The Secret Lives of Hoarders_ True Stories of Tackling Extreme Clutter - Matt Paxton [8]
Cracking open a refrigerator like this one, which hasn’t been open in more than fifteen years, is one of Matt’s and his crew’s least favorite jobs.
The Stage 4 hoarder begins to retreat to a small area of livable space in the house—a “cockpit” where the hoarder spends most of his or her time. The hoarder probably doesn’t do laundry, and just buys clothes at the thrift shop to replace soiled shirts and pants. A hoarder at this stage may bathe at the sink or not at all.
Hoarders have pretty much stopped following societal rules at this stage. They struggle to get to work on time, or they may quit working and be unable to pay the bills. The phone may be ringing frequently from bill collectors—until it too is shut off, along with the electricity and water. Pets are beginning to be on “vacation,” which means either dying or running away. Because their lives look so bleak, Stage 4 hoarders talk mostly about past memories or unrealistic plans for the future.
▶ Stage 5
Margaret is a Stage 5 hoarder, which is as bad as it gets. There is major structural damage to the house, with severe mold, strong odors, bugs, rodents, and cobwebs taking over. Entire floors of the house might be completely blocked off. There are walls of clothes or other items in every room. The hoarder spends the entire day struggling to complete simple tasks like eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom. Diet is generally limited to soft drinks and either fast food or now-expired generic brand food that was bought on sale.
Typical of the “great walls” of clutter that Matt and his crew encounter in the most dangerous Stage 5 hoarding cases.
If friends and family are still in contact with the hoarder, they are deeply concerned and have probably tried interventions. A hoarder at this stage is usually in serious financial trouble, and it’s likely that someone has contacted city or county authorities.
Depression is often so severe for a Stage 5 hoarder that he or she struggles to get up each day. A hoarder at this stage is often confused, perhaps saving items for people who are no longer living. Hoarders at this stage don’t leave the house, with the exception that some may move to their cars or a homeless shelter to sleep.
None of these stages is clear-cut. The scale shows a continuum in which a Stage 4 hoarder could have a clean house with no bugs or cobwebs, but it is so packed with stuff that nothing is accessible. Or a Stage 2 hoarder might have a fairly accessible house but a completely filled basement and attic.
The initial assessment of what is being hoarded and where the hoarder is on this scale gives us a sense of the severity of the problem. And while it seems, on the surface, a simple matter to call in a cleaning and repair crew, dealing with hoarders is far from simple. The key to a successful cleanup is to understand what makes hoarders do what they do.
WHO ARE THE HOARDERS?
When I first started my business and was searching for jobs, I would drive around and hunt for hoarders. I looked for a house where the blinds were closed and pressed against the windows. Or the yard was overgrown and animals were roaming around. I knew that I’d find a likely client if stuff was piled on the porch or in the yard or in an outbuilding on the property. The stereotypical hoarder—the overweight, elderly woman, unkempt, dressed in layers of clothes, sitting in front of the TV all day long—lives in that house.
Well, at least that’s the stereotype. But in the years since I started Clutter Cleaner, I’ve worked with hundreds of hoarders of every stripe. The truth is that hoarders come in all sizes, shapes, colors, ages, and backgrounds.