Hoarding: Buried Alive - General Discussion

[BooksRule]

I only watched part of the 'update episode', but I lost count of how many times Shelley said some variation of 'it's a work in progress'.  Yeah, right.

[TaraS1]

Why do I torment myself and always watch Sheri's episode whenever I come across it??  My god, the rage I feel for that worthless piece of garbage - I wanted to punch her in her smug bitch face.  Thirteen disabilities, my ass. She has one and it's called pure laziness. I'll never understand why those poor kids didn't get removed from that hellhole. 

[sickpeople]

I think this woman is disgusting. Her attitude, her house, her life style, her lack of respect for her husband or children. I think dcf should have taken her children years ago. I just can't stand her face or anything that comes out of her mouth. She is a pos if I ever saw one. 

[SandyToes]

Regarding the "VCR" episode that re-ran today:  Agree with all comments above. I certainly felt there were cognitive difficulties with the young man and his father. My neighbor's twin grandsons were preemies, and are still in the NICU. She and her daughter are there every day, all day, and daddy comes every night after work.  They all attend classes on the machinery, the tubing, the alarms, the care, the "how to" for home care.  I can't imagine anyone from this show being able to care for a preemie like that at home. Even a pristine, clean one. I hope the stepmom is an active part of the baby's life.  That little guy needs someone in his corner.

Would also like to know what happened. Young mom hopefully took her baby and made a life for herself. Baby daddy will end up in prison, I'm afraid.

I also agree that this show gets hard to watch since the participants obviously have issues that are contributing to the hoarding, and the show can be unbearable sad.  But I do find it gets me upstairs to start clearing some of the junk out. That's usually when I turn it on - when I'm needing motivation.

[Gemma Violet]

I just saw this on repeat.  This is the Elvis impersonator, right?  I felt so sorry for him.  His friends kept yelling at him, saying he just needed a swift kick in the butt.  They obviously didn't realize he's mentally ill.  He needs to be on medication.

[Glade]

Cary's abusive "friends" were so horrible, they seemed to enjoy taking advantage of his mental illness to manipulate and torment him, not caring that they were driving him over the edge.   I really hope he can get better support then that. 

Edited August 16, 2016 by Glade

[JudyObscure]

I cut Cary's friends a little slack because, (1) they had done this for him before only to see it all return to squalor and, ( 2) I think the woman in white was a little bit mentally ill herself.  The whole bunch of them had anger issues.  Maybe they should all move to Colorado and mellow out.

[mamadrama]

So have you all seen the TMZ video of Alicia stripping down to her bikini and washing her car at a self-service wash in LA? It's as awful as it sounds... :-)

Also, just watched the "Beverly" episode that reran today. Got on the FB page and learned that Beverly died in 2015. I don't know how. 

[auntjess]

On ‎1‎/‎31‎/‎2016 at 10:06 AM, JudyObscure said:

The channel finished off the marathon with a couple of British hoarders who collected milk bottles and records.

Thats Hoarding: Behind Closed Doors, and the guy, Starvos ?, has a different way of dealing with them, and often has more luck.  They seem to have fewer shows with bugs and vermin.
I've been watching some of the repeats, and saw Ann and Valerie, one reported by neighbor, and one by daughters, and I get so angry with the organizers, who are always saying "she gets final say."  I just don't see it, and I think it's a public health issue often, and I can't see letting hoarder decide, anymore than I'd let a drunk decide whether to drive.
I saw one recently, can't remember who, where Dr. Rebecca, or maybe Dr. Julie, mixed it up with the organizer.

[Maizie131]

7 hours ago, auntjess said:

 I get so angry with the organizers, who are always saying "she gets final say."  I just don't see it, and I think it's a public health issue often, and I can't see letting hoarder decide, anymore than I'd let a drunk decide whether to drive.
 

Auntjess - OMG YES!!!  This just pisses me off big-time every time I hear them say it -- and they do every episode. 

Yesterday I caught the rerun of A Graveyard of Junk about the former orthopedic surgeon (!) in Philadelphia whose house (townhouse?) was overrun by the worst infestation of cockroaches the exterminators - and all of us who've ever watched this show - had ever seen.  He actually slept while they crawled all over him.  Unfrickingbelievable!!  Also during filming, you could see them crawling on people who came to help with the hoard.  They couldn't save the house (no surprise there) & his kids moved him into an assisted living facility.  I tried to Google him (his first name is Seymour) to see whatever happened to him, but couldn't find anything.  Do any of you know?  I'm not on Facebook, but maybe there's something on there?

[auntjess]

I watched an old one in Lake Tahoe, where the kids, 20 and 18, had lived just with the hoarding father for 17 years, since mom "couldn't take it" and moved 1000 miles away.
She "tries to stay in my children's lives, and visits almost every year."
There must be a hell of a story there, but I can't think of why the kids were left, and then she never tried to get them.  She's shown up to "help," and as much as I don't like him (Jeff? Geoff?), I can't see that she's any use.

[ZaldamoWilder]

I'm watching Doug and Darlene.  Who just found their dead (for 2 years) cat behind a bureau in the living room.   Then they had a funeral for rat cat (no snark, that was her actual name).   This is one of the first episodes I've seen where I can't identify the psychosis, it doesn't seem like there was a trigger event for these two or anything that would've made them keep doing this.   When rat cat's corpse was discovered Darlene's excuse was that "her body didn't smell".    When your house is so enmeshed in waste that there's a river of human and animal fecal matter running through the living room whose stench masks the odor of a dead sick cat, you have forfeit the right to be angry at somebody calling you neglectful.     These two weren't crazy they were just nasty as hell.

[Tabbygirl521]

3 hours ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

I'm watching Doug and Darlene.  Who just found their dead (for 2 years) cat behind a bureau in the living room.   Then they had a funeral for rat cat (no snark, that was her actual name).   This is one of the first episodes I've seen where I can't identify the psychosis, it doesn't seem like there was a trigger event for these two or anything that would've made them keep doing this.   When rat cat's corpse was discovered Darlene's excuse was that "her body didn't smell".    When your house is so enmeshed in waste that there's a river of human and animal fecal matter running through the living room whose stench masks the odor of a dead sick cat, you have forfeit the right to be angry at somebody calling you neglectful.     These two weren't crazy they were just nasty as hell.

God, I just watched this one, too. I felt such a wave of hatred that they had a cat in that mess, and couldn't find her in that fecal stew. And I tried to tell myself they were just as neglectful of themselves as they were of that poor old sick cat. But it isn't helping much. I try to have empathy, but when Darlene started whiny about feeling shamed, I thought that sometimes shame is appropriate. 

I missed the beginning. What cause the feces all over? Did their toilet back up?

Am now watching Hailey the hoarding teen. I do have empathy for her. Did her parents never get her any therapy?? Poor kid - no friends except her dead brother (despite her having a sister now).

[ZaldamoWilder]

1 hour ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

God, I just watched this one, too. I felt such a wave of hatred that they had a cat in that mess, and couldn't find her in that fecal stew. And I tried to tell myself they were just as neglectful of themselves as they were of that poor old sick cat. But it isn't helping much. I try to have empathy, but when Darlene started whiny about feeling shamed, I thought that sometimes shame is appropriate. 

I missed the beginning. What cause the feces all over? Did their toilet back up?

Am now watching Hailey the hoarding teen. I do have empathy for her. Did her parents never get her any therapy?? Poor kid - no friends except her dead brother (despite her having a sister now).

Girl I missed the first nine minutes but Doug said for a long time he tried being the handy man but he wasn't any good at it.    The living room is a. river. of. shit.  Cognitive dissonance.

I mean she didn't stop her sister from walking through it with opened toed sandals on, that's, I can't come up with the words.   And I've seen hoards, in theory, I understand what I'm looking at.  I've even seen sail cats and other dead pets a part of animal hoards but there's a place all the empathy that might be in my heart just won't go to when I'm watching you squish over a. river. of. shit.

Hailey was a good girl.  She lost her brother at 4 and she's 16 at the time of airing.  Are they serious with how long it took to get this kid help?  What was their excuse about reluctance to have her in treatment?  did they say?  

[notyrmomma]

3 hours ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

Girl I missed the first nine minutes but Doug said for a long time he tried being the handy man but he wasn't any good at it.    The living room is a. river. of. shit.  Cognitive dissonance.

I mean she didn't stop her sister from walking through it with opened toed sandals on, that's, I can't come up with the words.   And I've seen hoards, in theory, I understand what I'm looking at.  I've even seen sail cats and other dead pets a part of animal hoards but there's a place all the empathy that might be in my heart just won't go to when I'm watching you squish over a. river. of. shit.

Hailey was a good girl.  She lost her brother at 4 and she's 16 at the time of airing.  Are they serious with how long it took to get this kid help?  What was their excuse about reluctance to have her in treatment?  did they say?  

I call this the "river-o-shit" episode and it is in my top 3 favorite hate-watch episodes (the one with the roaches and black widows is #1 and the one with "herv the perv" is #2 (the one with the gross 3-way action)).  All I know is that if I had a river-o-shit running through my house or a gaping hole in the roof, I would peddle my services on the street corner for money in order to get that fixed.  There are some things in a house that just must be in working order or else you need to move.  The dead cat part wasn't even that shocking to me and I believe that's where the term "sail cat" was born.  Those people definitely had some sort of mental illness.

Speaking of mental illness, Hailey.  Sorry, she's not really a "good girl" at all, she's a thief.  OK, maybe she's just a kleptomaniac or at least has another serious mental illness.  There's something going wrong with her and hoarding is just a symptom.  I wish her and her family a lot of good luck.

[Tabbygirl521]

4 hours ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

Girl I missed the first nine minutes but Doug said for a long time he tried being the handy man but he wasn't any good at it.    The living room is a. river. of. shit.  Cognitive dissonance.

I mean she didn't stop her sister from walking through it with opened toed sandals on, that's, I can't come up with the words.   And I've seen hoards, in theory, I understand what I'm looking at.  I've even seen sail cats and other dead pets a part of animal hoards but there's a place all the empathy that might be in my heart just won't go to when I'm watching you squish over a. river. of. shit.

Hailey was a good girl.  She lost her brother at 4 and she's 16 at the time of airing.  Are they serious with how long it took to get this kid help?  What was their excuse about reluctance to have her in treatment?  did they say?  

I snooped around and I gather that the river-o-shit was from a backed-up septic tank. !!!!!!!! It's not like that happens once and then stops - it becomes a rising tide. Aieeeee!!! Our septic system failed recently and oh my god. It is emergency time!! It got real expensive too, and I am sure D&D didn't have adequate resources, even if they weren't too insane to deal. You need the professionals, even if their problem was simply having failed to have the tank drained.

i didn't hear Hailey's parents mention therapy at all. I might have missed it. But her parents talked about their need to literally hide the problem, so maybe that factored in. 

(Herv the Perv?? Hahahahahaha!! Will watch out for this one!)

Edited September 29, 2016 by Tabbygirl521

[Maizie131]

21 hours ago, notyrmomma said:

I call this the "river-o-shit" episode and it is in my top 3 favorite hate-watch episodes (the one with the roaches and black widows is #1 and the one with "herv the perv" is #2 (the one with the gross 3-way action)).  All I know is that if I had a river-o-shit running through my house or a gaping hole in the roof, I would peddle my services on the street corner for money in order to get that fixed.  There are some things in a house that just must be in working order or else you need to move.  The dead cat part wasn't even that shocking to me and I believe that's where the term "sail cat" was born.  Those people definitely had some sort of mental illness.

 

OHMYGOD I was laughing so hard at your post I almost coughed up a lung!  I just saw this episode today for the first time and your description is right on.  Thanks, NOTYRMOMMA!  I was having a pretty lousy day until I read this! 

[auntjess]

In almost every hoarding show I've seen, the toilets don't work, and thinking about it, why would a ton of trash or clothes or a fridge full of spoiled food, stop up the toilet?
I mean to give them credit, they don't keep their purses in the toilet.
 

[Tabbygirl521]

1 hour ago, auntjess said:

I mean to give them credit, they don't keep their purses in the toilet.
 

Or . . . DO they?

i suppose when you can't get to the trash can under the sink, you might start tossing crap into the toilet? I mean, WE wouldn't but these folks seem to employ quite an array of alternate storage and disposal systems. 

[Minivanessa]

1 hour ago, auntjess said:

In almost every hoarding show I've seen, the toilets don't work, and thinking about it, why would a ton of trash or clothes or a fridge full of spoiled food, stop up the toilet?
I mean to give them credit, they don't keep their purses in the toilet.
 

I think it goes something like this: The house gets full-o-stuff, and then something goes wrong with the toilet. But the house is so full of stuff that the resident is too ashamed to have a plumber come in to fix it, or the house is so stuffed full of junk that the plumber couldn't get to the toilet or whatever else they'd need to access, in order to fix the toilet.

Or the resident may be damned well aware that a plumber who saw the rampantly unsafe condition of the house would be likely to report it to the local gubmint. (I figure that the kitchen's gonna be looking like the average trashfest we saw on this show, including piles of flammable stuff sitting right on the stovetop, and the smell would probably knock over a goat.) Hoarders can be very canny and good at avoiding detection/intervention. 

[auntjess]

Possibly, but I often have 2 pre-teen boys here in the afternoons, and haven't had any problems that a plunger can't handle.
And it seems like all of them have broken toilets.

[mamadrama]

On 9/28/2016 at 8:05 PM, notyrmomma said:

 

Speaking of mental illness, Hailey.  Sorry, she's not really a "good girl" at all, she's a thief.  OK, maybe she's just a kleptomaniac or at least has another serious mental illness.  There's something going wrong with her and hoarding is just a symptom.  I wish her and her family a lot of good luck.

I did some Facebook snooping on Hailey. She never really seemed to improve. Her FB statuses had her cursing at her mother and lashing out at everyone, and this was years after that episode filmed. I suspect some kind of severe mental illness or personality disorder. I actually thought she might be mentally impaired. I mean that as no disrespect; she just didn't seem to be very cognizant or mature for her age. There was just something a little "off" there. My mother was in charge of a juvenile detention center for a decade and she reminded me of a lot of the kids incarcerated there-kids they later determined were mentally challenged in different ways. There isn't anything wrong with that, but they must be communicated with in a different manner in order to understand and comprehend certain things, like what is appropriate and acceptable behavior. 

I just couldn't do the river o'shit. Good lord. 

[auntjess]

Just watched the "extreme" episode, "Nowhere Near Normal," which originally aired in 2011 or 2012.
This was the ex-stewardess Jahn, who had 2 hoarded up houses, one which was rotted out.
Unlike the more recent episodes, the psychiatrist, can't remember his name, didn't come for the clean out, nor did her daughters.
Just the organizer and someone from the show, were dealing with her, and she ended up with everything in a tent, and overflowing into her yard.
Love to have seen a real follow up on her.  I believe it was in Chicago.
At the end, it said she was hoarding again.

I'd to see the British guy, http://www.stelioskiosses.com/, work with some of these people.

[mamadrama]

Okay. Wayne with the PTSD. I just couldn't with him. His daughters were the real victims and they had his number.

[AZChristian]

This episode is on again today.  Lynn obviously has mental issues, but Kyle seems able-bodied enough to at least throw out the trash.  I really don't "get it" that people have the energy to climb over all their junk, but not enough to throw away trash.

[JudyObscure]

I know AZ! I'm too lazy to live like that.  I remember watching some woman cooking in her hoard.  She had to keep balancing things on the edge of the stove and then carry it all to her husband who was watching TV in the bedroom, so they could eat in bed.   It must have all gone cold on the trip.  Then she asked him if he wanted something to drink and he said yes.  I was like, noooooooo, she'll have to make the trip again!  Then there's the one's who have no water in the kitchen so they carry every coffee cup to the bathroom to get water. 

[auntjess]

Just watched the Extreme with Dale, and her little person daughter, Jessica.
When Dale threw the stuff out of the trash, including that bag of dog shit, I think I'd have told her to pick it up PDQ, or I'd rub it on her.
Unacceptable behavior it tolerated too often on this show.
Then, a month later we see the house fairly clean, as usual.  I'd like them to show what happens in that interim sometimes.

[Maizie131]

On 9/28/2016 at 8:05 PM, notyrmomma said:

I call this the "river-o-shit" episode and it is in my top 3 favorite hate-watch episodes (the one with the roaches and black widows is #1 and the one with "herv the perv" is #2 (the one with the gross 3-way action)).  All I know is that if I had a river-o-shit running through my house or a gaping hole in the roof, I would peddle my services on the street corner for money in order to get that fixed.  There are some things in a house that just must be in working order or else you need to move.  The dead cat part wasn't even that shocking to me and I believe that's where the term "sail cat" was born.  Those people definitely had some sort of mental illness.

Speaking of mental illness, Hailey.  Sorry, she's not really a "good girl" at all, she's a thief.  OK, maybe she's just a kleptomaniac or at least has another serious mental illness.  There's something going wrong with her and hoarding is just a symptom.  I wish her and her family a lot of good luck.

Notyrmomma - Just wanted you to know that the Doug & Darlene show will be on TV today @ 12 noon (Eastern time) "Just Tear It Down" on TLC.  I know it's one of your hate-watch faves (as it is mine, too).  BTW, I think your title for this episode ("River-o-shit") is far better than theirs!  OMG I laughed my ass off when I read your post! 

[atlantaloves]

Oh God, you nailed it, I love to hate watch this show too! Makes me clean my house, let me tell ya.

[OSM Mom]

She's on again right now.  What a piece of work she is.  Nasty woman.  I hope she dies buried under her ugly frog purses and her stupid sparkly pens.  

[gonecrackers]

Does anyone else hear the 'cavalry to the rescue' sound in their head when the organizer showing up is announced?

Those folks do deserve a medal.

[Muffyn]

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 5:05 PM, notyrmomma said:

I call this the "river-o-shit" episode and it is in my top 3 favorite hate-watch episodes (the one with the roaches and black widows is #1 and the one with "herv the perv" is #2 (the one with the gross 3-way action)).  All I know is that if I had a river-o-shit running through my house or a gaping hole in the roof, I would peddle my services on the street corner for money in order to get that fixed.  There are some things in a house that just must be in working order or else you need to move.  The dead cat part wasn't even that shocking to me and I believe that's where the term "sail cat" was born.  Those people definitely had some sort of mental illness.

 

I am having major repairs done on my home.  I own a two-flat (a two-story house in which each floor is now a separate apartment).  A hoarder was living in the upper unit so the repairs were extensive.  We replaced everything including the subfloors in two of the rooms.  Because of his hoard, when there were plumbing issues (some of which he caused) they affected the lower unit, which is now being fixed.  At one point during the bathroom remodel, the sewer line backed up into the bathroom and flowed out the kitchen doors.  So yes, my home had a river-o-shit.  Fortunately I wasn't living in that unit at the time.  When I called the contractor who had blocked the sewer line causing the flood, he acted like it was no big deal.  I swear he would have tiled over the now shit encrusted subfloor.  Seriously.  Shit encrusted.  I insisted they pull the subfloors, bleach everything, let it dry, bleach it again, soak it with enzymes, then put in all new flooring.  Later they were moving the washer/dryer in and I had to point out they needed to clean the shit off of this too. 

So I'm thinking this contractor could start working with hoarders.  So many of them are too embarrassed to let someone in to fix plumbing, heat or electrical issues when they occur.  This guy could just wallow in the river with the rest of them and act like it's nothing.  It could be a new version of Hoarding, Hoarding: Rerouting the River. 

[notyrmomma]

On 12/19/2016 at 7:54 PM, Muffyn said:

I am having major repairs done on my home.  I own a two-flat (a two-story house in which each floor is now a separate apartment).  A hoarder was living in the upper unit so the repairs were extensive.  We replaced everything including the subfloors in two of the rooms.  Because of his hoard, when there were plumbing issues (some of which he caused) they affected the lower unit, which is now being fixed.  At one point during the bathroom remodel, the sewer line backed up into the bathroom and flowed out the kitchen doors.  So yes, my home had a river-o-shit.  Fortunately I wasn't living in that unit at the time.  When I called the contractor who had blocked the sewer line causing the flood, he acted like it was no big deal.  I swear he would have tiled over the now shit encrusted subfloor.  Seriously.  Shit encrusted.  I insisted they pull the subfloors, bleach everything, let it dry, bleach it again, soak it with enzymes, then put in all new flooring.  Later they were moving the washer/dryer in and I had to point out they needed to clean the shit off of this too. 

So I'm thinking this contractor could start working with hoarders.  So many of them are too embarrassed to let someone in to fix plumbing, heat or electrical issues when they occur.  This guy could just wallow in the river with the rest of them and act like it's nothing.  It could be a new version of Hoarding, Hoarding: Rerouting the River. 

*spits coffee out of nose*

I'm sure that wasn't a cheap repair...and from the tone of your post, you had to be all like, "hello!  Yes, I really do need it all cleaned and fixed Mr. Contractor.  No, I'm not kidding.  Thank you!"

Up until just a few weeks ago, I was a landlord.  These shows really scare you on how some people can live!  Luckily, my tenants never created a river-o-shit (and they could have, because they backed up the septic system at least once a year, but called me each time so I could have it fixed), but they did do significant damage to my house nevertheless.  They weren't hoarders, but they were lazy as shit.  First of all, they LOVED to paint.  They LOVED to paint in dark colors.  They, however, did not like to use brushes to actually cut in the paint or use masking tape or do any other prep work.  They also loved to use black spay paint to paint shelves (we think) on my $4,000 brick deck and newly painted yellow house.  Just interior painting cost me over $3,000 because all the walls needed two coats of killz.  They also had a dog that they weren't supposed to have (better than bunnies!  Did you see that show?).  They kept the poor dog in the garaged and he scratched the walls and doors so much that there were big gashes in the doors and gashes in the CONCRETE walls!  They also broke the drawers on my kitchen cabinets and instead of telling me...they GLUED the drawer face to the damn cabinets.  I could go on and on... Lazy people!  I took a bath on that house, I'm just glad it's gone.

[Mrsjumbo]

Best thread title ever!

[Minivanessa]

I just caught the tail end of S3E8, Overtaken by Puppets. This one included the woman who'd been a ventriloquist and had hoarded up her house with a lot of crap including a huge "collection" of puppets. They did the usual thing of showing a recalcitrant stressed-out hoarder fighting the cleanup, followed by a later shot of her showing her family several rooms in her magically cleared-out home. In this case it was the entry, living room, dining room and kitchen. 

It was a really big and basically nice house, and you could see through doorways that other rooms were still a mess. One of the adult children mentioned that his mother really needs to "downsize" and sell the house and he'd been afraid they would never get the house into shape to list for sale. He said that now he felt that they could get there in about a year. I assume that his mother just couldn't afford to keep up that big house anymore and they really needed to sell it for a good price for her financial well-being.

Anyway, what struck me was that once they got all the clutter cleared out, the decor showed that the house had been carefully, and probably somewhat expensively, decorated and furnished at least 25 years ago. The color scheme and furniture styles were that green/mauve/white and brass accents from, what, the early 90's? Or 1980's? Anyway it made me think of dresses with big shoulder pads, and Dynasty on TV. 

I've seen this before on this show, and/or the other hoarding show. I remember one woman who'd been divorced or widowed - I forget which - and had hoarded up the "dream home" she and the hubs had moved into together. They did get a lot of the hoard removed and rooms cleaned up. When they showed the cleaned up kitchen I realized that the kitchen had been installed in the 1980's based on the cabinet styles, color scheme, and decorations. Maybe a "dream house" kitchen a long time ago, but not so much by that time.

I'm kind of contrarian in that I would rather have a great vacation trip than new kitchen cabinets. Just not into fussing with my home decor and all that. I choose to live in a small condo in an old building, rather than stretch myself to buy and run a single family home. (Super contrarian to the real estate industry's constant hammering us to buy big!!) But even so, I always maintain all the wiring, plumbing, and other stuff in good condition. My handyman, electrician, and plumber are here at least once a year for repairs or needed replacement/updates.  I pay attention to style trends, and occasionally update the general look of the place with paint/accents/furniture. But of course, I couldn't do that if the place was hoarded up. 

So the hoarders have essentially kept their houses in some kind of time capsule - the old decor somewhat preserved under the piles-o-crap.

I know the hoarders have been through heavy emotional stuff in the cleanup process. I wonder if any of them ever get to the point of being able to update the decor of the cleared-out rooms. Seems like it could be a minefield for a hoarder to navigate: "Let's bring home this sample and maybe that lamp and that picture, gotta fix up the living room . . . " And how long before they have stacks of paint chips or sample paint cans, fabric swatches, a few pictures, lamps, pillows . . . ? Eeek!

[ethalfrida]

Have you listened to Opie and Anthony review Hoarders? 

Find them on Youtube.

[Minivanessa]

On 5/19/2015 at 5:32 AM, Giant Misfit said:

Ugh. Yesterday I caught the rerun of the woman whose home was overrun by roaches. She claimed to be "disabled" and sat in a lounge chair in her living room surrounded by a mountain of trash -- comprised mostly of empty 12-pack containers of Pepsi. Her ex-husband allowed the kids to live in the filth because the wife would "lose her benefits" if he pressed for custody. So, instead they live in a home filled with roaches and a bathroom with a mountain of used sanitary pads piled high on the floor.

She was a loathsome beast.

 

On 5/19/2015 at 7:28 AM, califred said:

That roach woman was vile. So was the husband he should have either kicked her out or taken the kids and ran far away.

 

On 5/19/2015 at 8:45 AM, AZChristian said:

She was so disabled she couldn't even throw away her own used needles, but when she walked from the patio to her car (to pout, sulk, and avoid reality), she didn't need a walker or even a cane, and there was no limping or slow movement?

The only thing in that house not covered by roaches was her medicine.  Kind of obvious what's important to her . . . maintaining her facade of physical illness.  Her only "illness" is mental, and she referred to the doctor who could help with that as a "b***h" and refused to talk to her. 

Pathetic.  Criminally pathetic. 

OMG. That was Shirley. TLC ran that episode this morning and I watched the last half of it while walking on the treadmill. I know I'd seen it before but my jaw still dropped when the exterminators were inspecting the house. Oh my Lord, the roaches and filth! 

Yep, @Giant Misfit - "beast" is exactly the word for Shirley. Does anyone know if they did a followup episode about her? Lord, those poor kids. What vile parents they had. 

[Guest]

@Jeeves Nah, they never did a follow up with her unfortunately. And since the show's been cancelled, I guess we'll never get one. But allow to me to guess: She's still living in her squalor palace and she's still an unredeemable pig. 

I believe I am 100% correct in my assessment. 

[Lorna Mae]

Can someone identify an episode for me? I've watched every episode now, and either I spaced and missed this scene, or it was cut to make more time for commercials. The hoarder was a 30ish woman, and her brother was brought in; his first visit in years, and of course he was gobsmacked. Hoarding woman is sobbing, and when he asks how it could get like this, she wails, "I'm like a grain of sand caught up in a tsunami!" Long pause; brother says "Okay...." 

-- Brother had a very NYC accent.

-- IIRC, the house was a townhouse, where you have to go up a flight of stairs from the front door to the main room. The stairs were hoarded up, too, of course.

--I don't think it was Hoarders, because that's Buried Alive's schtick: bringing in the friends and family members who haven't seen the hoard in years, and are shocked! horrified! appalled! They're on the same network as Intervention, so perhaps the show runners were told to follow that model. Anyway, on Hoarders, the friends and family are usually at the end of their rope after months or years of trying and getting nowhere. H:BA always manages to dredge up someone who's seeing it for the first time.

--It was probably the first season; second at most. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[LuciaMia]

Yes, today was another repeat of Sherry, she of the massive roach/spider infestation. The house full of old needles and empty soda bottles. She who blames her kids laziness while her daughter cooks her breakfast. Supposedly so ill with fibromalgia but says when 'we can't cook, we just go out to eat.'  Guess no problem moving for that. With this show you try to muster some sympathy, but Sweet Jesus, there was just no way.

Every interaction exists just to further prove how much a victim she is. And she's just  plain nasty. When the organizer asked an innocent question about saving a basket she spits out, 'Well, I guess my mother could come out of her grave and make me a new one.'

I missed the last 20 minutes, right after she takes to her bed.  Was there any end to the clean up?  Any hints of a happy ending?

[atlantaloves]

I swear I am trying to remember, I hated her, that's for sure...don't ask me why I am such a fan of these Hoarder shows, but I am, keeps me organized. It seems that this particular story did not have a happy ending.  She truly was nothing but a lazy pig.....I understand 95% of the hoarders on these shows are seriously ill, and that it is a sickness, but that pig woman, she was just a faker. In too much pain, my ass. 

[auntjess]

Whenever I see "Doug and Darlene," I start singing "two American kids, not very clean."

[Guest]

10 hours ago, LuciaMia said:

I missed the last 20 minutes, right after she takes to her bed.  Was there any end to the clean up?  Any hints of a happy ending?

If by "happy ending," you mean "was she euthanized and her children removed from the home?" Then, no, there was no happy ending. But they did clean it up somewhat (from what I recall) -- at least the kitchen was cleaner and I do believe they removed the bulldozed Diet Pepsi mountain and removed the metric fuck ton of 12-pack containers that surrounded her lounge chair. 

I'm sure it's a massive shitshow in that house again though. Sherri was piece of human garbage. And she totally did not have fibromyalgia -- it was, as @atlantaloves said, a faked illness.  

[auntjess]

Today I watched a 2010 show, Family Secrets, a married couple with grown children in Ohio, and a Maryland woman who had 2 grandchildren living with her.
The shrink (not sure of type) talked with both, couple's chldren came, we saw houses, then at end they'd both cleaned up and homes were functional.
I'd never seen an episode before without the throwing out angst. No "clean-up" day was shown.
Was this how the show began?
Here's episode on youtube.

[JudyObscure]

Oh I remember that one well!  Cindy prepared a meal that looked so good (thick pork chops, whole green beans, red potatoes)  that it's become one of our regular rotation.  Those were better shows!  "Hoarding: Buried Alive," always had  a longer more gradual clean-up than "Hoarders" and was more likely to end up with painting and repairs, which I like to see.  I think both shows tried too hard to escalate the shock value as time went on.  I never wanted to see piles of adult diapers and severe mental illness.

A few of the Buried Alive houses were so horrible looking once the hoard was moved out, that painters came in with spray guns and spray painted the entire interior, cabinets and all, in one day.  I thought that was kind of cool and wanted to see it happen more often.

[ButterQueen]

I'm watching Herb and Janet; they are living with Herb's side piece, Wendy, and Herb, Jr is sleeping in a tent.

Their house, like so many, aren't what I consider hoarding....it's laziness just throwing your trash and shit everywhere.

Love Herb, Jr's friend coming to help find cans in all that mess.

I mean, when is the very first time you decide to throw a used tampon on the floor, leftover meat in the corner, or empty soda cans into the bathroom sink?  How does that even work?

[orangeiguana]

I don't get why humoring or treating these loonies is acceptable when they are a public health hazard. God, just raze the house and let 'em fend for themselves.

[auntjess]

41 minutes ago, orangeiguana said:

I don't get why humoring or treating these loonies is acceptable when they are a public health hazard. God, just raze the house and let 'em fend for themselves.

I think that's everyone's reaction.  I hate when they're saying "respect her stuff, she makes the decisions."
I would love to see one where they let her (or him, but I think there are few more women) keep everything, then the next day watch, as the city comes in with bulldozers.
"Told you so."

[atlantaloves]

Know what, that kinda works for me as well. But only with some of them. 

Edited October 23, 2017 by atlantaloves
spelling

[Pondlass1]

These hoarders must have fantastic immune systems.

I can't watch - not because of raw sewage and bugs - but because of the annoyingly sympathetic psychologist "he/she has the final say" as the hoarder stands amid piles of steaming dung and fusses over a plushy toy dripping with filth.  Ugh! 

The people who suffer most are next door neighbours.  I'd be furious.