packrattery

English

Etymology

From packrat +‎ -ery.

Noun

packrattery (uncountable)

1. (informal) The behavior of a packrat; a tendency to collect miscellanea or bric-a-brac, often to excess.
   • 1977, Joseph Chamberlain Furnas, Stormy Weather: Crosslights on the Nineteen Thirties: An Informal Social History of the United States 1929–1941:

     But packrattery soon precluded any Williamsburgish consistency.

   • 1999, Ina Dillard Russell, Roots and Ever Green: The Selected Letters of Ina Dillard Russell:

     Many stories were tape-recorded at family reunions through the years (we also are record keepers, given a little leeway for chaos and packrattery).

   • 2006, Don Aslett, Weekend Makeover: Take Your Home from Messy to Magnificent in Only 48 Hours!:

     Remember the first principle of packrattery: Stuff will accumulate proportionate to the space and place made available for it.

   • 2023 February 2, Rebecca Clarke, “Alex Prud’homme Wishes He Was in the Room Where It Happened”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Most of our books are not on the floor, at least, but on one shelf I see “The Soul of a New Machine” next to “All the King’s Men” topped by “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Why? I have no idea. It’s packrattery, but I can usually lay my hands on the volumes I need.