Do know anyone who is a hoarder?

[Jazzy1]

I’m a Paramedic. I’ve been to a dozen hoarder houses. You are never ready for the smell. One woman had so much garbage I had to crawl on my belly to make it through some doors. That’s how high the garbage was. You could hear the rats and mice crawling in it.

Do know anyone who is a hoarder or used to be hoarder?

 

[Pinky]

Our long-time friend, Charles, is a hoarder. Fortunately, not in the kitchen.
He has been in a facility for a few months, since he is now in a wheelchair, and is incontinent.
His friend will be arranging for a service to clear out his belongings from his large 2 bdrm. apartment
He is in his late 70's, and is lucky that his late father provided well for him, monetarily.

 

[That Lady in PA]

I do... an in-law.
She insists she is a collector.
She insists she has treasures.
We continually tell her that when she passes, a dumpster will be contracted and everything is getting tossed.

 

[MaidMarian]

I think my husband is a hoarder.You can’t even walk in his room full of junk. I just stay out of there.

 

[Rae]

My husband doesn't like to throw things away and sometimes I think he is a hoarder but I do convince him at times to get rid of them. He then says now I need it, so I should not have thrown it away.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

I was surprised to find out that the lady who used to be our maintenance woman and gardener was. I went to her apartment one day to leave my key with her temporarily. When she opened the door I saw stuff piled up in her living/dining area, wall to wall. I didn't detect any bad odor though. May she R.I.P.

 

[OldOld]

I guess I am not a hoarder. I always try to throw away unnecessary items because I feel I have too much stuff in the house. Plus, I am in the process to make arrangement on all my belongings. I don't have any next of kin. I thought about digitizing all my family photos, but then I haven't look at these photos for years, what's the point of going through the trouble and process these photos? I may just throw them away before I need to move to a nursing home. I love my family and I always remember what my family look like, and I remember every important moment I had with them.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I’ve known a few and probably could become one.

Some of the regulars at the Sunday morning flea market are hoarders.

Most of them stay under the radar by renting multiple storage units around town but the financial burden does eventually take it’s toll.

There was a high end hoarder in an upscale neighborhood near me. Her husband bought her the house next door for her collections and when that was full she had multiple dry freight trailers in the back yard.

It seems like it’s ok to be eccentric until the money runs out and then we suddenly become plain old crazy.

 

[old medic]

As a medic I had the joys of being overwhelmed at what some people consider acceptable living conditions.

 

[jujube]

It's always a "collection", even if it's nothing but pizza boxes and empty soda cans.

 

[C50]

My brother, he spent 28 years living in a small camper tucked in the corner of a barn surrounded by his treasure piled inside and outside of the barn. He never had trash pickup so if he couldn't burn it it just piled up, and for the past 15 years he didn't have running water so used bottles and buckets as his bathroom, then at some point simply started going anywhere he could find an opening.

He ended up in the hospital then rehab and my niece decided to take him to her house temporally. He has been there for six months, has not once taken a shower, doesn't use toilet paper when he goes to the bathroom, for the most part refuses to leave the bedroom. He accuses her of stealing his money, of selling his stuff and holding him against his will.

I could go on and on, it's a sad and long story of dysfunction, alcohol and drug abuse, and likely untreated mental illness.

 

[gilead]

Mother (child of 7 start of depression), oldest sister & youngest daughter. 3 out 12. Wife complete opposite.

 

[Babs2u]

I am guilty of hanging on to too much stuff. My parents experienced the great depression and rarely threw anything away.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I’ve had friends that were hoarders of stuff, but never so you couldn’t walk into their house or sit down anywhere and never with any garbage. A few of these people asked me to help them clean out their homes when they got older and I did. We did a variety of garage sales and donations plus throwing junk away.

I live in a small condo and I have a strict rule for myself that if something comes in something of a like item must go out. This goes for knickknacks, clothes, and anything else so that way I never build up too many things.

I only have three closets and they were not full until I bought a year worth of toiletries, paper products, and cleaning supplies because of the pending tariffs. I was able to put all that stuff in the closets. Now I’m using it up and will have lots of empty closet space once I’ve used all the items I bought.

 

[Disgustedman]

I’m a Paramedic. I’ve been to a dozen hoarder houses. You are never ready for the smell. One woman had so much garbage I had to crawl on my belly to make it through some doors. That’s how high the garbage was. You could hear the rats and mice crawling in it.

Do know anyone who is a hoarder or used to be hoarder?

I didn't see it. Till years after she passed, but mom was one. We had 600 old magazines ("They have recipes! I might use!") 45-60 boxes of clothing 10-35 years out of date. 3 old encyclopedia sets and hundreds of books which were of old automotive repair (Dad's collection mom couldn't part with)

My older sister has a second floor filled with stuff from decades ago. I remember that I got angry with myself for spending $85 a month for storage of items I'd bought 4 years previously.

So I cleaned ot out, swearing that I'd only have storage for current clothing, winter, some very minor furniture and medication storage.

I've kept that promise pretty good.

 

[StarSong]

I have indeed known a hoarder. Nobody realized it until this very dear sister-in-law passed away. Her guilt and shame must have been overwhelming. I still regret that nobody tumbled to her secret until it was too late to help her.

Some rooms were so packed that we couldn't open the doors more than a foot or so. Goat trails between piles that were 8-10 feet tall. Rodent and roaches, and their feces were everywhere.

This is a mental illness, and people who suffer from it are more to be pitied than scorned.

 

[Knight]

No. I've never met one or been to a home where a hoarder lives. I've seen pictures on this site of what I perceive to be a hoarder. That is the closest to seeing what a hoarder typically does. Might not be though if Star Song's post is an example.

 

[Teacher Terry]

@StarSong , when hoarding reaches the level of the pictures that you have posted it is indeed a mental illness. Sadly, it’s very difficult to treat. It’s also a mental illness when people hoard way too many animals in the same fashion. I find it all very sad.

 

[JustBonee]

From websites like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic ….

Hoarding is classified as a mental health disorder characterized by persistent difficulty in discarding possessions, leading to excessive accumulation and clutter that can impair daily functioning. It often causes significant distress and can be associated with other mental health conditions.

 

[RedAlert76]

Yes ! IMO my hubby and his family were very close to being hoarders . Hubby saves it and I trash it.. much as possible. I am a minimalist at heart and hate clutter and junk. If you have not used it, wore it, played with or had to remove tons of stuff to find something..get rid of it. Especially at our ages. Stop saving it for the kids, normally they do not want the items you think. At least ask them before hand what they would want. Plus getting rid of unnecessary items, is liberating - for me at least

 

[Paulina]

My brother, he spent 28 years living in a small camper tucked in the corner of a barn surrounded by his treasure piled inside and outside of the barn. He never had trash pickup so if he couldn't burn it it just piled up, and for the past 15 years he didn't have running water so used bottles and buckets as his bathroom, then at some point simply started going anywhere he could find an opening.

He ended up in the hospital then rehab and my niece decided to take him to her house temporally. He has been there for six months, has not once taken a shower, doesn't use toilet paper when he goes to the bathroom, for the most part refuses to leave the bedroom. He accuses her of stealing his money, of selling his stuff and holding him against his will.

I could go on and on, it's a sad and long story of dysfunction, alcohol and drug abuse, and likely untreated mental illness.

God bless your niece.

 

[hearlady]

I sometimes think DH is a hoarder until I see how real hoarders live. He is just very, very, messy.
He would say I'm not quite OCD but just very, very, tidy. What a pair.

 

[hollydolly]

Here in the UK there's a TV show which goes into the homes of Hoarders, and helps them deal with their problem... They need psychologists as well as volunteers williing to clear the whole lot out, which often takes 10 or 12 people a few weeks to complete..IF the homeowner agrees to it.

often they're so stressed that thay can't be connvinced to get rid...other times they allow a small change..like a few torn carrier bags to be removed, while desperately sobbing that old empty rusty cans from 30 years ago...can't go......

Sometimes the house does get emptied and cleaned up.. only for the crew to return 6 months later and it's well on it's way to becoming unliveable again..

 

[Teacher Terry]

Here in the UK there's a TV show which goes into the homes of Hoarders, and helps them deal with their problem... They need psychologists as well as volunteers williing to clear the whole lot out, which often takes 10 or 12 people a few weeks to complete..IF the homeowner agrees to it.

often they're so stressed that thay can't be connvinced to get rid...other times they allow a small change..like a few torn carrier bags to be removed, while desperately sobbing that old empty rusty cans from 30 years ago...can't go......

Sometimes the house does get emptied and cleaned up.. only for the crew to return 6 months later and it's well on it's way to becoming unliveable again..

We have a similar show in the states, but people’s homes are so disgusting that I can’t stand to watch them. We used to have a show called clean house and a crew would come in and help the people have a garage sale and then match whatever money they made in the garage sale to redo a room or two in their house. Sometimes they made enough money to do a bunch of rooms.

While the people‘s homes were extremely cluttered with junk everywhere, they weren’t dirty so it wasn’t disgusting. It was a really fun show that I loved, but unfortunately they no longer make it. They would ask people about their taste and then send them off to a hotel while they had the garage sale and then did the makeover.

 

[hollydolly]

We have a similar show in the states, but people’s homes are so disgusting that I can’t stand to watch them. We used to have a show called clean house and a crew would come in and help the people have a garage sale and then match whatever money they made in the garage sale to redo a room or two in their house. Sometimes they made enough money to do a bunch of rooms.

While the people‘s homes were extremely cluttered with junk everywhere, they weren’t dirty so it wasn’t disgusting. It was a really fun show that I loved, but unfortunately they no longer make it. They would ask people about their taste and then send them off to a hotel while they had the garage sale and then did the makeover.

I am the same I can't stand to watch them... I saw the first few shows when it first started years ago..but since then I've not watched any.. I can't bear to see vermin.. that makes me want to throw up..