Is There a difference between stockpiling and hoarding?

I agree that there is a distinct difference.

There is a fine line between the two, but.....you really have no idea what that customer was doing with it. When I find really good deals, I often buy extra so that I can donate it to a shelter or other group that can use it.

There is a difference but also a fine line. I think something emotionally tramatizing can turn a stockpile into hoarding.

Thanks for the comment, JR. Valerie, that's so good of you to do that. If that were the case, I could forgive the 20 containers!

There is a diff and stuff like that drives me nuts!

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I stockpile; everything I stock up on does get used.

I like to think of myself as a stockpiler. Friends and family may disagree, however...

I think the difference is that a stockpiler buys in advance things intended for use; a hoarder buys or keeps quantities of things that are of no intrinsic value (every daily newspaper from 1957-1990, for example).

Hoarding is associated with some forms of OCD(obsessive compulsive disorder) There's people who hoard animals.

Yes there is a fine line... I don't think I'm either of those.

I think there is a fine line. I'm a stockpiler since I actually use all of the items I have tons of, and I do so in an orderly fashion(like using the oldest stuff last to keep it rotating). I think, as long as you are using it, it's fine. It's usually only hoarding like in the situation you described, where someone else took all of something you wanted.

Some would say I hoard things, but I don't hear them complaining when I am able to feed 20 people at the drop of a hat without having to leave the house to go get something. It's all in how you look at it.

yes there is a differance

There is a difference which I think Jonathan explained perfectly. I stock up on things myself.If there is a sale or I have coupons I will buy extra but I only buy things I know I will use. Just because something is on sale or is a good deal I will not buy it if I know I won't use it.

I've been told I hoard stuff, too, but I don't feel like I do. I only buy things that I know I will use, and very rarely does anything get thrown out at my house because we didn't use it before it's expiration date! The only time that I can think of where that happened, was with some baby food, because my son quit eating baby food long before I thought he would. I thought we would continue to supplement with it when we were eating something he didn't like, right up until he was at least 10-11 months old. He was completely done before he even reached 9 months. We did manage to give most of it away, but there were a couple of jars that expired in the meantime.

I do have a bunch of food in my house at all times. Even when it's time for me to go grocery shopping, I probably still have more food than a lot of people do after they finish their shopping, but I just consider that smart shopping. Winters are horrible here, and there are sometimes several weeks (6 or more) in a row, where I don't take my toddler out. I have to rely on my husband to get the things that we need (like milk), and he doesn't like grocery shopping by himself, so we eat from our stored food for a long time during times like those!

I was going to say......hoarding is what my mother does....keep tons of things she will never use.

I grate onions and freeze 1/2 cup in each plastic bag. I parcook carrots and dice them, Then freeze 1 cup in each plastic bag. This way nothing spoils, so no waste. I do the same with green peppers and celery. Then use them in my recipes.
This is not hoarding but being conservative.

I might be called a stockpiler or hoarder....but.....my kids always come "shopping" at my house. I get things on sale/free and then share them with them. But I think I would lean more toward the stockpiler

20 bottles of soap has nothing to do with fear of supplies running out.

I would say if your "oversupply" is only to save money on something that you use regularly; it is stockpiling. If it is just to have alot of the item it is hoarding.

i tell my husband to make me stop if i become a hoarder, or get close to it, my magazine pile boarders on crazy.

i'm a hoarder too...and I am working to stop it...I even created a group here at gather called "bye bye clutter" to help me and others like me..i'd love you to post this there!

I have way to much stuff...several sets of dishes, and I live alone..only need one set...two if one is for more formal entertaining. I don't need every scrap of paper with writing on it either....but i'm doing alot better with this, especially since I moved a few months ago...people even comment to me how much better this place looks!

here is the link for the group:

http://byebyeclutter.gather.com/

Maybe the person who bought 20 bottles of soap has a small shop, and this price was lower than his/her wholesale price.

there is a fine line between the two things, but i believe im a stockpiler. everything i buy will get used sooner or later