Trash Hoarding

When dealing with trash hoarding, there are many reasons why this starts.  Neglecting taking out the garbage and just letting it sit in the home while it decomposes.  People are not able to use the home properly because it is unsanitary.  Again trash hoarding has something to do that happened traumatically, OCD, anxiety, and depression.

Trying to help trash hoarders you have to find out what the main reason why they are hoarding the items.  You really have to pin point what happened in their life to fully help them break the cycle.  Getting through to these people that their clutter is not as valuable as human connection is the main key.  Don’t make them feel like they are disgusting human beings.  They don’t feel like anyone can understand their situation or what they are going through.  You want to make sure that it is an accepting environment for them to start the process of de-cluttering the home.

Start the process slowly by removing the trash from the actual items in the home to see if it still salvageable.  Sometimes in these homes most of the items are un-salvageable because of how unsanitary the living conditions are.  While going through these items make sure you don’t refer to their items as junk or trash.  This could send them into a downward spiral where they don’t want to continue to sort through their items.  Make sure while going through the items with the individual that they are going at a slow pace so that they are understanding the process. Thats the main key in this process is just getting the person to understand to not make attachment to the trash surrounding them.  Also making sure that the individual does not feel rushed about the impending hoarding cleanup, but also not pushing the tasks off.