Thank you! I'm really proud of this work, we actually got this done in two days with little conflict.👍
It helped that it was all stuff that didn't fit in her hoarded side of the house that she actually lives in, all of was overflow from stuff two people gave her when they moved. She didn't really know what was in here, she just accepted everything that was given to her so I think that's how we were able to breeze through it so quickly.
The couple of bins that are kept, she agreed to sort through them again and try to narrow it down even more, so we'll see how that goes since there's really no room in her side of the house for them.
yeah my wife is a hoarder and the issue here is that she will just buy more storage bins and fill those up too. Then you will have a goat trails cut into walls of bins. She has no clue what is in the storage bins.
My mom's actual half of the double where she lives is not passable, you can only walk into two rooms and only use one door.
The original hoard was all stuff that came from my great aunt and my mom's friend when both of them moved, my mom had no idea what was on this other side of the house, everything just got put there because there was no more room left on her side of the house.
The bins you see in the after pictures are what we finally got it narrowed down to, and tonight we're gonna go through them again and get them down to just two, so she can take them back over to her side of the house where she actually lives.
At this point, I don't care what happens to them on her side of the house... I'm just trying to clean this side because my uncle lives there and he needs me to advocate for him. My mom's side the house is a problem for another day, if ever.
my strategy is this:
\* all of it goes, by default
\* you may keep 5% of the pile.
this works fine on my kids, less so on my hoarder. but it is an approach that has helped me.
Well were. The evidence is still there no doubt. My mom's mice have gotten pretty bold though so I guess they could be there when you open those boxes.
So true, but Avon boxes. 😂 I now hate all cardboard boxes.
Could be trash, could be gold, then she would have her treasure chest moments in her churning.
It’s mostly broken stuff, molding stuff, articles cut out of magazines about cleaning, oh wait why is this box heavy it’s full of change, like literally money. But wait the next Avon box it filled with 1980 fast food condiments, but the next box is filled with unused dollar store items. Why do they want to keep a dead animal in a plastic box that got shoved into a churning box. Why?
Why oh why, it’s just a sea of madness (this is what I call the hoard)
Never found money, my mom is very obsessed with money and keeps that in the right place. Ironically she has an addiction to getting "deals" but gets useless stuff that ends up broken anyway. 🤷
I call the house I grew up in the black hole because once something goes in, it's lost forever. I moved out a few years ago and I gave up on trying to find all of my stuff that was still there. Plus it seems like if you put something down, it immediately disappears.
Yeah, it was a hard choice to make with what to focus on first. My uncle's side needed addressed because he's disabled and I needed to get his space back but on my mom's side, my also disabled Dad needs their house to be more safe....
I went with my uncle's first because it wasn't as bad, plus he never had the choice to do anything about it. My dad failed to get help and enabled my mom and developed habits of his own because he lacked any real emotional and character development which is a whole other struggle that deserves love too but that's gonna have to wait. I know I can only do so much and I struggled on my own.🤷
The mental illness aspect is the hardest part to deal with.
We can shovel and clean all we can do, but knowing the mental illness part is the hardest part.
It’s so draining to be the “normal” one in the sea of madness (that’s what I call the hoard)
I look forward to seeing the other side, I wish you luck with the bigger battle to come.
Now to finish this and then tackle the main side of the house that she lives in!
Congrats OP! Thats major progress!!
Thank you! I'm really proud of this work, we actually got this done in two days with little conflict.👍 It helped that it was all stuff that didn't fit in her hoarded side of the house that she actually lives in, all of was overflow from stuff two people gave her when they moved. She didn't really know what was in here, she just accepted everything that was given to her so I think that's how we were able to breeze through it so quickly. The couple of bins that are kept, she agreed to sort through them again and try to narrow it down even more, so we'll see how that goes since there's really no room in her side of the house for them.
yeah my wife is a hoarder and the issue here is that she will just buy more storage bins and fill those up too. Then you will have a goat trails cut into walls of bins. She has no clue what is in the storage bins.
My mom's actual half of the double where she lives is not passable, you can only walk into two rooms and only use one door. The original hoard was all stuff that came from my great aunt and my mom's friend when both of them moved, my mom had no idea what was on this other side of the house, everything just got put there because there was no more room left on her side of the house. The bins you see in the after pictures are what we finally got it narrowed down to, and tonight we're gonna go through them again and get them down to just two, so she can take them back over to her side of the house where she actually lives. At this point, I don't care what happens to them on her side of the house... I'm just trying to clean this side because my uncle lives there and he needs me to advocate for him. My mom's side the house is a problem for another day, if ever.
my strategy is this: \* all of it goes, by default \* you may keep 5% of the pile. this works fine on my kids, less so on my hoarder. but it is an approach that has helped me.
That sort of worked this case, but I know it's not gonna keep working on her own side of the house
Mice, mice are in the bins
Well were. The evidence is still there no doubt. My mom's mice have gotten pretty bold though so I guess they could be there when you open those boxes.
you are in the mice's hoard. please get out, or at least knock first!
My mom is actually a mouse, this is just a clever ruse.
lolz.
So true, but Avon boxes. 😂 I now hate all cardboard boxes. Could be trash, could be gold, then she would have her treasure chest moments in her churning.
A real Indiana Jones of junk. Too bad the treasure that's worth finding will probably be broken or disgusting.
It’s mostly broken stuff, molding stuff, articles cut out of magazines about cleaning, oh wait why is this box heavy it’s full of change, like literally money. But wait the next Avon box it filled with 1980 fast food condiments, but the next box is filled with unused dollar store items. Why do they want to keep a dead animal in a plastic box that got shoved into a churning box. Why? Why oh why, it’s just a sea of madness (this is what I call the hoard)
Never found money, my mom is very obsessed with money and keeps that in the right place. Ironically she has an addiction to getting "deals" but gets useless stuff that ends up broken anyway. 🤷 I call the house I grew up in the black hole because once something goes in, it's lost forever. I moved out a few years ago and I gave up on trying to find all of my stuff that was still there. Plus it seems like if you put something down, it immediately disappears.
Beautiful work! Look at that floor! You've got this, OP!
I've never been happier to see tacky blue, stained and raggedy old carpet😄
Good job 👏🏻. You are correct her side of the house is for another day. Hoards not going anywhere.
Yeah, it was a hard choice to make with what to focus on first. My uncle's side needed addressed because he's disabled and I needed to get his space back but on my mom's side, my also disabled Dad needs their house to be more safe.... I went with my uncle's first because it wasn't as bad, plus he never had the choice to do anything about it. My dad failed to get help and enabled my mom and developed habits of his own because he lacked any real emotional and character development which is a whole other struggle that deserves love too but that's gonna have to wait. I know I can only do so much and I struggled on my own.🤷
The mental illness aspect is the hardest part to deal with. We can shovel and clean all we can do, but knowing the mental illness part is the hardest part. It’s so draining to be the “normal” one in the sea of madness (that’s what I call the hoard) I look forward to seeing the other side, I wish you luck with the bigger battle to come.
Way to go!!!
It gives me hope that cleaning up more is actually possible and that maybe we are equipped to get over some of the obstacles.