Hoarders - General Discussion

[JudyObscure]

On 4/1/2021 at 3:57 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

 

Did anyone see this story?   Another sad case of a hoarder coming to a bad end:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/emmy-winner-found-dead-buried-in-debris-inside-home/ar-BB1fdksQ?li=BBorjTa&ocid=mailsignout

Hoarding seems to be an occupational hazard for designers and artists.  Beware.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, JudyObscure said:

Hoarding seems to be an occupational hazard for designers and artists.  Beware.

My late brother worked as a floral designer . . . and the hoard he left us to clear out included a LOT of cheap plastic flowers (covered in dust) and second-hand store "objets d'art" and pictures.  His walls were as crowded as Forrest's, but with cheap stuff he had picked up at yard sales - although he swore that some of them were "museum quality" artwork.  I'm just grateful he had a small apartment instead of a large house.

[JudyObscure]

My hoarder brother died about the same time as AZChristian's, but his house was left to his fellow-hoarder girlfriend.  She has another stuffed house from before they got together.  It just occurred to me that she might leave those houses to me as she is quite reclusive and doesn't have much family.

I wonder. Am I the only one here, who thinks she/he would enjoy clearing out a hoard?  I've always got a cathartic thrill from throwing things out and I can just imagine hiring a skip an filling it up as a fun thing.  But maybe not after the first day or so?  Thoughts?

[AZChristian]

16 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

My hoarder brother died about the same time as AZChristian's, but his house was left to his fellow-hoarder girlfriend.  She has another stuffed house from before they got together.  It just occurred to me that she might leave those houses to me as she is quite reclusive and doesn't have much family.

I wonder. Am I the only one here, who thinks she/he would enjoy clearing out a hoard?  I've always got a cathartic thrill from throwing things out and I can just imagine hiring a skip an filling it up as a fun thing.  But maybe not after the first day or so?  Thoughts?

The only reason I "enjoyed" clearing it out was knowing that the job was done.  We knew for years it would fall on us to do it, and it was a real downer for us to discuss it.  I didn't want my brother to die (and lie dead in the hoard for 3 days), but we always knew that the day would come. 

Some of the trashing of the things I hated (that DAMNED, UGLY ceramic elephant) was, indeed, cathartic.   We didn't even think of taking it to Goodwill.  Tossing it into an empty dumpster and watching it break into pieces was a "high-five" experience.  Taking three "banker boxes" full (about 800) DVDs to donate to the local library (in keeping with his "will") was a good feeling as well.  Some of his furniture was listed on Craigslist, but that only cleared enough money to have the filthy "soft" furniture hauled to the dump.  

The most cathartic thing of all was driving by his apartment about 2 months after he died and seeing that the new renters were using the little patio out back as a place for some nice patio furniture, rather than as a place to pile up more junk.  I said to hubby, "That's the way I wanted him to live . . . "

[enoughcats]

50 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Am I the only one here, who thinks she/he would enjoy clearing out a hoard?  I've always got a cathartic thrill from throwing things out and I can just imagine hiring a skip an filling it up as a fun thing

There have been money raising opportunities where a lemon of a car is presented, and people pay a couple of dollars per hit with  a maul or other kind of hammer. 

My first thought was pay to toss to get rid of a hoard.  But then, because I've watched hoarders, I realized that the local hoarding community would be there, carting off their finds of the day. 

[Elizzikra]

Quote

Am I the only one here, who thinks she/he would enjoy clearing out a hoard? 

A clean hoard. No rodents. No insects. No moldy food.

And someone else's stuff. If I don't have any attachment, I can throw away and organize with the best of them!

[ams1001]

"I think my mom is a hoarder." 

Ya' think?

[CrazyInAlabama]

I would love to direct a hoard clean out, but from a safe distance (not having some rat run up my pants leg), directing crews to clean out everything.     

 

I love it, Dolores used to be a neat freak, and then became a hoarder.   I feel so sorry for her children.   Growing up with a hoarder, even if they do it later like Dolores did, is still horrible.    The husband should have put his foot down years ago, and I can't believe he said nothing about her huge expenditures since her mother died.      I know that no matter how much leaves that house, Dolores will rehoard it, and the husband should just move out, and never look back.   I feel so sorry for her children, and the neighbors who are about to get vermin, and the film crew invading their neighborhood.   Arthur (the husband) only has his own bed, an armoire, and a closet that I bet he can't even get to.    I would love if Arthur grabbed his stuff, and really left. 

I can already tell that Dolores will show her vicious side very quickly.    That was the way she was to her kids when she was a neat freak, and that's how she is now.    

I have a relative that was kept in check by her husband (except for the attic junk, and one smaller closet), and since he died, she has no limit on her spending, or 'collecting', and I would never go to a clean up, because I know what a nasty piece of work she is.  I feel so sorry for the relatives that think that anything will change.   

The things the shrinks, and other crew say to keep the relatives there, and being abused by the hoarder are revolting.   They'll do anything to get the hoarder to allow enough filming to get a 2 hour show.     Dolores doesn't care about anyone, and never will.    She threw all of that stuff into the husband's bedroom to drive him out.   She just said her junk with rat poop and urine on it is worth more to her than seeing the grandchildren, at last she told the truth.   As Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them" (I add believe them the first time, and don't make excuses for them).   

So the husband Arthur, and the adult kids believe anything will change, or any decent clean out will happen.   Dolores will refill everything in a week, or maybe two. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[ams1001]

She's only an hour or so from me...

Lotta bleeping going in...yeah, we're in Jersey. 😛 

Several hours. They haven't even started yet and she kept them waiting outside for several hours.

Because I'm sure she uses that "evening bag" weekly.

Clearly the stuff is more important to her than the family. Maybe hubs should just find a nice clean apartment and leave her to it.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The husband (Arthur I think it is) threatened to move away, and has a place to go, and he should load his clothes and personal papers up, and leave.  The adult kids should stop beating themselves up trying to get Dolores to love them, because she will never love anyone but herself.    She has clearly told Dr. Tolin she wants her stuff, complete with mouse poop, and doesn't care about her family.  

Sorry Doc, but 80% of that massive pile of garbage is still leaving 20% of stuff she'll never use, and put right back into that house.    And now they're filling a two car garage back up, no surprise.    Dolores is definitely in the top 10 of nasty, vindictive hoarders.   She really enjoys telling her family how little they mean to her.     She's just a bully. 

I bet if anyone touches the closet Dolores doesn't want anyone in, that there will be an avalanche. 

So Matt thinks they cleaned up everything?  Nope, not with a full garage, storage buildings, and I bet the attic is jam packed.    What good are mattresses that are that old?   25,000 lbs. of trash, and I bet there's a few tons more in the attic, garage, and other places.    They need to rip out every bit of that nasty carpet, clean those drapes.     What style of decorating is that?    Early gangster bling?   Other guesses: Wild West Bordello, Fake Social Climber's idea of fancy). (I'm so glad the next poster said that furniture was French Rococo, so if I ever make it rich, I tell the decorator that I never want to see that in my house).     

Everything in that house needed to be sterilized, the curtains trashed, and all of the carpets removed, the subfloors cleaned under it, and then replaced.   My guess is that the husband should just put sheet vinyl in the house, to make it easier to hose down after she re-hoards, and the mice come back.   I wonder what the neighbors and code enforcement said when they saw this episode.    I bet you that she's loaded as much in that house as she could since this was filmed.  

Dolores was as nasty and mean as any person we've ever seen on this show.   Why didn't the husband, Arthur, realize that she wants him out, and take his few items and leave?  Apparently, he had somewhere to go, and I bet at any retirement 55+ area, he would find lots of nice people who wouldn't treat him like garbage.     There is no way the grandchildren should be subjected to that house, residue of mouse leavings is toxic, and dangerous.   Dolores is also toxic and dangerous.    

I bet a lot of the house stuff came from Dolores spending her inheritance from her mother.    Dolores also was always vicious, her son recounting her neat freak days was chilling. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

That French Rococo furniture was hideous. Matt needs to keep a bag of rat poop handy to throw on stuff so hoarders will have to get rid of it. 😏 At least Delores is going to therapy and working with an organizer. You could tell that Delores spent a lot of time on the Jersey Shore tanning. Her chest looked like old leather.

[enoughcats]

40 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 What style of decorating is that?    Early gangster bling? 

We lived in New Orleans and NOLA has a family or more. Some of the safest streets, if you know what I mean.  There were some furniture stores that could have sold Delores additional decorative stuff. 

I wondered where her shopping money came from. We'll never know, but if she had certain connections, nobody would tell her no!  And her husband would have said "Yes, dear." She was getting even with him, she was sort of proud of how she controlled him. Dr. Pollan didn't impress her one little bit.  She ignored him.  And she was a Hoarders player.  When she knew the cameras were on her, butter couldn't melt in her mouth, but when she was inside and they had the cameras filming outside, her 'potty' mouth was in full play-in the morning, when she wasn't tired, just full of p*ss. 

 

 

[ams1001]

15 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

he was getting even with him, she was sort of proud of how she controlled him.

I was so mad on his behalf towards the end when Matt mentioned the one room they hadn't been allowed to touch...which he referred to as "Arthur's room"! Then Arthur should be able to say, "move the dumpster under the window and grab a shovel!" But no, he can't even have a say in his own room.

I wonder when the last time they saw vacuum tracks on those carpets was. I was surprised there wasn't more damage underneath all that stuff.

[Burning Rubber]

I wonder if dementia or organic brain deterioration was at work with Dolores.

She's in her seventies, doesn't she realize she doesn't have enough life left ahead of her to make use of 0 00001% of this stuff?

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, Burning Rubber said:

I wonder if dementia or organic brain deterioration was at work with Dolores.

I was also wondering if there was some cognitive issue going on. She just seemed not quite all there sometimes.

[JudyObscure]

9 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 What style of decorating is that?    Early gangster bling?   

 

Old West Bordello?  

 

9 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Because I'm sure she uses that "evening bag" weekly.

I cracked up at the thought of her in her long satin gown carrying her evening bag down to the thrift store, where the owner would suck up to her some more, "You love yellow.'   "I know you'll like this jewelry."

This was the first hoard in a long time that made me gasp.  The sheer density of it!  I think it was because most of her items were fairly small so she could stack it high with very little air space.

Within the first few minutes I could tell Jenny was afraid of her mother.  Matt would ask her to tell her mother she had to leave the garage and come inside and Jenny would say, "Mom?  When you're done with that, maybe, if you want to..."  I recognized myself talking to my father.  When you grow up with a parent with a quick temper you learn to tiptoe. 

I hope they don't leave the grandchildren alone with Dolores.  God help the little things if they spill a juice cup on that sofa.

You know she's re-hoarded already and Arthur is still with her.  If he can't even think of leaving her without crying, he's stuck.  Dolores has always known she could do whatever she wanted and he would stay.  Why is it the very worst women seem to have that sort of hold on their  men? I think it's safe to say we're all nicer and prettier than she is.

[QuinnInND]

It's so odd that she was a neat freak and then went the complete opposite.  Since she was finally ok with throwing out stuff with mouse poop, someone on Twitter said they should go to the store and get a huge tub of those chocolate sprinkles that look like mouse poop and sprinkle them around. 

The furniture was gaudy and not my style at all, but the kitchen was very nice. The BSOJ said Dolores and Arthur were still having problems.  I'm not surprised at all. 

And the woman in the thrift shop at the beginning with the lace face mask. Ugh. 

I wonder what this couple did (or had done) where they had so much money for Dolores to spend. Arthur needed to cut off the money, except for any pension or social security that belonged to Dolores. But to let her spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. Smh. 

When Dolores was bitching about the tissue paper that fell on the stairs, loved the shot of her backside and the depends she was wearing. Smh. 

[suzeecat]

I see commercials for furniture stores that sell that style on late, LATE night television and have always wondered who buys that stuff. 

And, I also was wondering where their money came from.  Contrary to other opinions expressed here, I am hoping that Dolores just got caught up in the STUFF (and shopping) to cover up her pain and loss and didn't know how to get back to her old self, but now that she has, she will be able to do better.  I think she has more of a chance than others because she wasn't always this way.  Maybe if Arthur cuts off her credit cards and cash?

[AZChristian]

2 hours ago, suzeecat said:

Maybe if Arthur cuts off her credit cards and cash?

I almost think the money was from her dead mother.  Maybe that's why she started REALLY indulging her shopping addiction after Mama died.  And Arthur puts up with it as much as he does because she's spending HER money.

I felt like Dolores was a taco short of a combination platter . . . exacerbated by senility.

[LucyEth]

Delores concerned about things falling down, LOL, is she kidding the whole place it is a shit show.  The funniest was the evening bag.  I noticed with this hoard we never saw a bathroom, the kitchen or the condition of the refrigerator, maybe they were in good shape.  What annoyed me a lot was she could barely do more than grunt when asked a question.  She showed absolutely no emotion until the end when she managed to mustered up a few thank you’s.  She still doesn’t care.  Good luck to Arthur and the children.

The minute I saw that house, I thought Long Island New York or New Jersey.

[Claire85]

She reminds me of Livia Soprano. Just a miserable person. 

[Lillith]

Dolores is a cantankerous old bitch who can't do makeup. Seriously the hoarding is almost the most humanizing thing about her. She's even kind of dead behind the eyes. I wonder if as other posters mentioned there are some cognitive things going on. And that thrift shop owner was straight out of "A New Yorker's joke idea of a Jersey stereotype" central casting. 

[Elizzikra]

Quote

thrift shop owner

Not to be overly semantic about it, but it looked to me more like a decent quality secondhand or consignment shop. I love those places. You can find great deals on designer stuff that often still has the  tags on it.

[Lillith]

1 hour ago, Elizzikra said:

Not to be overly semantic about it, but it looked to me more like a decent quality secondhand or consignment shop. I love those places. You can find great deals on designer stuff that often still has the  tags on it.

No hate on thrift or consignment shops here. There are higher end thrift shops too and I've gotten some great things as well. My point was more to do with the woman working there than the correct nomenclature. 

[auntjess]

I watched a bit at the beginning, then ff'd through most of it, to near the end.
These people are just way too unlikable to watch for 2 hours.
I much prefer the 2 people/ 1 hour shows.
 

[enoughcats]

11 hours ago, QuinnInND said:

When Dolores was bitching about the tissue paper that fell on the stairs, loved the shot of her backside and the depends she was wearing. Smh. 

Early on they featured a huge cardboard box labeled Depends.  I wondered why that was shown.  Since we saw no bathrooms, the appearance of Depends may have been the editors way of saying, there's an additional story here that we aren't allowed to show.

[QuinnInND]

11 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Early on they featured a huge cardboard box labeled Depends.  I wondered why that was shown.  Since we saw no bathrooms, the appearance of Depends may have been the editors way of saying, there's an additional story here that we aren't allowed to show.

I saw that. I thought it was Poise pads, but same thing. It was odd. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

What I hate is how the hoarders bully and neglect their children, drive away everyone else.   The neighbors must absolutely hate living next to the hoards, with the vermin, and the big hit to their property values from having a pile of garbage next door. 

 I have seen hoarder houses before, and nothing is done about them.   Even if there's a forced clean up, the hoarder goes right back to amassing garbage.   A lot depends on who the hoarder is related too, the biggest hoard I ever saw was next to a relative's house, and since her adult son was the county tax officer, nothing was ever done about her vermin filled garbage dump of a house.  

[RobustRutabaga]

I thought Matt "The Pax-Man" Paxton came off pretty well in this latest Dolores episode. Perhaps it was the counterbalance to her irrational behavior we needed as viewers. He was tough but fair (without being "rude") but clearly outlining the process, trying to alleviate her stress by saying what he and team would manage, and devoting that first day he met her to a bit of bonding and learning how the sorting might go. I saw that at one point upon arriving for a different day, he put his arm around Dolores reassuringly as she was freaking out in the driveway.

The house looked pretty nice from the outside/street (pic below) - a refreshing change amongst some of these properties we see (like last week's, "Forrest"). I was like "Ohhh...it's one of those inside-only situations", where outward appearance evidently still mattered to them - or the neighbors wouldn't tolerate it (as Matt said initially about sorting out front, "Not in this neighborhood!").

And they're getting good mileage (literally, I guess!) out of their drone for all those overhead shots.

I see based on EPGuides the next two shows are as follows - "April 12 - Cobra" and "April 19 - Meryl". I've love if that were some Hollywood tie-in with, first, an actor from "Cobra Kai" and then Meryl Streep but, sadly, I'm doubtful that's the case. 😄
 

[Elizzikra]

Quote

The house looked pretty nice from the outside/street (pic below) - a refreshing change amongst some of these properties we see (like last week's, "Forrest"). I was like "Ohhh...it's one of those inside-only situations", where outward appearance evidently still mattered to them - or the neighbors wouldn't tolerate it (as Matt said initially about sorting out front, "Not in this neighborhood!").

All three of the houses so far this season were good-sized, nice homes in what appeared to be pretty upscale neighborhoods. I wondered if they were going for some sort of theme...

[atlantaloves]

Boy, she was one nasty piece of work, yeah, she'll hoard it back up in no time. God gals, I might be through with this show, that woman was PURE EVIL. I too like the old format much better, two hoarders again please!

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

On 4/5/2021 at 11:30 PM, Burning Rubber said:

I wonder if dementia or organic brain deterioration was at work with Dolores.

That was my thought as I was watching her. Or perhaps some kind of mental illness that was becoming more evident as she got older (I always say, the first thing older people lose first is not their hearing or their sight; it's their FILTERS). Her meanness was showing, but also toward the end, her affect was FLAT. Even when they showed her the nice clean beautiful rooms (restored to their former 80s glory), she had dead eyes going on. 

I felt so bad for her children when she kept saying her hoard meant more to her than her grandkids and family. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I was wondering about dementia, until the adult kids said mother was a neat freak when they were younger, and anything that marred her perfect house made her very angry.   Then when she started hoarding, I saw that as the same issue, because both were a way to control and bully her husband, and children.    She just wanted everyone else gone, and I'm wondering if her husband, Arthur, and adult kids never contacted her again, and no one else bothered her at all, if she would still hoard?    

Edited April 8, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Cherpumple]

On 4/5/2021 at 9:45 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

What style of decorating is that?    Early gangster bling?   Other guesses: Wild West Bordello, Fake Social Climber's idea of fancy).

I called it Faux Liberace and thought it was amazing and hideous. I couldn't wait for the hoard to get cleared so I could see "the blue room" and "the pink room" in all their gilded glory. And I was not disappointed! I can't even imagine where one would find all those pieces.

I agree that there is some sort of mental/cognitive decline going on with Delores. When she was digging through the garage and Matt had to re-explain the master plan to her multiple times, she said she was confused and looked very blank. I'm sure there was some defiance involved, but it looked like she was genuinely confused about what was happening at several points. Not to mention her flat affect. I feel sad for her.

I've seen a lot of these shows, and I think the "neat freak turned hoarder" type scares me the most, because it really makes me consider if this could happen to me. Am I like them, just one or two tragedies away from living like this? I honestly don't think so, but I guess you never know. Grief and stress and depression do strange things to people. I can see how the need for control can manifest in both neat freaks and hoarders, so I guess that's one way to go from one to the other (Delores is exhibit A). And I'm pretty sure one of the doctors has talked about how some hoarders have a sense of being perfectionists, which sounds absurd, but it ends up giving them mental paralysis- they can't clean/organize their homes perfectly, so they get stuck and don't do it at all.

[meep.meep]

I never watch this show and don't intend to - but I love that Primetimer has it classified as a Lifestyle Reality Show!  It's just the hoarding lifestyle after all.

[JudyObscure]

13 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I called it Faux Liberace and thought it was amazing and hideous. 

I agree with your entire post, love Faux Liberace. 

As a neat freak, perfectionist who has lost most of her filter, freezes under stress and suspects her inner child really loves that furniture...I'm scared now.

[RobustRutabaga]

15 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I agree that there is some sort of mental/cognitive decline going on with Delores. When she was digging through the garage and Matt had to re-explain the master plan to her multiple times, she said she was confused and looked very blank. I'm sure there was some defiance involved, but it looked like she was genuinely confused about what was happening at several points. Not to mention her flat affect. I feel sad for her.

What surprised me is that at the end, when the house was organized and she was being shown through it, she seemed "dazed" or zombie-like - at the very least - more "frail" than the earlier days. When we first met her she seemed more lively. Now granted, having your "comfort blanket" of a hoard removed and many items thrown out or sifted through is taxing psychologically, but I really noticed she seemed more dazed at the end - normally at least the hoarders "fake it" even if they're not genuinely happy/overjoyed.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to see the end-text update (does it qualify as "BSOJ", aka "Black Screen of Justice/Judgment"?) read "Dolores is taking full advantage of aftercare therapy and says it's been very helpful." and "The couple decided to continue cleanup with an aftercare organizer". These things are always 50/50 and Dolores seemed like the "type" that might refuse either the counselling/therapy or an organizer's services.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm sure Dolores ignores anything the organizers, or marital or regular therapist say.   She's never going to change, and in my opinion, if her husband and children left her in the house, and never came around, then she would be fine with that.   I think her goal all along was to drive everyone away. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[JudyObscure]

 Dolores's dazed expression may have been exhaustion, although she claims she never gets that, or she could just have been mourning all the wonderful crap she just lost and was trying not to show it.  I noticed that after Arthur burst into thankful tears, she tried to do the same and buckled up her face, but the tears didn't come.  I wanted to see that black eyeliner streaming down her face.

[auntjess]

I saw furniture like that once before, on a Mike Holmes show, where the owners had bought the house because it had a big dining room to showcase their furniture.
I'd much rather see tough love, than all of this coddling.

[lovesnark]

Faux Liberace is the perfect description! I mean, who doesn't need a giant, fake Persian cat in their blue on blue on blue living room? I get the feeling Dolores has never wanted a husband or kids and would be perfectly happy if they all went away and she never had to talk to any of them again. Can you imagine grandkids running around in that gaudy house touching Granny's precious garbage? I don't see Dolores as the sweet Grandma type and think she'd scare the grandkids to death when she caught them picking up one of her knick knacks.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, lovesnark said:

Faux Liberace is the perfect description! I mean, who doesn't need a giant, fake Persian cat in their blue on blue on blue living room? I get the feeling Dolores has never wanted a husband or kids and would be perfectly happy if they all went away and she never had to talk to any of them again. Can you imagine grandkids running around in that gaudy house touching Granny's precious garbage? I don't see Dolores as the sweet Grandma type and think she'd scare the grandkids to death when she caught them picking up one of her knick knacks.

As I said before, it’s French Rococo. By any name, it is ghastly.

[dsteele]

Initially I also wondered if Dolores had dementia or a deteriorating brain condition. She certainly had a weird affect. But after watching the whole show, and especially the interactions with her family at the end, I really don't think that's it. Now, I'm not a doctor, but she seemed to me to be displaying all the classic signs of a syndrome the doctors call Basically Intolerant Toward Compassionate Humans (B.I.T.C.H.)

[Lorna Mae]

The problem is that so many of these hoarders are elderly. They’ve spent decades building their hoarder habits. And as far gone as they are, seeing their grandkids is not an incentive. Dolores is in her seventies, and doesn’t seem to have hobbies or interests other than hoarding. What’s she going to do with herself in a clean house? I wish they’d go back to younger people/families; enough of these seventy-somethings.

 

ETA: I also noticed the adult diaper. And the box of feminine products. I wonder, was that actually a box of pads? Or did she get the empty box from a bin, like at Costco, and fill it with junk? If they were what the label said, I wonder if they were in good enough shape to donate to charity.

Edited April 11, 2021 by Lorna Mae

[Cherpumple]

4 hours ago, Lorna Mae said:

They’ve spent decades building their hoarder habits. And as far gone as they are, seeing their grandkids is not an incentive.

I agree, and I was getting really annoyed that they kept asking Delores, "which matters more, this thing or having your grandkids visit?" She repeatedly answered "this thing" without hesitation, so it was obviously not the motivating factor the team was expecting. It annoyed me because I felt like the producers were prodding the team to ask her again and again in front of each of her children, with the sole goal of getting a "shocking" sound bite and giving no thought to pain she was causing her family with her answer.

Also, a lot of people on this show had their hoarding triggered by toxic relationships- abuse, violence, alcoholism, etc. They have deliberately built a fortress of trash to protect themselves from harm and to keep people out. For hoarders like this, I imagine that the idea of having a house full of guests is more panic-inducing than an incentive to purge all their protective armor.

4 hours ago, Lorna Mae said:

I wonder, was that actually a box of pads? Or did she get the empty box from a bin, like at Costco, and fill it with junk?

As Matt was carrying the box out of the garage, she yelled that it as "very fragile" so I assume it was filled with random trinkets. But who knows where she got the box.

[JudyObscure]

6 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

For hoarders like this, I imagine that the idea of having a house full of guests is more panic-inducing than an incentive to purge all their protective armor.

Yes! I totally agree with this and Lorna Mae's post as well. I'm getting so sick of the family incentive.  They probably feel judged by their children and aren't particularly close to the grandchildren. Even Dr. Tolin who is my sweet baboo got on my nerves this time.  Dolores wanted you to shut up about the family and quit patting her shoulder!

Dr. Suzahn explained one time that they aren't really choosing the hoard over their family.  Loss of the hoard is terrifying to them.  It would be like most of us being asked to jump into a pile of snakes for the sake of seeing the kids more often. We love the kids but we would have to stop and think about that for a minute.  

I love my family but impending houseguests give me anticipatory anxiety. I'm not a hoarder but I might become one if I thought I had to have company all the time.

[enoughcats]

On 4/8/2021 at 2:59 PM, JudyObscure said:

her inner child really loves that furniture

Could you settle for just one lamp?

The furniture we used to drive by in NOLA had floor lamps with lots of scroll work, hanging fringe and tassles, and (as Mr Ecats is my horrified witness) I really wanted one the first time I saw their display window.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I bet you that Dolores had a lot of stuff 'donated' to her favorite thrift stores, and they held it for her to pick up.    

[enoughcats]

9 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

stuff 'donated' to her favorite thrift stores,

Something that I might have noticed was how many of her treasures were still in their original boxes, with their original safety packings.  So easy to 'donate' them.

When I watch the show, I play a mental bingo. markers for VHS tapes, decorative pillows, lampshades not on lamps, upside down chairs, ironing boards with virgin ironing board covers, etc.  What I thought I saw at her accumulation was that I couldn't identify most of the stuff because it was still in boxes and bags.  That has to put her hoard in a subset all its own.

[ams1001]

Cobra...this oughta be interesting...

Guess the "'clean' hoard in a a nice neighborhood" theme is over.