Did any of you watch Oprah yesterday - a show on horders?

Question

It is a two-part series that finishes up today. They tell the story of a woman who hordes everything - now I forget if it was 75,000 pounds or 75 tons of stuff that had to be removed from her home. 15 giant dumpsters worth of stuff. It's a 3000 square foot place with no more room than a path through it. Her grown children "turned her in" to get help for her. Her husband was just overwhelmed with it all. You can see more on oprah.com.

Do you know people who live like this? Can you imagine? I feel for the families of people who can't control something of this magnitude, and give her kids credit for trying to get her some help. Today, after finishing up the story and showing more of how difficult it was to get her to let go of the stuff, they will reveal the cleaned up house.

http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml

Those of you who went to the site, and those who saw part 2, saw the transformation. Did you catch the reaction of her son when he saw the 10,000 sq ft warehouse full of stuff that had been crammed into a 3000 sq ft house?

The husband had his own issues - financial records 35 years old!

I hope, truly hope, this woman will keep things the way they were when the show closed.

Answer 1

Well that house was pretty much clean compared to moms house. Moms house is very bad to say the least. There is a hallway but you can't go down it. There are 3 bedrooms but you can't get in them. There is a chest type freezer in one of the bedrooms that she has not seen in at least 20 or more years. She has not saw her kitchen table in 20 or more years. That is just some of it. Some of you have gotten to know me just a little and do know that I am not just saying this as I have shown you what I was talking about. Even some of the stories that are told here does not even compare with what mom has here and that includes the one on Oprah.

Answer 2

I had the 'experience' a couple of years ago, while stopping
in at a church members house, of a friend of mine. They had a
house inside just like what you describe. I don't watch TV
during the day or much at night. So I didn't know about this
particular show.
Anyway, my friend, warned, "Be prepared, cuz she's not
much of a housekeeper". Well that was an understatement.
There were piles of things just teetering, when we entered.
There was a path from the front door to the kitchen and
another down the hall to the bedrooms and bathroom. I
could see furniture in between the stacks of things and in
the far corner of the dining room was a parrot in a cage.
The place was filthy and the kitchen was pathetic. Stacks
of food were on the drainboards, on top of the fridge, the
kitchen table and on the stove. There was a microwave
from which she tried to do all of her cooking. She said she'd
tried to clean it a few times, but she didn't have space to
store anymore. My friend had tried to help her once, but
there wasn't any space as she said to store more. I asked
how they ate dinner. And she said they each had a TV tray
which could fold up and down. And they just moved stuff
aside to sit on any flat surface they could find to support
them, when it came time to eat. The house was a basic
ranch style and maybe 1,000 sq ft of space. I almost felt
claustrophobic and couldn't wait to leave. Luckily we were
only picking up something. They told us they ate out alot,
and that was understandable.
Some of the piles were for craft projects. She made alot
of things for gift giving. And she apparently was a very
'crafty person'. For she had alot of yarn and embroidery
stuff. And workbooks associated with patterns to make
things. I noticed that the top of the frig had enough cereal
boxes to fill that space. The tables had the heavier canned
goods. I tried not to look around, but it was hard not to see
everything in there. I didn't go down the hall, but I could only
imagine how the remaining rooms looked. I don't know how
people can live like that and not feel smothered by their own
filth and clutter. I am a total clutter freak. And I'm married to
a clutterer. I'm not able to go behind him and picking up
anymore. So I nag him alot, and shouldn't. And he won't do
anything if I nag. So I merely just raise my blood pressure.
The trouble is he wasn't nearly this bad when he was
young. And since he's retired, it's become this way. I'd
sure like to know what brought about the change. Even tho,
I have difficulty standing for long, when I am to the point of
desperation, my 'neatnick' button pushes in automatically,
and I have to finally give in to clean up.
I have a sister who's last house was cluttered. And she
had stacks of Rolling Stones magazines she would not throw
out from way back in the 70's. And boxes of stationery,
Christmas wrapping, bows, etc. And then small gifts for
anyone she could give at the last minute if she learned of
someone at work having a birthday. She did have a path,
but it was a wide one. And at that point in time, I thought
she was alone in having that disorder. Now she's taken over
our family home next door. And it's a two storied modern
home. I wonder with all of that new space, if she's going to be
filling it up to the brim as well. She cries wolf all the time
about not having any money and this and that needs doing.
But with all the stuff I used to see piled, she must be a shop-
aholic. I remember her jewelry collection took up her entire
dresser and the wall behind it. It had more than any jewelry
counter at a dept. store. Once I bought a book I came across
on how to de clutter and gave it to her. And she was insulted. And my mom thought I was being rude. And my mom had been a real neatnick who trained me well in following after her. But my sisters never got that same rearing as I did. And she was content to pick up after them all the years they grew up. So she enabled them, to do as they pleased. But the other one is also a picky housekeeper. So with the clutterer, I wonder where our mother went wrong?

Answer 3

My thought was why here wimp of a husband let her keep up with it. And how much money was she spending on all this stuff? Boy they must be in debt up to their ears. She doesn't even know what she has in there. I was impressed that it looked rather clean considering some of the other places I have seen. And why did her children let it go on for so long. I understand she had issues with empty nest and death of loved ones, but come on folks. Get the lady some help. She would rather live like this than see her own grandchildren? 75 Tons, think about that, that's 150,000 LBS.

Answer 4

Yes, I sure did and I can't wait for part 2 today. I had a boyfriend many years ago and he's mother was like that--NO ONE came in the house---one day she left on a little trip with her sister and I cleaned up the livingroom and kitchen and bathroom. In the 2 bedrooms there was a little trail to the bed and years of crap all around--I didn't go in there--too private I thought. Can't tell you how good I felt and the family was so happy--actually had a friend or 2 in!

Answer 5

With all due respect to the
church I will mention.....There
is a denomination that requires it's members to keep enough foodstuffs to last 7 years. There are also many survivalists that live deep in the hills and mountains and keep enough food for about a year.
These people fully expect
for the Tribulation to last
years, during which time the
earth will be in chaos.
I cannot say who is right or
who is wrong in this decision.

Answer 6

Well I don't watch Oprah but wanted to comment. I was an EMT for a few years and we've been to some homes with paths. None as extreme as the home in your attached site. The first time I got a dirty look from my experienced partner because I asked, "Oh you guys moving?" Not in my department but when we met other EMT's, one told us of a lady who turned her kitchen into a cat litter box. The kitty litter was spread out on the kitchen floor.

EDIT -- Wally, that was good reading about the lady you were feeling sorry for.

Answer 7

I saw bits of the show. For years I went to my Mothers home twice a year and cleaned to prevent this from happening. I would find three pairs of black slacks with tags still attached. I tried talking to her about the thrill she got from shopping but how short a time it lasted.
As I feared she spent her retirement from my stepdad's passing in less than a year.
Her house is not near as bad as this ladys but she just cannot make herself put things away.
I'm in a state of rebellion for the time being. She has three people living with her and I refuse to drive 450 miles and spend a week cleaning behind all those people when it just goes back to status quo immediately.
Oprah's lady has a mental problem.

Answer 8

My father is a hoarder, although not as bad as many. Still, it is very difficult for family to deal with. He lives in a apartment and they absolutely cannot allow tenants to collect so much stuff that it's a safety hazard. I have to go pretty often and carry out huge loads of things. It upsets my dad, and I love him so much; it's hard for me to do anything that makes him feel bad, but I have no choice. It's hard for me to find the time; I can't even get my own place cleaned. It's a never ending battle. I know that a lot of people just think hoarders are slobs, but it's a compulsion that they truly cannot help. We have to deal with it with love, patience, and kindness.

Answer 9

Believe it or not I know of people who live like this..or I should say on the same road as that lady on Oprah...very very very sad!

For a few years now I have assisted people on a smaller scale who deal with hoarding and clutter...the experts who are helping that family were absolutely right. The people who live like this have to actively go through their own crap and clutter...you can't do it for them. It is all mental! I tell the individuals I have helped that it is an outward manifestation of what they are dealing with on the inside. I have observed that most of this clutter stem from a death of a close love one or some major life catastrophe.

Answer 10

There was a newspaper article about two brothers who lived in NYC one died as he was getting on the subway. They couldn't find the other brother. When they went to the loft they lived in was jammed full of newspapers. After they went through everything they found the other brothers' mummified remains buried under hundreds of pounds of old newspapers.
On another note, a lady I knew who had worked one month short of thirty years for Monkey Wards lost everything when they closed (along with me) and me and some others felt sorry for her, so we went to visit as she commuted thirty miles each way every day. When we got to her downstairs apartment, (her daughter and boyfriend lived upstairs) she had little passageways going all through the place. She hadd collectible spoons, dolls, clothing, sporting stuff, Disney stuff and most of it wasn't out of the original boxes. We said Mary why don't you get a storage unit for this stuff. She said she already had six storage units. She ended up selling all of it on Ebay or other auctions and received somewhere around $35 or $40 million dollars for her 'collectibles'. She even had an original Mickey Mouse doll never opened. I saw a ratty one that sold on Ebay for $35,000. She also had two Davy Crockett coonskin caps, never out of the box. And we were feeling sorry for her?