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We all know someone in our lives who just can’t part ways with unnecessary belongings. For these situations, specialty junk removal services can make the clean up process a lot easier. Some people stuff their attic space with cardboard boxes full of junk. Others spread their items across multiple rooms. Regardless of the storage tactics they use, it is necessary to recognize when simple storage becomes full-blown hoarding.
Identifying and addressing hoarding tendencies can be extremely difficult, especially when the hoarder in question is a close friend or relative. Where do you even start? You could start by confronting them or throwing out some items they are reluctant to part with. However, they likely find safety and comfort in their belongings, so threatening to remove them can feel like a personal attack. The first step to addressing a hoarding crisis is to identify the signs.
How to Spot the Signs of Hoarding Disorder
You can’t start helping a hoarder if you don’t know the signs to look out for. Most people with long-term mental struggles develop ways to hide or downplay them. Thankfully, hoarding behaviors become more apparent over time. There is a clear difference between messy homeowners and those who suffer from a hoarding disorder.
Before you plan any intervention, you should understand what a hoarding disorder is. People with a hoarding disorder have persistent difficulty getting rid of possessions, leading to distress and clutter that disrupts living spaces.
Although people with hoarding disorder may refer to themselves as collectors, hoarding and collecting are fundamentally different. Collections are healthy hobbies with obvious intrinsic or extrinsic value. Collections are usually organized, intentional, specific and admired. Hoarded items are usually disorganized, cluttered, random and out of control.
Common Signs of Hoarding Disorder
Hoarding can be a delicate issue for both you and the person affected. You may find it difficult to properly diagnose a hoarding disorder without asking offensive questions. To help you out, here are a few more behavioral hallmarks to examine.
Difficulty Parting With Items of No Value
It can be hard to determine which items hold value because people perceive them differently. To help assess hoarding tendencies, look for clear cases of valueless items. A hoarder’s emotional attachments may be valid but misplaced. For example, some hoarders justify keeping items typically seen as trash because they think they may use them later or because the items spark good memories. If a person does not want to part with these “valueless” items, it may be a telltale sign of an underlying hoarding disorder.
Emotional Stress When Getting Rid of Items
Attempts to remove items can often lead to bouts of extreme emotional distress. For now, just take note when removal attempts lead to emotional stress. Underlying mental health issues can amplify this response. Make sure to diffuse hostile situations and remind them that you love/care about them.
Finding Safety and Comfort in Items
Hoarders often find safety and comfort in their possessions, sometimes following traumatic events such as the loss of a loved one. For some, these events are the root cause, while for others they increase the severity of hoarding behavior. It is important to show love and support regardless of the cause.
Living Space May Be Too Cluttered to Move Freely
Walking space is the litmus test for hoarding disorder. If there isn’t enough room for you to move freely from room to room because the hoarder’s possessions take up too much space, they likely have a severe issue.
History of Depression, Anxiety or Substance Abuse
Mental disorders, severe mental illness, and substance abuse are closely related. For example, someone who suffers from depression can also develop anxiety or addiction. This phenomenon also holds true for hoarding. Preliminary issues can influence the negative behaviors that lead to excessive hoarding.
How to Approach a Hoarder Safely and Effectively
Hoarders often hold an exaggerated emotional attachment to their items, which can make it difficult for family members and friends who want to help. It is important to address hoarding symptoms seriously without justifying the behavior, as seen in similar situations featured on the TV show “Hoarders.” As hard as the process can be, you should approach the hoarder in your life before the situation becomes a concern for physical safety. Here are some methods for implementing tough love.
Focus on Open Communication
Open communication is the most effective way to promote positive change in others’ lives. Even if they don’t wholly agree with you, open conversations prompt hoarders to think about their often-ignored questions. Inclusive conversations show that you care about the other person enough to hear them out. Make sure to remain respectful of their opinions. Sometimes, hoarders can get defensive and interpret the conversation as a direct attack. You can use open discussions to help validate their feelings, which can help them lower their guard.
Implement Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing is a counseling technique that focuses on asking questions that influence change away from destructive behavior. Most people with a disorder understand the negative impacts of their behavior. Motivational interviewing shifts the conversation away from blame and argument by asking questions that bring up the discrepancies in their lives. These discrepancies are the disconnects between where they are in life and where they would like to be.
In some cases, hoarding disorder may limit a person’s ability to socialize. As they come to their own conclusions, they may become more motivated to make a positive change. If you wish to explore this option further, you may want to learn more about Enhancing Motivation for Change.
When to Seek Professional Help for Hoarding
If one of your immediate family members suffers from a hoarding disorder, you may feel like the best option is to take matters into your own hands. It’s often better to seek professional assistance for complex concerns such as mental health. A medical health professional should know how to help a hoarder better than anyone else. They can also recommend appropriate treatment programs, support groups, and other long-term professional support. Here are a few proven treatment options.
- Family As Motivators Training (FAM) – Family as Motivators Training (FAM) teaches family members effective strategies for managing a loved one’s hoarding disorder. These strategies can help avoid family conflict, foster healthy communication and drive impactful change. Because people with hoarding disorder may be hesitant to seek professional help, engaging trusted family members may lead to greater success.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – While motivational interviewing focuses on motivation and self-actualization, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on changing problematic habits and behaviors. For those open to seeing a mental health professional, CBT can be a practical option for long-term growth and recovery.
- Skills Training – It is necessary to address the underlying mental health condition before starting the decluttering process. Skills training can be a significant next step for those recovering from HD. Even if clutter does not hold the same sentimental value, people with a hoarding disorder may lack the organizational skills needed to clean their homes. Skills training helps them remove unwanted objects independently. Small victories during recovery can help prevent relapse, making skills training valuable after standard treatment.
- Medication – Mental health issues may not seem physical, but changes to brain chemistry are. When other treatment options fail, psychiatric medications may be necessary. They are typically recommended alongside therapeutic treatment, especially in cases caused by severe anxiety. Consult a doctor before trying any new medication.
What to Remember When It’s Time to Clean a Hoarder’s Home
It would be best to wait to start cleaning until you find a treatment option that works for the person with a hoarding disorder. Throwing out clutter too quickly is one of the most common pitfalls of treating hoarding disorder. Instead, wait until they are ready to start cleaning up.
Once your loved one is ready, it’s time to clean up their home. First, make sure you have a team ready to help them with the job. The decluttering process can be overwhelming to those who have just begun their recovery journey. A proper support system will help keep things on track. Before you start, here are some tips to streamline your junk removal.
Remove Trash First
You may be wondering, where do I even begin? Well, start with the trash. There will be plenty of time to decide on the items that tetter the line between valuable and unnecessary. To make life easier for everyone, start with the things that have no value. Gradually remove these items to make room for sorting valuable items
Sort What to Keep and What to Get Rid Of
Next, you want to set up a simple system to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. Keep both piles separate, and remove the “get rid of” pile as you need more room. Make sure the recovering hoarder has a say in what stays and what goes. Giving them some control will help them accept their new living situation. Give the recovering hoarder plenty of grace. Decluttering is a gradual process, and you will have multiple opportunities to continue narrowing down their items.
Focus on What is Valuable
At this point, you should have a much better idea of what is staying and what is leaving. If they still have too many items, conduct another decluttering process. You can be a little more selective this time around. Focus on the value of each item. Ask if each item is valuable to the person recovering from a hoarding disorder. If it holds value, ask them why. Remember that everyone determines value differently. If they are insistent that a particular item is worth keeping, move on to the next thing.
Hire a Junk Removal Company
Removing the clutter from a house is hard enough, but now you have to figure out what to do with everything. Instead of spending days transporting these items to their respective disposal locations, why not hire a junk removal company that specializes in hoarding clean outs? These companies specialize in junk removal. They have the tools, training, and experience to make quick work of your trash. Additionally, they can filter through recyclable items, which will reduce negative environmental impacts. Junk removal can be especially effective for hoarders with large objects or those who may be reluctant to clean.
Choose Stand Up Guys to Help With Hoarding Clean Up
We understand that every hoarder cleanup situation is different. Some people with a hoarding disorder are reluctant to remove all the clutter at one time, so we can take things day by day or room by room. In other cases, recovering hoarders may want to remove everything at once, and we can expedite the process by tackling the entire house at once.
Stand Up Guys has years of experience with all types of hoarding clean-outs. We understand that hoarding disorder is a complex issue that affects people in different ways, which is why we take care of everything for our customers from A to Z. Hoarding can lead to unsafe living conditions, including fire hazards, fall hazards and sanitary hazards, as well as emotional distress between family and friends. We want to remove these physical and emotional hazards so people can return to living healthy lives in their own homes.
A Clutter-Free Space Is Just a Phone Call Away
Don’t let hoarding take over your space. At Stand Up Guys we provide safe, compassionate junk removal services that can effectively tackle even the toughest cluttered space. Call 1-844-784-5865, or request a free junk removal quote online today.