THE LATEST SURVEY from AA Home Insurance finds that 69 per cent of men say they don’t like to throw things away, while 59 per cent of women say the same.

The survey of 7,600 shows that, in total, 64 per cent say they don’t like to throw things away, while over 23 per cent openly admitted that they are hoarders.

Hoarding

Almost a quarter of men said they would describe themselves as “a bit of a hoarder”. A third of women described their partners as hoarders but when asked the same question, only 26 per cent of men said the same.

The survey finds that women are also better when it comes to de-cluttering the house, with 20 per cent saying they like to clean out the house of unnecessary items, however, only 12 per cent of men said they like to do that.

Apparently, the older you get the more likely you are to not want to part with items. Over 37 per cent of over 65s admitted to being hoarders, while only 11 per cent said they loved to de-clutter the house.

Director of Consumer Affairs Conor Faughnan said that with so many admitting to being horaders, it is important to de-clutter and have a clear path to the door in case of fire.

Fire safety

“Those of us who allow our homes to fill up with lots of bits and pieces could be more at risk if the worst happens and there is a fire,” he said.

He said that last year, there were 28 fatalities as a result of fires and 16 of the fatalities occurred in the four month period between November and February.

The AA is advising older people in particular to heed their safety advice as sadly, Fire Service statistics also showed that the majority of fatalities from fires in 2012 were those aged over 65.

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