# Hoarders **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633 "2010-06-02T12:59:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/121 "2010-09-09T06:31:19Z")
A website for, and about, [animal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_hoarding)[hoarders](http://www.animalhoarding.org/). Do hoarders ever move house? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/122 "2010-09-09T12:44:01Z")
I tune into these shows now and then but can’t watch for long. The patience of the therapists, the ridiculous attachments to junk, the delusional thinking. Too bizarre. People wading around in piles of junk up to their waist - how does it start? They move in and barely unpack, leaving stuff in piles forever? They shop, come home and throw their bags in a pile and put nothing away ever again? I am also surprised to see that sometimes it looks like new paint on the walls or a newish appliance underneath the crap, did they had shovel out the funk in the past, start over, paint etc, and then ended back up in the same hellish hole again. I also imagine those folks always carry a smell about them, like a musty, stale garbage can stench. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/123 "2010-09-09T13:25:42Z")
> [@clarkstar](#): > > plus he seemed stone cold when it came to his mom, just like the sister. someone needs to teach them how to deal with someone with a mental illness. the answer is not to yell at them and/or ignore them. I would assume that a lifetime of dealing with someone gives you a different perspective. It’s easy to say that people like that need compassion and love but if you’ve tried that and been rebuffed your entire life, for over 20 years, what reaction would you have? You reach a point where you start to cut your losses and resign yourself to the idea that you can’t help them the way they need to be helped. Maybe they seem like a lost cause. I can’t blame the kids for that, it has to be extremely frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/124 "2010-09-09T13:40:16Z")
The one that made me mad was the guy in Alabama with “scrap metal $$$” all over the place. He was so delusional it was ridiculous. He said he was going to sell it all for his grandchildren, but prices were just too depressed right now. He would rather go to jail for 90 days than sell his cans for the lower price. What a fool. Why didn’t he just sell stuff as it came along to him? Why pile it up into an unmanageable heap? Why not at least throw away the rotten wood, plastic, and other useless crap? ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/125 "2010-09-09T15:53:04Z")
> [@clarkstar](#): > > plus he seemed stone cold when it came to his mom, just like the sister. someone needs to teach them how to deal with someone with a mental illness. the answer is not to yell at them and/or ignore them. Gee, why should he be stone cold and detached from a woman who LOST CUSTODY of him because she wanted to stay in her disease? Mental illness of the type this woman had isn’t incurable. She was too cowardly to face her issues in treatment! You can have all the patience in the world for a stranger with mental illness, but until you’ve been raised by someone with serious problems who refuses to get help, _you have no idea_ of what you are speaking. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/126 "2010-09-09T16:07:21Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I am also surprised to see that sometimes it looks like new paint on the walls or a newish appliance underneath the crap, did they had shovel out the funk in the past, start over, paint etc, and then ended back up in the same hellish hole again. Yep. My Dad is not nearly as bad as most of these folks, but he is pretty bad. A few years ago I rented a 17 cubic yard roll off dumpster and my Wife and I spent 3 days hauling crap out of his house till the dumpster was full. A couple of months later, it was back to the way it was. It’s really, really, discouraging. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/127 "2010-09-09T16:37:49Z")
> [@clarkstar](#): > > > [@PeskiPiksi](#): > > > > Yeah, I don’t know the son in real life, but we are friends on Facebook. And he seems like a really cool guy. Just because someone is overweight and not cleanly shaven doesn’t make them a slob. His apartment was tidy from what we could see on the show. > > well when he knew he was going to be on tv you’d think he might think about shaving and wearing something decent. he looked slovenly is all i’m saying. plus he seemed stone cold when it came to his mom, just like the sister. someone needs to teach them how to deal with someone with a mental illness. the answer is not to yell at them and/or ignore them. Yeah… beard and long hair…tshirt for cleaning and moving through a house filled with junk. Sure, slovenly. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/128 "2010-09-09T16:48:12Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I am also surprised to see that sometimes it looks like new paint on the walls or a newish appliance underneath the crap, did they had shovel out the funk in the past, start over, paint etc, No, the piles of stuff just keep anyone from messing up the walls. When my wife and I were looking to buy an investment property, we went to view a house that had belonged to a recently deceased hoarder (did not die in the house). The trustees had already had everything cleaned out and the condition of the floor and walls was truly amazing! The hardwood was in gorgeous condition, almost like new! The reason being that with piles and pilse of stuff covering them up, the floors hadn’t suffered any wear and tear and you weren’t able to get close to the walls at all. So they were as pristine as the day the deceased owner had moved in. Apparently there were also some really nice pieces of vintage furniture in equally great shape. The fabric stuff was disposed of due to vermin, but the wood pieces had been auctioned off. There were also appliances from the 1970s, still in their unopened delivery boxes. I wish we could have seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/129 "2010-09-09T17:12:30Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > A website for, and about, [animal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_hoarding)[hoarders](http://www.animalhoarding.org/). > Do hoarders ever move house? I caught an episode once where they were desperately trying to, but just Could Not Move Out of the old one. The epilogue said she still hadn’t. They were going to go bankrupt. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/130 "2010-09-09T17:56:38Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > I joke that I watch Hoarders to feel better about myself as a housekeeper. Note all the commercials for cleaning products that run during the show. > [@Maastricht](#): > > A website for, and about, [animal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_hoarding)[hoarders](http://www.animalhoarding.org/). Another station, Animal Planet, has begun running a show called something like “Confessions of an Animal Hoarder.” You’d be amazed how many dogs can fit into a trailer. > [@Maastricht](#): > > Do hoarders ever move house? There was one episode of one of the hoarding shows where the family had bought a new house but quickly filled it, without ever being able to empty and move out of their first one. They were carrying two mortgages. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/131 "2010-09-09T18:11:06Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I also imagine those folks always carry a smell about them, like a musty, stale garbage can stench. The adult son of the hoarder Augustine, who had been removed from his mother’s custody and moved in with his sister, mentioned that the stench from his home clung to him and all of his clothes and possessions and that kids would make fun of him in school. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/132 "2010-09-09T18:11:43Z")
My son and I had spent a few hours over the weekend cleaning his room. Monday night I took a break from Hoarders to go say goodnight to him, and found that clutter was already beginning. You can bet we got that room back up to snuff in a flash! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/133 "2010-09-09T19:08:20Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > My son and I had spent a few hours over the weekend cleaning his room. Monday night I took a break from Hoarders to go say goodnight to him, and found that clutter was already beginning. You can bet we got that room back up to snuff in a flash! 🙂 I had almost the same reaction - I watched the show, and then spent the next day cleaning out the basement. I would be lousy at helping with the clean-up for any of these folks. I would just want to shoot them with a tranquilizer dart, lock them away in a motel for the weekend, and then throw out everything. None of this “you have to decide in five seconds” - I will decide, and only if it goes to Goodwill or the dumpster. That one woman with the broken two-power mirror - “Well, it isn’t broken on the other side”. Or that woman who blamed the whole problem on her husband, when she had fifty boxes of Electro-Sol in her kitchen. :mad: Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/134 "2010-09-09T19:55:22Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I would just want to shoot them with a tranquilizer dart, lock them away in a motel for the weekend, and then throw out everything. A month later the house would be full again, you realize. My wife and I have some storage issues due to a lot of sports gear. We one day mused about getting another storage thingy from Ikea, and then pretty much both said: “Noooo!” because humans are weird and we figured that if we had another storage unit, we’d just put more _stuff_ in it. So now we just have a rule that if anything new comes in the house, some kind equivalent must go out. It’s great for killing off impulse buys. “Want that pretty new pair of shoes that you don’t need? Okay, which pair at home are you willing to sacrifice and get rid of?” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/135 "2010-09-09T20:03:45Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > > [@Shodan](#): > > > > I would just want to shoot them with a tranquilizer dart, lock them away in a motel for the weekend, and then throw out everything. > > A month later the house would be full again, you realize. Unfortunately, yes I do. Perhaps I am a little over-sensitive. A Certain Person Who Shall Go Nameless is _supposed_ to be using up 50% of the closet, not 90%. And conversations that start out “Why do you need more clothes? You already got a closetful” do not, in my experience, end well. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/136 "2010-09-09T21:32:51Z")
I think we’re touching on the kinds of conversations that people without this disorder have - my husband and I have a two-car garage (finally!), and two cars - we are both firmly of the opinion that we will be DAMNED if we are going to have a garage and not park our cars in it. There’s so much grey area between “our house is a little cluttered” and “I have to make pathways amongst the garbage I won’t throw away,” though. I think that’s where a lot of hoarders get lost - they think they’re still in “my house is a little cluttered.” ---
**Author:** ![tattman40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/db5fbb/32.png) [@tattman40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tattman40)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/137 "2010-09-10T00:51:22Z")
I want to start a hoarders drinking game… When you see a Target bag, 1 shot… Rotten banana, 1 shot… etc. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/138 "2010-09-10T01:11:39Z")
I’m surprised the hoarders don’t rent a storage closet. Or, two or three. Whatever is needed. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/139 "2010-09-10T01:37:42Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m surprised the hoarders don’t rent a storage closet. Or, two or three. Whatever is needed. Well, they need their stuff close. However, some do have storage spaces. One lady they featured worked at a storage facility. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633/140 "2010-09-10T02:04:59Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > I’m surprised the hoarders don’t rent a storage closet. Or, two or three. Whatever is needed. > > Well, they need their stuff close. However, some do have storage spaces. One lady they featured worked at a storage facility. And another bought the house next door. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoarders/541633.md?page=8)