Living with a hoarder can be a challenging and sensitive situation. Hoarding disorder goes beyond mere clutter; it’s a complex mental health condition that requires understanding, patience, and a thoughtful approach to help the affected individual declutter their living space. In this blog post, we’ll explore practical and compassionate ways to assist a hoarder in letting go of belongings and creating a healthier living environment.
Welcome to the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series! Find answers to your burning decluttering questions, even big concerns like: How to help a hoarder get rid of things.
When cleaning and decluttering, people often ask these questions: How do you remove clutter? What is the best way to declutter? How about using a “Declutter Your Home” checklist? Get those decluttering strategies here. If you’ve been wondering how to clean a dirty house and declutter and even how to help a hoarder get rid of things, you are in the right place! Check out The Year Long Thorough Declutter Series. We declutter 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, working through the entire home at a pace you can manage.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price.
How to Help a Hoarder Get Rid of Things
- Educate Yourself:
Understanding hoarding disorder is crucial before attempting to help someone navigate the process of decluttering. Hoarding is often linked to anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues. Learning about the disorder will provide insights into the challenges a hoarder faces and help you approach the situation with empathy.
- Build Trust and Communication:
Establishing trust is fundamental when assisting a hoarder. Open and non-judgmental communication is key. Let the person know that you are there to support them, and emphasize that your goal is to improve their living conditions and well-being.
- Set Realistic Goals:
Breaking the decluttering process into small, manageable goals is essential. Set achievable objectives for each session, ensuring the hoarder doesn’t feel overwhelmed. Celebrate small victories to boost morale and motivation.
- Create a Sorting System:
Help the hoarder categorize items into three main groups: keep, donate, and discard. This system allows for a structured approach and facilitates decision-making. Start with less emotionally charged items to ease into the process.
- Professional Help:
In many cases, seeking the assistance of mental health professionals, such as therapists or counselors specializing in hoarding disorder, is crucial. These professionals can provide the necessary emotional support and coping strategies to address the root causes of hoarding.
- Enlist a Support System:
Building a support system is beneficial for both the hoarder and yourself. Involve friends, family members, or support groups who understand the challenges of hoarding and can provide encouragement and assistance.
- Implement a One-In, One-Out Rule:
To prevent future accumulation of items, introduce a one-in, one-out rule. For every new item brought into the home, an existing item should be removed. This helps maintain a balance and prevents a relapse into hoarding behavior.
- Create a Safe and Functional Environment:
Focus on creating a living space that is safe and functional. Ensure that essential areas like bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms are clutter-free, allowing for easy movement and accessibility.
- Ongoing Support:
Recovery from hoarding disorder is an ongoing process. Regular check-ins, continued therapy, and reinforcement of positive habits are crucial for maintaining progress. Be patient and understanding, as setbacks may occur.
- Celebrate Progress:
Acknowledge and celebrate the progress made by the hoarder. Whether it’s clearing a room, letting go of sentimental items, or establishing new organizational habits, recognizing achievements reinforces positive behavior and motivates continued improvement.
Helping a hoarder get rid of things is a delicate process that requires empathy, understanding, and a commitment to long-term support. By educating yourself, fostering trust, and implementing practical strategies, you can play a vital role in assisting a loved one on their journey to a clutter-free and healthier life. Remember, progress may be slow, but with patience and persistence, positive change is possible.
Maybe your house is clean but cluttered. If so, you need to know how to begin Clearing Out Clutter using the Step By Step Decluttering plan I use. Does a Cluttered House Cause Stress? Let’s look at a reputable, mental health site to answer that question. They have given us 8 ways mess leads to stress. According to Psychology Today:
Clutter can play a significant role in how we feel about our homes, our workplaces, and ourselves. Can a Messy House Affect Your Mood? How Does Clutter Affect Your Life? Messy homes and work spaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Yet, rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives. (source)
Why does mess lead to so much stress? (source)
- Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren’t necessary or important. (source)
- Clutter distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on. (source)
- Clutter makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.(source)
- Clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done.(source)
- Clutter makes us anxious because we’re never sure what it’s going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile. (source)
- Clutter creates feelings of guilt (“I should be more organized”) and embarrassment, especially when others unexpectedly drop by our homes or work spaces. (source)
- Clutter inhibits creativity and productivity by invading the open spaces that allow most people to think, brainstorm, and problem solve.(source)
- Clutter frustrates us by preventing us from locating what we need quickly (e.g. files and paperwork lost in the “pile” or keys swallowed up by the clutter). (source)
Overwhelmed by a Messy House? It can really affect you negatively. How Do You Deal With a Cluttered Mess? One way is to have a plan, set aside a specific time, and learn the Step By Step Decluttering plan I use for Clearing Out Clutter. What Cleaning Should Be Done Daily? I have a room by room specific Printable House Cleaning Checklist linked above. How to Fix Cluttered House Issues: For a clean, simplistic look, one of the best Deep Cleaning Home Tips is to declutter a room before cleaning and then use an Easy House Cleaning Schedule to maintain it. How Does Clutter Affect Your Life? As you can already see, there are at least 8 ways we become negatively affected by clutter. Also, I though it might be thought provoking to look at some statistics on clutter.
- US consumers buy 40% of the world’s toys, but bear only 3% of the world’s children.
- Most people wear 20% of their clothing 80% of the time. (source )
- 9.4% of U.S. households rent a storage unit. (source)
- People do not look at 80% of the papers and information they keep.(source)
- The average American house is double the size it was in the 1950s–and getting bigger. (source.)
- The U.S. Department of Energy reports that one-quarter of people with two-car garages have so much stuff in there that they can’t park a car. (https://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-statistics-of-clutter/)
- According to the National Soap and Detergent Association, getting rid of clutter would eliminate 40 percent of housework in the average home.(https://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-statistics-of-clutter/)
Today, we’ll lay out the solutions to get you some Help for Cluttered Homes using my tips on How To Tackle Clutter. Plus, we’ll look at a few ways to answer the question:What Cleaning Should Be Done Daily? A Printable House Cleaning Checklist will help you keep your home clean and maintained. I’ll even give you my Deep Clean Checklist and House Cleaning Tips to help you get started.
Maybe you are thinking: My House Is So Cluttered, I Don’t Know Where to Start. How can I recognize clutter? Let’s address those questions. I have a visual below to help. Also, check out these 5 Important Guidelines to keep you focused as you begin the process of Clearing Out Clutter:
How do you remove clutter? How do I organize and declutter my house? Get decluttering strategies here. Check out these 5 IMPORTANT guidelines to keep you on task:
1.Only spend time on your specific daily task.
2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted.
3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina.
4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. Recruit help if you are stuck in the decision process.
5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later. Read on for deep cleaning checklists, though, as you will begin cleaning after your declutter.
Declutter Series Daily Task:
We are working in the Hall Closet, Coat Closet, & Linen Closet this week. Your task today for today, June 29th, is to: Declutter any damaged air mattresses.
How do you remove clutter? How do you declutter successfully? Read more below.
Bonus Tip: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? If you have a big task, such as how to help a hoarder get rid of things, try this strategy. Use a timer like the Fly lady recommends. You can check her out in the link at the bottom of this post. She suggests using a kitchen timer to speed you along as you clean and declutter. Brilliant!
You can use a kitchen timer or even your smart phone. This tip really does motivate you to move faster. It’s amazing how much you can do in just 10 minutes. Use my cleaning checklists as you clean, so you are sure to not waste time thinking about what to clean next.
Honestly, if you’re like me, you hold onto boxes of some of your more expensive purchases, such as a TV or computer, just in case you need to return them within the store’s return policy time. If so, make a note to discard these boxes routinely(once a month is fine), so they don’t pile up.
How to Help a Hoarder Get Rid of Things:
Tip: When dealing with sentimental items such as trophies and photos, consider how you might display them in your home if you plan to keep them. For photos, consider storing them in a box or an album in your home. If they are damaged beyond repair, take a photo of the item and keep the photo as your keepsake to preserve the memory.
For Hoarders, I wouldn’t even touch anything sentimental when decluttering, as this is a very sensitive and difficult place to start decluttering. Instead, try utilizing the timer approach mentioned above and tackle those “easy to part with” items first.
Use the declutter checklists below to determine where to start. You can even use a camera to stay motivated. To do this, take a “before” photo each day before you start decluttering. Then, take an “after”photo when you finish that space. Even if it’s just a small dent in the huge project, it can still be very motivating and encouraging.
Need to deep clean?
– What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? How do you declutter successfully? I have cleaning lists and “declutter your home” checklists for you to guide you along.
First, My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.
Second, My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.
Third, My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.
Fourth, My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.
Fifth, My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.
Looking for a “Declutter Your Home” checklist? Read more below.
You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Below is a sample page of what you’ll get in my printable set designed to help you make a Housekeeping Schedule for Your Home.
If you are asking: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? You need a basic routine to maintain it once it’s clean. Specifically, to keep up the general housework, you need to create a daily housekeeping schedule that suits your specific needs. To do so, I have created a helpful series you can read here.
How to help a hoarder get rid of things: Follow each room-by-room “declutter your home” checklist below
I have declutter checklists for every room and every space in your home to guide you along below. What is the best way to declutter? Follow my “Declutter Your Home” checklists to get you started.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Struggling to decide if an item is clutter? Use these questions below to help you determine whether to keep or toss any item.
Need “Declutter Your Home” checklists for each room? Read more below.
How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.
Also, my How to Declutter Your Laundry Room and Patio checklist is found here.
My How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.
Next, you can find my How to Declutter Your Home Office checklist here.
Find my How to Declutter Your Attic checklist by clicking here.
The How to Declutter Your Garage checklist can be found here.
My How to Declutter Your Living Room checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Kitchen Checklist can be found here.
The How to Declutter Your Entry/Foyer/Mudroom checklist can be found here.
My How to Declutter Your Clothing checklist can be found here.
Also, a How to Declutter Your Bedroom checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Bathroom checklist can be found here.
Happy Decluttering!
To Subscribe to this Declutter Series, drop me a comment below. Your email will be sent to me but will not be posted publicly. You’ll receive a daily declutter task via email for the daily task we are working on. You can unsubscribe at any time.
New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:
Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.
Step 3: How do you remove clutter?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.
Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.
Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.
Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com:
14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered
How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule
How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter
What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?
Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.
For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.
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