Thanks everyone for letting me vent on your thread! She is happy tonight, money is in the bank, a couple of my Dad's friends came and got rid of the freezer and fridge (since she doesn't need them and we didn't want to move them) and the job is done...just not the unpacking and such at the new place. I had a night away from it and feel better, I had to get some cakes baked!
costumeczar, its too late, she had to be out by midnight tonight. Perhaps in 30+ years when I have to clean out her house again I will do as you suggested.
I feel for you carson!
My mother recently was forced to move into an apartment, and she wouldnt get rid of any of her "treasures". The little apartment is barely livable, her stuff is piled from the ceiling to the floor, and what she couldnt fit into the apartment, she is paying 2 storage units every month to store her junk for her!! And whats sad is she STILL keeps buying MORE junk. Rediculous things she will never use. My mom has been this way for as long as I can remember. But it's definately hoarders. All those houses on that show look exactly like my mothers.
Ugh, the storage units! She wanted to get one to store all her 10+ year old appliances that are no longer needed (she has moved into a place with new appliances.) I finally convinced her that even if she sells them at a really low price she would be ahead, rather than paying $100 a month for storage. The buying and shopping must be part of it, because my Mom has always been a shopper, she has every useless kitchen gadget you can get and now rarely cooks for herself.
So how did you turn out Carson, if I may ask?
I mean...Living and growing up with someone who has hoarders syndrome caused me to become a minimalist! We have what we need, and if we havent used it in a year, I chuck it. I dont have any storage space at all in my house except under the stairwell. And even the things under there get chucked when they havent been used in a year.
And when I got married and had my own "home" to take care of, I didnt even know how to clean sadly. I had be taught the simplest things like you have to actually sweep the floor before you mop it. Keep in mind when I married my ex husband I was only 15 years old. But that's a whole other story for a whole other thread lol. But anyway when I got the hand of things, I always have this fear of my home ending up looking like my mothers. Children of hoarders really do get affected on different levels.
I hate clutter.
Simple as that. Drives me nuts - I'm affecting my children in a whole new way! lol
My Mom wasn't too bad until I was older though. When I was a young child we didn't have a whole lot of money, although I wouldn't classify us as poor. Then my Dad started making real good money once I was a teenager and that's when my Mom's shopping seemed to get out of hand, and my parents relationship started to go bad (my parents were fortunate enough to have 2 new houses in 2 different provinces because of my Dad's work.) I have a sister 10 years younger than me and she had everything under the sun and is incredibly spoiled, I don't hold much value in "things" that she does or my Mother does. I am very much about teaching my kids to value and be thankful for what they have. My Mom actually gets mad at me for thinking that they don't need 10 giant gifts for Christmas - it is sadly a fight for me every year to make her understand that they value the time spent more than gifts and that something worth $10 usually gets more play anyways (hehe, or the box.)
My cleaning habits were something I taught myself too...although I had chores when living at home I didn't really ever see that cleaning was a priority or that it had to be done on a regular basis.
It's 1:30 in the morning and I'm sitting up nursing a sore throat with some chicken soup, when I come across this show. OMG, this woman actually bought the house next door to her and started using the house for overflow storage!! Her daughters are beside themselves. cant' wait to see how that works out.
i havent seen the show but ive seen reports on the people that go on it - oh my gosh!!
there is a family in bondi (im talking property worth millions) and the council spends about 500K every few months cleaning it out as the entire property is full of rubbish they pick off the streets, and its not only the mother but her 2 daughters that do this too
i feel sorry for the neighbours because there are rats and cockroaches plus it affects the property values
Indy.... gargle some betadine and water - i swear by it
what's betadine? 
Daughter told me to gargle salt water. Tried it. tasted yucky. didn't work.
There was a news story a handful of weeks ago about a fire here in town. The place was destroyed more than it should have been and if I recall correctly, the man living there died because the fire dept couldn't get in the house .... it was a Hoarder House.
Indy:
Betadine: http://www.betadine.com.au/r_sorethroat.php
every time my throat feels a bit scratchy, gargle this a few times and symptons gone - both hubby and i swear by it
hubby can be a hoarder if i let him get away with it - so i ebay his stuff. made $400 last week and ebaying more of his stuff this week 
I live in a small apartment in New York City with my husband, twin girls and 2 small dogs. I clean up everyother weekend. Also, there is no way I could live in home with junk.
My rule is if I don't use it I give it to neighbor or donate to a local charity.
I found cake pans, and cake supplies I don't use. I donated to a local YMCA.
Less clutter you have at home. The Hoarder show is fun to watch. It makes me think twice before I buy junk.
Yes, I agree Tubbs. The show is tragic. I have great compassion particularly for the families of the hoarders. It's just one more type of mental illness that can destroy a family.
It IS like watching a train wreck. I'm appalled and angry and sad and compassionate all at the same time and I just can't stop watching it.
I find the show fascinating, because I see those tendencies in A LOT of people I know!! It seems to be a really slippery slope, and not too difficult a one to get started on, either.
I always end up praying for those on the show when I watch. It is really sad and disturbing, and yes, like a train wreck.
I've been watching the old show 'Hoarders' for a while, and there's a new showcalled 'Hoarders, buried alive' (I'm watching it right now!)
I think the whole situation is really sad and depressin, this a real mental disorder.
I remember an old episode where this poor woman said her cats kept dissapearing, the cats were long gone, dead squashed under piles of trash for years!!!! 
I think the found FOUR ded cats!!!
I've seen the previews for the show but haven't watched because it seems so sad...so do they actually help these people, or do they just put them on tv? I can appreciate the fact that the show is creating awareness, but I hope that people make the decision to do it because they need help and that it somehow provides that for them, at least in some way.
I've seen the previews for the show but haven't watched because it seems so sad...so do they actually help these people, or do they just put them on tv? I can appreciate the fact that the show is creating awareness, but I hope that people make the decision to do it because they need help and that it somehow provides that for them, at least in some way.
The reason I like this show is that is it much more than just a "let's clean their house" show. THey send in a professional organizer / house cleaner AND a psychologist/therapist who specializes in Hoarding. It really shows the psychological side of the issue, not just a "ooooh this will make a great show!"
They seem to help most people; there are some that aren't ready to change though.
They have a 'this is what happened after the show' blurb at the end (like Dragnet used to do)...
You know: Shawna has continued to keep the house clean and is working with a therapist to control her hoarding, or Darren still is refusing to get rid of the old cars in the back yard.
I'm coming in late on this one but. . .This is an incredible disorder! My great-aunt was a hoarder. At the end of her life we were left with the responsibility of cleaning out her home for sale and we were blown away at what we found!
She was always a very "private" person and preferred to not have company over. We respected that.
Upon trying to clean out her house we discovered that she had been keeping her and her pets fecal matter. There were countless Rubbermaid tubs that were full of feces and toilet paper! 
She had stopped using her commodes because as we figured, she had stopped flushing them. She kept rotten food, you name it, she kept it.
She had experienced a lot of loss in her life and we attribute her hoarding to the loss.
Unfortunately, her house had to be demolished because it was in such a state that it could not be salvaged. From the outside, you'd have never know.
I know this is gross but I had to put it out there. This is just so extreme. I wonder at what point one starts keeping it's own "waste"? YACK!
i've been in animal rescue for a while and am familiar with animal hoarding. my daughter is a police officer and has seen all types of hoarding. it seems that these poor souls can't differentiate between themselves and their possessions and that parting with or throwing things away is akin to disposing of a part of the self.
i think it's a way of dealing with separation and loss and that some folks are neurologically predisposed to the behavior.
I have often wondered how the people on the show Clean House deal with things after everything has been taken away. I don't really thing a few minutes with Neicy Nash can cure anyone of anything. At least Hoarders and the new show on TLC have a realistic approach. And watching these shows has certainly had a positive effect on my life - I have much less clutter around my house!
I have often wondered how the people on the show Clean House deal with things after everything has been taken away. I don't really thing a few minutes with Neicy Nash can cure anyone of anything. At least Hoarders and the new show on TLC have a realistic approach. And watching these shows has certainly had a positive effect on my life - I have much less clutter around my house!
totally agree! There was one hoaders show in which the kids said they bought mom and dad a new house (moving was the only way to get them out of the messy environment they were in) and within 3 months, "...the house looked like this."
If they don't fix the problem, the problem follows them. The HOarders show does a good job looking at the problem, not just the "clean this up" attitude.
Hi, joining the thread a little late.
I have watched twice and find these people so touchingly sad. I have a friend who has a sister in law who is like this and her descriptions match the show to a T.
I am neat and tidy but prone to postponing the house work until dust balls blow thru the living room 
I did have to laugh cause I've been sick all week and only eaten the odd bowl of cereal or cup of milk. With no energy to clean up. Finally came up for air yesterday and realized an entire weeks worth of dirty dishes were all over the kitchen. There wasn't a clean bowl, cup or spoon in the place. I'd even used a measuring spoon to eat my cereal. One more day and I would have had to get out my mom's silver 
I guess it doesn't take much.
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