"Hoarders" on A&E

After watching "Hoarders" last night the wife and I were discussing how we've both seen indications of it in members of our family. Her Dad has a "workshop" in his house which is pretty much a dumping ground for boxes and bags of random stuff; he couldn't do any "work" in that shop if he wanted to, I'd be surprised if he could even get in the door to the room. We know we're gonna be stuck with cleaning that place out whenever he goes and it kinda gives us the willies. The yard and driveway are also littered with rusty old parts and bits of junk from his various "projects" that he never seems to finish. He's alone now since my mother in law passed away five years ago so Lord only knows what else is hidden away in upstairs rooms. My wife admits that her parents had always been that way even when she was a kid, which is probably why she's such a neat freak now. It drove her nuts when she was growing up so she won't allow it to happen in "her" space. We try to keep the house clean (which is not always easy when you have kids) but occasionally the clutter will reach a point where either she or I will just go "I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE" and start cleaning and tossing stuff out. Spring Cleaning is a major project at my house. We plan to have one helluva kick ass yard sale this coming Spring cuz we're due for a good purge.

My grandparents definitely had the hoarding gene; when they retired in the late 70s and moved to upstate NY, they literally took EVERYTHING with them to their new home. You wouldn't know it to see their NY house, which was always neat and organized, but after both my grandparents had passed away in the mid 90s and my family was cleaning out the house to sell it, we found out how much stuff they'd been squirreling away in the basement. There were literally stacks of boxes down there full of all kinds of random crap -- utility bills and reciepts dating back to the 1940s, thousands and thousands of random tools, dishes, cups, drawers full of odds and ends, etc. My grandfather owned a butcher shop when my Mom was growing up and even though he closed that shop before I was born in 1970, he still kept the store scale, a big refrigerated case (!) and other various fixtures from the place and they were all down there covered with a sheet. It boggled my Mom's mind that they actually went to all the time and trouble to pack and ship all this stuff in New Jersey and bring it with them to upstate NY so it could gather dust in their basement.

My grandfather died in 1980 and my Grandmother never got rid of any of his stuff. Right up till she passed in 1996, you could walk into her house and it would look like my grandfather had just gone out for a pack of smokes and would be back any minute. His wallet and glasses were still on top of the dresser, all his clothes were in the drawers, etc., etc. it was a little creepy now that I look back on it, though I didn't think anything of it when I was a kid. When we went to clean the house my Mom had us pack the truck with a few pieces of furniture and some other mementoes (sp?) and then she had an auction service come in to clean out and sell off the rest. It was simply too overwhelming a job for just the four of us (my Mom, my Dad, my brother and I). It would've taken MONTHS to get that basement emptied out.

...I probably shouldn't have told my wife that story, though, because then she sez "Well, how about you and your CDs?" I sez "Ohhhhh, NO, do NOT go there. If it ever comes to the point where there are thousands and thousands of CDs piled all over the house and they cover every available surface THEN you can talk."

Besides, we all know Hoarders don't "specialize" in one particular item, right? They keep EVERYTHING. Therefore, I'm not a hoarder, I'm a COLLECTOR. Right? RIGHT?

I think a lot of folks who went through the depression did stuff like that. My Grandma had hundreds of bread wrappers and empty jars. Grandpa couldn't hardly walk through his garage he had so many tools. When they passed we found brands of food that had been gone for years in their cupboards and freezer.

I recently caught a few episodes of this show and it's facinating. I remember watching a show on TLC or Discovery about the whole "hoarding disease", but it was a one-shot deal. I guess the A&E people made it into a series. Weird, wild stuff.

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I think a lot of folks who went through the depression did stuff like that.

I definately think that's a valid point. It was ingrained into your head that everything could be re-used or had value. Nothing was just thrown away. The younger folks that do it are just nutty.

Last night's "Hoarders" had a guy on it who was relatively young (29) to have the condition -- most of the time when you hear about someone hoarding it turns out to be an older person. His main problem was he was one of those guys who gets interested in a hobby/project, buys up a bunch of crap pertaining to it, then loses interest in it and moves on to some other hobby, buys up a bunch of crap for that, etc., etc. There were video/computer games and supplies for beer brewing, knife making, painting Warhammer figurines, etc. all over the house.

The thing I found interesting was that his girlfriend was the one threatening to leave him if he didn't clean out the crap and change his ways, and I was left wondering how a video game nerd who plays Warhammer ever got a girlfriend in the first place.

Yea, you don't see many "younger" people with this affliction, but I guess it does happen.

I saw that the show is available "On Demand" through my cable system. I'm gonna have to get caught up on some older episodes. I'm facinated by this type of behavior.

My daughter has symptoms of this. It's painful for her to get rid of crap like old school papers and birthday cards.

I never seen the show, but FF we are collectors not hoarders!!!

Over the years I felt I have owned too much stuff, and have donated alot of books, got rid of vinyl that I already had on CD, and boxes and boxes of magazines.

I had to make a decision, especially since I know have a familiy want I feel is worth keeping and collecting.

The next thing I might sell is my rock star/McFarlan action figures, I may keep the Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix one, but the rest (Alice, KISS. Zombie, Sex Pistols, etc) may have to go.

People are attached to memories and objects represent that so it's difficult to sort through stuff and decide what stays and what needs to go.

Troublezone wrote:

People are attached to memories and objects represent that so it's difficult to sort through stuff and decide what stays and what needs to go.

That's the problem the people on this show have. While most people would have an emotional attachment to, say, a family photo, these folks get attached to, say, an empty bottle of hot sauce or something. ("Ahhh, the memories of this hot sauce are very comforting.") Then it's a plastic bag because they have fond memories of the sandwich that came in it. And on and on and on.

manny wrote:

I never seen the show, but FF we are collectors not hoarders!!!

Thanks, Dr. Manny. Can I call on you to witness on my behalf against my CD-hatin' wife, if I ever need help?

Fat Freddy wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

People are attached to memories and objects represent that so it's difficult to sort through stuff and decide what stays and what needs to go.

That's the problem the people on this show have. While most people would have an emotional attachment to, say, a family photo, these folks get attached to, say, an empty bottle of hot sauce or something. ("Ahhh, the memories of this hot sauce are very comforting.") Then it's a plastic bag because they have fond memories of the sandwich that came in it. And on and on and on.

manny wrote:

I never seen the show, but FF we are collectors not hoarders!!!

Thanks, Dr. Manny. Can I call on you to witness on my behalf against my CD-hatin' wife, if I ever need help?

NP bro, I may need you to return the favor as a material witness on my behalf against my own CD hatin' wife.

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That's the problem the people on this show have. While most people would have an emotional attachment to, say, a family photo, these folks get attached to, say, an empty bottle of hot sauce or something. ("Ahhh, the memories of this hot sauce are very comforting.") Then it's a plastic bag because they have fond memories of the sandwich that came in it. And on and on and on.

That's when it crosses the line from nostalgia to pure mental illness.

But you don't understand how close the hot sauce and I were. First the tingle of anticipation when you think about ingesting it. Then the actual searing when it hits the lips and tongue followed by the scarring as it goes down the esophagus into the stomach where the extra amount of stomach acid needed to digest it will cause mucho heartburn and keep you up at night. And we can't forget the next day when the burns it causes on the behind make you cry out loud and the odors it creates make it a much more memorable experience then just eating a plain burrito and one you can share with your co-workers.
More memories in that hot sauce bottle then a family reunion.

Get on an episode of Hoarders in 7 simple steps...

http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-steps-to-become-the-ultimate-hoarder

*You probably don't want to read this article at lunch.

I saw a few promos over the weekend on the T.L.C. channel (former home of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and "Trading Spaces") for their own version of "Hoarders," simply called "Hoarding: Buried Alive." They're also bringing out a new show called "Addicted" which looks suspiciously similar to A&E's "Intervention."

I guess since the "Jon & Kate" cash cow has dried up they can't come up with any original show ideas to fill that void.

In the world of TV and music, if 1 show/album equals a hit, we'll make/sign 50 different knock-offs and watch the cash roll in. Simple math really. 1 is good, 50 is better.

I watched a few shows of Hoarders and Intervention and didn't dig them. Yeah, interested freak show kind of shows, but neither moved me, you know. People say Celebrity Rehab is exploitative—and it is, don't get me wrong—but that show has heart, you get a strong sense that it's real, that they truly care despite the presence of cameras and such.

I got none of that from Hoarders or Intervention.

Eyesore wrote:

I watched a few shows of Hoarders and Intervention and didn't dig them. Yeah, interested freak show kind of shows, but neither moved me, you know. People say Celebrity Rehab is exploitative—and it is, don't get me wrong—but that show has heart, you get a strong sense that it's real, that they truly care despite the presence of cameras and such.

I got none of that from Hoarders or Intervention.

Eh, I dunno. They have professionals in there trying to help the people out of their clutter. Seems to me like they are at least trying to help 'em. Doesn't seem as explotative as the 'Celebrity Rehab' stuff in my eyes, which seems like it's more about making us common folk feel better about ourselves as we watch d-list celebrities crash & burn. Never saw 'Intervention'. Never saw a full episode of Celebrity Rehab, now that I think about it.

By the way, I watch 'Hoarders' for the very same reason. It makes me feel superior to those people.

I haven't been watching "Hoarders" as much recently since it started to get a little "samey" after a while, but I just got an update on Facebook from the show with a description of the next episode, and it definitely sounds bizarre enough to tune in for...

"On the next episode of HOARDERS, a father takes his toddler dumpster diving to satisfy his hoarding needs, and a woman doesn't even realize there is a homeless person living amongst her hoard."

Oooookay...how much crap do you HAVE when you've got a homeless person living amongst all your junk and you don't even REALIZE it? I gotta see this!

Can the person really be classified as homeless? Sounds like he had a sweet setup! Haha.

Eyesore wrote:

Can the person really be classified as homeless? Sounds like he had a sweet setup! Haha.

Good point. I suppose the person in question would be considered a "squatter" rather than truly "homeless"... but hey, whatever gets ya to tune in, I guess.

I almost can't watch this show, I work in pest control and I live this stuff everyday. You would not believe some of the disgusting environments I've been in. I actually told my boss a couple of years ago that I wasn't going back to a certain house without a Hazmat suit and a flamethrower.

I was disappointed with last night's "Hoarders"... it turned out the story about the lady who'd had a homeless person living amongst her hoard happened several years ago, long before the TV crew arrived. The promos for the show made it sound like they were going to discover the homeless lady during the clean up progress, which would've been "Must See TV"

Cleanup Guy: "OK, let's just move these old sheets of plywood out of the garage, and ... AAAAAAACK! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Homeless Person: "AAAAAAACK!"

Show Host, Homeowner/hoarder, Various TV crew persons: "AAAAAAAACK!"

(Police are called, things devolve into utter chaos)

Scene re-enactments courtesy of Cathy...

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Scene re-enactments courtesy of Cathy...

That reminds me, I recently found out that Cathy Guisewite (sp?) "retired" the "Cathy" comic strip a month or two ago, after nearly 30 years. I was suprised to hear that, cuz I thought it had ended years ago.

Yup, "Cathy" finally got knocked up, then *poof* gone from the funny-pages after all these years. Needy housewifes with diet and mother issues cried out in anguish.