How do you not feel bad for getting rid of a hoarders stuff?

We had a recent garage sale to cut down on the stuff my husband has been buying, collecting and storing at our house. We've had to do this before but each time the garage sale process got worse. He was agreeable to having the sale but I had to most of the work except for moving a few heavy things. He cursed me out for both days, constantly. If I was friendly to the neighbors who came by to look I was a slut. He can't tell being friendly from flirting. Of course the name calling was in private, he showtimed in front of others. I realized that the disruption that comes with a yard sale was waaaay too far out of the routine for him to ever deal with again, much less put me through that abuse. He always says he is going to go through his stuff and donate or sell it. The garage and a spare bedroom are full of stuff. It's mostly on ground level and not stacked to the ceiling with mountains to climb over. (There are photos on hoarding help sites that let you determine the severity of the problem.). Yet with all his stuff, he knows if I have moved something. It's like if he can't see it he can't find it, so needs to have it at hand. Of course he has lots of things he's forgotten about. He was abused as a child and never had a toy. Now he's like a jaybird picking up shiny stuff to bring home to the nest. I have turned out to be quite good at decorating with Goodwill finds. Things he has got to have and loves eventually are salable. No telling when something he would rather divorce me over to keep now can be sold. Things show up (like a large white leather sofa standing on end in the dining room because there was no room for it otherwise) and things disappear (like my laundry basket or a kitchen appliance from the counter). It is unnerving to not know what will have come or gone when you come home. This "collecting" is annoying and costly, but at least he's buying it and not shoplifting like others with FTD. I am working on trying to reclaim space and order and actually progressed on my stuff. I got depressed and neglected what I should have been doing. If anyone needs help in dealing with having routines and getting your living space back to a normal condition I recommend Flylady.net. She herself was once hospitalized for depression. Her free website is positive, supportive and insightful. Just trust her, you can't go wrong. (PS, she does not recommend yard sales....I should have listened.)

This is a very bad situation, especially for families having to deal with this in their busy lives. If you don't do this now... it may be worse later... I agree with just about everyone on this thread... Keep the momentum going and try not to give it a second thought!... (Everyone with be healthier for it being gone!)

I remember reading something about depression. To sum it up it said that a lot of depression was caused by clutter. (Too much stuff) I can see that in my own life.
You get rid of the clutter and the depression or at least 90% of it goes away. My own house has too much stuff in it that we will never use but might be good stuff. There are things in my house that I would like done but don't feel like doing them because it is too overwheling as far as time goes. Working backwards is a good policy so things don't get worse. You get more pleasure going to the re-cycling center than you get buying something new that you MIGHT use some day. I try to buy things that I will use in the next 3 days. Things I really need. My depression has increased because of the care of my 89 year old parents who will not throw anything away including JUNK mail. Their dementia has made it impossible to figure out what mail is important and what mail is not. Including empty enevelopes that they take the junk mail out of. They have been married for 65 years and stuff means more to them than people or personal relationships. Very Very sad..
I am an only child and my daughter is an only child. I don't want to do this to her.

My mother is a hoarder and I have slowly worked with her to get rid of some things and it was very difficult. She agreed to get rid of some plastic containers and some plastic bags. We didn't get very far. Another problem was her "recycling." I would enter the kitchen and smell a bad smell. there would be some food rotting in a pan and there would be fruit flies. she did not object to getting rid of that. she kept food to give to the ferral cats that she fed and other stuff It was hard for her to get rid of anything. I did as much as I could with her. Sorted some clothing together and got rid of a few items. she kept Dan's clothing after he died. When my sister visited she said in Mom's presence that she should just rent a dumpster and clean out the basement. I said that you don't do it that way that you involve Mom.
That remark was so cold and I walked away. My sister says what she thinks and never sugar-coat it. Not my style. And regarding getting rid of trash and paper and cans, these were put in bags and still in the house after a few weeks. I would either get the bags into the garage or into my car. she didn't have any dumpsters and lived in a rural area and didn't get much help in getting it out to the curb. Mom would sort piles of photographs, bills, etc. but not much was organized. It seemed to be hard for her to decide how to organize it. Now she is in a nursing home and my brother has control of her home. I don't know if Mom will be coming home or not. I don't know what shape her home is in but my brother has control over that. There is so much to say about the subject of hoarding. You do what you gotta do.God bless.

My parents are hoarders since I was a child, just getting worse and worse over the years. My sister tried living with them and did a full cleanout and refurbishing of the house (but circumstances required her to move away). My parents lawyer set up a financial management person to help get my parents organized and moved into independent living, so they had only seen my parent's house in the post-hoard refurbished state.

Then after a couple month of my parents in independent living, the financial management person wrote me:
"We have a question...your parents have refused our assistance in unpacking boxes and have asked to have many more things in their relatively small apartment than we would normally advise clients. Could you describe in general what your parents' home was like prior to the "organization" which your sister and her husband did? We do not want to press them to live someone else's life style, but we also don't want to leave them with an apartment full of moving boxes with which they are unable to manage."

The financial management person and I had a chat after that and I showed her some 'before' pictures that I had taken of the house a few years ago, which practically knocked her off her chair.

Wow! I thought I was the only one dealing with "the accumulator". I spent two months clearing out my parents' home of 55 years. It was really scary. They lived in the Midwest and in the Midwest, there are basements, garages and attics. My dad is a paper hoarder, never seen anything like it. He had every tax return since 1951. Prior to 2000, every paper had a social security number as the ID. It took forever to shred all of this junk. He is on every mailing list in the country - politicians, PACs, help the homeless animals in New York ( he hasn't been to NY in 70 years) For 4 years, I couldn't use my dining room table because of all of the "important stuff" on it. I got a dumpster when I moved them from their home and he would go through it at night and take stuff out. It was a real battle. He would say that all of this stuff was his life. Now that he is in AL, the staff is on me all of the time about the boxes of papers and the absolute clutter from his "important" stuff. I tell them this is their battle - not mine. I refuse to participate. If I offer to throw away anything, he says - no I need to review all of these things - these are important to me and might be important to our future.
Perhaps, when pigs fly. On the other end, I have started throwing away everything in my house. I might end up with one cup, one plate and one place setting. I might be taking minimalism to a new level but after this experience, my son won't have to dig through generations of junk. It is an illness - and a remnant of a depression era person that gets validation from "important people" contacting him.

Get clear plastic trash bags, extra strength. Check with the Salvation Army and Good Will if they will come pick up. Bag up everything salvageable or supervise the bagging and pay somebody stronger than you are. Some areas have estate sale specialists who can come in and organize/sell the stuff...you may get a little$ out of it, depending on the mess. When it's just garbage that's left or if you don't have the mental/physical energy for this, then seriously: call crime scene cleaners. Every town has them. It all goes to the dump. I still feel bad, but it's done.

Burnedout13, "the accumulator", I like that term, good one :)

My Mom [97] is trying to get Dad [93] to go through all his 3-right binders of which he has many dozens, as Dad liked to cut out newspaper articles and tape them onto sheets to go into the notebooks. So right now around Dad's recliner, around his desk, and around his computer it looks like file cabinets had thrown up... paper everywhere, large sheets of paper, tiny bits of paper, etc. All those 3-ring binders will probably outlive him as he will pick up one newspaper article, read it for probably the 100th time, then he will talk about what is in that article, then decide he will need to save it. Thank goodness Mom has this under some control.

Mom and Dad have saved *everything* over the years. When I moved in when Dad passed away, I started the cleanout process. Mom is more amenable to it than Dad would have been. Old cottage cheese containers, old empty pill bottles, old plastic takeout food containers, old paper bags, plastic bags, even old clothes, coats and boots from the 70's that no one in the family can even wear anymore. Unfortunately, most of these things were kept in the basement of the house, which is moist and anything kept down there tends to get mildewed - so everything down there was ruined. Between the junk haul-out (which has taken me months, and still isn't done), and the remodeling being done, I seriously owe our trash collectors some cookies! And it's amazing what some people will pick up out of the trash - bags of mildewed old blankets and afghans that reek to the high heavens of must and mildew, boxes of old magazines and books covered with mildew - all picked up by someone who thought they had value. To each their own, though I suspect the blanket lady might have gotten a nasty surprise when she opened those trash bags and got a whiff of how bad those blankets smelled, and found the mildew stains on them.

And the paper...oh my gosh. Dad saved every single receipt, handwritten note, scrap of paper, utility bill and paystub for the last 50 years, I think. All of the bills for every year are bundled together with rubber bands, check copies stapled to each bill, and all in a big ziploc bag with the year on them. They are *everywhere*. When he ran out of room in his big 4-drawer file cabinet, he stashed them in his closet. When he ran out of room there, he stacked them on top of the file cabinet. When that pile threatened to topple over, he bought *another* cabinet to put them in. So now I'm burning up the shredder getting rid of all but the ones that need to be kept (tax returns, etc).

It seems every time I open a door or drawer, I find more and more stuff that needs to be gone through and cleaned out. One of these days I'll get it all done, but not sure if it will be soon!

Mom and Dad were not what you would call "classic hoarders" where the house is filled from floor to ceiling or anything, but there are definitely some major "stuff piles" stuck away behind closet and cabinet doors and in that basement! I still have to figure out how to get the huge old cabinet stereo (record player, radio, etc all in a huge console cabinet from the 70's) up the basement stairs.

Oh, and I watch the "Hoarders" show all the time - it makes me feel better about the clutter I'm dealing with. LOL This house is nowhere near as bad as some of those. The clutter here is contained and being dealt with on a weekly basis, at least!

Cousins. Call them in , let them take some memorabilia if they help fill the dumpster. We needed a 14 cu. yd dumpster, filled it twice. And you have to carefully go through every layer of clothing, pockets and papers, because things are hidden and forgotten.

Well I have enjoyed reading through all these stories because I am what my late MIL described as a "pack rat" But I am also a crafter with many interests and have spent a good part of the last ten+ years renovating and reselling old houses so have a large collection of useful pieces of wood etc. It is true that everytime I get rid of some thing I do need it again. When I am gone there will indeed be a huge clean out and I am sure a dumpster will arrive the day after the funeral. right now I am going through everything and organizing it into containers., and clearly labeling. for example I have a lot of extra bedding which i am keeping in case my entire family descents. Now I don't actually "need" it but unless we move to smaller accomodation I will continue to keep it, however it will be easy for someone else to dispose of. I do get rid of old clothes too. I have recently dropped from a size 16/18 down to a 12 and have donated all the extra large clothing and shoes I know I will never squeeze my bunions into. I did keep any really good quality items that I may grow into again but the rest went to the thrift store. At this time in my mid 70s I am getting things in order so that my kids won't have too hard a job. hubby's stuff is a different matter because he fills ever unused horizontal space including the floor with papers and I am not permitted to move or organize anything. i have taken over the mail which he now hands directly to me and anything addressed to him casually asks who it was from. if it is something he really needs to see i photocopy it first and keep the original. Junk goes straight into the recycle bin. Getting him to part with old computer stuff, TVs etc is beyond difficult. my space is constantly invaded which is the aspect of this most difficult to deal with.

Dear missmel - I really, really do feel for you, and anyone who is having to deal with a parent's hoarded house. It took 2-1/2 years, from Jan 2008 - June 2010, of cleaning out every Saturday and Sunday for 5 hours each day, my parents' hoarded belongings. besides their house, there were 4 giant utility houses in the back yard, 2 cars crammed full, a giant storage unit downtown, and stuff piled up in the back yard. they were both obsessed with hoarding and had been since 1968. I broke down and cried every single visit. my husband and i did this without compensation as mom had spent down so much of her money. My dad had died in 1999 but my mom is still alive in an AL. she still hoards, will take things out of the other ladies' trash cans. i am being serious. when she starts hoarding too much, i know she is feeling anxiety and i get her dr to increase her anti-anxiety meds a little bit. there was no one to clean up her gigantic mess but my husband and me. no cousins. my brother didn't help at all. what my husband and i did was make 3 piles - keep, flea market, and pitch. really, we pitched most of it. anything that seemed worth less than $5 was the rule for pitching. we have sold a lot at the flea, i have given away alot of nice things to friends and family...esp to friends who can't afford nice things. to mom, a subway wrapper holds the same worth as a silver ring. and i really do not believe hoarders can be cured. at least my mom would never be. she has always lived in her own selfish la-la land. i have taken pictures every step of the way to have a visual record of the progress. i wish it could all be wiped out of my mind and my husband, son and i could have our 7 years back. if mom had loved me and cared for me i wouldn't feel so resentful. but....she didn't.....! we do the best we can. i am a good mom to my son (and to my mom) - so at least i broke the generational chain. God bless you and anyone else who has to clean up after a train-wreck hoarder who had always made the cleaner's life h*ll. i would not wish it on the worst person on earth.

I know what you are all talking about. my father saved everything also, he also cut out cartoons and put them in binders, I guess thinking the grandchildren would like them or me.......not. Now that he is in NH, both my brother/I have been cleaning out the true junk and broken stuff. getting things ready for yard sale cause mom don't want it. then there is stuff we do want to keep that we will put in a box. my husband even was helping to go thru junk (jars, tin, metal, nuts/bolts that were broken). They were from a depression era and kept everything. But I must say that my dad could fix anything with something he kept. But I find myself now (when up to it), throwing stuff away that is not needed.

Your question phrased "how do I not feel bad..." makes this hard to answer because inevitably, a hoarder is by nature manipulative and you are used to each other and WILL most likely feel bad. There is an old saying about how you cannot control how you feel; your feelings are your feelings. You can only control what you do. If you had a little kid who threw a tantrum if you didn't let him play in the street, would you let him? No. It's dangerous and not good for him to allow him to do that. Hoarders have a mental issue. We have a few in our families, my husband and me, both sides. His ex wife, who is now 63, is a hoarder and it caused, in part, their divorce, her job loss, her home being condemned and the loss of all her 'valuable stuff' that ended up mostly in a sludgy mess in her basement, moldy garbage useless to everyone. (I am not simplifying that their divorce, which was almost 30 years ago, was only due to hoarding but this woman has mental issues an the hoarding is only one part). My mother is a hoarder too, but my parents are fairly wealthy so my OCD clean not father organizes her endless purchases and bulging closets as a full time job. They are 80 and 83, she shops every single day, and will never move out of their 5500 SF house on acreage. What a mess for the entire family. My siblings all enable them both. I live in another city and just have to stay away. Here's an example - my mother, several years ago, gave my sister a bunch of 'crap' that she couldn't throw away. This is something hoarders will sometimes do - can't part with it so they push it on a close family member who then feels obligated to not get rid of it. My sister, by the way, is also a keeper and her husband definitely a more fledgling hoarder (their basement is stacked up so high you have to walk over stuff they never use and never will). When they were transferred and couldn't bring all this stuff with them in the move, they had a garage sale. Not surprisingly, they didn't sell much, because although for my sister 'she made the effort' stuff was so highly priced it didn't sell. Thus validating her reason to keep it! However, my mother came to the sale and BOUGHT BACK some of the stuff she'd given my sister in the first place because she was afraid it would be sold! I stay away. The way I see this, unless a hoarder wants help it does not good. Part of the problem with these people is that there seem to never be consequences. In an effort to 'help' them well meaning people clean up for them, bail them out, over and over, frustrating themselves in the process, only to find that in no time it piles up again. If it were up to me, and only me, I would have them evaluated and if they are deemed not a danger to themselves, let them alone. If they are made to leave their homes, then we'd have to figure it out. If they are considered dangerous to themselves, then I would get them to a safe environment and have professionals come and clean out the home and get rid of it. But to keep going back for more is about as crazy as being a hoarder, in my opinion.

Miss,
Loved to hear how this turned out; it would be insightful to all of us. I sit in my mom's house and she is not a hoarder; but there is a lot of stuff. I can't wait to get started. I do have a plan but can't do anything until she is out of the house and won't be going back. I observe her favorite chair, rug, lamp, table, etc. and will move those things to her new "home" if we ever get that chance. Maybe have her favorite dish, cup, saucer and spoon, knife, fork --- so she'll have something to familiar. I will hang her favorite pictures in her new room or prop up on the dresser so at least homey....Then I'll get started. All her clothes will go the veterans to sort through or toss. Shoe collections = trash. Furniture; rugs, dishes, leaving in the house, have a yard sale and let people just go through and make an offer and haul it off. Nothing we want (maybe one coffee table). Linens, etc. = old and will trash. Jewelry - sell to jeweler. Dishes, silverware, anything else = habitat store.

We will go through all closets, clothes, etc. carefully because we suspect there is money, documents, etc. hidden or stashed. That will be most time consuming. But there is nothing of value in the house that I or sibs want or care about.

Again, shes not a hoarder -- but crafts, and crap in your case; if its in containers, etc. - consider donating to the senior center, etc for them to use.

I know 2 people that are hoarders. They have no life, as their stuff rules them. One presently hired help to get rid of all the 'crap' she has in her house, so she can sell it. In her case, I'm sure who ever buys her house will tear it down. The other person (male) said he wants to "die in his house". He has major mental issues from childhood (his son told him he "doesn't want anything and that he'd light a match to the place"... metaphor). The sooner these people can get help the better (to say the least) not only for them, but for all those around them... including neighbors.

I do agree that hoarding is mental illness, but I am not optimistic that they can be "helped." Does anyone have any examples of former hoarders, who no longer have the urge, or who resist the urge, to hoard? I can't think of anyone who hoards who doesn't just get worse with age.
My mother isn't a horrible hoarder, but we've managed to cut off much of her ability to purchase things. Thank goodness, she is no longer online, because she was an Amazon junkie for a while there, buying nothing but books.
As far as her house, it's not a fire or safety hazard. She just has about 60 years worth of stuff, both hers and my father's (he died in 2009), and aside from a few of his items of clothes, hasn't gotten rid of a thing.
When I can't sleep at night, I go through my list of What to Get Rid of First: her books (tons of them), clothes, furniture, dishes and cookware, linens, other furnishings and knick-knacks, computers, sewing machine, lawn and garden tools...
Frustrated, my mother would do that too - push her stuff onto me. For a long time, I'd take it, feeling guilty that I didn't really want it. Then I'd take it, but immediately donate it (it would go right from the trunk of my car to Goodwill). I'm annoyed that she refused to handle any of this when she still had the ability to. It's going to be quite a task when the time comes. There are moments where I fantasize about the whole thing going up in flames, and only having to make one call to the insurance company.

Shoe collections can go to Goodwill, and here in Arkansas the libaray system has a big used book sale at least once a year. And I thank God for all the donation and recycling places because I have a hard time throwing things away unless they truly have no use left, and wuld probably BE a hoarder if they weren't around!!

Seriously, there are estate sale companies that will handle this sort of thing as long as you get the serious trash out first. Then collect whatever few items are worth something to you, and let the rest go for the pittance they will get. You will end up with not much money for it, but with a "broom-clean" house that is ready for a new life...

Recently in my neighborhood an older lady had to move. Her biggest concern was whether or not the recipients would be deserving. She asked if anyone in the neighborhood wanted anything. I asked, "Why don't you donate to Goodwill, Salvation Army, Public Radio or some other charity? Her inability to let go of stuff was a reflection of her deeply-ingrained concept of "deserving". If she couldn't hand it to a "deserving person", she didn't want to let go. She was moving in with her middle aged son and his wife who lived about 2 hours away. So they coordinated by packing what she had to have and a few small items she really wanted. While the wife drove her the 2 hours to her new home, the son had a truck scheduled to pick up the bigger stuff. That way she didn't have to view her stuff that may go to those who were not "deserving". The son mentioned that his parents were very proud they worked for everything they ever had. No handouts, so she could not really process the fact that some just have less than ideal lives and can't always buy what they need. He knew this day would come, so he was ready. He was thankful she still had most of her mental capability to be capable of the move, but that she had "lost her edge" enough that it was basically out of sight, out of mind.

Vstefans, I may have not put it in these words (you did a better job!) but that is exactly it. My MIL was not a hoarder but she did live in her home for 47 years. She was 'extremely sentimental' and didn't have a basement, thank God, so there was a lot to go through but not overwhelmingly so for professionals. They can separate the 'sh-- from shinola' or at least the wheat from the chaff! Anyway, you are so right. They don't charge that much and they get the job done. For a truly hoarding situation, you need more of a hazmat prepared type company and in that case, stuff will be mostly disposed of. But when looking for a way to separate oneself from so much emotional distress pro is the way to go. The other thing to be prepared for is this: Hoarders often believe their 'treasures' are very valuable. Even non hoarders who are sentimentally attached to antiques and family items think so too. After all they have worked to earn, own and enjoy their things and when forced to part with them, they believe they should fetch much more than they do. My MIL's entire home's contents brought about 10K probably one fifth of what she would have expected. Her antiques were beautifully kept, but no one wants a 3/4 size antique bed anymore (that needs a specially made mattress and sheets to fit) unless it's for a little girl! People are not crazy about oak any more, furniture is made to accommodate technology and didn't used to be, people are bigger and taller so old furniture is too small over all. Keep your loved one(s) away from the sale, if you have to get rid of things. It is very depressing and upsetting for them to know their 'life' amounted to so little from a financial standpoint. My MIL insisted on knowing what the net result was and my husband's brother told her. It was a mistake. Also, keep some personal items aside and if you need to put anything in storage and decide what to do with it later, no big deal. Keep them safe but do what you have to do and be willing to be a bit flexible.

Yes, I will definitely call on a pro to help me! I would feel better if I knew that the stuff was going to someone who really wanted it, but like everything, I'm trying to figure out what my priorities are. What will I care more about? Finding the perfect home for each thing, even it makes the process that much longer (which I can't afford, since I do have a full time job and will be commuting quite a distance to handle this)? Or do I want to handle it respectfully, but expediently? Lol, door #2 please!

People who keep stuff because it might be useful or valuable someday never realise the utter uselessness of the crap you will have to pay BIG BUCKS to have carted away, nor will you be thanked for the effort. First donate as much as you can to a local church or give furniture to people who want to lug it away. Next hire someone to haul the rest away. Stagger home, take pain pills and get some sleep. It took me ten full days with four people working 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to clean out my father's shop and $13,000 to get rid of everything he saved. It was worth $800.00 when sold for scrap. So much for the value saved in all those items. UGH!

Your question is: HOW DO I NOT FEEL BAD? I don't think anyone can tell you how to feel. Many different things can be done to cope but feel? That probably takes time and depends on every different circumstance. Hoarders are also manipulative and they really do want you to feel bad if you try to change them. When you can do for yourself is reassure yourself and seek reassurance from others, importantly professionals as well, that you are doing what you are doing for someone's wellbeing. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and 'do' rather than 'feel'.

I feel for you. My mother has not become a hoarder, but she is a saver. Mainly because she grew up during the Great Depression (as most of our parents did) but also because she was one of fourteen children. So excess of stuff is kind of a recurring issue in our family. In my immediate family our problem is food. I live with my mother, Dad passed about 6 weeks ago. we have a refrigerator/freezer upstairs, one downstairs and a full length freezer downstairs (which is about to bite the dust and I can't wait!). Even if it doesn't get toward hoarding status, overactive saving can be a problem. I am lucky that every once in a while Mom will listen to me when I SUGGEST getting rid of something. I try to be as respectful as I can as I moved home (due to something unrelated to caregiving) but it is hard. good luck to you!

My mom isn't a hoarder in the TV sense, she just can't resist a "bargain" ...... Now that her dementia is in the severe stages, I've started donating things a box at a time
so she won't miss it. When she is asleep (not often!) I pack up a box of things that she has bought which have no value. She has lots of antiques which are valuable, but in the last years, her ability to judge value went out the window and she has a sh*t ton of resin figures, silk flowers, and ugly craft items "decorating" her house. One at a time they are "disappearing" Since she is still alive (using that term loosely) I have time to do it this way instead of all at once. I think my
biggest hurdle is that every time I get rid of something, I feel guilty because in the back of my mind I think what will she say if she gets better? I KNOW that she can't and will never get better, but my brain still hangs onto foolish hope and pokes at me with guilt. I just tell my brain to "shut the fu*k up" and get rid of the crap.

Endofrope, I would get rid of my mother's "stuff" one box at a time too, if I could. Her house is safe and accessible, but she won't part with a lifetime of STUFF. If she could, she would still be buying books, gourmet food, and cooking gadgets on Amazon, but thank goodness, she doesn't do the internet anymore. She is an excessive food shopper though. 2 freezers in the garage, plus the regular refrigerator. And it's just her and her dog. Plus, she's a terrible control freak and whenever we try to get rid of all the ancient frozen food, she argues and hovers, and makes it very difficult.
When the time comes for me to close out her estate, it will be an enormous undertaking.

How do you not feel bad for digging your way out from under a ton of useless stuff? Picture how YOUR children would feel if you did this to them and then stop feeling sorry for the hoarder and bend your task to get rid of everything ASAP and make sure you NEVER do this to anyone caring for you!!!

Not to mention the disease, bacteria, filth, mice/rats, etc associated with hoarding... I know... I've witnessed it from neighbors... There are no positives coming from a hording situation... The sooner you get rid of it the better!