According to the John A. Hartford Foundation, about 7.5 million Americans aged 65 and over have a mental health disorder, which translates to roughly 18–19% of that population. The financial consequences are devastating — families spend an average of between $3,000 and $5,000 for each cleanup, and hoarding conditions result in a loss of 25–50% market value for most properties.
The emotional cost of hoarding is no less significant, frequently affecting relationships and leading to isolation and despair. Hence, a systemic approach to addressing this common problem is what I will discuss today, outlining 10 points to understand the nature of hoarding behaviors for effective intervention.
The Great Depression Echo Effect
The psychological scarring of economic adversity is greater than most recognize. As baby boomers were growing up, they received firsthand accounts of the Great Depression from their parents and grandparents through stories; an age-related collective response that psychologists refer to as the “inherited scarcity mindset.” Parents who exhibit a high scarcity mindset tend to produce offspring with a similar scarcity mindset. That way of thinking hurts cooperation in both generations, according to the PsyCh Journal.
This mindset, typically passed down through generations, manifests as hoarding and stockpiling of resources. Therefore, even in times of abundance, people with a scarcity mindset can struggle to part with things they believe could still be helpful. This, in turn, becomes a process of accumulation that could easily snowball into hoarding tendencies, emphasizing the profound long-term influence of economic trauma.
Sentimental Value Overestimation
As people age, the human brain forms stronger emotional connections to things, particularly when they are associated with significant life events or the memory of deceased relatives. A study by Psychology and Psychiatry in neurology finds that the pre-frontal cortex, responsible for decision-making about belongings, changes with age, making purging more emotionally daunting.
Decades-old birthday cards, kids’ artwork, and hand-me-down dining tables transform from clutter to irreplaceable relics. As these memories accumulate, the emotional stress can become overwhelming, making it challenging to rationalize the use of space and decide what to give away.
Retirement Identity Crisis
The transition from active careers to retirement creates psychological voids that many boomers fill through collecting and acquiring possessions. Retirement often involves loss of roles, structure, and social validation tied to work, which can trigger an identity crisis and feelings of meaninglessness, anxiety, or depression. Professional identity disappears overnight, leaving retirees searching for new sources of purpose and accomplishment.
Collecting becomes a substitute for professional achievement, providing structure, goals, and a sense of expertise in specific areas. Garage sales, estate sales, and online marketplaces provide social interaction and the thrill of discovery, replacing workplace satisfaction.
The “Good Deal” Addiction
Years of deal-hunting and coupon-clipping have etched pathways in their brains that relate saving money to buying things, whether they need them or not. More than 70 percent of Boomers said they “definitive- ly” or “probably” wouldn’t pay full price for clothing in this category. At the same time, an even higher 79 % indicated a discount would likely be needed for home electronics, according to First Insight.
The dopamine hit from landing a deal can become a habit, especially for retirees on limited income who feel they must stretch every dollar. Warehouse stores, clearance sales, and bulk purchasing opportunities often exploit these psychological triggers.
Technology Overwhelm and Digital Resistance
The digital tools for organization and storage that we take for granted were mere science fiction when boomers grew up. A 2022 study from Consumer Affairs showed that 91% of Gen X and baby boomers believe technology overload has become the norm, with significant changes in terms of tech devices, apps, and features.
Those concerns are valid and rooted in very real technological failures, privacy invasions, and the general complexity of digital systems. We print important documents and store them in various locations “just to be safe;” We have also printed our digital photos & filed them along with the negatives & slides. This drives the same kind of redundant physical storage systems that humans build, taking up incredible amounts of space and inducing hoarding behaviors.
Fixed Income Scarcity Psychology
The emotional pressure to squeeze every penny and throw nothing away is one challenge that arises when retirement incomes are so limited. Retirement is a complex journey, filled with numerous decisions regarding your finances, lifestyle, and healthcare. And this complexity also brings analysis paralysis: people are so focused on picking the “right” choice that they have trouble making any decision
A fear of making a costly error means boomers often own multiple versions of something or broken items they plan to fix someday. The average monthly Social Security benefit is $2,002, which is small enough that senior citizens are looking at their property as a veritable piggy bank. It feels wasteful to discard practical things, even when all but storage costs are lower than the price of a saved object.
Social Isolation and Retail Therapy
Retirement often leads to increased social isolation as work relationships fade and physical barriers hinder participation in group activities. Shopping alternatives become a primary social and entertainment activity among house-bound seniors.
Sales associates become recognizable faces, and stores offer both a planned itinerary of outings and human interaction. While online shopping is convenient, the lack of human interaction falls short in appealing to emotionally needy, lonely seniors who crave genuine retail therapy.
Medical Hoarding and Health Anxiety
Boomers are desperate to hoard medical supplies, medications, and health products far beyond what they could need, as these individuals are aware of the aging-related concerns that are common in this time. For example, pharmacy data by the Journal of the American Heart Association reveals that 90-day refills are more likely in those over age 65, partially driven by keeping a couple of months of extra medication on hand, which is only filled if unusually long lead times are expected.
That anxiety is what drives people to hoard things like medication, insurance coverage, and mobility aids. Medications past their expiration dates, equipment from outdated procedures, and duplicate supplies occupy space in medicine cabinets and closets. Subjective sense of security above expired medical record and need for medical therapy.
Legacy Preservation Syndrome
Baby boomers are one of the fastest-growing groups of genealogy researchers, with 70% of baby boomers saying that they are interested in preserving their family history, according to a study by Ipsos.
The photographs, furniture, and even some personal documents and effects from two generations pile up as potential future legacy items for family members. The hurdle is deciding what merits inclusion based on historical worth and what is merely personal property that happens to be old. With these changes comes the fact that many adult children have no interest in inheriting these collections, but Baby Boomers are continuing to preserve them based on an imagined future dollar value rather than the present family’s deservedness.
Cognitive Decline and Decision-Making Deterioration
Additionally, the cognitive processes commonly altered in age-related diseases impact decision-making and organization, factors that fuel hoarding behaviors and make treatment more challenging. About 12-18%% of adults over 60 suffer from some form of mild cognitive impairment, frequently presenting as problems with executive functioning — decisions and planning.
Every decision about what to keep or discard became a brutal mental battle that was easier to avoid. There are issues with short-term memory that make it hard to remember what you have already, and so more of the same accumulates. Signs of hoarding are often overlooked by families who assume that older persons’ neighbors will have accumulated many items, thinking they had given them away, so most of those things are often returned.
Key Takeaways
The boomer hoarding psyche combines historical circumstances, sustained economic crisis, and humanity’s response to aging, which, taken together, paints a perspective on the complex psychological phenomenon hiding between the lines of this interaction we’re experiencing.
Moreover, these incidents have financial implications that extend far beyond cleanup costs, including reduced property values, health risks, and costly emergency interventions that can be avoided with timely identification and assistance. Mental health professionals note that lasting solutions involve addressing unmet psychological needs, rather than simply reducing accumulated stress. Recognizing these long-established psychological patterns enables families and communities to develop effective and compassionate strategies for supporting seniors with hoarding behavior.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.
16 Grocery Staples to Stock Up On Before Prices Spike Again
16 Grocery Staples to Stock Up On Before Prices Spike Again
I was in the grocery store the other day, and it hit me—I’m buying the exact same things I always do, but my bill just keeps getting higher. Like, I swear I just blinked, and suddenly eggs are a luxury item. What’s going on?
Inflation, supply-chain delays, and erratic weather conditions have modestly (or, let’s face it, dramatically) pushed the prices of staples ever higher. The USDA reports that food prices climbed an additional 2.9% year over year in May 2025—and that’s after the inflation storm of 2022–2023.
So, if you’ve got room in a pantry, freezer, or even a couple of extra shelves, now might be a good moment to stock up on these staple groceries—before the prices rise later.
6 Gas Station Chains With Food So Good It’s Worth Driving Out Of Your Way For
6 Gas Station Chains With Food So Good It’s Worth Driving Out Of Your Way For
We scoured the Internet to see what people had to say about gas station food. If you think the only things available are wrinkled hot dogs of indeterminate age and day-glow slushies, we’ve got great, tasty news for you. Whether it ends up being part of a regular routine or your only resource on a long car trip, we have the food info you need.
Let’s look at 6 gas stations that folks can’t get enough of and see what they have for you to eat.
