Interesting article, I feel a connection to Irene. My house is preTty badly cluttered up. I haven't filed my 2009 taxes because I "lost" all the papers needed in my clutter. But I DID file for a six month extension with IRS, so it's legal, so far.

What an amazing story. I too have a bit of a hoarding style of sorting things to be tossed, but I do toss most of them. I just can't do so until I know I don't need them. This article scare me enough though that I'm going to really push the issue with my hubby to toss out his paper trash before it even gets to me. I think that's the hardest part for me is looking through others paper trash. I figure, "well if they didn't toss it right away I better make sure it's not something important. When I get mail I make sure to put the trash parts in the recycle bin right away If nothing else I put it in a pile on my desk to take to the recycle bin when I next get up.

That was fascinating!

I really can see how that happens. And it's heartening to hear that she was so happy.

It's also heartening to hear that she was able to keep her home so much more manageable for so long! (even if she did backslide)

Bingo. I've nailed that about myself, that everything I keep is a dream I'm holding onto, and that's why getting rid of it feels like a sacrifice.

I'm sorting my fabrics over the next little while. Maybe I can think about giving someone else an opportunity to dream about them :-)

That might be why it is actually so easy to give things away when you find the right taker.

KarinL

My best friend growing up had a nother with an incredible sewing-craft room. She had yards and yards of fabric, all neatly folded and stacked. That was 30 years ago. I keep in touch with my friend. Her mother had a stroke and is in a nursing home. Wonder what happened to all that fabric? She literally had enough to last a lifetime. . .

DH hoards stuff. You should just see the garage. I keep the stuff out of the house as best I can, but it's everywhere else including storage garages, sheds, etc. It's a burden and makes me sad. It's not even stacked neatly, but just thrown (looks like King Tut's tomb). What about the people who have to deal with the carp after the hoarder is gone? It's not a nice thing to do to loved ones.

My father in law was a world-class hoarder. He died over 4 years ago and my mother in law still hasn't even scratched the surface of getting rid of the mess. They lived in the same house since 1970 and it is crammed so tight, I'm surprised the floor boards aren't collapsing. MIL is just worn out from trying to sort through it all. Her health isn't the greatest so I fear that DH, his sisters and I will still have that mess when she's gone. What a legacy to leave your wife and kids - 2000 ft2 of junk to weigh them down.

Why on earth don't you all help her now?

"MIL is just worn out from trying to sort through it all."

Anyone care to help her?

The author of this article was a very gentle, non-judgmental man. God love him. I can certainly understand seeing the "unrealized opportunities" present in many of the things I hold onto. However, I find it amazing that I must think twice about whether or not to throw things, like old receipts away. I feel that I'm on overload which makes it very difficult to make a clear, decision about what to do with certain types of things. This is my stumbling block.

I hold onto receipts as well. On the hoarding TV show, one of the professionals pointed out that it's a piece of paper that gives you a memory. That certainly is the case for me, especially receipts from trips. For some reason, just keeping the memory in my mind is not enough.

We don't help because she won't let us. She's not ready to release his "stuff" yet. We are making progress - last week she did get rid of his neckties. There were still dozens of them in the closet.

Ugh - this is way too familiar. I grew up with a mom who kept "useful boxes". (Fortunately, she's tidy by nature and we were too poor to collect much of anything. ;-) My life changed a few years ago when a friend of mine (with four kids and an immaculate house) *threw away* a little decorative bit of wood that had fallen off a kids rocking chair. She said, "I already glued it on once and it fell back off again - it goes."

I just couldn't believe she didn't stick it in the back of a junk drawer because she was going to get around to it at some point!

Of course after to talking to her, I realized that was one of the reasons why her house was clean - she was ruthless about throwing stuff away. Having said that, we're at (another) turning point right now - just finishing an extensive remodel and having to go through the all the stuff I didn't throw away when we packed up half the house. What to keep? What to toss? How to organize it so that I can remember that I have it, where I put it and so everyone else can figure out where it goes?

Let me rephrase - how to organize stuff so that two high-functioning spectrum kids and their mentally disorganized parents can successfully live from day to day with clean clothes, clean bodies, healthy food, and a relatively uncluttered house. I need a schedule/system that works around school, therapy, and DH's marathon work hours. Oh - and the whole family's epically poor short term memory and organizational skills.

Talk about the blind leading the blind - my clean friends come over to help and say, "Where does this go?" and I have to tell them that I don't know - we've had it for ten years, but have never found a place where it just "lives". It's just so hard for me to decide things like that - I either just have *no* idea where to start or too many potential options with no obvious "right" answer.

But I'm trying - I can successfully throw away most junk mail and old magazine ;-) I threw away/donated boxes of stuff at the beginning, and I (mostly) have a new kitchen with working appliances and a *much* better layout. God-willing, my clean friends will keep helping try to get it together.

What a refresing story! I resent it when people (such as my two sisters in law) say that people who have clutter are mentally ill. I prefer to think of mself as a multi-interested person with lots of hobbies and avocations and not enough proper storage. I'm not "dirty" or "sick" at all.

There is the quality of being decisive versus doubtful here. Clutter often reflects an inability to make a decision, it's procrastination that you can see.

Wow, what a "cup of kindness" you splashed all over the place.

Did you even read the article?

I'm not sure about other hoarders but my sister is mentally ill with bipolar disorder and is a hoarder. She also has OCD which complicates things. Her behavior is somewhat common apparently in bipolar. She says it's her safety nest. She only has a room to hoard in at my other sister's place, so it's not as bad as when she was living alone. She had what is called a psychotic break, a breakdown, when my other sisters decided to get rid of all of her stuff, to help her of course. She was about to be forced out of her apartment, which she owned! and it landed her in the hospital on suicide watch... A person who hoards apparently has very definite attachment to their things and the loss of those things can have dire consequences. I have seen her struggle to change it but to no avail.

If someone has no other looming challenges and gets help from a compassionate team, they may be able to overcome the urge to surround themselves with things. I'm not sure if it is a part of mental illness always but for my sister it is.

She is extremely bright, and was a lawyer for many years before her illnesses took over her every moment. She has life time friends and is well thought of. Illnesses rob us of freedom often but they don't keep my sister down. I'm very glad to have her bipolar hoarding self in my life! I love her, faults and all.

We live on a quiet well-maintained street (14 homes) with the exception of one property. The neighbor is an attorney, her husband is the assistant state attorney. Their property is bringing down the value of the homes on the street, especially mine since I'm next door. Explain this behavior...the inside is as hoarded as the outside.

Years ago my husband and I had to help clean out the house of a hoarder who'd died. The man was my aunt's father, and I'd known him for years but never suspected he lived in such conditions. The thing we both remember best is the box of empty candy wrappers.

@ mustang: overwhelmed, substance abuse or just plain abuse, depressed, ill, out of money, out of energy

Violet, I wish there was an obvious answer so we (the neighbors) could show some compassion.

• Overwhelmed: Neighbors say it's been like that since they built it.
• Substance Abuse: They make presentations in court on a near daily bases.
• Abuse: They kiss good-bye as they get in their respective cars; no yelling heard.
• Depressed: They appear happy at block parties and socialize with neighbors.
• Ill: Doesn't appear to be any physical illness.
• Money: They have bought the empty house next door (and have since filled it with their overflow) and the two acre farm behind them.
• Energy: They go to most Bucs football games, Tampa Rays baseball games, and frequent road trips.

If their front yard isn't tidy, then file a complaint with the city. If standing water on the property in old coolers and pots breeds mosquitos, call the county. Does anything smell? If they own the house on the other side, then you'll see a copy of the first home, how sad. Since they are lawyers, very tricky to proceed. Fences make good neighbors, maybe a new fence will help you cope with this situation. Or a good realtor!

Holding onto receipts -- I am glad that today I found the roofing receipt so I can prove to the eventual buyer that this place was re-roofed 8 years ago. Most other receipts -- can usually be discarded unless for electronics or the like.

mustangs81 - I think depression or over-work with no energy left over. Going to some silly pro game means they get to sit down and relax, it doesn't mean any extra energy. A lot of people pretend very successfully to be happy when they are really depressed. They do what is expected in a superficial way. But long term home maintenance - that can be harder to cover. Apparently here, as well.

mustang- This looks like an issue that could be cured with a good gardener and a shed. With two stressful jobs they may not find the time, or feel it is important. Could someone mention something to them? If it has been like that forever they may not feel as though it is bothering anyone. Having someone filing a complaint with the city could be something they may want to avoid.

Thank you all for your feedback and responses. Oddly, when 4 neighbors, me included, reported the situation to county code enforcement there were no repercussions other than the hoarders no longer talk to the neighbors. Code enforcement did not enforce the codes!