disposophobia

English

Etymology

dispose +‎ -o- +‎ -phobia

Noun

disposophobia (uncountable)

1. (informal, humorous) Fear or dislike of disposing of items; a tendency to hoard things.
   • 2011, Iyna Bort Caruso, Simply Organized: "The all-in-one guide to organizing your home, office, children, and more!"‎^[1], →ISBN:

     At the extreme end of the clutter spectrum are folks who suffer from what some call disposophobia—fear of disposing. In other words, they hoard. According to one report, nearly a million junkaholics suffer from this psychological, and the proof is in the piles. To help those who suffer from disposophobia, a national support group called Clutterers Anonymous models itself after the twelve-step format of Alcoholics Anonymous.

   • 2012, Miriam Neff, Where Do I Go From Here?: Bold Living After Unwanted Change‎^[2], →ISBN:

     Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding or disposophobia) is the selfish acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them)...

   • 2013, Julia Heaberlin, Lie Still: A Novel‎^[3], →ISBN, page 305:

     The fear of throwing things away. Disposophobia, I remembered. A disease immortalized by the legendary Collyer brothers, who'd been found dead in their mess in a Harlem brownstone.

   • 2013, Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction - Your Self-Treatment Guide to Alcohol, Drugs, Eating Disorders, Gambling, Hoarding, Smoking, Sex, and Porn‎^[4], →ISBN:

     Compulsive hoarding has also been labeled "disposophoia" because the person with this disorder feels a real and palpable fear of throwing or giving away, even if the items are essentially worthless.