I organize or clean something Everytime I see that show, a drawer a closet something I just have too. I always feel sad for them what kind of sadness do they feel that this is what happens.


There is actually 2 different shows Hoarders and Hoarding burried alive. The second one mostly focus on people with a lot of stuff and collections things they love. There is so much stuff they walk trough pathways and are overwhelmed those houses tend to not be trash oriented. Since the house is not a health or safety issue the clean up takes much longer as they sort more as they go through pretty intense thearapy.

Dottymo you are right it is not a choice it's a compulsion good luck getting the help you are looking for.

Oh I know there are two categories of hoarders. Unfortunately when it gets to the point the wallet cannot afford to manage the collecting and the maintenance to keep life under control is when things go really sideways. As a chaplain I have seen my share of a variety of hoards when I am part of welfare checks. In the pacific northwest we really seem to have a large number of these calls. We have a greater rate of mental health issues per capita, some say its the weather.

And to be honest I have struggled with collecting and acquiring behaviors myself. The first ten years of marriage were tough for my husband as he stood there thinking "who the heck did I marry?". He didn't always understand but he stuck in there. Buying and acquiring is not always about getting what we need, or even what we like. It can be a source of self-soothing, a source of endorphin release during the act, a way to fill an emptiness from where a connection has been broken, a point of control in a life where one does not feel they have any. Releasing things that we have made such a personal connection with can be almost impossible. And now, it is only in the most stressful times have I felt that urge creep around the edges of my mind, but now I have the ability to recognize the urge is signaling a greater problem to be addressed.

Dottymo, I love you my dear, my heart and prayers are with you on this journey.

I have a dear friend who is a hoarder. She goes to thrift shops about every two or three days and fills up her van mostly with dishes. Says they are so pretty she can't resist them. Her house is filled with stuff, though there is a path through it. I am constantly cleaning my house and have a bag in the laundry room for giveaways to thrift shops. I inherited all my mother's things which she inherited from her mother. So now I am giving away and cleaning like crazy. I love a very clean orderly house. Now if you could see my quilting room when I am in the throes of piecing, you would think two different women live in this house. It's very clean, just messy. I usually have about 3 or 4 quilts going at one time.

I agree with those who say "at least I'm not THAT bad!" . I can understand collecting ( certainly fabric!!) and keeping family possessions, but I DO NOT understand just throwing trash on the floor and living with it that way. Finishing a soda, or a bag of chips, and just tossing the cup and bag on the floor and walking over it and more? I guess that's why it's a mental disorder, because who would really WANT to live in a dump if you had control over it!?

Jan, I soooo agree with all you said.

I am not the best housekeeper by far but I do not let garbage such as paper plates, containers with food/drinks of any kind sit. It immediately goes to the dumpster. Same thing goes for dry foods and refrigerator foods. I do keep the dishes up. Pet food goes into a large tote with a lid. I don't want pests in my food or my pets' foods. Just a little at a time is all it takes. When it seriously affects your heath then it really is time to do something. Those hoarding shows just show how dangerous it can be when it goes for too long. when the facilities cannot be used for their intended purposes then hoarding has gone that.

I know that true hoarders have mental health issues but when I watch those shows I start another donation bag.

Hoarders inspires me to clean and toss. I think there must be a genetic element to some hoarding behaviors. As my mother grew older I noticed that her home was growing more and more cluttered. She would keep everything and I mean EVERYthing - old bread bags, jars, twist ties. My husband and I would try to help her clean up and would put stuff into the trash. When we returned, we'd find that she brought it back into the house, so we started loading it in our car and taking it home to our trash. As her friends passed away, she would bring their stuff into the house.

Her sister, my aunt, also hoarded everything. Fifteen years ago I visited her duplex in the heart of NYC and saw that the walls were lined with stacks of mail she hadn't opened. Her office was just as bad. She started hoarding sick old cats and the apartment had a horrible odor. I suggested to my sisters that this was unhealthy and that perhaps Adult Protective Services should become involved. They said NO! It makes her happy. Well, I don't know how happy she was as at the end she had 17 cats and her bed was covered in feces. It took my sister -- the worst enabler -- months to clean out the apartment.

I think I had the tendency to hoard myself, especially after the death of my mother. Thank God that Superstorm Sandy took 90% of it. I will never, not ever, go down that path again. And I do highly recommend Flylady. If you follow her you'll stay on track.

Don't get too carried away. Save some of that effort for quilting.

Krystyna do not take this as judgement because it is not my intent...I found this last statement very interesting you lost a large part of your things in a horrible disaster. And you know that you will never become a budding horder again. Do you feel like its easier that way in that you did not have to get rid of it that you did not have to make the decision to give a gift away or a memory of a loved one, you had no choice it was taken from you and you were able to say goodbye to it and blame a disaster? I think for some people it would have the opposite effect and they would now hoard everything and you feel like you gained control of it.

I wonder if it is a genetic or learned behavior or possible both, I do know it is a true mental health issue not what some people call laziness.