Tag: helping hoarders

Help Mom Be More Minimalist

Posted on by Jordank

Moms — everyone has one. And this Sunday is the day many among us will celebrate them. You might do that by taking her out to brunch, giving her a day off, flowers, cards or a call.

There’s another option that can help you show you care, however, in combination with one or more of those classic options or separately throughout the year: Help Mom be more minimalist.

No two moms are alike, of course; some are packrats with closets full of clothes and big collections of tchotchkes and gewgaws; some are spartan neat-freaks. Wherever yours fits on that spectrum, she needs help managing and organizing her #stuff.

We at The Organizing Blog were fortunate to have moms who kept everything #neat and #tidy, never allowing unwanted or unused #junk to pile up. But there was nothing they liked more than a little help with their household tasks.

If your mom is getting older, it’s more urgent for you to help her #downsize. There may be many things that are easy to let go, says Aging Outreach Services, but handle sentimental items with care.

If a move to a smaller space is imminent, make an action plan to eliminate everything but the essentials, room by room. Recruit family members and friends to make a day out of a decluttering effort. And most importantly, be patient.

Repeat the process as often as as necessary to get Mom to a refreshed, #decluttered place. It might even be something you can bond over — especially if you have a #garage sale that helps fund a dinner out or a spa day.

Remember, you can schedule as many free #donation #pickups as you want at ClothingDonations.org to get any extra clothing or unused household goods out of Mom’s sight as quickly as possible.

Helping #Mom #declutter is a Mother’s Day gift that keeps on giving. Not only will she appreciate having a cleaner, more organized space, but both of you will cherish the time you spend together.

Binge-Watch These Shows to Cut the Clutter

Posted on by Jordank

If you’re anything like The Organizing Blog staff, you’re probably spending lots of time indoors this month to avoid exposure to the coronavirus and the frigid temperatures. That likely means you’re doing lots of binge-watching of broadcast and subscription TV.

It’s been nearly two years since the pandemic emerged, however, and your surroundings may have gotten a bit #cluttered with all of that at-home time. What if there were a way to binge-watch and learn how to #streamline your space at the same time?

Good news! There are multiple programs that will help put you on a more #minimalist path. Watch them, then get off the couch and practice what they preach to cut the #clutter in your home.

First up is maybe the biggest #decluttering show of all time, Netflix’ Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. Since the show’s premiere in 2019, the organization expert has helped people organize their lives to “spark joy” starting with their sock drawers.

HGTV’s Hot Mess House offers harried homeowners a video one-on-one with organizing expert Cassandra Aarssen to help them figure out their organizing style. They (and viewers) then can take her tailor-made tips to make their homes happy and clutter-free.

Nashville-based organizers Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin offer a glimpse into their celebrity clients’ lives in Get Organized With the Home Edit while offering useful tips for the more quotidian declutterer-to-be, targeting specific stresses and decorating styles.

Finally, no #organization playlist would be complete without A&E’s long-running Hoarders. Offering sobering cautionary tales of what can happen when people allow their #stuff to run amok, the show will have you cleaning out your closets in no time.

Binge-watch a few episodes of the above shows; before you know it, you’ll be inspired to tackle the clutter in your home. And be sure to schedule a #pickup with ClothingDonations.org to #donate any of your lightly used, unwanted #junk to a good cause. Happy #decluttering!

Clutter & Hoarding Clean Up Do’s and Don’t

Posted on by Quentin Butcher

The DO’S

  1. Connect with the Hoarder– Place yourself in the Hoarder’s mind and connect with their emotions. They need to know that you will be there for them after the cleanup.
  2. Seek Professional Help– Weather you are a hoarder or a loved one of a hoarder, there are many therapists that specialize in hoarding. Don’t just go to a general therapist.
  3. Continue to talk with the hoarder about the hoarding situation.- This is not going away as much as the hoarder will promise to clean up.
  4. Talk about safety– Safety is a key concept that the hoarder is also concerned about. Talk about how reorganizing the home at first will assist in a safe situation. After that discussion you can begin the talk about removing items
  5. Agree that the items are important– Everything in the home down to the old toilet paper rolls and cigarette boxes have emotional connections to the hoarder. Baffled? What about something that you saved in your home that would seem odd to others? Look around your home and you will be surprised.
  6. Talk about keeping everything confidential– Hoarders realize to some degree that this is not normal to the average society. The goal to keep the hoarder on your side is to promise not to talk about anything related to their situation to anyone without their permission. You can however contact a certified hoarding clean up company that has been
  7. Ask the question of WHY? Why are they keeping these items, many hoarders have had a dramatic experience such as a death in the family, a loved one leaving them, or an abusive past which has led to this hoarding situation.
  8. Promote the Donate– Everyone loves to help the needy, so let the hoarder know their stuff will go to better use with someone who needs it rather than sitting in their house under other items.
  9. Getting Impatient– Don’t get impatient with them, it has to be taken one step at a time. The hoarder needs to realize first that their living condition is below standard. After this is realized, the hardest part of getting rid of certain items has come.
  10. Hire a Professional– Hiring a professional service will not only help with the relationship between you and the hoarder but it will allow someone (if hiring the right company) who knows items of value and can help to organize the house in a way that will help the hoarder coup with their feelings and loss of connect with the items.

 

The DON’TS

 

  1. Make a fun with the hoarder’s situation– You’d be amazed what comes of people’s mouths. Prepare all who enter a hoarding home that this is a serious mental issue and that the hoarder is feeling very low and embarrassed when you enter the home.
  2. Say let’s get rid of all this “stuff “- To you the mountains of hoarded items may be useless “stuff”, but to a hoarder there is sentimental emotional connections to the “stuff “. For example they may have saved a menu from a restaurant that is still in business today. But the menu may remind them of a dinner with their late father.
  3. Get Angry– If you’re a loved one your first reaction will be to start getting upset. This emotion will get you nowhere and will actual scare the hoarder who is very sensitive a the time to close up with your request to take care of the situation.
  4. Try to reason with the hoarder right away- Remember they have been living like this for years and have created a sense of normalcy at the moment. The first thing you want to say is that you are not judging the person and be as compassionate as possible.
  5. Touch the hoarder’s items at first– Research has shown that some piles are considered ” dirty ” while some piles are not. Working with the hoarder will determine what you can assist now and what may need to be negotiated later.
  6. Treat the hoarder like a child– Hoarder’s are very intelligent and educated and can tell when you are talking down to them. Treat them as the adults that they are.
  7. Treat hoarders like criminals– There are times when the authorities get involved. Authority organizations tend to create a greater anxiety that is not necessary and make the hoarder feel like they have broken a major crime. With reasonable level tone, giving the hoarder a reasonable amount of time to take care of the situation will be better situation.
  8. Make a list of all of the tasks to the hoarder at once– As a non-hoarder we understand your need to create a plan of attack and begin immediately. Knowing hoarders as we do, we find that separating out the tasks and talking about the tasks individually make the project go smoother. For example we explain to the client that there first concern is finding “homes” for the hoarded items is the first and only thing to think about now. Once that task has been completed can we talk about cleaning, sanitizing, deodorizing and repairs to the home.
  9. Ask why they hoard– In most cases they don’t know why themselves. If you are interested in knowing read hoarding books by Randy Frost and Gail Stekenkede.
  10. Let this hoarding situation stress you out.-Hoarding is usually a result of a traumatic situation in the hoarders life. Better hoarding than the hoarder going to drugs and alcohol. Although there is no positive treatment or solution creating a livable condition and periodic monitoring of the hoarding situation will make life enjoyable for both you and the hoarder.

Photo Credits:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/paintedbooklady/2901885054/