Holy hoarders!
By Cat
This month two cable networks aired premieres of new series centered around people who are unable to part with their belongings in such an out-of-control way these things — essentially "stuff" — start to control their lives.
A&E's "Hoarders" and TLC's "Hoarders: Buried Alive" give viewers a unique look into this mental disorder that's often hidden and secretive.
Watch a preview of the series on A&E
Watch a sneak peek of TLC's "Hoarders: Buried Alive" show.
It's not known why people turn into hoarders — or from where this mental disorder stems. There's some research that shows hoarding may be hereditary. Often times, though, this obsessive need to acquire and collect possessions turn into a dangerous and unhealthy habit.
These are not your typical pack rats.
The series shows hoarders at home, with barely a path through their homes, which are packed, often to the ceiling, with stuff they've collected. Beer bottles, vases, shopping bags, ceramic pots, brand-new clothing, toys, plastic containers — anything you can think of, they collect.
I remember once, when I was a kid, going to a friend's apartment and being completely shocked — and confused — to see the entire living room filled with boxes and garbage bags. There was a small pathway through the living room into the kitchen and two bedrooms. But even those rooms were filled to capacity with junk. It was my first experience with a hoarder — and I remember feeling uncomfortable and claustrophobic.
It's hard to believe that people can collect stuff to this severity. I thought I had problems not being able to get rid of my eighth grade basketball jersey and pulled wisdom teeth.
Got any experience with this?
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Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at cat@thecatdish.com.
The Daily Dish
March 15th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Actually, not as bad as this. My aunt and uncle had tons of stuff, but not as bad as these hoarders. A lot of it was supposedly antique, but it wasn't really. I think as they got older, it got a little worse. Kind of sad. I don't think I could watch these two shows. Clean House is enough already.
March 15th, 2010 at 4:09 am
I grew up in a non-extreme hoarder home, and lived much that way until about age 15 because I didn't know any better and could tolerate it. There were two mostly orderly rooms in the house and the rest of this 6,000 sq ft home was a disaster (piles everywhere, 8-year-old newspapers and 3-year-old church bulletins scattered across the kitchen floor). I visited childhood friends' homes and knew that none of them lived this way, and I knew from their reactions upon visiting my home that we did not live normally, but I did not know HOW their families did it. I only saw the result, not the action to keep it that way. All I knew was the workings of my home, and the odd result, so there wasn't much I could do, say at age 7.
About age 15, I decided I couldn't stand it anymore, and I knew by that time how to control the clutter. I made an occasional dent in the shared space (laundry room, kitchen, etc.) and kept my own bedroom mostly orderly. Most of the house remained a disaster until after my mother passed away. Since going away to college at age 18, renting apartments, and owning homes, I have kept reasonably orderly, uncluttered, places ever since. This hoarding is mostly a function of OCD or other mental ilnesses (can be a function of prolonged deep depression or alcoholism). If the accumulated waste isn't biological (and it never was in my household), it is mostly just an embarrassment and a fire hazard.
March 15th, 2010 at 5:16 am
CAT,
This one literally hits home! My folks were hoarders never liked to throw anything away because "someday I may need it". After they passed on the sibs and I have been slowly getting rid of stuff around the house. Now one of the sibs is like our folks. I think it is genetic.
We sort of justified it for my folks because of being poor growing up. Now thanks to infomercials, Ebay, Craigslist, QVC, HSC, etc. America is even more a hoarding society. We got to have it. Other societies hoard food, we hoard stuff!
I am a hoarder...I hoard money but my appetite for stuff negates it.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:15 am
We hardly watch TV, but A&E Hoarders is one show my wife and kids like to watch. My sons watch b/c it is surreal to them, I guess the same for my wife. She always starts picking up around the house, even while watching show! Says she gets motivated to clean up after seeing the giant piles of junk in these people's homes. I guess that's one positive about the show, eh!
March 15th, 2010 at 6:51 am
I had a GF years ago in Houston whose mother was a hoarder. As with your friend, there were rabbit trails throughout the house about foot wide where you could walk. Most of the detritus was empty boxes, old newspapers, bags of empty plastic containers, bags of clothes and bags of bags.
My GF said it began some years earlier, after her father died, and that she thought it was a reaction to a feeling of a loss of security.
March 15th, 2010 at 7:03 am
Good morning Cat!
Nuts! these people need therapy!
March 15th, 2010 at 7:36 am
Hawaii people aren't necessarily hoarders, but they are pack rats! Just look at all the houses with their garages and backyards full of needless waste!
March 15th, 2010 at 7:59 am
My friend's garage if filled with stuff - there's only enough room for her car, so I can just imagine what her house must look like. If you look at my bedroom, you would think I'm a hoarder, but I'm slowly cleaning up.
March 15th, 2010 at 8:04 am
My dad is a pack rat for Hardware. His shop at the house is like a hardware store. Before I go to the hardware store I check out his stuff, more then likely I'll find what I need.
March 15th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Guilty....but they're collectors items, i tell you.My record collection would devasting to part with. *sigh*. i'll concede on the bell bottoms,but not the music.
March 15th, 2010 at 9:48 am
I think this even makes its way into the digital world. When I had to do the emergency pack up for the Tsunami, I had over two dozen external hard drives to deal with. A lot of them are backups and archives. I have every e-mail sent or received since 1993...
I'm certainly a pack rat, but no where near a hoarder, although sometimes I can see those tendencies coming out... like, why do I have a stack of 7-11 Double-Big-Gulp cups? (...and, they have been washed.) Just in case I'll need them someday? Yup, those are going in the trash today, LOL!
@oldshoes, I'm with you on the music! Luckily, the digital age has made that easier to deal with... but then it factors into paragraph number one again... *sigh*
March 15th, 2010 at 11:06 am
What is one persons junk is another persons treasure.
March 15th, 2010 at 11:39 am
There was a short report in the news a few weeks ago about a guy in England (I think) that collected so much junk on his property that you could see it from space. All of his neighbors sued to force him to clean it up, arguing that it was a nuisance.
The Court sided with the man saying a man's home is his castle...
March 15th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
What I don't like is when an emergency arises, those people who go out and buy all the stuff they should already have. Food, batteries, gas etc.
I also didn't like the part where they go back the next day and ask for refunds on food stuff, the store now has to throw away. Can't resell food stuff.
March 15th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
I have neighbors that are hoarders. Even their cars are filled with so much stuff that they can barely sit in them. Kinda sad to see...
March 15th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
The things you own end up owning you.