Hoarders (A&E)

[seven_sins]

Anyone ever watch the Hoarders program on A&E? I can't believe the filth, trash, garbage, junk, etc. that these people live in. And they can't be persuaded to get rid of it. One woman tonight had over 4000 pounds of stuff in her house. Part of it was several years accumulation of fecal matter. Urine had eaten the floor out of the bathroom. She hasn't had water in years. I work with someone who I suspect is a hoarder. His office is impossible to get into. And I have heard his house is the same, but I have never been in it. Have any of you ever known a hoarder?

 

[Jayden]

That show is like a car wreck. You dont want to look. But you just have to.

 

[Darkflower]

Yes, I've seen the show, and I'm glad I have. Before then, I may have been tempted to make value judgements about those folks. Admittedly, I do still think, "Jesus! How can you fucking live like that? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Especially when there are other living creatures affected, such as when people hoard animals.

But that show really brought home to me that hoarding is an illness, a mental illness, and while people can be put into a position where they are forced to confront and treat their illness, I no longer feel like I would look at them, personally, with disgust as much.

 

[TickTockMan]

I don't get that channel, do you know if hulu or anyone gets it online?



As for knowing a hoarder, I have known many to a lesser degree. I had an uncle die a few years ago and instead of going through all of his stuff, his kids each took a few things and then they let the fire dept. burn it for practice .

 

[Darkflower]

I don't get that channel, do you know if hulu or anyone gets it online?

I think you can see quite a few whole episodes on the A&E website itself. I know you can for "Intervention".

 

[Joshua_me]

I thought I'd be OK checking out that show. But, when it came to the part where they were finding dead cats and other animals stacked up with the other clutter and filth, that was more than enough for me.

I guess it's a real mental illness, and the good news is that it's somewhat treatable.

As far as hanging on to "stuff" goes, I think a good rule of thumb is, if you haven't used it or even seen it two years or more, you don't NEED it !

Throw it the fuck away.

 

[hotb0d]

I love that show. There are crazy people out there!

 

[looseliam]

My grandmother, mother are hoarders. I'm just a wee bit.

When my grandmother was in hospital, we decided to clean her house. We found newspapers from the Kennedy Assassination.

 

[TickTockMan]

I think you can see quite a few whole episodes on the A&E website itself. I know you can for "Intervention".

Thank you. I will go check it out now.

 

[Darkflower]

My grandmother, mother are hoarders. I'm just a wee bit.

When my grandmother was in hospital, we decided to clean her house. We found newspapers from the Kennedy Assassination.

Oh my god! Unless they were in terrible condition, I hope someone saved them for their historical (and possibly monetary) value! I know I'd pay for something like that!

Thank you. I will go check it out now.

You're welcome.

 

[Joshua_me]

My grandmother, mother are hoarders. I'm just a wee bit.

When my grandmother was in hospital, we decided to clean her house. We found newspapers from the Kennedy Assassination.

Wow...

I think that maybe the concept of "hoarding" started during the great depression, and into WWII, when people truly went without a great many things they needed. Once they got those things again, they held on to them tightly, even after their value and usefulness were long gone.

That was passed on to some of our generation by watching our parents not waste or throw away a thing. The mantra was, don't be wasteful, don't throw anything away...

Good advice to a point, of course. But the concept can obviously get out of hand...

 

[Pushyourluck]

I wouldn't say my bouyfriend is a hoarder but he does tend to keep hold of a lot of things over the years because in his words "they may be useful some day". I am the opposite and throw things out if they just get in my way.

I think maybe this is how it starts with them. They think something may be useful in the future, hold onto it for a while and simply forget it's there and it accumulates along with other things they've hoarded. Mental illness plays a huge part aswell i'm sure.

 

[Edward Twinkletoes]

I don't hoard anything nasty. My room is full of junk but it's all clean junk that could sit here for 10 years without running the neighbors out of their apartment. I hoard tea tins because I just can't see the logic of throwing away something as attractive and useful as a tea tin.

I tend to keep all sorts of containers with lids on them (as long as I can get them clean) because containers are always useful when you have loose odds and ends you need to store. I can't say I really hoard anything that's completely useless. And definitely nothing that smells bad.

 

[fetaby]

Count me in with the decorative box hoarder, and movie ticket/concert stubs...

Also seem to have a fascination with whatnots...

Working on my spindly legged table collection...

And the lace doilies to match...

 

[dpnice]

Then there is the adage that if you throw something out then the next day you will find that you have a need or use for it.

 

[star-warrior]

Then there is the adage that if you throw something out then the next day you will find that you have a need or use for it.

I have used that reasoning with so many things

 

[looseliam]

Good for grandma. The paper is probably worth something.

The woman who said she loved cats and they found a whole bunch of dead cats in her place . . she pissed me off.
<snip>

Grandma has those, too. Ask my mum about "the cannible cats."

 

[2243]

Just watched a few episodes after seeing this thread.

I don't know any serious hoarders so I don't know what those families have to go through, but I just can't believe some of these people with elderly hoarding parents.

How can they just leave? How can they just abandon family (especially an old parent!?) and let things escalate to that?

Even if it really can't be helped, I think it's terribly selfish for those people to neglect or shun a hoarding family member. Then to make things worse they respond with anger and demand apologies? I know that as a parents they have a responsibility, but those parents have a mental disorder.

I would never let anything like that happen to my mom. I don't think something like this could ever happen to anyone in my family. In that way it's a good thing, but in other ways it's bad.

 

[Joshua_me]

Grandma has those, too. Ask my mum about "the cannible cats."

Umm...

Your Grandmother has stacks of dead cats ?

 

[gsdx]

I don't know any serious hoarders so I don't know what those families have to go through, but I just can't believe some of these people with elderly hoarding parents.

It isn't just old people who hoard stuff.

I've seen 2 episodes. The second episode was about an older couple who kept cats in their home. The Humane Society was called in to clean the place up. The found a lot of mummified cats amongst the piles of junk.

The first episode, though, caught my interest because it was about a young gay man (late teens or early 20s - I don't recall) who was in a relationship. His boyfriend feared for the young man's heath.

My only problem with the programme was that they treated the results rather than the cause. Even after the places were cleaned out, the people were still hoarders and they would most likely just start hoarding again.