How do you declutter a hoarder’s house fast?

Decluttering a hoarder’s home can be an overwhelming task. Years of accumulated possessions fill every room from floor to ceiling. Narrow pathways wind through mountains of clutter, making it difficult to walk through the home. The volume of belongings is staggering. Where do you even begin? While decluttering a hoarder’s home is challenging, it can be accomplished efficiently by following some key strategies.

Understand the Mindset of a Hoarder

Hoarding is a complex mental health disorder characterized by persistent difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value or utility. Hoarders have strong emotional attachments to their belongings and experience severe anxiety when faced with the idea of getting rid of them. They have perfectionistic tendencies and indecisiveness, so struggle to sort and organize clutter. Understanding this mindset is essential when decluttering a hoarder’s home.

Do not simply throw items away without the hoarder’s consent. This will undermine trust and likely exacerbate the hoarding behaviors. Decluttering must be a collaborative process with the hoarder, even if it is time-consuming and frustrating at times. Provide emotional support and encouragement throughout the process. Set small, achievable goals and celebrate successes to maintain motivation. With sensitivity, compassion, and partnerships, you can successfully declutter while respecting the challenges hoarders face.

Gain the Hoarder’s Consent

Before removing any items from a hoarder’s home, you must gain their consent and cooperation. Sit down with the hoarder and have an honest discussion about the state of the home. Express your desire to help them create a safer, healthier living environment by reducing clutter. Ask if they would be willing to work together with you on decluttering.

Highlight specific benefits of decluttering, such as reducing fall risks, allowing emergency access, improving home maintenance, and creating space to enjoy hobbies. The hoarder may express ambivalence or reluctance to discard items, which is understandable given their disorder. Be patient and emphasize that the process will focus on their well-being. Make it clear you will declutter respectfully and not force them to part with large volumes of possessions against their will. With trust, many hoarders will grant consent to reasoned decluttering efforts.

Hire Professional Organizers

Given the scale of clutter in a hoarder’s home, trying to declutter using only family members is often ineffective and emotionally taxing. Consider hiring professional organizers who specialize in hoarding cases. These experts have extensive experience working collaboratively with hoarders to positively transform their living environments.

Professional organizers bring an objective perspective, develop customized decluttering strategies, provide emotional support, and teach organizing skills. Their services may range from assisting with hands-on sorting and removal of clutter to simply consulting with family members spearheading the process. With their expertise and resources, professional organizers can help make rapid, lasting decluttering progress.

Types of Professional Organizers

• Hoarding specialists – Possess specific training in hoarding disorder and psychotherapy techniques to best assist hoarders while decluttering
• Clutter experts – Help declutter and install organizational systems; may have niche expertise like OCD, ADHD, or seniors
• Productivity consultants – Assess workflows and habits to streamline activities and reduce accumulating clutter

Establish Systems for Removal

The volume of possessions in a hoarder’s home often necessitates bringing in external resources for efficient removal. Renting dumpsters provides an effective system for large-scale trash disposal. Position the dumpster in the home’s driveway or nearest parking area. Multiple dumpster rentals over time may be required depending on the severity of clutter.

For possessions the hoarder wants to keep, rent portable on-site storage units. Place these units in the yard or driveway and use them to hold items as you sort through the house. This allows you to rapidly clear space while still preserving the hoarder’s belongings.

Recruit volunteers or hire junk-removal professionals to assist with carrying large volumes of clutter outside to centralized disposal and storage areas. Establishing these systems ahead of the decluttering process will enable smooth, rapid removal.

Set Realistic Timelines

When facing an extremely cluttered hoarder’s home, it is easy to feel daunted and want to rush through decluttering. However, trying to do too much too quickly will overwhelm and distress the hoarder. This can actually derail the process entirely. Work collaboratively with the hoarder to set realistic timelines for decluttering based on their comfort level.

Agree on how many hours per day or sessions per week you will declutter. Start with brief sessions such as two hours a day or two sessions per week. Gradually increase the time invested as the hoarder becomes more comfortable. Even 20 minutes per day can make meaningful progress over time. Setting realistic timelines is essential for maintaining the hoarder’s trust and ensuring sustainable change.

Prioritize Safety and Accessibility

When deciding which clutter to address first during the decluttering process, prioritize creating accessible pathways and safe living conditions. Narrow, obstructed pathways pose risks like tripping, falling, and hindering emergency egress. Dangerously cluttered appliances and electrical hazards also threaten safety.

Focus initial efforts on clearing main passageways, entries and exits, stairs, and high-traffic areas. Widen paths to create adequate space for walking comfortably. Declutter access to plumbing, electrical systems, and fire risks. These areas directly impact health and safety, so addressing them first provides immediate benefits.

Start with Trash and Easiest Categories

When selecting which types of possessions to declutter first, start with the items easiest for the hoarder to discard. Trash and items that have spoiled, expired, or been contaminated should be disposed of immediately. Any debris like scrap paper strewn amid clutter should also be removed.

Start sorting other low-emotional-attachment items that are easy wins, such as newspapers, junk mail, receipts, empty containers, and broken items. Ask the hoarder to fill a bag or box with these items to throw away as your initial decluttering goal. This quickly creates visible progress and motivates continued efforts.

Use a Categorized Storage System

Decluttering will rapidly stall if possessions are simply moved from one area to another in a disorganized manner. Establish structured storage systems to make sorting the hoarder’s belongings easier. Use clear plastic totes and storage bins with lids, labeled by general category. For example:

• Paperwork
• Clothing
• Household Supplies
• Books/Magazines
• Memorabilia

As you work through clutter, immediately place items into their designated storage bins for later sorting. This quickly clears space and creates a structured system for methodically processing belongings.

Utilize External Storage Strategically

As discussed regarding removal strategies, external storage units provide useful overflow capacity while decluttering. However, their usage must be carefully planned when working with hoarders. Never move large volumes of clutter into long-term storage quickly, as this enables the hoarding behavior.

Only utilize external storage for categorized possessions that you systematically work through to make retention decisions. Establish a timeline for periodically revisiting stored items to continue culling. Avoid putting items in storage indefinitely without going through them. The strategic, temporary use of external storage promotes sustainable decluttering.

Provide Organizational Tools

Decluttering creates space to establish new organizational systems that support sustainable change. Work with the hoarder to integrate helpful tools based on their habits and lifestyle. Options to consider include:

• File boxes for sorted paperwork
• Shelving units for displaying collections
• Garment racks for wardrobe organization
• Digital cataloguing systems for memorabilia
• Calendars and planners to schedule decluttering

Equip the hoarder with the resources needed to maintain organization after decluttering. This empowers them to manage their home and possessions effectively long-term.

Be Sensitive Removing Memories

For hoarders, clingy sentimental attachment often inhibits decluttering of nostalgic items like photos, keepsakes, and memorabilia. When confronting treasured possessions:

• Go slowly to avoid overwhelming the hoarder
• Acknowledge the meaning items hold
• Suggest alternatives like digitizing some photos
• Let the hoarder make final decisions on removals

Show sensitivity and compassion when handling items of nostalgic significance. With emotional care, you can help hoarders thoughtfully curate their most meaningful memories.

Provide Resources for Therapeutic Support

Decluttering efforts will only provide temporary relief unless the hoarder’s underlying issues are also addressed. Recommend resources for ongoing counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, and support groups. The International OCD Foundation maintains a helpful list of treatment providers and services specifically focused on hoarding disorder.

Long-term therapeutic support teaches healthy coping strategies, decision-making skills, and how to manage emotional attachments. Combined with in-home decluttering, such treatment fosters positive behavior change for a clutter-free future.

Maintain Open Communication

Clear, compassionate communication must be maintained when decluttering a hoarder’s home. Check in regularly about how they are feeling regarding the pace and volume of decluttering. Provide reassurance and be willing to slow down if they become overwhelmed.

Update the hoarder on decluttering progress and successes in freeing up living space. Offer encouragement and praise for any decision to part with items. This motivates continued engagement. Listen sensitively if they express hesitation or ambivalence. Decluttering a hoarder’s home succeeds or fails based on the quality of communication.

Celebrate small wins

The decluttering process can be emotionally draining for hoarders, as they are constantly faced with discarding possessions to which they feel attached. To keep them motivated, be sure to celebrate small wins along the way. Examples include:

• Completing a small decluttering goal, like filling one trash bag
• Clearing clutter from a full room or pathway
• Sorting through one storage bin of items
• Letting go of possessions with sentimental meaning

Have a special dinner, purchase a small gift, or simply offer genuine praise to recognize their progress. Documenting before-and-after photos also visually reinforces positive changes. Celebrating small achievements makes the major task of decluttering more manageable.

Conclusion

Decluttering a hoarded home may seem like an impossible feat. However, by employing targeted strategies tailored to hoarders, you can make streamlined, sustainable progress. The critical first step is gaining the hoarder’s willing participation. Maintain open communication and celebrate small victories as you work sensitively alongside them to transform clutter into livable space. With patience, compassion, and the help of professional organizers, a hoarder’s home can be decluttered – and most importantly – remain decluttered for good.