all upright in my toy chest so they would be "comfortable" and all that. Toy Story really reminded me of my childhood and how I thought my toys were alive when I wasn't around. Omg I was a total nut case.

I was convinced my toys came alive whenever I turned my back and would always try to catch them moving, but never did.

 

[Ender]

Transformers for best toys of the nineties.

I've always considered Transformers toy's of the 80's To me there is only the originals I grew up watching, I used to make the sounds and stuff playing with them as a kid. Anything after the originals I don't consider to be true Transformers, in fact I absolutely hate the new movie that came out.

 

[marm]

I've never been overly attached to objects. When I was a kid, my stuffed animals were accidentally thrown out. Maybe that had some affect on my psyche because I end up throwing out a bunch of stuff every few years.

I do have attachment to books and papers. Also, I do have a sense that technological objects have personality.

 

[Athenian200]

My ENFP best friend and I met each other randomly our Junior year in High School and we immediately discovered we had a lot of things in common. One being that we didn't like throwing pens or markers that ran out of ink away. As children we both felt like these objects had "feelings", and if we threw them away we would be hurting those "feelings". We both of course know now that they don't have feelings but we still are hesitant to throw them away.

So, anyone else have a similar story or are we just crazy?

I tend to hold on to old assignments and worksheets, but I never keep old temporary writing utensils (meaning ones that aren't refillable or that fall apart quickly) after they run out of ink/lead.

That's an odd tendency of mine. I never want to throw out anything that works or can be easily fixed, but when something is broken beyond repair, I throw it away.

Even so, I've accumulated so many things that I'll be really freaked out if I ever have to move because I'll worry that something will get lost or ruined in the process (My mother and I have lived in this same apartment since at least 1999, possibly earlier).