Is anyone else watching the TV series Hoarders on A&E?

here's a link to the episode I watched http://www.aetv.com/hoarders/video/

essentially it's like Intervention- but instead of being drug addicts and alcoholics its about people who are obsessive compulsive Hoarders...

This is a show that shows, finally, that the problem goes deeper than just "clean your damn house"  the people who hoard have a real psychological/ physical problem and believe that 'stuff' is viable remedy but instead it creates more problems for them.

The guy in the show- he really wasn't a hoarder- he did just need to clean his damn apt but he still had a real issue underneath. I don't feel like they helped him deal with it tho- at least not on camera.  He was blocking the path from his front door to his bedroom- he felt safe if he knew he could hear someone coming towards him while he slept this means he has some deep seated issues of someone coming to his room... funny because when they showed a pic of his dad I said to myself that guy looks like a child molester.... anyway- that's not the point.


I can relate to the show because- tho its not as bad as I've seen- I do have hoarding tendencies. 

My family moved a lot when I was a kid so I never really had a sense of home when I was growing up... now... all my things are what make my house my home!

But i've not quite progressed to the level that the people in the clip have. I've come close but I'm not quite there yet.

Q

My sister is a hoarder, and it is a psychological illness.  She lives in the house we grew up in and has filled it with stuff.  She is beginning to wake up to it, but now the house is in such terrible disarray she will have to take much less for it than what she could have gotten if she had kept in nice.  That coupled with the money she spent on absolute crap instead of investing in the house, well I love my sister, but she has been a trial.

What time/night does this come on?

Ant

What time/night does this come on?

Ant


Mondays at 10.  it repeats a couple times a week and the most recent ep is always avail at aetv.com 

I wish they'd put past eps up I want to see the one from last week.

I caught a bit of it the other night.  I've heard of people hoarding "stuff" but was shocked to see the woman who was hoarding food!  She would eat perishable things months/years after their expiration date claiming "I must have an iron stomach; it's never made me sick".  It's an honest look at an awful mental issue  :(

I caught a bit of it the other night.  I've heard of people hoarding "stuff" but was shocked to see the woman who was hoarding food!  She would eat perishable things months/years after their expiration date claiming "I must have an iron stomach; it's never made me sick".  It's an honest look at an awful mental issue  :(


for you that must have been hell!  ;D
you freak!  :P. (neat freak that is  ;) )

Yes!  I could not stand in such a house for more than 10 minutes without leaving or setting it on fire. ;D

I caught a bit of it the other night.  I've heard of people hoarding "stuff" but was shocked to see the woman who was hoarding food!  She would eat perishable things months/years after their expiration date claiming "I must have an iron stomach; it's never made me sick".  It's an honest look at an awful mental issue  :(

I saw that episode..yuck yuck yuck..I can't stand eating or drinking anything 2 days past the expiration date, that women had stuff that was almost 2 years old.

I saw that episode..yuck yuck yuck..I can't stand eating or drinking anything 2 days past the expiration date, that women had stuff that was almost 2 years old.


depending on what the item is I will go beyond the expiration date (its usually just a sell by date not a throwaway by date)  :P 
but not two years past! I'm crazy not stupid!

My sister is a hoarder, and it is a psychological illness.  She lives in the house we grew up in and has filled it with stuff.  She is beginning to wake up to it, but now the house is in such terrible disarray she will have to take much less for it than what she could have gotten if she had kept in nice.  That coupled with the money she spent on absolute crap instead of investing in the house, well I love my sister, but she has been a trial.


Ah yes, that sounds like my dear crazy friend Sam.  There sure is a lot of weird old stuff to look at in that little old house of his, but I wouldn't want to clean it, and, apparently, neither does he!  Some day, the whole bloody mess is going to come crashing down on top of him, and it'll look like Tim Burton meets Hurricane Katrina!
:o

I think the most famous hoarders in history are still the Collyer Brothers of Manhattan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers

I don't need the TV show.  I can just go over to my Mum's house of my bro's house if I want to see hoarding.  :-\\

depending on what the item is I will go beyond the expiration date (its usually just a sell by date not a throwaway by date)  :P 
but not two years past! I'm crazy not stupid!


Well chips and crackers, maybe but this lady was saving and eating yogurt that was 6 months old and more!

Well chips and crackers, maybe but this lady was saving and eating yogurt that was 6 months old and more!


I imagine it had that special digestive bacteria... bifidus diarrheus...


Heh heh...   ;D

Labor day monday there will be a marathon so I can catch up on the eps I've missed....

hmmm labor day.... how fitting!  ;)

Video isn't showing for me. Maybe because I'm not a US resident?  ???

Anyways... I think I can paint the picture (I've seen it happen).

Video isn't showing for me. Maybe because I'm not a US resident?  ???

Anyways... I think I can paint the picture (I've seen it happen).


essentially Henk its about people who live like this

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/images/hoarding/hoarding7.jpg

essentially Henk its about people who live like this

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/images/hoarding/hoarding7.jpg


That's pretty much what I expected. Sadly, I have a sister living in conditions like those - with her husband, three kids and three cats. Situation is mostly due to my brother in law (although it's not fair to blame him only).

I can think of a couple of members who'd fit this one  ;)

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/ht_many_cats_051111_ssh.jpg

this is closer to what my place looked liked before I cleaned it..... sorry shannon!  ;D

http://affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/wp-content/uploads/imageshoarding-04-small.jpg

this is closer to what my place looked liked before I cleaned it..... sorry shannon!  ;D

http://affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/wp-content/uploads/imageshoarding-04-small.jpg


Oh, holy shyt, Q, I will be right over.  I recently reconnected with a friend from high school who commented "remember when you used to come over my house and clean my room?"  :D

The cat thing is just beyond my comprehension altogether.  I don't like cats at all.  Ever.  My MIL has about 5, which explains why I only go there on Thanksgiving!

Oh, holy shyt, Q, I will be right over.  I recently reconnected with a friend from high school who commented "remember when you used to come over my house and clean my room?"  :D

The cat thing is just beyond my comprehension altogether.  I don't like cats at all.  Ever.  My MIL has about 5, which explains why I only go there on Thanksgiving!


well I did say it was close to what my apt looked like....mine was slightly better  I mean I could sleep in my bed and everything!  lol!

also you may remember- my apt is clean now! I even have pics to prove it!!!


Yeah I'm not a big fan of cats either...

well I did say it was close to what my apt looked like....mine was slightly better  I mean I could sleep in my bed and everything!  lol!

also you may remember- my apt is clean now! I even have pics to prove it!!!


Yeah I'm not a big fan of cats either...


Keep up the good work!  If you put things away as you go, it'll become a habit and wont be as daunting as tackling those messes above.

Keep up the good work!  If you put things away as you go, it'll become a habit and wont be as daunting as tackling those messes above.


the problem is I have more stuff than I have space for...  because my apt is really, really small.

Mondays at 10.  it repeats a couple times a week and the most recent ep is always avail at aetv.com   

I wish they'd put past eps up I want to see the one from last week.


I'll try to see it tonight.

I think I might be an "anti-horder" in the other extreme. I throw away everything that I deem irrelevant first chance I get, including boxes for new cereal (takes up too much space), all plastic wrapping/cardboard, old shoes, clothes that don't fit, etc. Not that the house can't get messy, but there is not a plethora of unused shyt everywhere.

My sister's philosophy is "a clean house is an empty house". lol 

Although she has the space and means to have more stuff, she keeps a very minimal amount of things in her house.

Ant

I'll try to see it tonight.

I think I might be an "anti-horder" in the other extreme. I throw away everything that I deem irrelevant first chance I get, including boxes for new cereal (takes up too much space), all plastic wrapping/cardboard, old shoes, clothes that don't fit, etc. Not that the house can't get messy, but there is not a plethora of unused shyt everywhere.

My sister's philosophy is "a clean house is an empty house". lol 

Although she has the space and means to have more stuff, she keeps a very minimal amount of things in her house.

Ant


pretty much everything I have I need, use or have a strong emotional attachment to...  If I had more space it'd be better (maybe not cleaner because I like the chaos) but still not on top of everything.

like right now I have a bookcase on top of my desk and two more on top of the amoire I have that doubles as a my head board... I just don't have room for shyt I need at least two or three rooms  extra rooms.

A lot of hoarders refuse to throw any of their garbage away.  My favorite hoarder was a dude in London who was not only retaining all his refuse, but he was going up and down the neighborhood streets, stealing other people's refuse, and bringing it back to his house!

8)

like right now I have a bookcase on top of my desk and two more on top of the amoire I have that doubles as a my head board... I just don't have room for shyt I need at least two or three rooms  extra rooms.



  I hope those bookcases are achored to the wall.  A small shaker could  send them falling on you while you sleep...

  Topic - No, I don't watch it...

  I hope those bookcases are achored to the wall.  A small shaker could  send them falling on you while you sleep...

   Topic - No, I don't watch it...


they are not anchored but trust me I tested them before going to sleep....I shook the hell out of that amoire those suckers are not going anywhere!  but thanks for the concern  :)

A lot of hoarders refuse to throw any of their garbage away.  My favorite hoarder was a dude in London who was not only retaining all his refuce, but he was going up and down the neighborhood streets, stealing other people's refuse, and bringing it back to his house!

8)


Kinda makes you wonder what they do with the TP when they're done with it...  :o

Kinda makes you wonder what they do with the TP when they're done with it...  :o


Ask a silly question... the Internet will answer.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6531/roflbotavxl.jpg

What I wanna know is, with at least six inches (!) of cigarette ash, even though there was a fire extinguisher on the table, how did that place not burn to the ground?  Hell, how did that computer, half-buried in cigarette butts, even function?

If your apartment is sooo nasty that pictures of it crash websites for two days...

.... ya might be a meth head.


Ask a silly question... the Internet will answer.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6531/roflbotavxl.jpg

What I wanna know is, with at least six inches (!) of cigarette ash, even though there was a fire extinguisher on the table, how did that place not burn to the ground?  Hell, how did that computer, half-buried in cigarette butts, even function?


No idea. Shame it didn't burn to the ground: that would have been an improvement.

Ant

All of these photos makes me feel better about my place. I have never seen the show. Maybe I should watch it.


I admit that I am a hoarder to some extent. Like Q, I have moved around a lot growing up and you lose that sense of "home" so "stuff" matters to you. (My sisters have the same problem). I also kind of understand the food hoarding because in a sense, I kind of do that, too-because I know what it is like to be hungry-not BAD, but just a little. Sometimes I hate having to share food that I love-even with Carlos. Yes, it is a psychologically thing-which I do recognize and keep in check. I also inherited my mother's cleaning ability-or lack of.  :-\\

As for my house-if I had to describe it, I would say that it is cluttered-yet fairly clean. It is not gross by any means and you can move around without having to climb over "stuff" (well, there are a few rooms that you do have to climb over "stuff" but they are not rooms that we really live in-just rooms that we put all of our "stuff" in). Right now, I am trying to de-clutter things. I'm doing it a little at a time. My sister has said many times that she is willing to come up and help me de-clutter but I am too embarrassed to admit that I can't handle my own mess.



Cat

Ask a silly question... the Internet will answer.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6531/roflbotavxl.jpg

What I wanna know is, with at least six inches (!) of cigarette ash, even though there was a fire extinguisher on the table, how did that place not burn to the ground?  Hell, how did that computer, half-buried in cigarette butts, even function?



Wait.... what fire extinguisher... what computer? Where? WHERE? WHERE????

All of these photos makes me feel better about my place. I have never seen the show. Maybe I should watch it.


I admit that I am a hoarder to some extent. Like Q, I have moved around a lot growing up and you lose that sense of "home" so "stuff" matters to you. (My sisters have the same problem). I also kind of understand the food hoarding because in a sense, I kind of do that, too-because I know what it is like to be hungry-not BAD, but just a little. Sometimes I hate having to share food that I love-even with Carlos. Yes, it is a psychologically thing-which I do recognize and keep in check. I also inherited my mother's cleaning ability-or lack of.  :-\\

As for my house-if I had to describe it, I would say that it is cluttered-yet fairly clean. It is not gross by any means and you can move around without having to climb over "stuff" (well, there are a few rooms that you do have to climb over "stuff" but they are not rooms that we really live in-just rooms that we put all of our "stuff" in). Right now, I am trying to de-clutter things. I'm doing it a little at a time. My sister has said many times that she is willing to come up and help me de-clutter but I am too embarrassed to admit that I can't handle my own mess.



Cat



I could never have anyone help me because they'd just never understand.  I have stuff from when I was a kid- when my visited she asked me why I still had something and I said because I need it.... well I probably don't need it because I'm not really using it but it comforts me to know its close at hand.

The one ep I saw- and if I didn't already mention theres a mini marathon Labor day monday night.  Anyway- the one ep I saw the kids were judging their mother and not at all sympathetic to the deep emotional and psychological process she was going thru.  Her son was there to "help" her but instead he kept pressuring her making it even harder for her to make the already tough decisions she had to make...

I will say this....  If your place is full of trash, empty soda cups, pop bottles, pizza boxes and uncleaned ash trays  then you're not a hoarder you're a pig.... you still have issues but you're a pig....even hoarders throw away garbage....

but if you have a lot of stuff that you don't have room for and it piles up and you keep buying (or obtaining) new stuff to add to the over grown pile...you're a hoarder and there is something else that probably needs fixing before you can fix the hoarding.

You throw stuff away on a hoarder without dealing with the issue you just give them a clean pallet to start all over with... deal with the issue then deal with the hoarding and you might see some progress....

I could never have anyone help me because they'd just never understand.  I have stuff from when I was a kid- when my visited she asked me why I still had something and I said because I need it.... well I probably don't need it because I'm not really using it but it comforts me to know its close at hand.

The one ep I saw- and if I didn't already mention theres a mini marathon Labor day monday night.   Anyway- the one ep I saw the kids were judging their mother and not at all sympathetic to the deep emotional and psychological process she was going thru.  Her son was there to "help" her but instead he kept pressuring her making it even harder for her to make the already tough decisions she had to make...

I will say this....  If your place is full of trash, empty soda cups, pop bottles, pizza boxes and uncleaned ash trays  then you're not a hoarder you're a pig.... you still have issues but you're a pig....even hoarders throw away garbage....

but if you have a lot of stuff that you don't have room for and it piles up and you keep buying (or obtaining) new stuff to add to the over grown pile...you're a hoarder and there is something else that probably needs fixing before you can fix the hoarding.

You throw stuff away on a hoarder without dealing with the issue you just give them a clean pallet to start all over with... deal with the issue then deal with the hoarding and you might see some progress....





I have just about every card & letter I have ever received since I was about 13 years old.  :o :o :o



Cat

I have just about every card & letter I have ever received since I was about 13 years old.  :o :o :o



Cat


I see nothing wrong with that. I don't have everyone I've ever gotten but I have a lot of them... me- I hoard pics, books, videos, toys, electronic gadgets and stuff...

I see nothing wrong with that. I don't have everyone I've ever gotten but I have a lot of them... me- I hoard pics, books, videos, toys, electronic gadgets and stuff...



With me, it is coins. However, I am in the process of going through my collection and I am going to get rid of a WHOLE bunch. Then I can go out and buy more.  :D ;D ;D ;D




Cat

Kinda makes you wonder what they do with the TP when they're done with it...  :o


What'dya mean "done" with it?
8-P

I watched one episode at the lake on Saturday...while I was cleaning my parents' house.  :)

It was so sad.

I will be the first to admit that my place has pockets of clutter and my desk needs attention (as does behind my door), but you can certainly navigate through my apt without stepping on stuff.  This is of course assuming we are not counting my daughter's bedroom or when she has to move out between semesters.  ::)

Wait.... what fire extinguisher... what computer? Where? WHERE? WHERE????


Right here... but remember, you'll also get the answer to the silly question before you get the answer to those perfectly reasonable questions.  Don't say I didn't warn ya!

I don't watch it religiously, but I've caught a couple episodes.  I may sit down and watch all of them Monday for the marathon.
Oddly enough, (even though my house isn't nearly that bad) it really takes a show like this (or any number of shows that deal with organizing such as Neat (filmed in Canada), Clean House (filmed in the Los Angeles area), Life Laundry (filmed in England), Clean Sweep (filmed everywhere in the United States), to get me motivated to tackle at least part of my mess.  I'm not sure what my main problem is, I, too, moved around alot as a kid (I went to 14 schools before high school) and I also inherited the "save everything" gene from my mom and grandma.  I had hopes that when I moved I could keep it clean, but that didn't happen.  I haven't even unpacked most of what I packed and the house is already overrun.

It tends to get VERY overwhelming and I tend to hide my head in the sand (or a pile of books on the floor) alot.  :-\\

Right here... but remember, you'll also get the answer to the silly question before you get the answer to those perfectly reasonable questions.  Don't say I didn't warn ya!


thank you.  yeah... I don't consider that hoarding... that is something else entirely!

I don't watch it religiously, but I've caught a couple episodes.  I may sit down and watch all of them Monday for the marathon.
Oddly enough, (even though my house isn't nearly that bad) it really takes a show like this (or any number of shows that deal with organizing such as Neat (filmed in Canada), Clean House (filmed in the Los Angeles area), Life Laundry (filmed in England), Clean Sweep (filmed everywhere in the United States), to get me motivated to tackle at least part of my mess.  I'm not sure what my main problem is, I, too, moved around alot as a kid (I went to 14 schools before high school) and I also inherited the "save everything" gene from my mom and grandma.  I had hopes that when I moved I could keep it clean, but that didn't happen.  I haven't even unpacked most of what I packed and the house is already overrun.

It tends to get VERY overwhelming and I tend to hide my head in the sand (or a pile of books on the floor) alot.   :-\\


I understand Patty... btw I love those other shows you mentioned... I haven't seen Life Laundry yet but i do watch How Clean is Your House.
Its not easy to know where to begin. I think the trick is not to look at the place as a whole- start with one room and work your way out- I only have two rooms so its not as easy- but still once I was able to get one of my rooms cleaned it was easier to start on the other one.

As much as I would love to pull everything out of the house (like they do on Clean Sweep) I don't have the luxury of space (nor do I have their man power) instead I had to deal with the notion that cleaning is going to make another room very messy- but once I get one space organized the other stuff will fall into place.... also I saved the task I hated the most (bathroom) for last. 

I don't think Life Laundry has been on in years.  I caught a series of them on BBC America a few years ago, and I *think* that is what the American "Clean Sweep" is based on.  Similar formats.  I just liked Life Laundry better, because it felt that they were trying to get behind the psychological reasons for the hoarding.  It's funny that in college, I was considering taking alot of psych courses and get a social worker license/degree mainly to figure out my own "tics".  :-\\  But I've never been good at sticking to things to see them through, I give up halfway through on most everything.  Never did get a degree in anything.  But I guess that's a whole other thread.  lol

Thanks for telling me about the marathon.  It'll give me something to do. (aside from cleaning, I like to watch other people clean.  Yee haw!)

I liked particularily in one of Roseanne Barr's stand up routines, she said something like: She didn't dust anymore, because 6 to 8 months later, you had to do it again.  (I'm paraphrasing).  I can relate.  :-[ :P

I've tried to get help from the therapist that we've been seeing about this hoarding issue (both my hubby and I do it.)  But for some reason, our counselor just kinda ignores it and moves on.  Maybe he doesn't know how to help us either.  ;D

My biggest problem is currently the house we are buying.  It belonged to an elderly man who died a year ago last April.  His family took all the stuff they wanted and left everything else.  Me, not wanting or able to get rid of stuff, kept everything that was here and added my stuff so viola, nowhere to put anything (even if I wanted to unpack boxes - which I don't.)  I AM making progress though.  When my hubby's father visited from Oakland, California last month, it kinda inspired us to really clean stuff, but then after he left, so did our inspiration/energy.  lol

I don't think Life Laundry has been on in years.  I caught a series of them on BBC America a few years ago, and I *think* that is what the American "Clean Sweep" is based on.  Similar formats.  I just liked Life Laundry better, because it felt that they were trying to get behind the psychological reasons for the hoarding.  It's funny that in college, I was considering taking alot of psych courses and get a social worker license/degree mainly to figure out my own "tics".   :-\\  But I've never been good at sticking to things to see them through, I give up halfway through on most everything.  Never did get a degree in anything.  But I guess that's a whole other thread.  lol

Thanks for telling me about the marathon.  It'll give me something to do. (aside from cleaning, I like to watch other people clean.  Yee haw!)

I liked particularily in one of Roseanne Barr's stand up routines, she said something like: She didn't dust anymore, because 6 to 8 months later, you had to do it again.  (I'm paraphrasing).  I can relate.   :-[ :P

I've tried to get help from the therapist that we've been seeing about this hoarding issue (both my hubby and I do it.)  But for some reason, our counselor just kinda ignores it and moves on.  Maybe he doesn't know how to help us either.   ;D

My biggest problem is currently the house we are buying.  It belonged to an elderly man who died a year ago last April.  His family took all the stuff they wanted and left everything else.  Me, not wanting or able to get rid of stuff, kept everything that was here and added my stuff so viola, nowhere to put anything (even if I wanted to unpack boxes - which I don't.)  I AM making progress though.  When my hubby's father visited from Oakland, California last month, it kinda inspired us to really clean stuff, but then after he left, so did our inspiration/energy.  lol





I know what you mean about not finishing stuff... I still have a couple of unfinished screenplays on my computer- and and a few more in my head  ;)


since you inherited some stuff with the house I'd have a garage sale- before the weather turns.... hopefully you can get rid of a crap load of stuff and make a little bit of cash. Then you might have room to manuver stuff or at least see enough progress to motivate you to start your own process.

thank you.  yeah... I don't consider that hoarding... that is something else entirely!


Heh, that's probably the only time anyone's gonna thank anyone for showing 'em that :)

I view it as a spectrum -- it's the same behavior / disorder / pathology ("missionary / freaky / eeewww!"), just taken to the extreme.

Let's look at those pictures in the way that the hoarder probably did:

"Enough room on the couch for me to sit, don't need the other cushions to be free.  Hey, that cup might be useful as an ashtray someday, might as well keep it.  But I can still fit a few more butts in the cup that's currently being used as the ashtray, though.  There's a bit of white on that TP that hasn't been used.  (or "They cut off the water, I can't flush it anymore!")  The pizza boxes are stacked to save space.  Some of those cups still have soda in 'em, can't throw away perfectly good soda, even if it's flat.  The ironing board is still a flat space that's free of clutter, see, I can still do the laundry.  I'll clean up the keyboard someday.  Right now it works just fine.  Monitor's screen is clear, that's the part I actually look at, right?"

I'll throw myself out for comparison.  "Nothing on the floor that ain't supposed to be on a floor.  No food waste, ever.  Every work/eat/play/sleep station can be walked to, in the dark, and you don't have to live here to do it.  See, I'm just fine.  Now, the 6 arcade machines?  Well, I don't play 'em every night, and I can only play one at a time, but some night I might wanna play all 6 just for the hell of it.  Sure, I could just build one MAME cabinet that plays every game ever written, but hey, it wouldn't feel quite the same as using the original hardware...  Speaking of which, the storage room full of boxes/shelving units with hardware for games that I'll restore when I'm a gajillionaire?  Well, there's MAME, that'd be a lot easier.  But someone, somewhere, will want to run the original hardware.  It'd be a shame to throw it away, and I'm too lazy to sell it to someone who wants it now.  So, antistatic bag, label it, into the shelving unit, for restoration or resale 'someday'!  The workbench?  Well, every part's in its drawer, and it's supposed to have 100 teeny tiny drawers full of electronic parts.  Never know when you might need a 74LS138, sure beats ordering one online for $0.39 and $15 for overnight shipping!"  Never mind my pile of 80s-era TTL chips, I can order vacuum tubes through the 'net... even though I'm probably ordering from guys who thought "#80 rectifier tube?  Someone with an old radio might need that!" just like I thought about the TTL chips. 

In terms of health and aesthetics, it's all good -- but is there any fundamental difference between that and the house of horrors up there?  The lady with 99 cats, or Grandma with 99 Hummel figurines, or decorative plates, or the Comic Book Guy with 99 Star Wars action figures ("Hey, I could save tons of space by opening up the packaging and putting them on the shelf, but then they wouldn't be worth as much... even though I'm never gonna sell 'em!"), or whatever else it is they happen to collect...

To turn the thread 90 degrees, the MMORPG guys are banking serious coin because they've figured this out -- WoW and its ilk are fundamentally about collecting virtual property and providing a social space in which the amassment of such collections can take place.  The only difference between the guy with the character fully decked out in epic loot - vs. the hoarder - is that the epic loot takes up less physical space. 

The packrat mentality manifests itself differently, but it's innate in all of us; it goes back to the days when we were hunter/gatherers, and we didn't know where our next meal was coming from, and the simplest of tools took hours/days to manufacture.  Carry at least two pointy sticks and sharp stones, never know when your good spear/knife might break/chip...

I could never have anyone help me because they'd just never understand.  I have stuff from when I was a kid- when my visited she asked me why I still had something and I said because I need it.... well I probably don't need it because I'm not really using it but it comforts me to know its close at hand.

The one ep I saw- and if I didn't already mention theres a mini marathon Labor day monday night.   Anyway- the one ep I saw the kids were judging their mother and not at all sympathetic to the deep emotional and psychological process she was going thru.  Her son was there to "help" her but instead he kept pressuring her making it even harder for her to make the already tough decisions she had to make...

I will say this....  If your place is full of trash, empty soda cups, pop bottles, pizza boxes and uncleaned ash trays  then you're not a hoarder you're a pig.... you still have issues but you're a pig....even hoarders throw away garbage....

but if you have a lot of stuff that you don't have room for and it piles up and you keep buying (or obtaining) new stuff to add to the over grown pile...you're a hoarder and there is something else that probably needs fixing before you can fix the hoarding.

You throw stuff away on a hoarder without dealing with the issue you just give them a clean pallet to start all over with... deal with the issue then deal with the hoarding and you might see some progress....


people get labeled as hoarders when they simply don't have a realistic amount of space.i think they use the word like a racist person would use a racial slur.it's not a reason to pick on people.After all,they're not pedophiles or dope sellers.You need to put it in perspective.

people get labeled as hoarders when they simply don't have a realistic amount of space.i think they use the word like a racist person would use a racial slur.it's not a reason to pick on people.After all,they're not pedophiles or dope sellers.You need to put it in perspective.


this is true...however, the episode from last week, Tara/Betty....

Betty was the daughter of a garbage man, had lived that way her whole life. Her hubby's an alcoholic with some illness that means he has to be cared for now.  And one of her adult daughters has luekemia.  Another of her children (an adult daughter living at home) is, I'm 99.9999999% sure, a meth addict----  

The meth daughter has three rooms of the house stuffed to rafters the way the rest of the property is.....she did her own space while mom and two daughters, the cancer one and another one who just wanted to know family mattered to mom- helped mom wade thru the crap... in this case there was a lot of crap....

anyway- obviously the issues in this family go way deeper than mom hoards crap but when the daughter asked mom what was more important her 'crap' (its my term) or her family.... mom couldn't answer. You could see it was ripping the two "good" daughters apart to see mom didn't care- or couldn't express that she cared about them.  This ep is on again tonight....


btw... until she got all whiny about it.... I'm closer in my issues to Tara than anyone I've seen so far... 

I caught a bit of the show tonight. Mostly the crazy cat lady with the collection of cat corpses.  :(

Ant

^ Holy Crap  8-P  That's awful.

I caught a bit of the show tonight. Mostly the crazy cat lady with the collection of cat corpses.  :(

Ant


^ Holy Crap  8-P  That's awful.

thank God I missed that episode :o :o

thank God I missed that episode :o :o


Thank God I have it recorded!  ;D

I caught a bit of the show tonight. Mostly the crazy cat lady with the collection of cat corpses.  :(

Ant
That sounds less like hoarding and more like some weird religious belief! ??? :o

so I got around to watch the cat lady one  WTF.... she wants to save cats so she takes them in only to be responsible for killing over 40?!? 
I am by no means a cat lover but damn! 

and what's with the dude thinking throwing away dog hair was going to accelerate his dogs life  ::)  that kid has some serious deep rooted issues and I hope he gets help... now...


The lady with the food... oh that's not bad I can still eat it.. and its dated 2007!  :o  Now I have eaten some things past the expiration date because really- its just a sell by date the stuff has to be off store shelves by a certain date but is still good (depending on the item) for days up to a couple weeks/months past the date... but 6 months to 2 years... HELL TO THE NO!!!!

The family who needed to clean or lose their kids...that woman was in the right mindset but her husband was not...again there's something there that goes deeper than clutter... I liked her mother technique and the way she talked her son thru the trauma of watching his playhouse destroyed....that's still gonna plague him for the rest of his life... the only reason I collect barbies is because I'm compensating for the loss I felt when my mom threw all mine away because I wouldn't clean my room.

now I'm still a slob and I have more toys than I know what to do with....so how was that an effective lesson MOM?! HUH!?!? 

I caught a bit of the show tonight. Mostly the crazy cat lady with the collection of cat corpses.  :(

Ant


Just watch out for the crazy cat with the collection of lady corpses!

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/13/icon_sunny.gif

Just watch out for the crazy cat with the collection of lady corpses!

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/13/icon_sunny.gif


That very well might be one of my "furry children" one day.  They sure do scratch me enough so that I'm not sure if they are intending to flay the flesh off my body or if that's just an extra added perk to being "owned" by a cat.

I finally saw part of this show the other day. It does make me feel good because I'm not THAT bad-at least not YET!  :-\\


Hey Max? You have been to our house. Is it THAT bad?



Cat

Watching this weeks ep....specifically Kerrylea's part I was listening to the organizer talk about hoarding....how one common theme among hoarders is they can get rid of stuff if they know someone will care for it- they pass it along to people because they think they might be able to use it.... I TOTALLY DO THAT...

Plus the "STUFF" carries a memory or sentimental meaning.... YEP!!!!

I was beginning to think that I might be a hoarder in training but then we got into the part where the woman took 9+ hours to clean one freaking bathroom and she was holding on to Soft Soap bath soap because it had about 4 more uses in it (she didn't say that I'm just guesstimating based on how much was left in the bottle)

anyway- maybe I'm not a hoarder in training  ;)


Two interesting things in this one...
first- Lauren's mom was quite passive aggressive when dealing with the shoes...her dad was too..... this doesn't help people!

second- Kerrylea got a bit passive aggressive herself when she realized that the ugly rolltop desk (circa 1985) was thrown away instead of put in the garage like she "asked"  if that conversation occurred it got edited out because the conversation I saw implied that the desk was to taken out by the garbage haulers.


finally... it was interesting to watch Lauren talk about how she uses the hoarding to control her boyfriend. Like her attachment to  the stuff and the aggression she feels if its mishandled allows her to dominate him... Interesting.

I watched an episode the other day. The woman had so much sh!t, they had to use shovels to clean it up. What was really bad was the fact they found two dead cats buried underneath the crap. The woman lost her teeth in the mess. They found the uppers but not the bottoms. (They were shocked that they actually found half of them because it was like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack.)


Right now, my kitchen is basically on my dinning room table as well as in our spare bedroom. Even with that-my house is nowhere near as bad as some of those houses are.



Cat

I watched Hoarders for the first time a couple a days ago.

Quite coincidentally I also have a dumpster over at my house because I have a bunch of demolition debris (I am doing house renovations) to get rid of.

Now that I have seen Hoarders, I am now making sure to throw away ANY of the "crap" that I have laying around!  ;D ;D

On a serious side though, both my mother and brother are "hoarders" although not nearly to the extent that you see on TV.  Trash rarely gets put in the trash can, used diabetic test strips are strewn about the table, financial records from 20 years ago magically appear in the most unexpected places.  And if I throw stuff out, I basically have to take the trash bag with me to my home, or else it will be retrieved at Mum's house and restrewn.  :-\\

I do not understand why Hoarders talks about hiring "organizers" for people.  These people are not disorganized, they have some sort of disorder.  The last person they are going to listen to is an "organizer". 

I saw a case of hoarding irl recently. The house was busy, yet mostly managable and okay. The garage (converted to a studio apt) otoh was the worst I've ever seen. Recycle stuff, Christmas decorations, who knows what else were piled 6' high on every wall, and in the middle of the floors as well. Place belongs to a foaf, I'd offer to help clean it up, but I'm not sure how or if I should approach this one.  :-\\

Ant

I saw a case of hoarding irl recently. The house was busy, yet mostly managable and okay. The garage (converted to a studio apt) otoh was the worst I've ever seen. Recycle stuff, Christmas decorations, who knows what else were piled 6' high on every wall, and in the middle of the floors as well. Place belongs to a foaf, I'd offer to help clean it up, but I'm not sure how or if I should approach this one.  :-\\

Ant


In all likelihood, in return for your gracious offer, Red, you'll receive a lecture as to how each and every item in that garage is either (a) valuable, (b) an irreplaceable memento, or (c) something that might just be desperately needed some day soon. 

If the owner of that stuff says "great come on over and we'll do it together", don't be surprised if you get absolutely nothing done, as the owner churns through every little scrap of paper and receipt, reads it, takes a ride down memory lane with it, and then decides that it needs to be "set aside for safe keeping".  At the end of the day you won't have enough stuff discarded to fill a small waste paper basket.

Been there, done that.  The only cleaning I now do at my Mum's place is what's needed to keep the place from being a fire trap or a sanitation hazard.    Anything beyond that is hopeless.

And I take the trash with me to my place (for disposal) so that it does not magically reappear from the trashcan at Mum's. 

I watched an episode the other day. The woman had so much sh!t, they had to use shovels to clean it up. What was really bad was the fact they found two dead cats buried underneath the crap. The woman lost her teeth in the mess. They found the uppers but not the bottoms. (They were shocked that they actually found half of them because it was like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack.)


Right now, my kitchen is basically on my dinning room table as well as in our spare bedroom. Even with that-my house is nowhere near as bad as some of those houses are.



Cat


I watched that one... that woman was a royal bitch!  I left that ep feeling unsatisfied and sad....wondering what happened to her to change her from a beautiful woman to an old, bitter hag. 

She was pure evil. No capacity for love... always blaming everyone else for her problems.  >:(

I watched Hoarders for the first time a couple a days ago.

Quite coincidentally I also have a dumpster over at my house because I have a bunch of demolition debris (I am doing house renovations) to get rid of.

Now that I have seen Hoarders, I am now making sure to throw away ANY of the "crap" that I have laying around!   ;D ;D

On a serious side though, both my mother and brother are "hoarders" although not nearly to the extent that you see on TV.  Trash rarely gets put in the trash can, used diabetic test strips are strewn about the table, financial records from 20 years ago magically appear in the most unexpected places.  And if I throw stuff out, I basically have to take the trash bag with me to my home, or else it will be retrieved at Mum's house and restrewn.  :-\\

I do not understand why Hoarders talks about hiring "organizers" for people.  These people are not disorganized, they have some sort of disorder.  The last person they are going to listen to is an "organizer". 



usually these "organizers" are not your typical organizers...they are usually specialists who deal with hoarding.  For the really extreme cases they hire a psychiatrist and an organizer.

I watched an episode the other day. The woman had so much sh!t, they had to use shovels to clean it up. What was really bad was the fact they found two dead cats buried underneath the crap. The woman lost her teeth in the mess. They found the uppers but not the bottoms. (They were shocked that they actually found half of them because it was like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack.)


Right now, my kitchen is basically on my dinning room table as well as in our spare bedroom. Even with that-my house is nowhere near as bad as some of those houses are.

Cat


Yeah that house (and the lady) was NASTY.  8-P  The bathroom was so bad that a couple of the cleanup crew guyz refused to go in there.

How could you have two rotting cats in your house and not notice?    :o

My money says that one year from now that place will once again be a festering heap of putridity.  8-P

Yeah that house (and the lady) was NASTY.  8-P

How could you have two rotting cats in your house and not notice?    :o


so I guess you missed the one with the lady who had 39 dead cats in her place  ;D

so I guess you missed the one with the lady who had 39 dead cats in her place  ;D


Damn.  I had a buddy whose dog died in the house when he was gone for a couple a days, and that house stank incredibly... months after he attempted to clean, disinfect, and sanitize.  I walked into that house and it was like a punch in the nose. (Which is even more amazing because I have almost no sense of smell).

Multiplied by 39?  Wow.

Damn.  I had a buddy whose dog died in the house when he was gone for a couple a days, and that house stank incredibly... months after he attempted to clean, disinfect, and sanitize.  I walked into that house and it was like a punch in the nose. (Which is even more amazing because I have almost no sense of smell).

Multiplied by 39?  Wow.


I know I was thinking that.. I had a mouse die in my shoe once and that smell was unbearable... so you know I can't really imagine 39 dead cats either... funny thing... the woman was a collector of stray cats. She wanted to "save" them and give them a home... the cats would run around the house, mate, have kittens that weren't known about and not getting nourishment... at least one cat looked like it had been smashed by the crap in the house.

I can't resist posting this:  :D ;D ;D ;D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcPvl6oEN-Y




I watched that one... that woman was a royal bitch!  I left that ep feeling unsatisfied and sad....wondering what happened to her to change her from a beautiful woman to an old, bitter hag. 

She was pure evil. No capacity for love... always blaming everyone else for her problems.  >:(





I noticed how she was blaming everyone else. "Yeah, I my daughter put this dresser right here in the middle of everything when it should have gone into the bedroom" HELLO!!!! You can't GET to the bedroom!!!!

I also noticed how her kids were more grateful to the workers than she was. It was like she EXPECTED it.


Yeah that house (and the lady) was NASTY.  8-P  The bathroom was so bad that a couple of the cleanup crew guyz refused to go in there.

How could you have two rotting cats in your house and not notice?    :o

My money says that one year from now that place will once again be a festering heap of putridity.  8-P


My place is messy but that was just plain NASTY!!!  I think after living like that for long, you don't notice the smell.



so I guess you missed the one with the lady who had 39 dead cats in her place  ;D



I missed that one-which I am glad about. I think that one would haunt me.



Cat

^ love dead puppies!


yeah that son (who was raised by his sister) was so sad and happy the guys were willing to brave the mess... I don't blame those workers not wanting to do the bathroom... I wouldn't go near that with a haz mat suit and a ten foot shovel!

Never watched it but I lived it 5 years ago. My late aunt was a excessive hoarder. My sister and I (only surviving heirs) got stuck cleaning out her house. 8-P

Never watched it but I lived it 5 years ago. My late aunt was a excessive hoarder. My sister and I (only surviving heirs) got stuck cleaning out her house. 8-P


Oy I'm sorry...if you want to relieve the memory....or see some people who could be worse than your late aunt... you can watch eps online at aetv.com

The show is (finally) aired on Dutch television, but at the most inconvenient of times (starts at 23:30 at the earliest).

Caught a glimpse of an episode this week, though. It featured a cat lady (THE cat lady? ???) and a 21-year old living with his parents (father was an alcoholic). I forgot their names. :-\\


MTA: her name is Shirley, his name is Jake. And he's living with his father. I'm currently watching the show online.

The show is (finally) aired on Dutch television, but at the most inconvenient of times (starts at 23:30 at the earliest).

Caught a glimpse of an episode this week, though. It featured a cat lady (THE cat lady? ???) and a 21-year old living with his parents (father was an alcoholic). I forgot their names. :-\\


MTA: her name is Shirley, his name is Jake. And he's living with his father. I'm currently watching the show online.


Oh yes - she definitely was the cat lady!

The show is (finally) aired on Dutch television, but at the most inconvenient of times (starts at 23:30 at the earliest).

Caught a glimpse of an episode this week, though. It featured a cat lady (THE cat lady? ???) and a 21-year old living with his parents (father was an alcoholic). I forgot their names. :-\\


MTA: her name is Shirley, his name is Jake. And he's living with his father. I'm currently watching the show online.


that episode was rather tragic.... and strange...the boy thought he was killing his dog by throwing away hair it had shed...
was that the lady with the 20 something dead cats in her house????

Oh yes - she definitely was the cat lady!


yeah I thought so..... crazy!!!

that episode was rather tragic.... and strange...the boy thought he was killing his dog by throwing away hair it had shed...


Rather tragic, I agree. The boy was thinking of suicide, as the only way out for him.  :(

But in the end he cleared out his room and his fathers', and he got rid of all the dog hair. Yay for him! :)


was that the lady with the 20 something dead cats in her house????


I think it was closer to 45, actually. :o

Somebody mentioned the stench coming from those decaying corpses must've been (close to) unbearable. I think you grow used to it.
(Well, obviously  ::)... because the cat lady was living there with her husband - who didn't seem to mind to cats going)

Rather tragic, I agree. The boy was thinking of suicide, as the only way out for him.  :(

But in the end he cleared out his room and his fathers', and he got rid of all the dog hair. Yay for him! :)

I think it was closer to 45, actually. :o

Somebody mentioned the stench coming from those decaying corpses must've been (close to) unbearable. I think you grow used to it.
(Well, obviously  ::)... because the cat lady was living there with her husband - who didn't seem to mind to cats going)


they did a follow up episode with them and a couple of others. I forget how they are doing now tho.