The Secret Lives of Hoarders: True Stories of Tackling Extreme Clutter (15 page)

In addition to the professional cleanup crew, Daisy's kitchen required a lot of labor, much of which was provided by supporters from her church.

Daisy's pastor also spoke from the pulpit about her need, and recruited a revolving team of volunteers who helped with the actual cleaning.

A hoarder's place of worship can also help reconnect him or her to the community at large. Daisy, for instance, volunteered for the feeding program at her church. Working with people in need helped Daisy feel good about herself and realize that she was more than just a hoarder. She felt confident that she was working toward building a worthwhile life, where she could help people and connect with others.

Even hoarders and families who aren't strongly religious might consider reaching out to a priest or minister for help and information about community support. Getting involved in a church will also create a support network for when the cleanup is complete.

Thalia is the Stage 5 hoarder from Pennsylvania who had been a political volunteer—and saved pretty much every bit of paper from every campaign on which she had worked. (She is also our case study for high anxiety in Chapter 2.) During her cleanup, she asked for frequent stops and retreated to a bedroom. Her family members told us that her behavior was pretty typical, that she had been under a therapist's care off and on for years, and that she had a history of suicide threats and attempts.

The second day, Thalia fell completely apart. As soon as the crew approached her to make decisions about her stuff, she panicked. She ran outside and locked herself into her car, which was also full of bags, clothing, and memorabilia. As we stood outside the car and tried to get her to open the door, she started trying to open a bottle of pills, threatening to swallow them.

Because of Thalia's unstable mental state, we made sure that her therapist was on call during the cleanup, and it was the therapist who was able to talk Thalia out of taking the pills, and out of the car. At the therapist's insistence, Thalia was committed and spent the next few days in the hospital.

As extreme as Thalia's case may be, it is not uncommon for advanced hoarders to be wrestling with some deep psychological issues that will surface during the stressful time of the cleanup. Any hoarder with a previously diagnosed or suspected mental disorder, like OCD or depression, should have the support of a good therapist whose professional training will make him or her a critical and still impartial member of the team. In many cases, the therapist not only helps the hoarder directly but can manage the high emotions of the whole team.

Sam and Wendy met at church when both were in their seventies. When they fell in love, their children didn't have a problem with their racial difference. What shocked Sam's family was the condition of Wendy's house. When Sam moved in, the house was so cluttered and decrepit that they worried about his safety.

Both Sam and Wendy were strong-willed people. Sam made a commitment to stick with Wendy even though she simply wasn't interested in undertaking a cleanup. In frustration, Sam's daughter finally called the county to report Wendy's house. While this move could have alienated Sam from his daughter, it turned out to be the best move because it brought an empathetic social worker into the picture.

The social worker determined that Wendy and Sam were capable of living independently, and since they were adamant about staying in the house, she took steps to help them with a cleanup.

The social worker was also instrumental in getting Wendy and Sam the medical attention that they both needed. Sorting out the prescription drugs was a major issue. From old aspirin to expired heavy-duty narcotics, Wendy had hoarded old medications, which she took on her own judgment whenever she felt ill. She also kept empty bottles so that she would have a record of her medication history. The social worker got a doctor to visit and explain that medicines lose their effectiveness after time, and that her doctors would all have her medication records on file, so she could throw away the old bottles.

During the cleanup, the social worker checked in every day or two to make sure that Sam and Wendy were holding up during the difficult process. If new problems had cropped up, she would have been the go-to person to coordinate additional resources and support.

With the help of the social worker, the cleanup crew was able to get Wendy and Sam's immediate cooperation. Social workers not only have the confidence and respect of their clients but give an air of urgency to the situation. And, trained as they are, they know the best and most effective ways to get help.

Child and Adult Protective Services are social workers who specialize in aiding children or seniors who are living in hazardous conditions. They can rally the same level of resources and support as a general social worker, but are more focused on children or seniors in need. It's important to remember that these, or any, social workers are there for the person in need, which means they may not always do what family members think is best. They are focused on the
hoarder
or the people directly affected by the hoarding.

Hoarders won't be the ones to call in a building inspector to condemn their own houses. But ironically, once city or county officials get involved, a battery of municipal programs kicks in to help the homeowner. The city or county doesn't want to own houses, they want to help homeowners fix them up and keep them.

Rick, the retired professor who hoarded paperwork, was living in a firetrap filled with twenty-five years' worth of papers, and the room he called his library had also been damaged by a years-old water leak. Rick's sister called the county because she was concerned about Rick's living conditions. The city inspectors condemned the house not only because it was a firetrap but also because they found high levels of black mold.

After blocking off the room with the hazardous mold, which would be handled by a special crew, the inspectors checked in every other day during the cleaning to make sure no new hazards were uncovered. In hoarder houses, the clutter covers up a multitude of sins, including structural damage that's not even visible until piles of stuff are removed from the house.

When a city or county official visits a house to evaluate the condition, the official writes a report with a list of things that have to be fixed and issues a warning. The homeowner is supposed to attend to those items on the list by the official's next visit, usually thirty days later.

Because die-hard hoarders don't usually comply—or do so halfheartedly—the next inspector invariably issues another warning. This may go on for some months, and if the homeowner makes any effort at all, then the inspector will postpone action, give the hoarder a provisional pass, and allow the homeowner to stay in the house, with the promise that the work will be done. For the house to actually be condemned, the inspector has to have made many visits over a long time period. But even once a house is officially condemned, things don't necessarily start moving quickly.

A property that has actually been condemned is on the building inspector's radar as long as that same homeowner is in the house, even once it's cleaned up. If the hoarder leaves something in the driveway, a neighbor's phone call will usually trigger a quick visit. Even without anyone filing reports, the inspectors will be visiting that house a few times a year just to make sure it's staying clean and habitable.

Michelle had a hoarding problem that had become so bad that Child Protective Services had removed her two middle school–aged children and city authorities had determined that the house had to be cleaned immediately. In every room of the house newspapers were stacked about seven feet high, making access throughout the place difficult. But the real problem was the mice that were living in the clutter. The pest control man said that with close to three thousand mice, it was the worst he had ever seen. Our cleaning crew eventually filled two fifty-gallon trash bags with dead mice.

Michelle had been living in those conditions for years, and like many hoarders she was not a healthy woman. She was rail-thin, with her clothes sagging off her narrow shoulders. She coughed a lot, and her skin was dull and flaky. I don't know if any of her health issues were caused by the mice, but it's not a healthy environment for anyone.

Vermin like mice, rats, and cockroaches are common in hoarder houses, and a house like Michelle's needs to be treated before cleaning can begin. These creatures carry viruses dangerous to humans, including hantavirus and Lyme disease. Some viruses are passed not by direct contact but just through rodent droppings and saliva. A mouse infestation like Michelle's also increases the risk of children developing asthma.

If there are a lot of pets in a house, animal control people may be a necessary part of the team to make sure the dogs, cats, birds, snakes, or other pets are taken to a shelter where they have food and space. There, they can be evaluated for health problems and given medical care. If the hoarder can't care for the pets after the cleanup, then animal control has the resources to find them good homes.

There are many circumstances before and during a cleanup that might involve the police. When we were working with Marcie, the shopaholic whose husband turned out to be abusive, things came to a head when the husband took a swing at me. It seems that he didn't take too kindly to his wife's realization that part of her hoarding problem may have stemmed from his abusive behavior. After that, we decided that if we were to return to the house, we'd need some police oversight. As it turned out, he beat us to the punch: Marcie's husband took out a restraining order preventing us from coming back to the house.

Don, on the other hand presented a very different sort of situation that required police intervention. An overweight, ex-military guy who had retired from his civilian job working in security, Don had suffered a heart attack but managed to call 911. After the emergency services crew picked him up and got him to the hospital, they called county officials about the house, which was in a terrible state. A few months later, county officials called in my cleaning crew. Almost immediately we found a loaded handgun underneath a pile of clothing. Don admitted that one wasn't the only weapon in the house, so we stopped cleaning and called the police. They discovered seventeen guns and thousands of rounds of live ammunition. We then continued our work, only to uncover more ammunition and weapons, and we had to periodically call the police back in to handle the situation.

Will's case was equally troubling. He was a hoarder recovering from surgery who needed his house cleaned out enough to allow home health care to get in and help him. We began cleaning and almost immediately started finding pornography. That's not unusual; we find all sorts of private things when we clean, and we are usually very discreet. Will was apparently obsessed with famous cartoon characters. He had a vast collection of mermaid drawings and other characters, all in revealing and compromising positions.

The deeper we got into the house, the more disturbing the pornography became: child pornography and snapshots of Will with girls who looked underage. This went beyond “private” into illegal, and so we were compelled to call the police. Will ended up recovering from his surgery while serving a three-year prison sentence.

Police are valuable members of the team whenever there is violence, or the threat of violence. And they are mandatory when there is dangerous or illegal activity, including drugs, firearms, child pornography, or abuse.

The worse the hoarding case, the less likely family members or friends can handle the cleanup themselves. Professional cleaning services can be involved to whatever extent necessary, from simply hauling away trash to cleaning the entire house and arranging for specialized support, including therapy. A reputable cleaning company trains its staff to handle everything from hazardous waste to valuables as well as to work appropriately with the hoarder or other helpers.

If a family feels that they can handle the work themselves, then they can still hire the cleaning service to create a plan and a list of necessary materials. Or they can work alongside the professionals. But if a house shows signs of a high level of hoarding, the unsafe conditions may require the intervention of professionals.

Jackson was unusual in that his Blondie collection and designer clothes actually had some value. He had autographed Blondie memorabilia and rare collectibles. Jackson and Mike didn't bring in an appraiser because a quick scan of eBay showed them that the collectibles were fetching pretty good prices and a call to a consignment shop determined the value of the clothing. But under other circumstances, a visit from an appraiser or auctioneer might be a good idea.

What I see is that 99 percent of the time the collection has little or no value. But hoarders are convinced that they are sitting on a gold mine. Bringing in an impartial third party can clear this up, because it's harder to argue with an expert. But the house has to be fairly clean before the appraiser is brought in or the appraiser may dismiss everything as “messy junk” without making the effort to really see what's what. Since most appraisers charge by the hour, it's cost-effective to have the “valuables” already pulled out and boxed up before the visit.

Because most collections are relatively worthless, be prepared for this additional emotional blow to the hoarder. It's best if an appraiser comes to visit the hoarder and maybe one other sympathetic family member. Families can be tempted to say “I told you so!” to a hoarder when the hoarder learns that that extensive angel figurine collection isn't worth any money. That can be a really hard moment for a hoarder who has a lot of money and emotion invested in the collection, and the hoarder needs someone who will understand and be kind and positive.