Challenging DIsorganization
My guest blogger this month is Sophia Perry from Arizona Moving Professionals
Dealing with the overwhelming task of organizing a cluttered home can seem impossible, especially when hoarding tendencies are involved. Overcoming hoarding disorder is not just about tidying up; it’s a journey toward creating a healthier, happier living space. This guide provides actionable steps to help you systematically organize your home and overcome hoarding disorder.
Understanding Hoarding Disorder
Hoarding disorder is more than just collecting items; it’s a complex issue often linked to emotional and mental health. People who have a hoarding disorder might feel a strong attachment to their possessions, fearing the loss or waste of something important. This behaviour can also be tied to anxiety, depression, or other emotional struggles.
Recognizing that hoarding disorder is not just a matter of being disorganized but a deeper psychological challenge is a significant first step in overcoming hoarding disorder. Understanding the root cause can help address the issue more compassionately and effectively.
Setting Realistic Goals
Overcoming hoarding disorder doesn’t happen overnight. It requires patience and realistic expectations. Breaking down the process into smaller, manageable tasks is important for progress. For instance, aim to organize one area, shelf, cupboard or room at a time instead of tackling the entire home all at once.
Establishing clear, specific objectives, such as cleaning out a single drawer or sorting through a pile of papers, can lead to a series of small victories. These smaller goals are more achievable and less overwhelming, creating a sense of accomplishment that can fuel further efforts. Also, remember to pace yourself; rushing through the process can lead to burnout and frustration.
Sorting and Categorizing
Create categories such as “keep,” “donate,” “recycle,” and “discard.” As you sort, ask yourself if each item is still needed, brings joy, or has not been used in over a year. This will help you decide what to keep and what to let go of.
While sorting, you might come across items that are valuable but not immediately needed. Use the right supplies for packing and packing materials to help you store these items safely and efficiently. Consider using sturdy boxes, bubble wrap, and labelling materials. This helps keep things organized and ensures your items are well-preserved for future use.
Keep It Mindful
When deciding on items to keep, consider their practicality and emotional value. Keep items that are indispensable or hold significant sentimental value. Be mindful not to let emotions override practicality. This decision-making process can be tough, as it often involves letting go of items that have been part of your life for a long time. Not everything is meant to stay forever when it has served its purpose pass it on for others to enjoy.
A useful strategy is to take photos of items that are hard to part with. This way, you can preserve the memory without keeping the physical object. Consider the available space as well; keeping too many items can lead to a cluttered space, undermining your organizing efforts.
Donate and Recycle
Donating and recycling are excellent ways to declutter while benefiting others and the environment. Items in good condition that are no longer needed can find a new home through donation. Recycling helps reduce waste and is an eco-friendly option for items that are no longer usable.
Before donating, check with local charities and thrift stores to understand their donation guidelines. When recycling, ensure that you are aware of the correct recycling practices for different materials.
Organizing and Storing
Once you have sorted your items, it’s time to organize and store them effectively. Use storage solutions like shelves, boxes, and organizers to keep your space tidy. Labelling these storage areas can also help maintain organization. It’s important to prioritize accessibility and ease of use.
Store frequently used items in easy-to-reach places and less frequently used items in harder-to-reach areas. In addition, consider the aesthetics of your storage solutions. Choosing storage options that complement your home decor can make your space feel more inviting, less cluttered and help motivate you to maintain it.
Creative Storage Solutions
Think creatively about storage. Use under-utilized spaces like under beds or over doorways. Vertical storage solutions, such as hanging shelves or stackable bins, can be especially effective in tight spaces. Look for multipurpose furniture, like ottomans with storage or beds with built-in drawers.
Maintaining the Momentum
Overcoming hoarding disorder is an ongoing process. To prevent accumulation, regularly review and declutter your space. Set a routine for organization and stick to it. This could include a weekly review of items or a monthly deep clean.
It’s also helpful to keep a journal or log of your progress. Documenting the areas you’ve organized and the items you’ve let go of can provide a sense of accomplishment and a visual reminder of how far you’ve come. Likewise, try to identify and avoid triggers that lead to acquiring more items. Awareness of these triggers can help you maintain the progress you’ve made and prevent relapse.
Support Systems
Don’t hesitate to seek support. Whether it’s friends, family, or professionals, having support can make the process less overwhelming. A support system can provide motivation, physical help, and emotional encouragement. The support can come from various sources:
- Friends and family can offer a different perspective on your possessions, helping you make difficult decisions about what to keep and what to let go of
- Professional organizers can provide expertise in creating effective storage solutions
- Therapists specializing in hoarding disorder behaviour can offer guidance and coping strategies for emotional challenges
Always keep in mind that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Coping Mechanisms and Mindset
Work on changing your mindset and developing a healthier relationship with your possessions. Understand that letting go of items does not mean losing memories or value. Try to find joy and fulfillment in experiences rather than things. Mindfulness practices can help in this regard, allowing you to live more in the present and less in the clutter.
Also, consider exploring new hobbies or activities that don’t involve accumulating possessions. This can redirect your focus and energy into more fulfilling and less clutter-inducing pursuits. The goal is to create a living space that reflects a more balanced and peaceful state of mind.
Overcoming Hoarding Disorder Is One Step Away
Overcoming hoarding disorder is a huge challenge and is full of rewards. Following these steps, you can transform your cluttered space into a peaceful, organized home. The process takes time, and it’s okay to progress at your own pace. Every step you take is a step toward a more organized and harmonious living environment.
In the comments share a tip or resource that helped you to overcome hoarding disorder.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Reading time a-5 minutes
Judith Kolberg founded FileHeads, a professional organizing company, in 1989 and has been a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) since 1990. She formed the Institute for Challenging Disorganization and has served as its director for seven years.
Judith is the author of Conquering Chronic Disorganization, co-author with Dr. Kathleen Nadeau of ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life, and Organize for Disaster: Prepare Your Family and Your Home for Any Natural or Unnatural Disaster and Getting Organized in the Era of Endless.
Everything A Professional Organizer Needs to Know About Hoarding
- Hoarding disorder has been included in the new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. How has your expertise in working with clients with hoarding disorder influenced your ideas about mental wellness?
I love that you use the term ‘mental wellness’ instead of ‘mental illness’. As an organizer, I’m convinced that good psychotherapy is essential to the mental wellness of a person who hoards. A safe place to talk about what kind of life one wants to lead, how the emotional issues of loss, trauma and grief interplay with excessive saving and acquisition, and handling stress are key. Psychotherapy via Zoom, online individual and group, on-site, and peer-led support would be really handy in many hoarding situations rather than in a clinical, office setting.
- When working with a hoarding client or their family,
Conquering Chronic Disorganization
what is one common motivation obstacle and a strategy for overcoming it?
An obstacle to motivation is the fear of discarding the person’s possessions to the landfill. Reassurance that this will not be so is essential, but the age-old issue is will this promise backfire. Will the people charged with sorting and discarding and reducing the hoard be thwarted by “You said my stuff would not be thrown out?” If the person who hoards sees that there are good “pickers”, organizers who take the time to pull out the “good stuff” and load it into lots of clear, labelled containers that helps. Deciding on a specific individual recipient for the excess stuff also helps, as all the shoes go to my brother-in-law. Specific charities also help – all the stuffed animals to the Red Cross for children of natural disasters, all the pet stuff to the pet shelter, and all the unused toiletries to the women’s shelter. I take the time to discuss my entire process with the family.
- As a speaker, author, and trainer, you’ve been helping clients and families learn
Organize for Disaster
strategies to help people with ADD and ADHD get better organized. In what ways have those strategies changed from when you started studying in this field to now?
The “how” has not changed much even though the “why” is better and better understood. I would say that providing strategies to cope with technology, devices, the Internet black hole, and digital distractions is the new frontier. Ironically, helping ADDers to use these very same things to their advantage is also new.
- For those who are especially challenged with ADD, what 2 strategies are most effective?
Getting Organized in the Era of Endless
We have to get better, as organizers, at helping people with ADD manage their tasks and time. One strategy is for the organizer to be the time estimator. It’s great if that skill can be transferred and it often can by example, but there is no harm in the organizer actually being the person who helps the ADD client estimate how long a project or a task will take and accounting for it in scheduling. Another strategy is to think of creative ways for a person with ADD to capture tasks on the run. That might be post-it notes, voice mail notes, texting oneself, sending yourself emails, or using apps that convert voice to text or text to voice.
- What has been your biggest personal challenge around chronic disorganization?
ADD Friendly ways to Organize your Life
My disorganization is centered on directions, getting from place A to place B without getting lost. I use voice GPS and that has been absolutely dreamy. I’m told directionality issues are part of my brand of dyslexia. Lots of little spatial challenges thwart me. I can’t for instance, look at my PowerPoint, advance the slides, and speak at the same time. I have to use index cards, even after all these years.
Judith Kolberg has written many valuable resources and more resources can be found on the website of the Institute for Chronic Disorganization.
What is the most difficult problem you have encountered helping someone who is chronically disorganized? Let us know so we can help.
Along with other wonderful bloggers, I have been selected by the Feedspot panellists as one of the Top 15 Canadian Organizing Blogs on the web. Learn more about all of us. https://blog.feedspot.com/canadian_organizing_blogs/?feedid=5584279
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Reading time – 3 minutes
This is the name of a book that can help people with ADD to get organized. It can also help other people to understand how they can assist someone with ADD to get organized. The person without ADD acts as a coach.
The book mentions:
- Stop coaches – help to determine when the task is finished
- Decision Coaches – someone who can help to clarify thoughts and feelings by asking questions
- Priority coaches – talk things over to help make things clearer
There are chapters on:
- different approaches to organizing,
- thing organizing,
- time organizing and
- paper organizing.
Each chapter suggests strategies and processes for a person with ADD to try. Then the chapter continues and explains how a coach, friend or family member can assist. The last part of the chapter explains how a Professional Organizer would work with the client.
Easy to Use
The book is written and formatted so it is easy for a person with ADD to use. The sections are short. There are circles and boxes, headings and bullet points and a review section at the end of each chapter. Judith Kolberg, a Professional Organizer and Kathleen Nadeau, a Psychologist have collaborated to create a book full of strategies that work.
Share in the comments
What has been a helpful resource for learning about organizing skills?
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, virtually through Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Reading Tim: 5 minutes
We no longer call it hoarding or call a person a hoarder. Now we refer to it as hoarding disorder and a person with a hoarding disorder. There is much more respect for the journey being travelled by the person with a hoarding disorder.
Much is still not completely understood about hoarding disorder. Is it genetic, is it learned behaviour, is it caused by a mental wellness issue that triggers it? Is it a combination of all of these?
Making Peace with the Things in Your Life
In Making Peace with the Things in Your by Cindy Glovinsky, she writes about the internal battles of guilt and shame and by making peace with those a person can make peace with their things. She talks about figuring out what is going on in the person’s life so they can figure out why they are doing what they are doing. Part I talks about assumptions, Part II looks at habits and feelings, Part III describes possible causes of dealing with things and solutions and Part IV looks at ways to detach oneself from automatic emotional responses that perpetuate cycles of clutter.
Hoarding disorder is a complex situation involving learning how to change automatic responses that perpetuate clutter cycles. Share on X
Cluttered Pearls The Stigma of Hoarding
This 2013 article takes a close look at the many different types of behaviours involved in hoarding. The information is still true today. I hope you enjoy this perspective written by Jean Oliver http://www.nexusnewspaper.com/2013/01/24/cluttered-pearls-the-stigma-of-hoarding/
Hoarding Scale
The Institute of Challenging Disorganization is a resource for many different types of organizational problems including hoarding disorder. They developed the ICD® Clutter-Hoarding Scale® that is based on five levels of clutter. 
Clutter Image Rating
The Clutter Image Rating scale (with 9 levels/photos) was created by Dr. Randy Frost and Dr. Gail Steketee. They are experts in the field of hoarding. Their books are a good resource.
Offering Help
A lot of times a friend or family member will offer help. Too often the person thinks it would be better for the friend with a hoarding disorder to have a less cluttered space. The help is usually offered in a well-meaning manner. If the person with the hoarding disorder is not ready to change, progress will not be made or if some is made it will not be a lasting change. Talk to them about what they want and need. It may be to join a group for peer support in conquering their hoarding habits, working with a therapist or working with a Professional Organizer. The journey of changing habits and conquering shame is long but worth the time, energy and support you can give them.
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments about your hoarding disorder journey.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
For children of parents who hoard, the mess remains after their parents pass away.
Newsweek by Hannah R Buchdahl
“Greg Martin wasn’t sure what to expect when his mother died last May, forcing him to return to his childhood home for the first time in nearly 18 years. The house, located on a pleasant block in San Diego, had always been cluttered, but now it was virtually uninhabitable. “There were piles as tall as me, six feet or so,” Greg said. “Where there used to be floor, there were trails—a foot and a half high, so you’d be walking on stuff.” Greg was forced to navigate through piles of magazines, papers, and books, plastic bags filled with thrift-store purchases, expired medicine bottles and literally tons of clothes. The only “living space” was a small pocket by the front door, where his mother, a colorful and fiercely independent woman, had collapsed shortly before her death at the age of 83. Greg, who has taken a leave of absence from his job, expected that cleaning out the house would take six months. It’s now been eight—and counting.”
Relatives are forced to put grief on the back burner and the emotions that surface are usually anger, frustration, guilt and depression.
Books
This book can help you to better understand hoarding even if you are not a professional organizer.
Everything A Professional Organizer Needs to Know About Hoarding by Judith Kolberg
Clutter Scale
It can help to get information so you better understand the situation. You can download a clutter scale at https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/clutter-hoarding-scale-
ICD
ICD
The Institute of Challenging Disorganization also has resources available and a directory of Professional Organizers that can help a family member who hoards.
Share your stories with us in the comments.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
What are the causes of hoarding disorder?
Pile of misc items stored in an unorganized fashion in a room
Here is a good article on hoarding. Why do people like to live with so much stuff? There is no one easy answer. Some people feel it is part of a mental wellness issue and hoarding has been added to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Others feel it is a learned trait because they see it in families. Since people notice hoarding running in families they think it is a genetic trait. A person with a hoarding disorder once said to me, when the place was decluttered,” It feels like all my friends are gone.” Applying feelings of love and security to inanimate objects may also account for keeping stuff.
What is hoarding disorder?
Hoarding is not about being messy. Hoarding disorder is a persistent difficulty in discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. A person with hoarding disorder experiences distress at the thought of getting rid of the items regardless of the actual value of the items. Rooms and spaces become so cluttered that they cannot be used for their intended purpose. A person with a hoarding disorder won’t be able to sit at their table to eat, might not be able to sleep in their bed, may not be able to sit on their couch etc because they are filled with stuff. Hoarding disorder is a very complex issue. Seek out information and help to guide you through the process of letting go of things.
Hoarding disorder is not about being messy. Hoarding disorder is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them Share on X
Where can I find some information?
You can download a Clutter Hoarding Scale from the Institute of Challenging Disorganization site (ICD). This association has many resources that the public can access. Go to https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/ Here is another link to the article http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/conditions/hoarding-living-with-the-overwhelming-need-for-stuff/article4395448
If you find yourself in this situation please contact me at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Let go of the anxiety over missing information
Are you a digital hoarder?
Some people feel very anxious about missing some important news or information. They will save all kinds of articles, websites, reviews, newspapers etc. With digitizing information becoming so quick and easy now, many people are putting everything into their laptops, Dropbox, and cloud storage. Before you continue to save everything sort through it and keep what you need and love so you will be able to find it again on your device. If you have 11000 photos will you be able to share the one you want to find without becoming overwhelmed and frustrated? If you keep everything you will not be able to locate the information you want. Once again you will feel anxious. It started well worrying about missing out on information and it ends up with so much information it is useless. The anxiety is still there.
Read it and delete it
It is ok to forget things, in the past, you only remembered a few things that were important to you. Most things were forgotten.
File it so you can find it.
Make folders, files or date tabs so you can find things that you store. Delete duplicate and out of focus photos and file the best photos with a name on the picture. Use meaningful file names to help you set limits on the types of material you will store. Avoid file names like, to read, someday, when I have time, next month.
When it becomes obsolete delete it.
Your interests change, jobs change, where you live changes and the information you have collected is no longer relevant or of interest to you. You can search your files to find that type of information but that may take too much time, when you come across files that no longer interest you, delete them. It is ok. You are changing and growing and you are moving away from past interests. There are a lot more interesting things in your current life, you can let go of the 10 year old information holding you in the past and taking up your time. Look to the present and keep moving forward.
Avoid the temptation to save
Melinda Beck writes in the Wall Street Journal, “Nobody knows how many Americans have digital-hoarding issues … but the proliferation of devices, the explosion of information and the abundance of cheap storage have made it all too tempting for some people to amass emails, text messages, Word documents, Web pages, digital photos, computer games, music files, movies, home videos and entire TV seasons than they can ever use or keep track of.”
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Here is a great article about living with the overwhelming need for stuff. If you have a hoarding disorder or live with someone who has a hoarding disorder this information may help you to better understand the situation.
Hoarding living with the overwhelm of stuff.
Looking for some more information on hoarding disorder? Go to the Institute of Challenging Disorganization website. Share your stories with us.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Reading time – 3 minutes
This is the name of a book that can help people with ADD to get organized. It can also help other people to understand how they can assist someone with ADD to get organized. The person without ADD acts as a coach.
ADD Friendly ways to Organize your Life
The book mentions:
- Stop coaches – help to determine when the task is finished
- Decision Coaches – someone who can help to clarify thoughts and feelings by asking questions
- Priority coaches – talk things over to help make things clearer
There are chapters on:
- different approaches to organizing,
- thing organizing,
- time organizing and
- paper organizing.
Each chapter suggests strategies and processes for a person with ADD to try. Then the chapter continues and explains how a coach, friend or family member can assist. The last part of the chapter explains how a Professional Organizer would work with the client.
Easy to Use
The book is written and formatted so it is easy for a person with ADD to use. The sections are short. There are circles and boxes, headings and bullet points and a review section at the end of each chapter. Judith Kolberg, a Professional Organizer and Kathleen Nadeau, a Psychologist have collaborated to create a book full of strategies that work.
Share with us
What has been a helpful resource for learning about organizing skills?
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
For children of parents with hoarding disorder, the mess remains after their parents pass away.
Newsweek By Hannah R Buchdahl Jan 26, 2011
Greg Martin wasn’t sure what to expect when his mother died last May, forcing him to return to his childhood home for the first time in nearly 18 years. The house, located on a pleasant block in San Diego, had always been cluttered, but now it was virtually uninhabitable. “There were piles as tall as me, six feet or so,” Greg said. “Where there used to be floor, there were trails—a foot and a half high, so you’d be walking on stuff.” Greg was forced to navigate through piles of magazines, papers, and books, plastic bags filled with thrift-store purchases, expired medicine bottles and literally tons of clothes. The only “living space” was a small pocket by the front door, where his mother, a colorful and fiercely independent woman, had collapsed shortly before her death at the age of 83. Greg, who has taken a leave of absence from his job, expected that cleaning out the house would take six months. It’s now been eight—and counting.
It’s a scenario that’s all too familiar to children of hoarders, who are burdened with far more than funeral arrangements, probate, and grief. They must also deal with the overwhelming piles of stuff that a parent with hoarding disorder accumulated over the years—in apartments, in houses, in storage facilities, and in garages. The items themselves may vary, but for many children of parents with hoarding disorder, the result is the same: the unwanted inheritance of a whole lot of nothing.
Greg Martin’s mother lived in this home until her death last year. (milbetweenus.blogspot.com)
The inclination to hoard typically begins in the teenage years, but experts say it can also be triggered—or made worse—by brain damage, a traumatic life event, or depression. As the people with hoarding disorder age, the piles grow, gradually eclipsing everything else in their lives.
“I’m dreading the day when the house needs to be cleaned out, more than I dread the day that they leave us,” laments Teresa C. of Winnipeg, Canada. Teresa, like several others interviewed for this story, did not want to give her last name because the hoarding is a source of tension in her family. For Teresa, inheriting her ageing parents’ hoard is a worry for the future.
Hoarding is an extremely complicated mental disorder that generally involves the acquisition of too many items, difficulty getting rid of items, and problems with organization and prioritization. Few statistics exist related to hoarding, because people with hoarding disorder rarely seek or accept treatment. But shows like Hoarders have certainly raised awareness and triggered a tidal wave of anecdotal evidence to suggest the illness, often associated with obsessive compulsive disorder, affects millions—either directly or indirectly. Support groups and message boards are flooded with stories about the once-secret life of a person with hoarding disorder and their families, and the constant battles to get the person to understand the impact their illness is having on their loved ones. That impact doesn’t end with their passing.
“Nine times out of 10, it’s not the person with hoarding disorder who suffers; it’s whoever comes after them to clean up,” says a very frustrated Bill L. of Colorado, who’s been working to clean his mother’s home, located in a different state, for almost five years. (She suffered a stroke and has since moved into assisted living.) It took a dozen people, and eight Dumpsters, to clear out the first floor. Still to go: the second floor, a large attic, a basement, a garage, and a storage locker that Bill says should be easy, but may not be.
Often, people with hoarding disorder are the only ones who know or understand their system of “organization,” keeping stock certificates amid expired receipts or diamonds amid a pile of junk jewelry. For survivors, the stress and strain related to the search itself may simply outweigh the potential of finding any objects with financial or sentimental value. Bill plans to return to his mother’s house soon with a professional cleanout crew. “That will mean forgetting about recovering anything of value,” he says, “including possible family heirlooms. If we tried to continue sifting the hoard, we’d still be at it 10 years later [and] we’d be jobless, homeless, and insane.”
Cory Chalmers, owner of California-based Steri-Clean, which provides help finding hoarding-remediation specialists around the globe, estimates a typical clean-up can range from $5,000 to $20,000 and beyond depending on the severity of the hoard, conditions inside the home, and regulations relating to the disposal of electronics and hazardous materials. His crews occasionally recover items of value that may help offset the cost of the cleanup. But more often than not, it’s a simple, yet massive case of quantity over quality. “Most of the elderly people with hoarding disorder we work with all say the same thing: they’re saving this because it all has use, ‘I want to give this to my son, and this to my daughter, and this to my grandchild. [But] no one wants that crap,” he says, not without sympathy. “What they see as this big investment to pass on is really a big stress on families and not even worth it. A lot of them don’t want it. They’d rather just walk away.”
Share where you found your best information on hoarding disorder.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
