"Hoarders"

[IronGutsTommy]

yeah, older woman in detroit died in a fire because the firemen couldnt get to her with all the junk she hoarded. plus the usual suspects, old furniture and magazines/newspapers, make great kindling

[ZeroLozen]

Such interesting people on this show.

[Old Hiker]

But that tiny house costs $516 per square foot. My 2700 square foot home cost me about $61 per square foot. I firmly believe in profits, but, yikes!! It's a wooden camper.

[Danielsen]

Precisely why I wouldn't do it their way. I love the principle of their products, but past that point my ideas start to diverge...

[Skidsteer]

But that tiny house costs $516 per square foot. My 2700 square foot home cost me about $61 per square foot. I firmly believe in profits, but, yikes!! It's a wooden camper.

Pretty much. And a camper/travel trailer is a lot cheaper. The designs are pretty slick too. Lots of convenience built into very low square footage, dual power options(propane, electric) on most of the appliances, fresh water storage, convenient hookups, etc.

[sherrill]

My sis suffers from this. It's a serious mental disorder.

Don't get me wrong, I chuckled at everybody's jokes above. But if you know somebody who suffers from it you'll realize it's way more intense than just collecting things.

If you go in somebody's house and it looks like a cave with tunnels through the stuff, there you go.

She had to move back home with my mom to battle breast cancer. It took us almost a month to clear out her condo, which was only two bedrooms. Now, her room at my mom's house is almost filled to the ceiling with crap. Her car also. My poor mom is about to tear her hair out.

[4eyedbuzzard]

My sis suffers from this. It's a serious mental disorder.

Don't get me wrong, I chuckled at everybody's jokes above. But if you know somebody who suffers from it you'll realize it's way more intense than just collecting things.

If you go in somebody's house and it looks like a cave with tunnels through the stuff, there you go.

She had to move back home with my mom to battle breast cancer. It took us almost a month to clear out her condo, which was only two bedrooms. Now, her room at my mom's house is almost filled to the ceiling with crap. Her car also. My poor mom is about to tear her hair out.

Hope you all can get her the help she needs. But remember to put your own and your mom's lives before hers. The disease has already claimed her to some extent - don't let it ruin your lives as well.

[Fiddleback]

Such interesting people on this show.

Ya' ain't seen nothin', yet.

FB

[Old Hiker]

Ya' ain't seen nothin', yet.

FB

OOOoooo, there's gonna be pictures?!? Can I be first to be offended? Huh? Can I??? PLEEEEEEZZZZEEEE???

[Turtle Feet]

My sis suffers from this. It's a serious mental disorder.

Don't get me wrong, I chuckled at everybody's jokes above. But if you know somebody who suffers from it you'll realize it's way more intense than just collecting things.

If you go in somebody's house and it looks like a cave with tunnels through the stuff, there you go.

She had to move back home with my mom to battle breast cancer. It took us almost a month to clear out her condo, which was only two bedrooms. Now, her room at my mom's house is almost filled to the ceiling with crap. Her car also. My poor mom is about to tear her hair out.

Seems like hoarding is almost always triggered by some traumatic loss (or sense of loss) in the victims life.

I have a friend who's ex-wife fell victim to the disorder after the death of their young child. It's truly devastating, but what I found interesting with his case, is that he failed to get her therapy. He complained, tried to hide it from family (basically no one was invited to visit anymore), but couldn't bring himself to get her therapy (I think he was in denial to some extent too). In my mind by not confronting her, in a sense he was enabling her.

The cases they show on 'Hoarders', by their own admission, are the extreme (9 or 10 on a 1-10 scale). There are plenty of 1, 2, or 3's out there that most of us just look at as 'messy housekeepers'.

Sorry to here about your sis Sherrill , hope you can get her the help she needs, for everyone's sake!

TF

[ridgewalker777]

As with alcoholism, there are support groups for people who are affected by other people's problems. De Nile isn't just a river in Egypt....

The most serious hoarding problem I knew was a former Cuban landlord. He and his wife were both hoarders, fiercely protective of their hoards. They were both "disabled" major leaches on the government, and also made large use of doctors and other professionals to help them feel better. I rented a small cottage on their property above a garage. I tried for a while to get them to clean out the garage, which they grudgingly permitted by dribs and drabs. We found a dead raccoon there, which had been reduced to a mere hide. Their house was in utter squalor, they tunnelled through the newspapers and other debris to get to their rooms. They refused to pay income taxes on significant income.

It took me quite a while to recover from the pain of renting from these people. I did report the issue to the state health department--the town health department was also in denial, enabling the situation, or afraid of the wrath of the Cuban if they took action. A psychologist can understand these situations.

Hiking did me good in helping heal from the situation.