DECLUTTERING | MENTAL HEALTH

I Had an Intervention With Mom’s House When She Left Town

Her hoarding was out of control, so I decided to step in

My mom’s kitchen counter is always cluttered. So is the rest of her house. (Photo by author)

For the last two weeks, I’ve been the unwilling star of my personal reality show: I call it “Hoarder Hell.”

On Halloween night, instead of handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, I was dusting cobwebs, vacuuming hundreds of mouse turds, and scrubbing cat puke off of floors.

It was a nightmare, but I was awake. How did I get here? I wasn’t kidnapped, bound, gagged, or forced to do these torturous tasks. I was there of my own accord because, as my husband Ben says, I’m a glutton for punishment.

My Mom Is a Classic Hoarder

When my mom left for two weeks to visit a friend in Alabama, a crazy idea began forming in my Type A brain — to clean her living room as a surprise. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, except my mom is a classic hoarder, a trait passed down from her mother.

is “difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value.”

Mom hasn’t escalated to hoarding where she has little paths in her rooms like my grandma did, but she has filled every nook and cranny…