Been thinking on this more, thought back to being a kid (I had to think real hard it was so long ago) and remembered always being attracted to the basements, garages and barns of neighbors and friends that were stacked with stuff everywhere, baby food jars with nuts, bolts, etc., piles of this and that. My imagination would just abound of all the cool things that could be built, the fascination with the dads and moms who could fix and build anything with what that had around. The museums, movies and stories of the wizards, explorers and such, piled deep in dust covered books and things of the natural word, all shaped my idea of what was valuable to keep around. Sometimes it is hard to separate what is hoarding with the good intentions of a creative mind.

Pete

Nicely put, Pete! That's me, too!

The stuff I have is useful, and I can't afford to buy very much, so I really do have to hang on to what I have. But mixing that with ADD, I (strongly) tend to descend into CLUTTER. You give me a flat surface and I can cover it. I have stuff on the kitchen table that I haven't seen for quite a while. It does have the advantage of keeping my most mischievous cat off the table, simply because he's found that it's just too dangerous.

One of my sisters is a clean freak and will discard what she doesn't use to Goodwill.

My other sister discards everyone else's stuff to Goodwill.

Sue

Junk stores, hardware stores, scrap yards....
What you said really is true Pete.
I always have the intention of using every bit of junk I ever bought, found, was given or dragged home from the dump for something.
However. I have sometimes found myself picking up things that are real junk just because of "There must be something I can do with that!" type thinking.

I also have a tendency to collect multiple versions of items as I search for the best one.

Quite a bit of the stuff got used, some of it got used a lot.
Some of it also got either sold off, gifted to unsuspecting innocents or returned to the dump whenever I moved.

Big Edit:
Having an inventory of emergency supplies is not hoarding. It is simply basic preparation.
It is quite separate and different than my junk collecting habit.