I enjoy watching clips and videos of the tv show “Hoarders” on Youtube.
Now I know people with way more junk than they need (guilty) but NEVER as bad as what they show on the show with all the garbage. We hope to take a month this summer and do nothing but get rid of stuff.
Have you ever known a “Hoarder” as bad as what they show on tv or just know people with lots of junk?
Yes, a few.
My elderly neighbor up in Ohio. Nice guy. When he died I went through his place with his son. It was packed to the rafters with stuff. Old newspapers bundled up. Piles of receipts and other spare junk.
Another elderly woman whose house always smelled terrible was found to have hundreds of cats, dead and alive. I’m not sure if that should count but eventually the city declared it a health hazard, she went to a home - at her children’s request - and the house was torn down as a lost cause.
My ex-wife saved everything should could. By the time I moved out I realized that I’d moved several times and there were boxes we’d never opened that included things like her elementary school reports and such. It was a constant push-and-pull between the two of us as I’m more the ‘hell with it, get rid of it’ sort.
I know an elderly woman who spent a lifetime dealing with an emotionally abusive husband. she developed a habit of buying things - ostensibly to placate any demand that he might suddenly express, but it seems to have gone off the rails at some point and simply become a way to ease her own emotional distress. In her home, there are many, many duplicates of the typical set of household goods - far more pots/pans/utensils than one household could ever find useful, odd appliances that she bought because she thought they might someday come in handy (many still new in the box after years and years), and so on. Because her household is so inundated with stuff, the prospect of relocating causes a lot of mental stress; she gets anxious at the thought of all of the mental work that would go into deciding what to keep and what to offload. What if she gets rid of something, only to discover two months later that she could have put it to good use? Such a waste of money, and then she would have to buy it again.
So I guess by the definition of hoarding:
she does indeed qualify as a hoarder. 
Yes, it counts. Animal hoarding is a particular type of hoarding disorder.
My brother in law is a hoarder. He has three semi trailers full of stuff and counting. My sister in law was worse than he is before she passed away. She filled the attic, basement and garage with Barbie dolls and Christmas yard decorations.
My late MIL was a serious hoarder. The living room had a narrow path to walk through, to get from the front door to the kitchen and hallway between the piles of stuff. The table in the dining area had just enough clear space on it for my MIL and FIL to eat at, with the rest of it, and the area between the table and the walls, piled high with stuff. (Insert similar descriptions for all the other rooms, except for the room my FIL used as an office, which was off limits to her.)
She’d routinely buy groceries and set the bags in whatever floor/sofa/table space was available in the living room because the kitchen counters were too cluttered to set the bags down all at once. Fruits and veggies would spoil in their bags in the living room. Her cats would poop behind the clutter in various rooms, and on those occasions when I’d try to clean a room for her, I’d find the long-dried-up poop on the carpet.
Their shed is still packed floor-to-ceiling with her stuff. It’s been two years since she passed away, and none of us has had the guts to try to excavate it.
Man, not nbearly that bad, bvut then “Hoarders” doesn’t show you people who are only kinda bad. They show you the worst.
My grandfather was a bit of a hoarder. A child of the Depression, he threw nothing out. When he died in 2005, my parents and sister and I went in there to help out my grandmother with cleaning - she chose to immediately move out - and only after we got in there did we realize what an impossible job it was.
The house APPEARED clean and organized, so it wouldn’t have made you think he was a hoarder. There would have been nothing worth putting on a TV Show. However, he had shit jammed in everywhere. Since it wasn’t in any noticeable way affecting their lives - he didn’t have shit piled up in the kitchen so you couldn’t use it, like you see in the shows - he was not diagnosible as having a disorder, but I’m convinced he came up just 10% short. He was buying things and never using them - he had like five cordless drills, three of which had never been taken out of the box. He had electric bills from 1974. I don’t think he’d thrown anything away in decades. We ended up having to hire professionals to clear it out.
My ex-wife was bad about that. She kept everything, including broken appliances, school supplies from when she was a teacher 50 years ago, etc. The bedroom was always full of big plastic bags full of clothing. About ten years ago, she asked my kids to help her clear out her garage, as she was downsizing to an apartment. They finally had to tell her to not be there while they did the work, as she kept retrieving all that crap from the large industrial dumpster they had rented. They also had to get rid of an 80s vintage van that was rusting away in the back yard and hadn’t run for at least ten years.
I have an aunt who’s a hoarder.
Uncle Ron had been retired ever since I was a little kid; he spent his days going to store openings to get free stuff and enter drawings. They had an uncanny knack for winning the drawings, I mean they won WAY more than could mathematically be expected by random chance, it was weird, but anyways between the free stuff and whatever they won in the drawings, their house was completely filled with crap. Almost all of it was throwaway garbage, but Uncle Ron didn’t really have anything better to do and it seemed to make him happy to collect it. Guess what everybody got for gifts on Christmas and birthdays?
When I was a kid I’d only been to their house maybe twice, and we only went into the kitchen because it wasn’t really possible to get into the rest of the house; there were just those narrow lanes they used to get to the bedroom and bathroom and down the stairs to the basement. Every other available space was filled floor to ceiling with stacks of boxes and books and newspapers and random shit.
Growing up we always assumed it was all Uncle Ron, and he clearly had a serious problem, but after he passed away and she was on her own, my brother bought their house and it quickly became apparent that Uncle Ron wasn’t the only one contributing to the pile. I helped my brother clear out the house, which took 3 months and I don’t even know how many dumpsters.
Meanwhile, my aunt bought a beautiful, new, expensive condo in a ritzy part of town and filled it with beautiful, new, expensive furniture. Then she proceeded to shop for a literal metric ton of expensive jewelry and clothes and piled those up on top of her beautiful, new, expensive furniture. Then she proceeded to shop for kitchen appliances and piled those on the counter in her beautiful, new, expensive kitchen. As far as anyone can tell, she’s only worn a fraction of the new clothes maybe once, and the kitchen appliances are all still in the boxes. There’s a narrow lane from the front door of the apartment to the bathroom and the bedroom. The kitchen is no longer accessible at all, but she eats out every meal anyways.
Yes, I met a guy once when I lived in NYC. His apartment had stuff packed in stacks wall to wall, floor to ceiling. There was a narrow passage between the stacks, leading to the next room. You couldn’t tell that there were windows. Stacks of newspapers, magazines, books, crates of cans and soda bottles, all the way to the ceiling. There was just enough room for a twin mattress that he slept on. I pity whoever had to clean the place out when the guy died.
My sister. It’s not two lanes with stuff piled on each side from floor to ceiling but I think it’s still a hoarding situation. She bought a side-by-side refrigerator a couple of years ago because it wasn’t too deep and she didn’t want it to have stuff stashed way in back that she couldn’t/wouldn’t get at. I opened the freezer when I was there for Christmas and it was packed solid. Just a complete wall of frozen food. Every counter top in the kitchen is always covered with stuff. She has like 40 melamine plates in her cupboard and an equal number of glasses that she uses for this one party once a year. Me, I’d put that stuff in storage so I could put other stuff in that cupboard and have somewhere to put all the crap on the counter. It wouldn’t matter though. The counter would just fill up with other crap. She stuck a portable island in her small kitchen so she’d have a work surface, which is a total PITA during family gatherings. Her craft room is a disaster. I haven’t been upstairs or to the basement in a couple of years but I’m sure they’re the same. Her childhood bedroom was the same way. I said to her husband once, “I think she’s a borderline hoarder.” His reply: “Borderline?” Her daughter who grew up in that house, said to me this Christmas, “I just can’t stand being in here.” I described her house to my claims adjuster friend once and she said, “Oh. A fire trap.” I suggested to my sister once they they rent a dumpster and toss some stuff out. “Oh, we already did that.”
The worst I’ve personally known is one of Mrs. Charming and Rested’s cousins. She lives with her mother (my wife’s aunt) and father, an uncle, one sibling and their grandmother. She hoards pop culture collectibles that are basically fill every closet and under every bed, and which are also stacked on every available surface in the house. She also buys Costco-sized containers of food that they will never eat, like cereal, granola bars, brownie mixes, and ramen. The containers fill the space under and completely cover the kitchen and dining room tables. They all eat from plates or bowls while standing in the kitchen because there isn’t any place to sit.
My grandmother had a tenant in one of her apartments that was a TV-style hoarder. He had newspapers, books, jars of pocket change, and countless piles of junk around his apartment with just paths to get to travel among the basic amenities of bed, bathroom, refrigerator, and couch. In his later years, he also had poorly-managed diabetes so one of the things he eventually started hoarding were containers of his own urine. My father and uncle had the good luck to clean out the apartment when he died. Yecch.
I also work with an organization that offers volunteers to help elderly people manage their daily lives and remain in their homes as long as they are able. One service we offer is help decluttering, such as weeding through old books to donate or clearing unused gardening supplies from the garage. Flustered family members will ask for our help to get Ma to “declutter.” The intake coordinator meets with prospective members to assess their needs and when she realizes that the person has a compulsive hoarding disorder, she just refers them to psychological help. They need help of a different sort than we can offer.
No, I don’t know a hoarder. Why do you asd?
I have hoarder tendancies. I like my stuff. It’s like armour against the world.
I assure you, you will never see it, just coming in my house. I am very neat and tidy.
I understand in my head I’m like this. I fight it everyday. I make lists so I don’t over buy. If I start hoarding a certain item. I sit it aside in a box. I then ask my kids and Mr.Wrekker to look at it and decide whether to toss or keep. Sometimes it breaks my heart but, I know it’s the right thing, logically.
My former landlord is a hoarder, but because he has a crapload of acreage it never got as bad as what you see on TV. The living space for him and his family is a bit cluttered but it’s not hoarder level. No, what’s hoarder level are the barns out back of the house. He’s known to fill one up then build another for more stuff. At least two non-functioning vans used as sheds as well as actual sheds. He has 50+ acres of land so he could keep going like this for quite awhile. Also, the building I used to live in - his unit has on occasion been so cluttered he couldn’t physically get to some parts. I know the barns by his house have at least 1.5 airplanes in them. But you can’t see them because of all the other stuff. The building I used to live in has a boat in his unit. Along with a lot of tools, machinery, etc. Sure, some of that he needed/used for his business, but a lot is just clutter.
Myself, at a certain point I realized I was heading for Hoarder-hood and did the hard work of breaking habits/working through issues. Rather than simply renting a dumpster, throwing stuff out (which at that point would have been traumatic for me) and winding up back where I started a few years later I worked on WHY I collected so much stuff, and found ways to shed stuff that didn’t cause issues for me. It’s taken a few years but I’ve really pared down. Still have some work left to do but I’m definitely getting there. As part of the on-going project, I started this thread. Yeah. Eight years ago. But I’m a lot better now. Probably helps that with my spouse deceased I can go through his stuff without needing to negotiate with him what to keep or not keep. Basically, before he died he more or less said “sell whatever you can and buy something for yourself”. So I have. I could have anyway, but having his permission made it easier. This year, it paid for major repairs/maintenance on both my vehicles and some dental work. He probably meant “buy something fun” but I doubt he’d be entirely surprised by my choices given he had occasionally described me as “ruthlessly practical”. I also took a lot of the excess furniture and household goods and helped outfit two formerly homeless people who were getting apartments. A lot of stuff went to Goodwill, too. Books to re-sellers and the library. A lot of worn linens and towels to the local animal hospital.
Because I never went into full Hoarder-hood a lot of the stuff retained value instead of totally rotting, so I actually could resell a lot. Which makes it easier for me to part with it. Likewise, anything that can be recycled/reused/repurposed/donated I can part with a lot easier. Once I figured that out it got easier to part with things. But that’s what works for me. People hoard for a lot of different reasons, and the same solution(s) won’t work for everyone.
Sometimes, if I know I have to get rid of something but can’t bring myself to do the actual tossing I’ll ask someone else to do it for me, then leave the apartment while they do the deed. Sometimes, you have to know what mental tricks work for you.
Then you’re not a hoarder. You like accumulating things, but you know it, have steps for controlling it, and it’s not ruining your house or your life.
I hoard cars, and vice-versa.
My ex was a hoarder. Her hobby was going to yard sales at the last hour on their last day and offering $20 or so to take everything they had left. Her plan was to sell all that stuff at consignment sales but never got around to that part.
When we split and she left, I had the joy of cleaning out the house we shared. It took me 2 months of round the clock trips to the landfill and Goodwill.
Over 40 large bins of beanie babies. I stopped counting t-shirts at 1000, but easily twice that. About 7 truck loads of baby clothes. Enough cookbooks to fill a library. The house let out a huge sigh or relief when I was finished.
My aunt was a hoarder, a book hoarder mostly. She worked as a nurse anesthetist since WW2. She regularly worked 50-60 hours a week, traveled the world on her time off and picked up books everywhere she went. Her cats owed the condo and the dishes were always piled up in the sink. A couple of times a year relatives would just stop by to tidy up to make sure it didn’t get totally out of hand, you basically could not visit her and find a place to sit because of the books. But she is a great person with a big heart and a love of family so people don’t mind her this one strange habit.
Saw one similar to this several years ago. Oldest kid had a car breakdown at HS friend’s house. After getting his car running I asked the friend to go inside and wash up. He was very reluctant, but eventually let me in. I’d never seen anything like it in my life, and the poor HS kid was really embarrassed. In addition to the floor-to-ceiling stacks and narrow passageways, one of the twin sinks was full of (non kitchen) stuff, and one whole side of the stove was stacked, ceiling high, with magazines. They had duct-taped the controls in the off position to ensure no one accidentally ignited that stack as it was sitting on two burners.
I spent a lot of my earlier life seeing people’s living spaces (EMS, UPS, and meter-reader), but I have never encountered anything like that. Kiddo told me later the poor HS friend only allowed a select few inside, who he know could be trusted not to talk. To their credit, I think they all kept his secret out of kindness.
Both of my parents were hoarders. I spent my first 19 years surrounded by chaotic stacks and piles of junk, debris, household trash that most people would have thrown away, and odiferous organic garbage.
My sibling grew up to be a “messy” although within normal parameters. You wouldn’t walk into her house and immediately think “Crazy people!” while gagging at the stench.
I went the opposite direction, can’t stand clutter, and am especially distressed by disorganization. I’ve been a rather compulsive list-maker since I was a teenager. I like to know where things are and aren’t.
I have a friend who is hopelessly addicted to buying Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic cards. He goes to game stores/mall every chance he gets, and spends more on cards than I spend on my car payment! He never plays with any of these cards, and doesn’t put them on display either. They just get stashed away. Almost every flat surface in his house is covered with stacks of cards.