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12 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I loved the show so much the first few years, it was just everything that fascinated me about people and their stuff, but even I have grown a little bit bored with it.  In the beginning I hoped to see houses completely emptied of excess  clutter and the owners happy in a clean organized space.  But now I know the houses rarely get to that point of cleanliness and the hoarders themselves almost never get cured and can't wait to re-hoard so they'll feel safe and secure again.

Kind of like My 600 lb Life: the early seasons showed truly motivated cast members; they followed the instructions given them and actually lost weight and improved their lives. Lately, it's a bunch of whiny people who bend all the restrictions, complain and basically do nothing- and never get to the point of surgery.

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I've always wanted to see a parody of Hoarders in which the pscyhologist and cleaning crew show up to a house and the doctor gently asks if she can come inside and take a look. Then they go inside and the house is spotless, but the terribly guilt ridden and fragile owner takes her over to a coat closet that has a few boxes stacked inside. "I know. It's terrible. I'm so ashamed."

And then they go through the whole process of having a 15-man crew wait while the owner decides what can be thrown away, what can be donated, etc. 

Maybe they find a $20 bill and the owner wants to keep it. But the doc says, "It's been in here for years and you've never touched it. It's dirty. Can you let go of this?"

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17 hours ago, Tango64 said:

Maybe they find a $20 bill and the owner wants to keep it. But the doc says, "It's been in here for years and you've never touched it. It's dirty. Can you let go of this?"

YES!!! this! My daughter's told me once that we need to call the show for that ONE JUNK DRAWER in my kitchen. With bits of string, bread wrapper wires, paperclips, it's my empty my pockets drawer. Seed packets, even some flower seeds. Random weirdness. 🤣

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(edited)

Check out this news segment on a man whose home insurance was cancelled after the company saw too much clutter in his backyard using a drone.  I wonder if this has ever happened to any of our hoarders.

This guy's back yard is a bit crowded, but it doesn't seem like a true hoarder situation. From his interview, it sounds like he would have cleared it out if the insurance company gave him a chance.

It just made me think of the folks on this show.  Also, how do you feel about an insurance company using drones, Google Earth, etc, without warning to evaluate your property?

 

https://abc7.com/homeowners-insurance-non-renewal-drone-photos-nonrenewal/13526291/

Edited by ChristmasJones
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If you are near an area with rapid development, lots of new buildings and lots of real estate sales, the upgrades can be as often as annually. (there are dates and you can check evolution of buildings over time.) I'm out in the country, but lots of development and every two years or more often is what the county property assessor uses.

If there's heavy tree cover, satellite views are shot in winter to avoid the leaves. 

Some drones require licenses to operate them. And some places (like flight paths to airports) forbid drone flights. 

And then there are places where the gift of choice was a drone for a youngster; you can tell where those are by the drone carcasses stuck in trees. 

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The Atlanta Journal and Constitution had a long article about what shows were filing this month in Atlanta

Quote

The Georgia film office list includes 15 unscripted projects such as the 14th season of TLC’s “The Little Johnston’s,” MTV’s “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta” in its 11th season, the 11th season of syndicated daily gossip show “Dish Nation” seen locally on Fox, HGTV’s third season of “Married to Real Estate” and A&E’s latest season of “Hoarders.”

I guess it will be time to see if hoarder rudeness is a comparable thing in the South.

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11 hours ago, enoughcats said:

I guess it will be time to see if hoarder rudeness is a comparable thing in the South.

"Oh my heavens, Miss Robin, I'm just as sorry as I can be, but I couldn't possibly part with those expired cans of okra, I'm planning to give them to my needy cousins in Macon, bless their hearts."

I'm so happy they're making more episodes!

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1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

My guess is the hoarder will say "overwhelmed" with a Southern accent, and that will be the major difference with previous hoarders.   Also, depending on the area, the yards and homes might have more dangerous critters and vermin.   

True enough.  Actually we did have quite a few of the early episodes in the south didn't we?  I remember everyone sweating nearly to death from the heat a few times.  I also remember an old couple from my home state of West Virginia who lived in house that seemed to be crumbling back into the earth. I was afraid that once the hoard was removed it might just fold in on itself.

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A Houston Hoarder not on TV  a recognizable story, nonetheless.

 

But it brings us the question of what rights do neighbors have.  In this case, the homeowners' association may be stuck with the cost of clean up in a Hazmat situation.  

The Hoarder had turned down the offer to exterminate his rats as they were his pets. 

What rights do neighbors have?

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It's on A&E network, so any streaming service that shows A&E.   If you have a cable app or company, then On Demand works too.   

For this show, fortunately they haven't added Smell-O-Vision for anything yet.   

I didn't see anything about how many episodes, last season was only six I think, and that included a couple from the Canadian version of the show.  

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On 12/13/2023 at 9:14 AM, enoughcats said:

Ramone, the homeless hoarder has been followed from Louisiana to Arkansas.

This link with pictures of the man and his hoard is from a sports forum but it will introduce you to the next iteration of hoarding.  Ramone still says he's going to Alaska with his belongings.

Oh I hadn’t heard of him, this is so sad

(edited)

Wow. Terri is completely emotionally walled off. I get that she has a demanding job but I think that she uses it to hide from everyday life. She used a "need to work" as a way to escape having to participate in Day Two of the cleanup. She makes very little eye contact with anyone. Also, did I see a lot of alcohol coming out of that house?

I hope this helps her get better but ... if she doesn't engage more with the people who were there to help her, I think she is going to re-hoard that house in no time.

Also, there is some gorgeous wood in that house. The wood floors; the built ins under the family room windows; the window frames. That was a gorgeous little house at one point.

Edited by Elizzikra
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(edited)

New season, and episode "Terri", she's from Versailles, Missouri.     Definitely a Level 5 hoard, inside the house, and on the porches too.  I feel so sorry for her daughter, Maggie. 

from the show site:  "An experienced midwife enjoys helping her community but realizes her hidden hoarding habits could negatively impact her ability to lend a hand, so the experts help her address the past trauma responsible for her hoarding tendencies."

Collects eye glasses, kitchen gadgets, containers, tools, electronics.       Hoarding escalated starting in 1996 after her ex husband died, dad two months later, and in 2007 her mom died, and she was left a lot of stuff from all three of them.    Kitchen and bath don't work from broken pipes, and plumbers can't get to the pipes to fix them, so no running water.   

Terri had a fire three years ago, the fire department checked it out, and saw the hoard, and told her they couldn't help her if she got hurt.  There's an oxygen tank too.  She had a citation from the city, saying clean up or else. She shops at Pack Rats Thrift Store.     Terri claims it's embarassing to have a hoarded home.  She says at least she doesn't have dead animals in the hoard.  She showers at the clinic. 

Her daughter Maggie feels she could have stopped her mother sooner, no she couldn't. Maggie tried to help clean before, but it only got worse.   

 Stephanie is a neighbor and friend, and says Terri helps her with her goats.   Joann (Stephanie's mother) is another friend, and her daughter lives across the street.  Stephanie and Joann will be helpers this time, 

How can a midwife and nurse have a hoarded out mess of a home?   Missouri has earthquakes, so how do the precarious piles of junk keep in place?  

Psychologist is Dr. David Tolin. Organizer is Dorothy. 

Day 1-Stephanie and Joann are the helpers who Dr. Tolin has go through the hoard.   Maggie, the daughter is helping too.  I hate Dorothy's pep rally start for the morning.  So far, a lot is going, and Terri is tossing almost everything out. So, Dr. Tolin and Dorothy are discussing why Terri is cooperating.   I hate when the cast challenge the hoarders who are trashing stuff.   

Dorothy and Tolin keep saying they can't believe Terri is getting rid of so much.   Poor Maggie (daughter) gets a pep talk from Dorothy.   Then, Dorothy starts questioning Terri getting rid of everything, that infuriates me.   They've only cleared the foyer, living room, and hallway.   

Terri is letting everyone make decisions and toss almost everything.  Then, Tolin chimes in, and challenges her letting so much stuff go.   I really resent Tolin and Dorothy being such roadblocks to Terri cleaning up everything.  Anything to drag out the process, keep the filming going, and create drama. 

Day 2-Terri has to work, and she OKs daughter and friends doing the decisions.  Terri came home on her lunch hour.  Tolin is trying to get her to stop being cooperative, anything to drag out filming.  Why is Tolin challenging Terri about cleaning out so much?       Dorothy cleaned the fridge out, just take them out full.    So, the living room, and kitchen are cleared out.   Dorothy and Tolin are driving Terri to a breakdown.   Tolin is challenging everything Terri says.    

Day 3-Clearing out everything.  Dorothy seems miffed that Terri is getting rid of all but less than 1,000 items out of 1 million items.   Local fire chief comes by, and talks about the fire Terri had, and says if the coffee pot hadn't just been smoking, they couldn't have fought a fire inside the house.   He's pleased.  They totally clean out the garage, in one hour.   The crew gets a plumber in to fix the broken pipes.    Dorothy keeps challenging Terri about cleaning up so much.   Dorothy is getting on my last nerve, along with Dr. Tolin. 

They're cleaning out the bathroom, and replacing the toilet.   Next time the bedroom gets cleared out.   

Dorothy and Maggie (daughter) are discussing Terri's past trauma.  And Dr. Tolin comes in to talk about the woman's trauma, on national TV.  Maggie says 'our childhoods were better' she's the only adult child mentioned until now.  Terri and Maggie are working together on the main bedroom, and Maggie keeps challenging Terri on what she wants to donate, and Terri gets angry, and I don't blame her.    If Terri wants to donate something, let her. 

 

(I agree with Elizzikra.  There were a lot of empty boxes of beer, and all kinds of other liquor.    I think Terri is just not someone who shows her emotions.  As a nurse / midwife who does home births, I bet keeping calm no matter what happens, and keeping under control at all times. Then, when daughter tells that Terri's parents were awful, my heart breaks for Terri, having to go through some kind of abuse, and having it filmed for a TV show. )

Day 4-Last day is the celaning crew coming to scour the entire house.   The entire house is done.   Tolin should shut up, unless he's licensed in Missouri, he's not allowed to treat patients there.   Terri really nails it, when Dorothy wants her to see all of her emptied bins, Terri says its an attempt for Dorothy to shame her.   

I hate the one-on-one talk with Dr. Tolin.  Terri says she was sexually abused, parents with affairs, alcohol abusing parents.  The father was a drunk and a pedophile. Mother was equally horrible.   So, now the entire viewing audience knows everything.   How can Dr. Tolin participate in publicly revealing Terri's horrible pain on TV for ratings?   I know the cleanups are many thousands of dollars of cleanup, and repairs, but using someone's personal pain for TV ratings is just disgusting.  Terri should have been talking about that with a licensed therapist, not in front of a camera.  

The after is so nice.  They bought her a new fridge, and her appliances all work now.   The plumbing and water lines are all great.  Kitchen is totally clean, dining room is lovely, Bedroom is clean and usable.   Bathroom is clean, and working.  Show will pay for aftercare and a real therapist. 

Update:   Terri isn't shopping, house still looks the same, she had Maggie and Stephanie for a holiday dinner, and will go to aftercare therapy.   I'm hoping for the best for her.   I'm really happy that Terri is living in a clean safe house.  I hope Terri has many happy years in her lovely home. 

(There's a thread on Reddit hoarders TV about Terri's episode from a person who helped with the episode.    He says the bins scene was manipulative.  Terri had literally given up everything, and had to go out and buy dishes, and everything else for her kitchen and house.   The helper says house is still clean.  As soon as the film crew left they hauled the branches and other 'art' out of the bedroom and had to clean up the debris from that.  The show literally hacked braches off of the trees in the backyard.)  

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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8 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 

 

The after is so nice.  They bought her a new fridge, and her appliances all work now.   The plumbing and water lines are all great.  Kitchen is totally clean, dining room is lovely, Bedroom is clean and usable.   Bathroom is clean, and working.  Show will pay for aftercare and a real therapist. 

Update:   Terri isn't shopping, house still looks the same, she had Maggie and Stephanie for a holiday dinner, and will go to aftercare therapy.   I'm hoping for the best for her.   I'm really happy that Terri is living in a clean safe house.  I hope Terri has many happy years in her lovely home. 

 

I'm glad for a positive outcome for Terri. She seems like a kind soul and definitely gives of herself to her community. I can see where Dr. Tolin is coming from though. I feel like Terri is a bit like a dry drunk, white knuckling through the clean up but not really addressing the emotions behind how she hoarded it so badly in the first place. Plenty of people have busy jobs and like to shop but don't hoard their homes to the degree they are unusable. 

I agree that I hope that Terri has many years of happy life in a clean and safe home. And has fun with those baby goats across the road!

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Gah!  Delete that above comment, mods.  

 

On another site, a man who was at the cleanup said he didn't know why they put all those live trees and random branches in Terri's house, and that they were removed the next day.  He said her plumbing and water were fixed the next day as well, and that Terri has been doing great.  

I am SUCH a sucker for a 30s-40s Craftsman-style farm house like Terri's, so I was happy to see that it wasn't so trashed and damaged she couldn't live in it.

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I love that they cleaned and painted before they put the thousand kept items back in.  In the past I think only "Hoarding Buried Alive" did that and it depressed me to see the empty rooms with scuffs on the walls and trash in the corners of the floors.

One thing I wanted Dr. T to do was call Terri on  her repeated statement, "I come home from work exhausted, so I just drop everything on the floor and go sit down."  What is this "everything" that she drops?  If she was exhausted, why had she gone shopping?'  Terri was ready to admit (over and over) that the giant mess was her fault, but I felt like she wasn't addressing the shopping part very well.

Still she's maintaining, so I guess everything is okay, but I share some of their concern that Terri hasn't found another coping mechanism for her PTSD.  I read somewhere that people who have bypass surgery very often become addicted gamblers when they can no longer overeat.  It seems like compulsive behaviors are compulsory for some people.

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1 hour ago, Stevie Nicks said:

So who uses a kayak as wall decor?? Bizarre. And all the live? trees and whatnot all over. Love the floors and the house is really cute and way bigger than it looked from the outside. 

20240109_065507.jpg

It’s ridiculous. It blocks the window and the light, as well as the mirrored jewelry box on the dresser. It’s huge. Plus a live tree and, of all things, a bird feeder? Are they trying to attract rodents when that didn’t seem to be a problem in the first place? I would have gotten all that shit out of there as soon as the team left so I could enjoy my new bedroom in peace.

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(edited)
4 hours ago, LGraves65 said:

 

 

(To delete boxes-click on the box, you get a square with a + sign at the top left corner of it, click on the square, and hit your delete key and the quote / spoiler box will be deleted. )    It's my only skill on here.

 

On another site, a man who was at the cleanup said he didn't know why they put all those live trees and random branches in Terri's house, and that they were removed the next day.  He said her plumbing and water were fixed the next day as well, and that Terri has been doing great.  

I am SUCH a sucker for a 30s-40s Craftsman-style farm house like Terri's, so I was happy to see that it wasn't so trashed and damaged she couldn't live in it.

I'm glad to read that awful 'decor' was removed.     And that her plumbing is fixed and she has running water again, and she's doing well.     Terri is such a giving, and caring person, I hope she can continue to keep her place clean, and safe.   I hope she can work on her abuse issues in therapy.   I know I said it before, but Tolin was despicable for tormenting Terri until she disclosed her childhood abuse issues on national TV.  

 

I read that next week is about Bob, and Matt Paxton is the clean out guy.  

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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I’m still sort of with Tobin and I was honestly surprised they let her leave for a day of the cleanup. They always say that if the hoarder doesn’t deal with the underlying emotional issues, they will just reheard and I’m worried that will be the case with Terri. I really don’t think that she dealt with anything emotionally. I think she was happy to have a clean, liveable house but she really couldn’t get into the real reasons of why it was so completely hoarded in the first place. Yes, she is busy but as Dr. Tolin pointed out, plenty of people are busy and don’t have housekeepers but their houses don’t get that bad. 

I think Terri could have some fairly serious underlying depression. She made almost no eye contact with anyone during the episode. She frequently describes herself as “exhausted” and again, while she has a busy professional life, she shouldn’t be constantly exhausted to the point of not being able to function. I wonder if, at some point, she was self-medicating with alcohol and was also really hiding behind her work. She just seemed to really be avoiding most of her emotional life and had two speeds - constantly working or asleep.

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(edited)

Who knows how many other nurse/midwives do home visits and home births in that area, and I bet Terri has a very full schedule of clinic patients too.   I'm sure she works very long days, and nights helping bring babies into the world.  

I'm hoping that since she cleaned everything out, and the house looks so nice now (after the tree branches in the bedroom were hauled away) that she'll be one of the few success stories on this show. 

I'm hoping that since she's reconnected with everyone, has people over, and was so thrilled about the results that she'll get therapy, and have a much happier life.  

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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When I saw Dorothy in the tacky Tshirt, I shuddered and broke my new year's resolution not to cuss at the TV.

Mr. Ecats came over and watched a bit of Day 1 and 2 and he saw the interchanges as them bullying Terri. I couldn't argue with him on that. 

When Terri talked about her education and what she had learned to understand herself.  I listened to what she said, more than Tolin and Dorothy appeared to.  

I liked Terri; she wasn't irresponsible she knew to shower at the clinic where she worked.  She was making do and I expect good things for her future. 

Let's tie Dorothy to the kayak and give her a sendoff down towards the nearest large river.

I

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So they have a hoarder who seems to already be at the "taking responsibility" stage when Dr. Tobin and BOSS ORGANIZER and her crew arrive.  Maybe the doctor and the BOSS ORGANIZER should recognize that Terri really IS ready to take responsibility, appreciates the help, and is willing to turn her life around and stop hoarding . . . and be grateful.

I thought they were bullying her for ratings, as do many of the folks here.  I also thought the kayak was a bit "much."  Maybe a smaller child-size would have been better for decor.  I understand the reference to what Terri wants to do in her ideal world, but there was enough room to hang the kayak in the garage . . . which, I assume, is where most kayakers store their gear.

I also got the feeling that the neighbor's mother wasn't delighted to be there.  Her first comment included how messy the yard was, and hoping Terri wouldn't re-hoard when it was all over.  And Mama wasn't at the dinner with Terri's daughter and the goat-owner neighbor.  Maybe they should badger the neighbor's mother to see how she really feels about things.

Honestly, Terri came across to me as the type of hoarder we've all wanted to see on these shows:  knows there's a problem, knows she caused it, recognizes that there is really not much value to all the stuff she has collected, and is happy to see it go.  But Dr. Tobin and BOSS ORGANIZER get paid to make a TV show, and if there's no drama, they have to make it!!!

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3 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Honestly, Terri came across to me as the type of hoarder we've all wanted to see on these shows:  knows there's a problem, knows she caused it, recognizes that there is really not much value to all the stuff she has collected, and is happy to see it go.  But Dr. Tobin and BOSS ORGANIZER get paid to make a TV show, and if there's no drama, they have to make it!!!

Yes. Terri seemed like a mostly rational, normal person who realized she'd gone down a terrible path and was ready to correct it, BUT she wasn't prepared to play the role they wanted. And she rebuffed the organizer's cutesy games like submitting herself to a display of baskets so she could be humiliated by a woman who talks to all the hoarders like they're five years old.

The "decorated" rooms at the end were more of that condescension. Here's some tree limbs and leaves we found in the yard! Here's a kayak and a bird feeder in your bedroom because you mentioned something about liking the outdoors! You're feeble-minded so we know you'll love it!

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The person I wanted to hear from was the neighbor who's had Terri knocking on her door six times a day for several years, so she can come in and use her bathroom.  I think that would be awful -- early in the morning, late at night when you're cooking dinner, when you have guests.  I wonder if Terri ever took responsibility for that.

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3 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

The person I wanted to hear from was the neighbor who's had Terri knocking on her door six times a day for several years, so she can come in and use her bathroom.  I think that would be awful -- early in the morning, late at night when you're cooking dinner, when you have guests.  I wonder if Terri ever took responsibility for that.

I wondered if Terri just had a key or the neighbor left a door open? I have no idea how many times a day I have to go to the bathroom but I'd hate to have to completely leave my house every single time - especially in the middle of the night.

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