:D
Not always a bad thing :D
(note, this area has been cleaned out & sold off)


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A lot of hoarding seems to boil down to two things:

1. An intense fear that someone may discard something that they may later need. Often see this in depression era folks that can't seem to reset themselves into their new reality

2. Those that attach too much emotional value to an object. If I throw that birthday card away, it's like I don't care that Mom/Sis/Friend wished me well that day.

Hoarding is an illness. The few hoarders I have talked to seem to have the penchant for not wanting to let anything go. Some are better than others. Have seen a few younger people (20's) who are starting to hoard certain things and feel they will become full blown hoarders in a few years.

One guy (50's) was a car hoarder and had many desirable cars "returning to the earth" on his property. Couldn't get him to price anything. He would rather have them rot on his property than let someone else have a part off them.

I have seen a few hoarders break down in tears when either the city or county forces them to clean their places up. Holding on to old pizza boxes and maggot covered garbage like they are the crown jewels. They don't want to get rid of anything.

Understand your problem but have no solution to offer. You have to do what is required to make the property safe. Guarantee if he is left to his own devices, the place will return to the same state in a few years.

Ohhh I just can't throw away that empty tin can of beans, I opened and ate them the day after........

My father has this issue. It has been a huge source of stress. My suggestion is to develop an exit strategy from your client as soon as possible. You will not get anywhere with this, spend a lot of time being told to do impractical things (patch walls, etc), and in the end you will get blamed when it doesn't go right. Do not think you can talk sense into such a person. Develop an exit strategy now.

Edit: I read over this thread again and saw your earlier post about your relationship with the family. Do not let your loyalty to this cloud your decision making. Do whatever you feel right, but realize you are not going to solve this. All I can say is draw boundaries for your involvement in this. Good luck.

P.S.- I cannot watch the show hoarders- it hits too close to home.

Then there's the fellow in Sheridan, Wyoming hoarding long hoods. I see him posting nearly every single day on Craigslist, but from what I've heard, he won't answer emails/calls or provide prices. Wish I had his problem :)

My favorite pack rat.

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I hear ya. My job is to safe the house for the old man. He's a super nice guy, just has this illness that he can't realize. I am not looking for a solution (thanks for the thought) but really see if any of you out there has any insight on how to go about dealing with it. Stuff goes into the dump, and this 75 year old guy risk life and limb goes inside and gets it back and put the same trash in a different place.

Hey Leaky,

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it as this is the first time I had to deal with such thing. I needed someone with some insight to give me a little tip or how to go about dealing with him personally. This is a huge educational process for me that's for sure.

I just read a column that suggested that it is difficult to get rid of things but easier to decide what to keep.

The advice was to empty one space at a time, and once empty, decide what to put back (only allowing what will reasonably fit to be put back). Focus on the stuff that is being kept while someone else focusses on removing the other stuff while you are distracted by your special stuff that you selected.

For me, garbage day has become a game. After all the junk is at the curb, I go back inside and find one more thing to put out, and then go do something else before I am tempted to bring it back in. When I return and the truck has come and gone, I feel great relief :)

Nice. I'm sure a percentage of that would have otherwise ended up as trinkets in their next life.

There are some scary pics on the web of cars/basements filled to the brim with unhealthy trash.
After a certain point, I suppose it gets to be a challenge to do more.
Claiming a space.

As a kid, I remembered a neighbor that was a pack rat but so was his car. It was always fill with garbage with only enough room for the driver. I was just old enough to remember it then someone came in and cleaned up the place and lived in it ever since. This owner is the same way, his truck is fill to the rim.