People who look up to celebrities sometimes assume they do not have many of the same habits as everyone else. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially when it comes to collecting and hoarding.

While many celebrities are willing to admit they hold onto too much for too long, they prefer to view it as being passionate about their interests rather than hoarding. This blog looks at several celebrities whose collecting habits might come as a surprise.

Homer and Langley Collyer

The Collyer brothers were part of an elite Manhattan family with roots back to the Mayflower landing in the 1600s. After both of their parents died in the 1920s, Homer and Langley withdrew from public life entirely.

They spent most of their time together, living at one of their family’s brownstones in Harlem or Manhattan. Homer Collyer was blind and physically handicapped. This made him almost completely dependent on his brother for care.

The more reclusive the Collyer brothers became, the more valuable items they accumulated in both homes. Rumors even circulated that they set booby traps to protect their possessions. Homer Collyer died in 1947, but no one knew it until a neighbor called police complaining of a strong odor coming from the brownstone.

Although police located Homer’s body quickly, they could not find Langley and started a nationwide hunt for him. They could not have known that the chase was unnecessary.

Three weeks after their search began, police found Langley Collyer’s decomposed body under piles of junk. They believe Langley died first and that Homer quickly died of starvation without his brother there to feed him.

Heidi Klum

Some women feel they can never have too many pairs of shoes, and then there is Heidi Klum. The supermodel admits that she owns more than 2,000 pairs of shoes. She accumulated most of the shoes during fashion shoots spanning more than two decades. Klum also has an extensive collection of designer handbags since she likes to match her shoes and purses.

Although collection might be excessive by most people’s standards, she keeps them well organized. Klum stores the entire collections in her basement with a photo guide. This enables her to find specific shoes and handbags she is looking for at any given moment.

Lisa Kudrow

Some celebrities only admit to holding onto certain categories of items, but not Lisa Kudrow. The popular actress, best known for her 10-year stint on the hit TV show Friends, states that she saves everything and does not feel bad about it.

From a pair of tennis shoes she wore in the 1980s to faxes she received years ago, Kudrow justifies her hoarding by explaining that the things she saves could contribute to family documentation in the future. She also feels that holding onto her personal items is an accurate way to determine her feelings and actions at the time she put the item into storage.

Not Everyone Has as Much Storage Space as Celebrities

Celebrities can usually get away with hoarding because their homes are so large that they do not feel crowded by the things they collect. For everyone else, placing items into storage or hiring a junk hauler to take at least some of it away is usually the better solution.