I have to chuckle about this, just a bit. One of those inside funnies. My girl Texas you may not want to read this one, based on your response to this specific topic. I'm giving you warning girl, and I thank you for giving me a thought that wont get the hell outta my head. Jeez, like I don't have enough things flying through my noggin.
Just a quick mention here, the following is my opinion and my opinion only. If you are easily offended ya might not wanna read it, or you can put on your big girl/boy pants and suck it up. It really isn't too bad...I promise.
So moving on here. The topic of hoarding came up yesterday, and it really got me thinking since my life has strangely been affected by this problem. Back in the day these people were called packrats. (Holy crap!I so did not know this even existed. Guess you learn something new everyday.) I think the term hoarding lumps people with many different problems in to one category. I don't know, maybe the doctors were too lazy to figure out politically correct names for them all. I personally say screw political correctness. You need to call it what it is. By the way I found this site on political incorrectness and some of the terms and reasons were funny as all hell.
Oh yes, back to the topic. I mentioned that hoarding had in a way affected my life, and these are my observations when dealing with these situations. Please keep in mind I do not have a medical degree or any such thing along that lines. I do know that there is a mental issue that is going on with people who actually have this problem, and I by no means am making light of that fact. However, I think it's played the mental angle way more that it should be played these days to save face. Call it an excuse if you will.
My mom was a hoarder. She was not an extreme hoarder in fact we kinda joked about her being a packrat. She held onto every single piece of paper. When I say every piece I mean every piece. These pieces of paper were kept in boxes and bags, so they weren't just laying around creating random clutter. The boxes and bags were kept in their own little room, out of sight from anyone. My mom was not organized at all, and since I was never taught it I too am about as organized as a tornado. I however do not hoard. In fact I love throwing things away. On the occasions where her papers would escape the room I would go around and collect them put them in a box or bag and put it in it's home. I still do this as I have no idea what to do with such stuff. Her other problem was with food. This woman would buy enough food to feed an army. There were only two of us, and there was a lot of waste since we never knew what was in the fridge or freezer. There were a couple of times where I would clean out the fridge, and I must say it was not pretty. In fact the first time I cleaned it out I found Halloween and Easter candy that was about six years old. I asked her why it was still in there and her response was, "I might use it to make desserts someday"...yikes! We almost got in a fight when I tossed it out. Other than that her problem didn't really affect our lives.
My step-grandma was also a hoarder, but to a different degree. Let me just say that if she was still living I would not mention her as my grandma, I would never do anything to embarrass or hurt her, and the same applies to my mom. My grandma was an impulse shopper, and really loved those infomercials. She also collected things like purses and stuff, and always had a collection of animals. Now her situation was unique in the fact she had five other people living in her home. It was also a huge part of the problem. I sincerely believe if she had lived alone her house would never have gotten in the condition it did. She had a lot of medical issues and moving and getting around the house was very hard for her to do, so she had to rely on the people living with her to take care of the house. The problem was that all but one of the people were straight up lazy, and the one that wasn't lazy had his own physical limitations at the time. The other people in the house would do things like rather than bring the garbage out to the alley, they would just throw it down in the basement where grandma couldn't go. This continued through out the house. If there was a room she couldn't go to it was filled with trash. Pretty soon it took over the whole house and she was overwhelmed. Her house also became condemned. Without going into great deal, lets just say it took about half a dozen people or so eight hours a day for two weeks to clean the house out. I was one of them. I threw stuff away like a crazy woman, and I raised hell with the other members of the family who lived there. I threatened their lives if the house ever became like that again. I was pissed beyond belief. I was grabbing people by the hair and shoving their faces in the filth and screaming like a banshie. I can get very violent to get my point across when the need arises. We managed to get the house to pass inspection after the two weeks, but there was still plenty of work to do. Her brother by the way was also an extreme hoarder. He had paths going through his house, and his house was condemned and torn down.
I used to work in fire and water damage restoration, and while employed there I occasionally came across houses where there was hoarding. You would be amazed at the amount of hoarding that goes on behind closed doors. One house that was owned by an elderly couple was right up there on the top of the list. The basement was jammed packed with stuff. The only thing accessible was the washer and dryer. We blew a fuse with our equipment and it took us an hour to get to the fuse box. There wasn't an empty spot in the house. The piles of stuff made it a very delicate dance to move around the house. Fortunately the fire damage did not affect the basement, as it was we had to go through every single drawer, cabinet, and pile, clean it and put it back exactly as we found it. We went WAY over budget on that house, and when the insurance company questioned us about it, all we had to do was show them pictures for them to understand why it took so long to clean.
So I guess my opinion on this hoarding thing is this. Some people do actually have a mental problem that tells their brain they must keep, keep, keep. Others are just plain lazy, and use the title as a way to ignore the fact that they are indeed lazy, and are just not taking responsibility. I consider these deplorable, and find them disgusting. I try not to judge, but it is what it is, and there is no other name for it. Others are taken advantage of by other family members and allow them to store their stuff while they go about living in a clean house. There are too many different variants of what leads up to hoarding, and to clump it all together in one tidy little word is not right. You have to look at it and call it for what it's worth. If your a lazy pig, guess what, your a lazy pig, not a hoarder. If your family is taking advantage of you, your not a hoarder, and you need to get those big person panties on and tell them to get their shit out cuz they are destroying your quality of living. If indeed you do have a mental issue, you really need to find the help and support. If you are someone who just got overwhelmed you need to swallow your pride and ask your community or family for help. If you are the family or friend of someone who hoards you need to step up and be their support system, because nobody should have to live like that.
I have come to the realization on why I hate housework. I have been cleaning up after people since I was seven.Thinking people should go clean up their own frickin mess. Like that would ever happen.
Well I guess that wasn't too bad, right Texas? I know you got this far you silly girl, luv ya.
Just a quick mention here, the following is my opinion and my opinion only. If you are easily offended ya might not wanna read it, or you can put on your big girl/boy pants and suck it up. It really isn't too bad...I promise.
So moving on here. The topic of hoarding came up yesterday, and it really got me thinking since my life has strangely been affected by this problem. Back in the day these people were called packrats. (Holy crap!I so did not know this even existed. Guess you learn something new everyday.) I think the term hoarding lumps people with many different problems in to one category. I don't know, maybe the doctors were too lazy to figure out politically correct names for them all. I personally say screw political correctness. You need to call it what it is. By the way I found this site on political incorrectness and some of the terms and reasons were funny as all hell.
Oh yes, back to the topic. I mentioned that hoarding had in a way affected my life, and these are my observations when dealing with these situations. Please keep in mind I do not have a medical degree or any such thing along that lines. I do know that there is a mental issue that is going on with people who actually have this problem, and I by no means am making light of that fact. However, I think it's played the mental angle way more that it should be played these days to save face. Call it an excuse if you will.
My mom was a hoarder. She was not an extreme hoarder in fact we kinda joked about her being a packrat. She held onto every single piece of paper. When I say every piece I mean every piece. These pieces of paper were kept in boxes and bags, so they weren't just laying around creating random clutter. The boxes and bags were kept in their own little room, out of sight from anyone. My mom was not organized at all, and since I was never taught it I too am about as organized as a tornado. I however do not hoard. In fact I love throwing things away. On the occasions where her papers would escape the room I would go around and collect them put them in a box or bag and put it in it's home. I still do this as I have no idea what to do with such stuff. Her other problem was with food. This woman would buy enough food to feed an army. There were only two of us, and there was a lot of waste since we never knew what was in the fridge or freezer. There were a couple of times where I would clean out the fridge, and I must say it was not pretty. In fact the first time I cleaned it out I found Halloween and Easter candy that was about six years old. I asked her why it was still in there and her response was, "I might use it to make desserts someday"...yikes! We almost got in a fight when I tossed it out. Other than that her problem didn't really affect our lives.
My step-grandma was also a hoarder, but to a different degree. Let me just say that if she was still living I would not mention her as my grandma, I would never do anything to embarrass or hurt her, and the same applies to my mom. My grandma was an impulse shopper, and really loved those infomercials. She also collected things like purses and stuff, and always had a collection of animals. Now her situation was unique in the fact she had five other people living in her home. It was also a huge part of the problem. I sincerely believe if she had lived alone her house would never have gotten in the condition it did. She had a lot of medical issues and moving and getting around the house was very hard for her to do, so she had to rely on the people living with her to take care of the house. The problem was that all but one of the people were straight up lazy, and the one that wasn't lazy had his own physical limitations at the time. The other people in the house would do things like rather than bring the garbage out to the alley, they would just throw it down in the basement where grandma couldn't go. This continued through out the house. If there was a room she couldn't go to it was filled with trash. Pretty soon it took over the whole house and she was overwhelmed. Her house also became condemned. Without going into great deal, lets just say it took about half a dozen people or so eight hours a day for two weeks to clean the house out. I was one of them. I threw stuff away like a crazy woman, and I raised hell with the other members of the family who lived there. I threatened their lives if the house ever became like that again. I was pissed beyond belief. I was grabbing people by the hair and shoving their faces in the filth and screaming like a banshie. I can get very violent to get my point across when the need arises. We managed to get the house to pass inspection after the two weeks, but there was still plenty of work to do. Her brother by the way was also an extreme hoarder. He had paths going through his house, and his house was condemned and torn down.
I used to work in fire and water damage restoration, and while employed there I occasionally came across houses where there was hoarding. You would be amazed at the amount of hoarding that goes on behind closed doors. One house that was owned by an elderly couple was right up there on the top of the list. The basement was jammed packed with stuff. The only thing accessible was the washer and dryer. We blew a fuse with our equipment and it took us an hour to get to the fuse box. There wasn't an empty spot in the house. The piles of stuff made it a very delicate dance to move around the house. Fortunately the fire damage did not affect the basement, as it was we had to go through every single drawer, cabinet, and pile, clean it and put it back exactly as we found it. We went WAY over budget on that house, and when the insurance company questioned us about it, all we had to do was show them pictures for them to understand why it took so long to clean.
So I guess my opinion on this hoarding thing is this. Some people do actually have a mental problem that tells their brain they must keep, keep, keep. Others are just plain lazy, and use the title as a way to ignore the fact that they are indeed lazy, and are just not taking responsibility. I consider these deplorable, and find them disgusting. I try not to judge, but it is what it is, and there is no other name for it. Others are taken advantage of by other family members and allow them to store their stuff while they go about living in a clean house. There are too many different variants of what leads up to hoarding, and to clump it all together in one tidy little word is not right. You have to look at it and call it for what it's worth. If your a lazy pig, guess what, your a lazy pig, not a hoarder. If your family is taking advantage of you, your not a hoarder, and you need to get those big person panties on and tell them to get their shit out cuz they are destroying your quality of living. If indeed you do have a mental issue, you really need to find the help and support. If you are someone who just got overwhelmed you need to swallow your pride and ask your community or family for help. If you are the family or friend of someone who hoards you need to step up and be their support system, because nobody should have to live like that.
I have come to the realization on why I hate housework. I have been cleaning up after people since I was seven.Thinking people should go clean up their own frickin mess. Like that would ever happen.
Well I guess that wasn't too bad, right Texas? I know you got this far you silly girl, luv ya.
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