Let's take a look at the poster child of "hoarding" - the case of Collyer brothers.
On first glance, it looks that way - but let's take a closer look.
Did they really display any of the core triad of claims ( emotional attachment, difficulty discarding, difficulty making decisions ) ?
At best, this is not demonstrated - only inferred.
The narrative in Stuff is a classic case of "Morbid Fascinated Sensationalized Disgust and Contempt".
The enumeration of their possessions being thrown out of their mansion after their deaths suggested an assortment of random, bizarre, useless contents without value or purpose.
But on closer inspection, even the "worthlessness" of contents can be immediately questioned.
( pianos - including one gifted by a queen - junk ? books collection ? automobile parts ? newspapers ? a library of books ? )
None of these are inherently junk - the only remaining possibility is the unspecified "other junk" mentioned - what was it ?
Also, those possessions fit the brothers' interests, abilities and aspirations, and their fiercely independent character ( something I admire ).
So, where is the irrationality / pathology demonstrated ?
What is even the timeline of descending into Dysfunction in Possessions ?
We suggest an alternative interpretation - using the systems approach -
* initially, everything functioned as intended - tinkering took place, dysfunction was not prevalent ( timeline ? )
* as time went on, however, process imbalance occurred - perhaps ability declined or logistics failed / friction arose, or resource starvation occurred
* acquisition continued by inertia, lacking the active brother's monitoring of the overall situation, "back pressure" of the possessions overflowing and the lack of execution / consumption / organization ( or even without acquisition, simply the possessions sitting there )
* dysfunction in possessions eventually arose, and that was the final equilibrium of the situation, even without continued acquisition
* brothers were too proud, too territorial to just abandon their projects, intentions, archives, collections, etc.
* thus, a systemic failure, not mental illness nor delusion.
In conclusion, this "poster child" of "hoarding", the most famous case - doesn't appear to demonstrate any of the characteristics attributed to "hoarders", except by assumption.