Hoarders - General Discussion

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think her name was Patty, and the kids were taken away by CPS, and she chose her junk over her kids (it was a Hoarder episode, wikipedia has a very nice list of names and episodes). She was  the one in Kansas, she lost custody, her husband divorced her, and her mother got custody of at least one kid, and the hoarder moved in with her mother and kids.   

Someone donated two semi trailers for a year or so, and everything from the house was boxed and moved in there, and when that ended she moved all of her boxed garbage into the house again. 

It looked like a very nice neighborhood, and I'm sure the neighbors were disgusted when the show aired, and especially when all of the vermin left her home for theirs when stuff was boxed up, and the house was emptied.    

What I like about Hoarders is they don't do the (in my opinion) phony clean outs the way other shows do, and they show an after that can be better than it was, but is still a hoard.       

Edited February 25, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[Kyanight]

3 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I think her name was Patty, and the kids were taken away by CPS, and she chose her junk over her kids (it was a Hoarder episode, wikipedia has a very nice list of names and episodes). She was  the one in Kansas, she lost custody, her husband divorced he, and her mother got custody of at least one kid, and the hoarder moved in with her mother.   Someone donated two semi trailers, and everything from the house was boxed and moved in there, and when that ended she moved all of her boxed garbage into the house again.  

YES!! I think that was it - I remember now that he got custody of one of the kids and I wondered what happened to the other two!   Out of ALLLLLL of the episodes I have seen of hoarders (and the extreme) this one broke my heart the most.  The fact that this mother put TRASH and junk before her own kids was shocking and shook me to the core.  I always hope that even with mental illness a mother's love could still shine through the muck somewhere - but that just isn't so.  You see it with drug addiction, as well.   They love the drugs, not their kids.  This mother loved her crap more than her kids.  So sad.

Thank you for your post - I've been wondering about her for years.

[stillhere1900]

Just watched the episode "Tiny Monsters"  The mother  (Sherry) is a POS but what kind of a father would move out of that horrible, horrible house and leave his kids there ? 

My mind is completely blown that he just left them there with 100,000 roaches.

I didn't see this from the beginning. Did the therapist ever ask the father 'WHY he left the kids in that roach/needle infested pig stye ?

Edited February 25, 2019 by stillhere1900

[Minivanessa]

19 hours ago, stillhere1900 said:

Just watched the episode "Tiny Monsters"  The mother  (Sherry) is a POS but what kind of a father would move out of that horrible, horrible house and leave his kids there ? 

My mind is completely blown that he just left them there with 100,000 roaches.

I didn't see this from the beginning. Did the therapist ever ask the father 'WHY he left the kids in that roach/needle infested pig stye ?

Her name was Sherry. I think she has died. But, this was an episode of Hoarding: Buried Alive - which has its own topic on PTV. Sherry's episode has been discussed over there.

As you can see shortly above, I've also posted a comment about a "Buried Alive" show here on the Hoarding topic. In my experience it's all too so easy to lose track of which of these two shows I'm talking about.

One of our local TV news reporters has been working a story for at least a year now, where a man was found dead inside his hoarded home more than a year after he was reported missing. Probably because it's been mainly reported via podcasts vs. newscasts, I haven't delved into the story until today. There are now several podcasts in the series, which is called "Blame." It looks like the "Blame" series started with a couple of podcasts about another death case, but has been devoted to this case since them.

One podcast features Cory Chalmers from this show, discussing the hidden epidemic of hoarding. The reporter said he'd never watched any of the hoarder shows,. Those of us who've watched these shows probably won't find anything surprising, but I thought the podcast might be of interest to those who remember Cory from the show.

Edited February 26, 2019 by Jeeves

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

So excited for this to come back on... Although I hate to see any of the animal hoarding, that is upsetting.  

[atlantaloves]

Me either, just fast forward through it if you can kiddo!

[zillabreeze]

New 2hr episode this coming Tuesday 3/5!   I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I hate it when they have children growing up in the hoard too.   It's so sad to see the grown up kids that had to leave and not look back to save themselves from the hoarder parents too.     Dragging in relatives to clean up the hoard on either show has always bothered me.    I'm sure the producers are hoping for a big fight, but some of these hoarders are so damaged, that I wonder if they can stay in control enough so no one will get physically hurt.    

[enoughcats]

When a multitude of children grew up in what might be called a family, there is usually mention of how many there were or a picture with some pixilated out.  

Without doing a review of all Hoarders episodes (not gonna be done and sanity retained), I'd guess that when there were five or more children, at least two will not come back for the 'clean up'.  What that suggested to me was in larger families, the effects of hoarding multiply and are even worse than x hoarding divided by the number of children reduces the effect of hoarding on each.  Some may have been much worse off when hoarding amplifies other kinds of neglect. 

Boy, that's a depressing thought. I hope I'm wrong.

[Oldcrone]

Be still my heart, HOARDERS IS BACK!!!!  One of my very favorite moments is when  the Hoarder was screaming " But I had plans for that rock!"

[Kyanight]

12 minutes ago, Oldcrone said:

Be still my heart, HOARDERS IS BACK!!!!  One of my very favorite moments is when  the Hoarder was screaming " But I had plans for that rock!"

Or the psychiatrist holds up a bottle of BBQ sauce that expired 15 years ago. 

Psychiatrist:  "If I took this bottle home with me, how high on a scale from 1-10 would your anxiety level be?"

Hoarder:  "Right now it's a TWELVE!!  If you pick out the congealed lumps it's fine! And if I start to feel sick I stop eating it!  That stays here!"

Sometimes when they try to encourage the hoarder to throw out obvious garbage and the hoarder throws a fit and wants to keep it I USED to think it was just for the show, but now I know otherwise.   I think the only cure for hoarding might be death.

[atlantaloves]

Oh yeah, food hoarders are the worst, which is why I love 'em....there was one old lady hoarder who claimed to be a scientist, that actually ate some rotten stuff on top of some two year old yogurt and claimed it was the "whey" and just delicious. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I love how they are all total experts in their field when it comes to a nice juicy hoard, ha.🍦

[Twiz44]

Enjoying this morning's shows while waiting for Tuesday's return of my guilty pleasure. Do we know yet who will be in the new cast? I’ve only seen Cory shown in the preview. My favorite is Dorothy. I hope she’ll be back. She is so kind, compassionate, and encouraging. Geralin, too. I also like Dr. Tonya Harding, Chabaud and Green. I am not a big fan of Tolin and  Pfeffer. Hope to see some of my favorites!

[atlantaloves]

Wow, you are as big a fan of this show as I am.....I bet they have the entire gang back to entertain us Tuesday! 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Matt Paxton won't be back. 

 He has younger kids, and said the constant traveling was interfering with his family.   Plus, he founded a company that helps people organize, clean out, and sell off estate assets.       I think the Sandra clean out made his decision to quit absolutely final.       

Dr. Zasio will be having a Facebook live tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m., so I guess that means she's back on the show.

Edited March 5, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[JudyObscure]

 A&E is going to give us a few oldies, starting at 6 PM,  to get us warmed up, then the 2 hour premiere from 8 to10.  This show always gives me the urge to purge, so my closets may be bare by the time it's all over.

[Kyanight]

55 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

 A&E is going to give us a few oldies, starting at 6 PM,  to get us warmed up, then the 2 hour premiere from 8 to10.  This show always gives me the urge to purge, so my closets may be bare by the time it's all over.

 That's how the show affects me, too!  Damn... now I am going to have to open up a trash bag and toss in a few adult diapers, moldy food and dog turds from the living room floor!

[JudyObscure]

1 hour ago, Kyanight said:

 That's how the show affects me, too!  Damn... now I am going to have to open up a trash bag and toss in a few adult diapers, moldy food and dog turds from the living room floor!

Now, now, don't be hasty!  Those diapers will be fine if you just put them in the sun for awhile, you can scape off the mold and have the food for a snack (finger food!) and if you throw out those dog turds it will mean you don't love it anymore. Go bring it all back!

[Kyanight]

5 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Now, now, don't be hasty!  Those diapers will be fine if you just put them in the sun for awhile, you can scape off the mold and have the food for a snack (finger food!) and if you throw out those dog turds it will mean you don't love it anymore. Go bring it all back!

Luckily everything is still safely tucked where I had it.  I picked up the first dog turd and my anxiety level was like.... oh!..... a 104 on a scale from 1-10!  I COULDN'T part with it!  I am positive this particular turd was from "Buffoon", my first dog when I moved in this house and he's been dead for 14 years... throwing away his poop is like pretending he never existed or mattered!  ::::Cries:::::

[enoughcats]

But these are all craft products..  Because a good artist doesn't necessarily make art that anyone else would want to buy, but they see the potential use for dead animals, etc. and could convince otherwise-not-gullible people that it was worth keeping.  

So which of us compulsively check use before dates now?  I will raise my right hand if you will raise yours.

[Kyanight]

2 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

But these are all craft products..  Because a good artist doesn't necessarily make art that anyone else would want to buy, but they see the potential use for dead animals, etc. and could convince otherwise-not-gullible people that it was worth keeping.  

So which of us compulsively check use before dates now?  I will raise my right hand if you will raise yours.

HAAAAAAAAA!!  I've always checked expiration dates - but this show takes it to an all new gross level!

And by the way - I kind of take exception to your choice of a name for posting.  There is NO SUCH THING as enough cats.  Well... I guess there is if you don't want to be an animal hoarder.    They are like fuzzy little potato chips..... hard...to.....have...just.......one......

[Guest]

OMG they better not give those poor dogs back to Psycho Andy and lunatic wife! 

Also, "I cook my meals on a hot plate in my bathroom."  

This episode has me completely stressed out after only 20 minutes.

[atlantaloves]

Oh goodie, has the new episode started, I have it scheduled on my DVR an want to watch it of course commercial free. Yum Yum Yum.

I do love a hoarder that cooks in their bathroom! So nice and clean! God, some things never ever change. Bathe in the kitchen and cook in the bathroom with all your Amazon boxes in the bathtub!

[Midnightblue]

OMG, that poor daughter. It seems like she is mentally and emotionally stunted from being raised and kep isolated by those people. Such a sweet girl, but did she even go to school? And the son, Russ (who looks almost as old as the father), a grown man who refuses to confront or even disagree with anything his father says? Me suspects that Andy was a controlling, vicious, abusive asshole.

[PaulaO]

Andy and Becky need to be admitted to the loony bin.  They are insane.  I feel so bad for their daughter.  Imagine being born in a toilet.

Edited March 6, 2019 by PaulaO

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

Imagine being born in a toilet.

Yeah, they might have wanted to keep that story to themselves. But seeing the both of them in action, it might have seemed like a point of pride to tell their child that. 

I loved when the daughter flat out lied, "She doesn't have a cell phone." Um...we saw her USING IT. And the daughter was standing right next to her when she did.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I feel so sorry for the daughter, who never had a chance, and the neighbors.   Can you imagine having to fight off rats on your own patio, and the neighbors claim they don't have a rat problem?     That house is a tear down, and it will have to go to the haz-mat dump.        The son is doing the right thing, and as usual, the shrink and organizer are getting in the way of cleaning the place up.       Becky certainly had a rough life, but she certainly treated her own child like garbage, and her animals too.   

I think Becky left to delay the clean up, and never intends to clean out anything.  She's in control of this, and she's not giving up.     I hope they get jail time for the animal abuse, and they should be in jail for what they did to their own child.   So she went to the daughter, Amanda.           I think Andy went along with Becky, and she is the major hoarder.  

So they don't have cell phones?  Yes, they do.   And Becky has a Facebook page, claiming elder abuse by Marysville.  

I can't believe that the neighbors are stupid enough to let Becky store her stuff on their property.    If I lived near these people and found their junk on my property, then I would be calling the police.    I hope the neighbors who are 'helping' by letting her store that trash on their property are just as happy to store it in the coming years, because the piles will only grow.  

Apparently, Becky went to Amanda's (the daughter), who moved out.  

These people will never move, and will never clean out, they just want to get enough stuff moved to delay the city for more time.    It drives me bonkers, that when the hoarders say get rid of everything, then the organizers stop them.       How do these people afford the multiple vehicles, and all of the stuff?     

Is Dr. Tompkins (or whatever his name is) whacky too?    This is not a love story, it's a story of two people who have abused the neighborhood, their own daughter, animals, and are as anti-social as you can get.  

They gave the dogs back?   To people who caged them 24/7!   I'm outraged. 

So the rest of the junk is gone, 160 tons hauled away by the show, and 60 more tons by the family.   I bet within two years it will be just as bad.   

Edited March 7, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[JJ1]

Good grief! This episode is just one huge cluster f***!  

I know it’s always a hard balance between clearing out the house and ensuring that the hoarder has a true wake-up call so the hoard doesn’t come back.

 But Andy and Becky have made it perfectly clear that they do not intend to cooperate. So the experts need to just let it go! Let Russ do as much as he can.

Edited March 6, 2019 by JJ1

[fonfereksglen]

The new expert organizer doesn't seem to be ready for Prime Time TV.

[Mrs. Hanson]

I need to digest this whole episode, but......THEY GOT THE DOGS BACK?

Andy and Becky are vile.

[Miracle Maxie]

Wouldn’t you start a new season, especially when it’s a comeback for the show, with a sympathetic family and not the cluster of hostility that these folks were? I suppose it begs the question of whether there’s such a thing as a sympathetic hoarding family. But the family was awful, Tompkins was ineffective and the new organizer was utterly wrong for this situation, if not for this show. I hope we never see her again. 

And the icing on the cake was that they got the dogs back. I’m not sure I can continue with the new episodes. 

[zillabreeze]

So... The PTB pick the WORST therapist and organizer for the return of the show. Yuck, what a couple of weenies.  All the handwringing, mollycoddling and tap-dancing around these pigs is why it got to this point in the first place.

I assure you that if that shit was in my 'hood, I'd be suing the city into bankruptcy.  Why did "dozens" of people have to put up with that for years?  Just because some old farts want to play games? 

What the hell was up with putting stuff in the neighbors yards?  Oh, hell no!  I would quickly return it and probably in flames. 

One thing I've noticed after all these episodes... Hoarders hang onto and find value in everything EXCEPT bras and teeth.

[Awfarmington]

2 minutes ago, Miracle Maxie said:

Wouldn’t you start a new season, especially when it’s a comeback for the show, with a sympathetic family and not the cluster of hostility that these folks were? I suppose it begs the question of whether there’s such a thing as a sympathetic hoarding family. But the family was awful, Tompkins was ineffective and the new organizer was utterly wrong for this situation, if not for this show. I hope we never see her again. 

And the icing on the cake was that they got the dogs back. I’m not sure I can continue with the new episodes. 

Amanda “I’ll put you in the street”

Organizer “She threatened to push me in front of a moving car’’ 

Mmmkay. 

Besides the fact that she lies, Amanda is right, she IS annoying. Bring back Matt and Cory. 

Someone said (maybe Becky?) they took their dogs and sold them. So how exactly did they get them back if they were ‘sold’? Either way, those poor dogs. They’ll be back in cages 24/7.

[Kyanight]

Just now, Miracle Maxie said:

Wouldn’t you start a new season, especially when it’s a comeback for the show, with a sympathetic family and not the cluster of hostility that these folks were? I suppose it begs the question of whether there’s such a thing as a sympathetic hoarding family. But the family was awful, Tompkins was ineffective and the new organizer was utterly wrong for this situation, if not for this show. I hope we never see her again. 

And the icing on the cake was that they got the dogs back. I’m not sure I can continue with the new episodes. 

See, I was a bit uncomfortable, too.   But I will stick with it awhile.   For some reason they wanted to start the season with a train wreck to grab people's attention, maybe.

[CrazyInAlabama]

My guess within a year, the place will look like a small garbage dump, and in two years it will be just like the opening shot.    I hate that they got the dogs back, and hope they will be monitored so they don't lock them in cages 24/7 again.      I'm not sure I can watch this show again.     Two hours of this dysfunction is more than I can take.   

[Kyanight]

Just now, CrazyInAlabama said:

My guess within a year, the place will look like a small garbage dump, and in two years it will be just like the opening shot.    I hate that they got the dogs back, and hope they will be monitored so they don't lock them in cages 24/7 again.      I'm not sure I can watch this show again.     Two hours of this dysfunction is more than I can take.   

It was depressing.  Instead of wanting to clean up my house I wanted to turn off the TV.

[FormerMod-a1]

160 tons?!?  and the additional 60 tons were removed after.  I would have never expected that given how hard the beginning was.

[Mrs. Hanson]

1 minute ago, Kyanight said:

It was depressing.  Instead of wanting to clean up my house I wanted to turn off the TV.

I agree, it made me uncomfortable.

[FormerMod-a1]

Focusing on one family/house for 2 hours might be a little too intense.  Granted, they started with a doozy.  That said, I'll still watch.  This is my addiction.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, aquarian1 said:

Focusing on one family/house for 2 hours might be a little too intense.  Granted, they started with a doozy.  That said, I'll still watch.  This is my addiction.

SAME. 

But I'll admit this episode was particularly grueling. That they got the dogs back broke my heart for those poor animals who are going to wind up exactly where they were before—standing in their own waste in tiny crates and completely neglected. And what are those two lunatics going to feed them? Three-year old expired "sentimental" Mountain Dew? 

I really don't like the new organizer. She's incredibly hostile. And I say that thinking Andy and Becky needed someone to be hostile to them but her approach was all wrong. I'm thinking St. Dorothy would have been a better match. 

And I love Dr Tompkins. While this couple, and more or less their entire family, were deeply unpleasant he really did make lemonade out of lemons here. They needed a calming influence like him to get shit done. 

Oh, how I've missed this show!

[enoughcats]

To the advertising executive who sold ad space on the lead in episode (older) of Hoarders to the show Storage Wars and the grinning couple on that ad who made so much money selling the contents of storage units they had bought: a giant raspberry.

What a hell of an opening to the new season.  Early on we started tossing back and forth the possibility of bi polar problems, of antisocial behaviour and the general problem of what kind of idiot tells a young girl she was born in a toilet?  How could they afford that lovely near-King Charles spaniel?  The claws on that dog- it had to have hurt to walk, and the feces at the bottom of one of the crates....  

Given two hours, they set the scene really well.  Disgusting, but well.  The mayor should have pointed out to Grace that a communist would have had her in Solzhenisen's Archipelago after two strikes.  (Some of the books she was going to read were thick enough to have been by A.S.) 

The wheels of government really turned slow, didn't they.  Two decades ago and the daughter might have had a closer to normal life.  

It will be interesting to follow the Otters as we have followed other Hoarders post show.  I don't see success in the long run.  I don't feel sorry for all of them, but some are in traps of their own haphazard construction.

[absolutelyido]

1 hour ago, fonfereksglen said:

The new expert organizer doesn't seem to be ready for Prime Time TV.

I thought Erica was immature to engage with the family, and let her emotions & ego get involved. I feel like the OG organizers (Matt, Dorothy, Standolyn, Geralin, or Corey) wouldn't have let that happen. They were experienced enough to realize that the hoarders, and their dysfunctional families, were going to lash out at some point, but not to take it personally. It seems odd that they didn't start the new season with one of the organizers that the audience already knows.

Edited March 6, 2019 by absolutelyido

[Lorna Mae]

Me, after someone (the son?) said "If you gave them a rock, they'd find something to do with that rock": OMG, I wonder if that's a callback! [explains "I had plans for that rock!" to DH]

DH: You know what it is, it's about control. As long as he hangs on to that half-lifeing Mountain Dew, and the cameras are on him and people are focused on trying to reason with him, he's in control. He won't give up the Mountain Dew, or any of this other crap, because he doesn't want to give up control.

Me: Why is the organizer talking about trust? These people haven't earned anyone's trust. They say never trust a junkie, and hoarders are junkies, in a sense. Never trust a hoarder.

DH: [after the new organizer says "Why are we keeping a moldy Spice Girl?" BWAH-HAH-HAH! There's your new tagline, to replace the one about the rock! '"Why are we keeping a moldy Spice Girl?"' 

Edited March 6, 2019 by Lorna Mae

[absolutelyido]

10 minutes ago, Lorna Mae said:

DH: You know what it is, it's about control. As long as he hangs on to that half-lifeing Mountain Dew, and the cameras are on him and people are focused on trying to reason with him, he's in control. He won't give up the Mountain Dew, or any of this other crap, because he doesn't want to give up control.

I felt the same way about the dogs. Andy didn't give a crap about their welfare. But they were HIS, and no one was going to take anything that belonged to HIM. The dogs and the 3-years past expiration Mountain Dew had the same value to him.

Edited March 6, 2019 by absolutelyido

[enoughcats]

IMDB has dates for and brief summaries of this seasons episodes

[ChicagoCita]

3 hours ago, Lorna Mae said:

"Why are we keeping a moldy Spice Girl?"

"Because that's what I do!"

[hoosiermom]

I hate to admit it but I had to FF thru a lot of this. It was just too much for me to deal with. Most of the time I like it but when it deals with children and pets,just no. If it had just been those two crazy old bats I couldn’t have cared less.

Edited March 6, 2019 by hoosiermom

[JudyObscure]

[small voice] I liked it. 

I liked having two hours to really work with a family and see changes.  True, those changes may not last but the fact that they allowed Russ to take out 60 more tons and they're all going to therapy gives me hope for them.

Becky's back story was so awful I couldn't feel anything but sympathy for her after I heard that.  I thought Andy was the jerk of the world, until he backed down and admitted he had been wrong and then even he seemed like a human.

The best part for me was Russ.  When he said he was a recovering addict I understood why he looked so old for his age, and when he found the courage to confront his father for the first time ever and tell him he had to change, I was really proud of him.  Then his dad cried and told him he loved him (probably for the first time ever) and I wanted to hug Dr. Tall for being patient enough to make that happen.

Amanda (Amanda was the daughter) had me from the first with her sad story about growing up in the hoard and always feeling like she wasn't good enough because of her slight speech impediment. She was practically begging to be included in the therapy and if nothing else came out of all this but Amanda having a therapist to tell her she's a good, kind, complete person then it was all worth it to me.

The neighbors!  What amazing, forgiving people.  I noticed the nice blonde neighbor who had the rat problem showed up in blue boots (heh.)

I found the new organizer annoying, too. She kept trying to explain things to Becky and Andy in psychobabble they didn't understand and she seemed so sneering about the stuff right in front of the hoarders.  But after Russ's wife (Michelle?) threatened to push her in the street and told her she didn't like her about twenty times I started to feel bad for her and once she cried and Dr. Tall hugged her I started to like her, too.  I think she'll get better at it, but right now she's a long way from Dr Zasio.

Their new friendly relationship with the policeman makes me think they will be watched carefully concerning the dogs.  I'm sure they've had to promise animal control  never to use the crates again.

I went to bed with warm fuzzies, I must be getting old.

[terrymct]

10 hours ago, fonfereksglen said:

The new expert organizer doesn't seem to be ready for Prime Time TV.

Yeah, it was weird that she wasn't expecting someone in the family to direct some emotion at her.  It would seem that was sort of par for the course.

Becky needs serious psychiatric care.  Andy seems to have a glimmer of hope about him, maybe he could do ok in an assisted living situation?  I was happy the son went through a substantial change once he saw the house.  He was backing up Dad 100% until he had to shimmy over the top of a pile of garbage to cross the living room.   His next step should be to get them into care, but I suspect he'll burn out.  It's a lot to take at once.  The daughter, I hope she flies far away and starts a marvelous life among nice people who care about her.

[JJ1]

I know they made a big deal at the end about how heartwarming it was that all the neighbors chipped in to help. Well... maybe... but all I could think of during the cleanup was that those neighbors were helping because they saw this as a possible end to their decade-long nightmare and they wanted to make absolutely sure it didn’t fail just because of lack of manpower. I know if I were in their shoes, I would have been in biohazard garb working my butt off!

Becky and Andy need to be in an assisted care facility where someone can keep an eye on them, but they are so contrary and suspicious that people are trying to take away their “liberties”, it would probably never work.