I'd like to hire them for my neighbors - They have so much crap that it fills TWO apartments!

Psh, this is nothing. My grandparents just buy a new house when they fill up the last one. They are on house number 3 and it looks like they are gearing up for number 4.

Don't be confused - that doesn't mean they trash everything and move, it means they simply add to their collection because the earlier houses are no longer livable.

It has been a life-long struggle for my mother to help them clean, and I practically have a heart attack whenever I walk [well, shuffle] into their home. Probably why I'm so anal retentive in my own home.

This gives me the shivers ... like that episode of Oprah with the messiest home in America. I couldn't bear to live all swallowed up with stuff like this.

Did anyone else see that two-part Oprah where she featured this retired couple who crammed their 3200 sq. ft. house with clutter? When sorted and spaced out, the contents took up a 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse!

Also, they stressed that hoarding it IS a psychological condition and sufferers need to work on the root of the problem. Hiring a service to clearing stuff out like this is good, but if you don't address what's really behind it, you can just start hoarding all over again.

Kinda like my brother....sigh.

My BF has this. I can't go to his apartment. It gives me the hives. He has boxes and boxes of junk. He doesn't even know what is in the boxes. He has lovely collections as well, but they are shoved under beds and in closets to make room for the junk that is everywhere!

Also, my house is getting out of control. I inherited two households of stuff plus mine. It has taken me 10 years to clear out all but the best stuff I like, and that is still WAY too much. I am going to have an Estate Sale. I don't see any other way out.

I never thought I'd be the one to have too much stuff. But it can happen to anyone.

I wonder what the disorder is called to be allergic to "too much stuff"? Looking at that picture makes me almost feel physically sick - not quite but I am sure my revulsion is not that healthy either.

Cleaning it out like this doesn't work for hoarders. It doesn't change the mental process and is just a shock. How would you feel if you came home and suddenly all of your valuables were thrown out?! There are other services that go through the house with the person, which helps them see, and helps them go through the process. It also helps because some (many?) hoarders often do have valuable things in there underneath everything, and it helps to have someone who recognizes them instead of heaving it all into the dumpster...

There is another company out there that does this that has been written up, but I don't recall the name/link. Probably a number of them actually.

I have known someone who has a full shipping bay in their place of business to store all their junk (aka "valuable antiques") in a pile at least 15 feet high. There are even dressers up on top, near the roof. I cannot imagine how they managed to get everything piled so high. There is a tiny walkway around the edge, and every time I had to go looking for something, I pictured the whole pile shifting to bury me like an avalanche.

when I see places like this, I just want to tell the homeowner, "give me the key and leave me alone for a day". I am obsessed with organizing and when i see clutter it drives me crazy.

if I did not pursue to become a CPA, I would definetly want to do this as a profession. :-)) and make people happy & live a healthier life.

I flew to Texas last Thanksgiving to do this for a friend over a 4 day period. I love decluttering -- but it was really traumatic for her. Towards the end I had to just walk away from it - it's probably returned back into its stuffed self.