If you’re struggling with a hoarding disorder, it can be tough to know where to begin cleaning up. Don’t worry, we’re here to help.
 It developed slowly over time as you experienced difficulty maintaining healthy habits. Feeling overwhelmed when you take a look around your home is completely normal.
Allowing the mess you see before you to discourage you will only make the situation worse. You will leave more room for things to pile up as you stress yourself out over what to do with it all.
For many people in your position, that’s exactly how things get out of control. Your hoarding situation did not occur overnight.
After suffering a devastating loss or a deeply traumatic event, keeping the home organized is probably the least of your concerns.
When you are worried about what could happen to you if you don’t have something you need, you may find yourself clinging to more items than you should.
Even if you know that not everything in your home is good for you, there comes a point where figuring out what to do with it all is too much to bear on your own. But letting someone in to help you declutter can also be challenging.
We help hoarders clean up their homes every day, and we’re here to help you too. Our decluttering tips for hoarders produce lasting results when executed properly.
Recovering your home from hoarding is all about having the right tools and techniques.
So, if you’re ready to reclaim your life and your home, keep on reading.
Identifying Hoarding Disorder
Once you’ve experienced hoarding disorder, you know how difficult it is to overcome. That’s because hoarding is so much more than simply having a bit of clutter. There are deep psychological issues present that can cause you a lot of stress.
One of the main characteristics of hoarding is a feeling of extreme distress when disposing of something. This experience can create intense panic or anxiety, even when the item being thrown away has no clear use or value to an outside party.
That’s because, to you, everything you own is extremely important. Whether there is a sentimental attachment that others can’t see, or a deep underlying fear of not having something when you need it, everything in your home has a purpose.
Unfortunately, when you collect so much stuff that you are no longer able to take care of yourself and your home it can be dangerous.
If you find yourself compelled to hold onto things even when they’re broken or expired it may be time to consider if you have a more complex problem than just being a bit messy. Waiting until your house is overrun with filth and squalor has big consequences.
But if you can recognize when you have a hard time letting go of things and you want help, then there are things you can do to recover from hoarding.
It starts with getting professional help and making sure you take the right steps to recover.
Why do people hoard?
There are many explanations for why people become hoarders. It is a complicated mental health issue with a variety of contributing factors. Every hoarder is unique, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution to their struggles.
- Hoarding is linked to mental illnesses like OCD and PTSD
- Extreme loss or trauma can contribute to hoarding behavior
- Depression, anxiety, and low-self esteem can lead to hoarding
- Survivors of tragedies often cling to their belongings to feel safe
- For some people, hoarding provides a sense of control over their lives
- Many hoarders believe their belongings will possess value in the future
- The fear of not having something when you need it can be overwhelming
- Not everyone has the problem-solving skills necessary to stay organized
- A lack of desire to practice self-care can result in a severe hoarding issue
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For all these reasons, decluttering your home after struggling with hoarding is not as easy as just throwing things away. The deeply rooted trauma and emotional attachments that hoarders have to their belongings make things much more complicated.
You can recover from hoarding. But it takes time. If you work to learn and maintain healthy habits, you can live a normal life again.
Comprehensive Decluttering Tips for Hoarders
The best way to recover your home from hoarding is to take it one step at a time. Create a plan that you can stick to and work at a fair pace so you don’t get overwhelmed.
How And Where To Start Decluttering?
Once you’ve gotten a feel for the hoarding situation you’re confronting, it is much easier to decide what your first step should be. Here are our best decluttering tips for hoarders to help you get started cleaning up.
We recommend starting with the most difficult tasks first as this will make the decluttering process seem progressively easier as you go.
Clearing out any obvious trash can help you create a safe space where you can work comfortably. Make sure there is a clear path to help you navigate the home without tripping and getting injured.
When you are ready to organize a space, you will need a streamlined process to help you get things done. Clear the area you are decluttering completely. If it’s a bookshelf, remove everything from it. For drawers, make sure they are empty.
Go through each item and decide whether or not you will keep it. Sort items you plan on keeping by category. The categories you choose should relate to their use, or what room the item belongs in if it has been misplaced.
Get rid of any duplicate items before you start looking for places to store them. Only keep multiples if there is a clear reason for doing so, and limit yourself to 2 or 3.
As you put your things away, make sure every item has a proper home. Knowing where to put things when you are done with them will help you keep your home organized in the future.
If you start to run out of room while storing your belongings, you should consider how you might be able to downsize further. Don’t just stuff things in a closet for the sake of keeping them. That defeats the purpose of decluttering.
When To Call the Professionals
If you’re struggling with a hoarding disorder, then you probably have a lot more going on than just a few piles of junk here or there. The items you accumulate could cause structural damage to your home. You may have pests living amongst the clutter.
Often the massive amounts of stuff that hoarders collect are far beyond what the average person can clean up on their own. Decluttering certainly helps, but the reality is there will be a lot more work waiting for you than you will be able to anticipate.
You could take weeks, or even months to fully declutter your home after struggling with hoarding. Not only is this discouraging, but it’s also dangerous.
The longer it takes to clean up a hoarder’s home, the more likely it is that the stress will simply trigger another hoarding response.
Plus, by the time most hoarders begin cleaning up, it’s because someone is forcing them to.
It may be because they are facing eviction or because the home is no longer safe to live in.
Either way, you might not have the weeks and months that you will need to declutter the home by yourself with those kinds of challenges working against you.
The best thing you can do for yourself is work with a professional hoarding cleaning service.
They will provide you with the manpower and resources to declutter quickly and safely.
More importantly, working with a professional allows you to focus on nurturing your mental health. The psychological aspects of hoarding are the most important to address.
At Hoarders911, we strive to make decluttering a hoarder’s home as easy as possible for you.
Our discreet services are available 24/7 to help you when you need them most. No matter what challenge you are facing, we have a solution. We train our staff to be ready for construction, pests, and so much more.
We also provide discreet junk hauling to help you protect your privacy.
If you need help decluttering a hoarder’s home, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Call now for a free consultation. 718 627 5781
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