Photo Credit via pixabay.com / Pixabay

Every home gets messy and full of clutter from time to time. However, when the clutter comes to a point where it affects your life and your health, a more serious problem may be underway. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America defines hoarding as the compulsive purchasing, acquiring, searching, and saving of items of little or no value. Hoarders are incapable of organizing or discarding their items, and even though they know this way of life is affecting their lifestyle and health, they believe one day that these possessions will be useful or needed. Here are some ways to tell if you or a loved one have signs of being a hoarder.

Parts of the home are inaccessible or unusable

When you enter a compulsive hoarder’s home, you’ll generally find that the furniture has been moved into the middle of the room. Piles of objects, whether they’re papers or random possessions will be stacked in corners and eventually fill the room where only a pathway exists throughout the home.

There is no organization to the clutter

When it comes to hoarding, there is no organization to the clutter they have accumulated. Like items may be placed with other like items, but usually, things are stacked precariously or tossed everywhere inside the room.

Items have no value

A lot of hoarders will keep broken appliances, old clothes, or junk mail; anything that they may need one day, or that they may get around to fixing one day. None of these items hold any actual value, and probably never have or will. They are unwilling to give their items up and get angry when the idea is mentioned by a third party.

The home is unsanitary

If a home is so cluttered that only pathways exist instead of rooms, then you can bet the home hasn’t been cleaned in a while. Depending on how long the hoarding has been happening, there could be long-standing unwashed dishes and laundry and grimy toilets.

Defensive when confronted

If you know someone who has signs of hoarding and you’ve tried to confront him or her, you may know the conversation can end badly. If someone has a compulsive hoarding habit, he or she will feel attacked when you mention how “messy” the home looks. Compulsive hoarders believe they have plans for all of their items, and if you don’t like the way their home is then you will not be welcome anymore.

Once a hoarder has made the decision to clean up his or her home or property, the cleanup and remediation should be handled by a company with the experience to perform the specialized care and treatment required. GET RESTORATION EXPERTS recognizes that cleaning out a hoarder’s home is not just another cleaning job. We have the compassion and the expertise to take every step necessary to thoroughly eliminate the clutter and return the home to a clean, safe, healthy living environment.

For a full list of services, call 1-877-503-8782 or visit us online at www.getrestorationexperts.com/hoarding/.