Hoarders - General Discussion

[RobinGuerrero]

I just want to thank Michelle for being a friend to Carl.   I just watched the episode tonight and seeing Michelle care for Carl and being his friend really pulled my heart strings.  Thank you Michelle.  I'm not sure if he was removed and living in an ALF but I'm hoping g Michelle kept her friendship with Carl and she and her son visit with and talk with him still.   Thanks so much for caring for and not judging a man with not only mental illness but also still being a loving caring man.  

Robin Guerrero

[CrazyInAlabama]

The "Jim" episode is rerunning, on A&E Monday, Central 11 am to 1 pm.   If anyone missed it. 

My cable guide is still numbering episodes as if they're Season 13.  

The new episode on 3 July, is Season 14, Episode 6, "Marjorie"

 

With the Jim episode, I suspect since the girlfriend never saw the inside of the house before the clean up, she thought only the outside was full of trash.  Once Digna and Dee saw the true extent of the hoard, and heard that it wasn't the first cleanup, they were really angry about the end of Digna's retirement plan. 

  I bet the girlfriend thought she would move into that big house, and live there forever, being supported by Jim. I bet Digna and Dee thought the daughter would move out too, but she never will.   Dee, the daughter, was ticked that her mother's retirement plan was not going to happen. 

Edited June 26, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[Mojeaux]

Just starting the Darlene episode.

This woman is really traumatized and sick. I can see all manner of sailcats, rats, and rock plans, and even eat while watching pee bottles get dumped, but watching Darlene feels wrong and awful. I want to look away, and I might. She needs inpatient treatment for PTSD and a whole host of things, and medication.

Changing her mother's diaper when she was 6, FFS. This poor woman.

Edited June 24, 2023 by Mojeaux

[Mojeaux]

Oh, Jim.

Get rid of those two toxic harpies. They were fixing for a fight before they got there and Alicia won't play, so they're getting worse.

Dating less than 6 months? GTFO, Digna, and take your icky daughter with you.

Okay, back to the show.

[Suzywriter]

Rosela...

[Pepper Mostly]

I'm here! 

[sainte-chapelle]

Noooo she seems like a nice lady, why?

[Pepper Mostly]

Stuff like this scares the bejesus out of me. I know that if I die my husband will have my house hoarded up in a trice.

HOW CAN SHE COOK IN THAT KITCHEN??

[sainte-chapelle]

Being poor is strange…my mom hangs onto to everything…take out containers etc. She was an Eastern European immigrant who grew up with nothing ( grandparents who survived the war stored things in the walls) I can see how this happens. Mom isn’t a hoarder but could be..´´´it is sad.

[Stevie Nicks]

Well she doesn't seem like a bad person so far. 

[Suzywriter]

2 minutes ago, sainte-chapelle said:

Being poor is strange…my mom hangs onto to everything…take out containers etc. She was an Eastern European immigrant who grew up with nothing ( grandparents who survived the war stored things in the walls) I can see how this happens. Mom isn’t a hoarder but could be..´´´it is sad.

My mom and dad were depression era kids. They kept everything, foil, string, old clothes, jars. They seemed to think that if they discarded anything, something that they needed would be taken away.

[Pepper Mostly]

3 minutes ago, sainte-chapelle said:

Being poor is strange…my mom hangs onto to everything…take out containers etc. She was an Eastern European immigrant who grew up with nothing ( grandparents who survived the war stored things in the walls) I can see how this happens. Mom isn’t a hoarder but could be..´´´it is sad.

I can see hanging on to something that might be useful, to a point. IF it eventually gets used, at least. But the endless shopping/hoarding loop, oof. And now she's so overwhelmed she doesn't even know where to begin. 

1 minute ago, Suzywriter said:

My mom and dad were depression era kids. They kept everything, foil, string, old clothes, jars. They seemed to think that if they discarded anything, something that they needed would be taken away.

My parents were depression era kids too, and my dad grew up poor. But he loved to splash out for the best, (though not a profligate spender). He was more "you can't take it with you". My mother is a very practical woman and doesn't save stuff at all. She likes an orderly life. Thank goodness. 

She calls that teetering mountain of junk "clutter". Ye gods. 

[sainte-chapelle]

Just now, Pepper Mostly said:

I can see hanging on to something that might be useful, to a point. IF it eventually gets used, at least. But the endless shopping/hoarding loop, oof. And now she's so overwhelmed she doesn't even know where to begin. 

Yep in my house it was more of a « oh we ordered take out so hold onto everything » …we go grocery shopping and there is a salad bar she takes all the containers home. I told her that she shouldn’t but she says « : I have shopped here for 20 years  I am taking the plastic containers »  good for the environment I guess as she washes and reuses takeout containers and cutlery but I do the same thing. Apple meet tree. McDonalds napkins at the dinner table for life

[Suzywriter]

This is dragging. I hope it gets more interesting, like maybe she has a stash of, I dunno, alligators or something hidden in there. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Monday, 26 June the new episode is "Rosella", (they also have her name as Rosela) another episode from Canada.  Season 14, Episode 5.  She grew up with 12 siblings, where money was tight.   Later when her first marriage fell apart, her new relationship was with a hoarder, and now the house is a Level 5 hoard.   She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.    She's 80. 

She was a public health nurse, and goes by Roz.   There are goat paths, but not in every room.  She churns stuff between rooms.  The house is packed ful, both living floors, and the basement is impassible.    She thinks the jealousy of her sisters when Roz got her own doll, when she was 9 started her hoarding. She still cooks and bakes in the hoarded out kitchen. 

When first husband moved out, hoarding started to escalate.   The husband had kept her in check.   The second husband/partner Ben,  was a hoarder, and they filled the house. She's blaming the basement hoard on the partner/husband.    

Marla is her youngest daughter, she says Roz started hoarding when Marla was little, and there have been repeated attempts at clean out.    Monique is the middle daughter.    Tia, is a granddaughter, and her mother in Monique.   Tia only has one functioning lung, so she can't go to Roz's house, or it would risk her life. Adrian is Roz's boyfriend, and has been for 14 years, and Roz is blaming Adrian for the hoard too, along with second husband/ partner Ben.

When the area flooded, the basement hoard was inundated too.   I dread to think what the basement hoard is like with all of that water in there.  Granddaughter Tia shouldn't go in the house, because of her lung issues. 

Dr. Anderson is the psychologist. 

Kim, the poor organizer must be a rookie, she's shocked about the house.  She's the one who opens the basement freezer that hasn't been. plugged in or used for many years.   Why is Tia in the kitchen?  She's risking her life. Kim opens one of the two fridges, and that's a mistake.   Why is Tia risking her life to go in the house, especially the flooded, moldy basement? 

Roz is already turning on the daughters.  The Just Junk trucks and crew are really going to earn their pay in this clean out. 

Kim wants to do the first floor and the basement later, and Roz is already ticked about that.  How can they clean the basement out without doing the first floor?  

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[Pepper Mostly]

Oh I throw out all plastic ware and takeout containers! And I use cloth napkins. (Swanky!) My husband saves all those little packets of soy sauce and duck sauce from Chinese restaurants and all the chicken nugget sauces from McDonalds and ketchup and I sweep through and throw it all out. Though Houseguest saves takeout containers that could be reused, and we do in fact use them because we're cooking for my brother and my mom and delivering portioned out meals so we need LOTS of containers. 

But I cannot see shopping and not unpacking everything and admiring it the instant I get home! I love thrifting and flea markets and church sales and all that. But I LOVE getting my haul home and inspecting, finding a place for, and congratulating myself on my mad bargain hunting skills. And I try to adhere pretty closely to the "one in, one out" rule. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Pepper Mostly

[Pepper Mostly]

Here they come! Hunks who haul junk!

[sainte-chapelle]

7 minutes ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Oh I throw out all plastic ware and takeout containers! And I use cloth napkins. (Swanky!) Though Houseguest saves takeout containers that could be reused, and we do in fact use them because we're cooking for my brother and my mom and delivering portioned out meals so we need LOTS of containers. 

But I cannot see shopping and not unpacking everything and admiring it the instant I get home! I love thrifting and flea markets and church sales and all that. But I LOVE getting my haul home and inspecting, finding a place for, and congratulating myself on my mad bargain hunting skills. And I try to adhere pretty closely to the "one in, one out" rule. 

I love thrift sales. Even if I give the items away I am sucker for shops that are 100 per cent donation. « If you buy  this 3 dollars item it 💯 goes to assault victims at CYZ shelter «    Yep. We have a shelter down the street that takes in victims of domestic violence etc….100 volunteers and all only goes to the victims…take my money I’ll deal with the clutter. Honestly I got some beautiful antique items for cheap.

Edited June 27, 2023 by sainte-chapelle

[CrazyInAlabama]

Roz and daughter Monique are clashing.   Daughter Marla isn't happy either.   Roz is keeping actual junk.   Now Roz is back harping about the basement.  How can they work down there without clear pathways? 

Roz has had many years to clear out the basement hoard she's blaming on Ben, but she hasn't even tried.  

For Day 2, they're trying to speed the clean up process, but she won't give up control.   Since Roz is blaming everything on Ben for the basement, then she should let them toss everything. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[Stevie Nicks]

She really wants that basement done, doesn't she? She's adamant about it. 

 

[Pepper Mostly]

13 minutes ago, sainte-chapelle said:

I love thrift sales. Even if I give the items away I am sucker for shops that are 100 per cent donation. « If you buy  this 3 dollars item it 💯 goes to assault victims at CYZ shelter «    Yep. We have a shelter down the street that takes in victims of domestic violence etc….100 volunteers and all only goes to the victims…take my money I’ll deal with the clutter. Honestly I got some beautiful antique items for cheap.

LOL, houseguest and I laid WASTE to Savers last weekend. If you donate when you go in you get a 20% off coupon. She loves jewelry and we both love books and I love commemorative plates and other kitsch. BUT I don't leave them in boxes, I put them on the wall to admire. We have a great thrift shop here too, benefits a local shelter. And my city also has a lot of little free libraries so I cull my books frequently. I just donated four more trash bags full of clothes last week. I just organized and cleared out old/duplicate items from the spice cabinet. I cook a lot and I LOVE Penzey's spices. They always have wonderful promotions and freebies so I'm always buying stuff. so when there's no room in the storage area something has to go! Next we tackle the pantry/storage area and organize the pots and pans since I've developed a taste for classic Revere ware pans. If something comes in, stuff has to go out. I like things neat and tidy!

10 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Roz and daughter Monique are clashing.   Daughter Marla isn't happy either.   Roz is keeping actual junk.   Now Roz is back harping about the basement.  How can they work down there without clear pathways? 

She's just putting off the inevitable. She's hyper focused on the basement so she won't have to face the train wreck upstairs. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Pepper Mostly

[sainte-chapelle]

3 minutes ago, Pepper Mostly said:

LOL, houseguest and I laid WASTE to Savers last weekend. If you donate when you go in you get a 20% off coupon. She loves jewelry and we both love books and I love commemorative plates and other kitsch. BUT I don't leave them in boxes, I put them on the wall to admire. We have a great thrift shop here too, benefits a local shelter. And my city also has a lot of little free libraries so I cull my books frequently. I just donated four more trash bags full of clothes last week. Next we tackle the pantry/storage area and organize the pots and pans since I've developed a taste for classic Revere ware pans. If something comes in, stuff has to go out. I like things neat and tidy!

She's just putting off the inevitable. She's hyper focused on the basement so she won't have to face the train wreck upstairs. 

Oh do you have the fun little libraries where people have library boxes on their lawns that say «  take a book leave a book » ? Super fun!

[Pepper Mostly]

Just now, sainte-chapelle said:

Oh do you have the fun little libraries where people have library boxes on their lawns that say «  take a book leave a book » ? Super fun!

Oh hell yeah, my town is littered with them. There are two within five minutes of my house. So easy to just take a stroll down the street and drop off the old books, the ones you know you won't read again. I have a LOT of books but I don't make a fetish of them. If its a good book I'll keep it, but if it was a dog or I know I won't reread, out it goes. Space is limited! 

[Tango64]

Roz arguing over the old jar of jam, and the cleaner participating, is everything wrong with this process. The deal should be “we’re throwing out everything in the kitchen. If you object, we pack up and leave.” But then you wouldn’t have an hour long show. 

[Pepper Mostly]

Gotta hand it to the doc! He calls that overwhelming clusterfuck in the basement and says its "a little disheartening". 

[Stevie Nicks]

6 minutes ago, Tango64 said:

Roz arguing over the old jar of jam, and the cleaner participating, is everything wrong with this process. The deal should be “we’re throwing out everything in the kitchen. If you object, we pack up and leave.” But then you wouldn’t have an hour long show. 

Unfortunately that would mentally hurt the hoarder. Or something. 

[Pepper Mostly]

"Mold Expert". I'm going to add that to my list of dream jobs. Like "trend spotter" "media darling" "anointer of fashion talent" and "unidentified reveler". 

DEAR SWEET TAPDANCING JESUS SHE'S TRYING TO GIVE AWAY HER MOLDY SHIT.

[Stevie Nicks]

She wants help churning her moldy shit. Ugh. 

[Stevie Nicks]

Why do they insist on opening the freezer and fridge that hasn't been opened or running in years. Ugh. 

[Pepper Mostly]

I think I emitted a mew of distress when that Freezer of Horrors was opened.

She's been sitting there churning through that one bin of tiny little things all day long. 

[Stevie Nicks]

Off topic. Why would anyone want to try out being in jail? That 60 days in thing. Just why? 

Now she's fixating on shit she can sell... 

[Pepper Mostly]

She will never sell anything. She'll keep all that stuff and say "I'm going to have a yard sale soon! I'm just waiting to clean the basement/till I have the time/till I have someone to help me...."

She shows the auctioneer her hoarded treasures, and guess what? They're JUNK! Here is my shocked face. 

[Stevie Nicks]

Oh hey. They found her belly dance outfit. And why in the hell is the granddaughter with one lung in that house without at least a mask?? 

[Pepper Mostly]

Lets get a move on, folks. My laptop's charge is fading fast.

[Suzywriter]

This is so slow that I'm actually getting my case notes done. 

[Pepper Mostly]

Its all so....eighties.

Well, thanks for hanging in with me, peeps! @sainte-chapelle, good luck tomorrow! 

[enoughcats]

I really liked the Dr. and when he started talking about her deflecting it was a good insight. 

;When the basement flooded should have been the best time to drag out all things wet for disposal.  We did wonder who would change out the sheet rock which would absolutely have to be done for mold issues.  

Did first boyfriend leave or die? His "hoard" was worth good money and the auctioneer really could make money off of it at an auction directed at do it yourselfers. (Such exist for small tools as well as large equipment (a friend's husband has bought from them until all outbuildings were filled.))

 

 

 

[Stevie Nicks]

@enoughcatsI think the first boyfriend left. 

[BradandJanet]

Our hoarder, Roz, certainly raised kind, patient daughters.

I had to laugh at Roz's boyfriend's excitement of finally being able to spend the night with her. Maybe she'll slip back into her plastic belly dancing costume, which, interestingly, had provided a barrier against some water damage while lost in the hoard. 

ETA: No mater how much cleaning these super-hoarded houses go through, I wouldn't spend the night in any of them. Who knows what's lurking in the walls? 

Edited June 27, 2023 by BradandJanet

[Elizzikra]

13 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Gotta hand it to the doc! He calls that overwhelming clusterfuck in the basement and says its "a little disheartening". 

I couldn’t get past his troubling resemblance to Mr. Tori Spelling, Dean McDermott.

13 hours ago, Stevie Nicks said:

Why do they insist on opening the freezer and fridge that hasn't been opened or running in years. Ugh. 

I think they actually cleaned out the refrigerator and kept it? Which… ewwww. They tossed the freezer so I couldn’t see the point in opening it unless 1) it was too heavy to move when it was full or 2) you have to dispose of old maggoty meat in a different way than you dispose of the freezer that held the old maggoty meat.

[enoughcats]

Quote

the old maggoty meat

sounds like a retro boy band

Anyway, I would doubt that Winnipeg has a method to deal with such mess on a large scale.  After Katrina when people abandoned their houses and the electricity was turned off IN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT DIDN"T FLOOD, almost every house had such  a refrigerator. Or several. They were instructed to tape them and put them out for pickup. 

It was tragic seeing subzeros just sitting on the hell strip waiting to be buried in a landfill. New subzeros. But for the lack of sense of their owners who should have cleaned them out, left the doors open, and come back to start over. 

 

Quote

3 hours ago

I think the first boyfriend left. 

Which would be first successful abandonment of a hoard in the history of this show.  Muchless a sub-hoard that had enough value to interest an auctioneer. 

[Taeolas]

So 2 Canadian eps so far in the current season. I haven't been able to see Hoarders Canada, but is A&E using Hoarders Canada to pad out this season? It would make sense (and I'll be happy to see those eps without having to find another streamer). 

[CrazyInAlabama]

6 hours ago, BradandJanet said:

Our hoarder, Roz, certainly raised kind, patient daughters.

I had to laugh at Roz's boyfriend's excitement of finally being able to spend the night with her. Maybe she'll slip back into her plastic belly dancing costume, which, interestingly, had provided a barrier against some water damage while lost in the hoard. 

ETA: No mater how much cleaning these super-hoarded houses go through, I wouldn't spend the night in any of them. Who knows what's lurking in the walls? 

I hate that the crew uncovers nasty, soaked rugs, and nothing is done to get them out of there.    I can't imagine anything but the plastic belly dancing costume in the basement was salvageable.    I suspect Ben (first boyfriend) dumped Roz, and that's why she was so bitter about him.    Since the basement flooded, and never cleaned up, I bet that there will have to be major work done, removing rotten wood, soaked drywall, anything below the water level, and a few feet higher.  I'm not fooled by Roz getting therapy, and acting happy family with the daughters, I think nothing will change long term.   Since nothing was done about the other bedrooms, that gives a lot of material to churn with, and fill up the house again. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[Elizzikra]

56 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I hate that the crew uncovers nasty, soaked rugs, and nothing is done to get them out of there.    I can't imagine anything but the plastic belly dancing costume in the basement was salvageable.    I suspect Ben (first boyfriend) dumped Roz, and that's why she was so bitter about him.    Since the basement flooded, and never cleaned up, I bet that there will have to be major work done, removing rotten wood, soaked drywall, anything below the water level, and a few feet higher.  I'm not fooled by Roz getting therapy, and acting happy family with the daughters, I think nothing will change long term.   Since nothing was done about the other bedrooms, that gives a lot of material to churn with, and fill up the house again. 

I thought they pulled up the carpet and the basement and dumped it. Weren’t the floors bare concrete for the belly-dancing?

[CrazyInAlabama]

The basement floors were bare, but not the first floor, that rug was nasty.   Plus, in the basement everything up to a couple of feet above the water marks needed to be removed down to bare studs.    Since mold was growing up the junk piles in the basement, then it must have been inside the walls, and needed to be properly remediated. 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[Elizzikra]

5 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The basement floors were bare, but not the first floor, that rug was nasty.   Plus, in the basement everything up to a couple of feet above the water marks needed to be removed down to bare studs.    Since mold was growing up the junk piles in the basement, then it must have been inside the walls, and needed to be properly remediated. 

 

I almost always end up thinking the houses are so badly damaged they just need to be torn down, but I can appreciate that the people don't have the money to do that.

[Oosala]

I kind of fell out of love with Hoarders because I couldn't handle the two-hour episodes.  Last night when I logged onto Netflix, I couldn't believe my eyes.  New Episodes of Hoarders!  I watched the first two episodes and I think they were only one hour long.  Then it got too late and the previews for the Paul episode made me angry so I went to sleep.  Have these episodes already been shown somewhere?  The hoarders live in the U.S., not Canada.

Terri, the caregiver who owns a home she can't live in and has hoarded the home of the WWII vet she's "caring" for.

Tiffany, the little person with 10,000+ books and structural damage all over.  Tiffany's sister is also unwell.

Paul, a retired interior designer, whose husband's passing has really put him over the edge.

Carl, facing $1 million in code violations.

Carmen, Dr. Zaz helps with her grief.

Kate, real estate agent who is earning daily fines as she collects stuff to use to stage homes.

Peggie, the thrift store shopper and former caregiver.

Martha, painful past.

Edited to say it looks like each episode is ~90 minutes.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Oosala

[satrunrose]

Catching up on Darlene and not sure if I'm going to make it through to the end. I tend to classify Hoarders less by the size and ick of the hoard and more by how they act. There's the mean (sadly, the biggest category), the overwhelmed (their life has legit been awful and although there is some pushback, you can't help feeling for them) and the nuttier than a fruitcake (that would be Darlene). Maybe a big reveal is coming, but I can't help feeling like there's something more than the Hoarding and cPTSD going on. The high speed talking is...a lot...

[Elizzikra]

Anyone here with me for Marjorie tonight?

[Stevie Nicks]

Just now, Elizzikra said:

Anyone here with me for Marjorie tonight?

Me! Her husband lost his job, but she's still buying shit. Alright then. Poor man diagnosed with Parkinsons. I think she's going to be a challenge.