Oh, the things I’ve seen inside homes here in Utah, having sold thousands of homes here in Utah in almost 42 years!  Many of my clients have parents that are moving to assisted living or have passed and before the property can go to market it often has to be cleaned out. Folks who lived through WWII were encouraged to recycle. Goods like foods (sugar, meat, butter, coffee) were being culled to send to troops around the world and items like pots, razor blades and even bobby pins and paper clips were donated to the war cause to melt down and repurpose for bullets, guns, helmets, tanks, etc. The mentality for many Americans was it was patriotic to support the troops in any way possible, but the downside was many people turned into hoarders.

I have helped families clean out basements that were full of 30-40 year old food storage bins (full of wheat and worms), full boxes of old toothpaste tubes (they used to be metal) and empty lipstick containers, and the massive piles of National Geographics, Look and/or Life Magazines and unopened packets of nylons, panty hose (silk and nylon was needed for parachutes, so civilian use was restricted).

What I have learned about hoarders is that they have extreme attachments to things and get stressed at the thought of donating or throwing out items. Hoarding can also be a sign of intense depression and is an actual medical disorder.

My friend, Linda Hilton, has a company called ‘Sorting Through’, and during January of every year she sends out a daily nudge to throw out or donate items in the house. It’s a really gently email. For example, on January one, she encourages us to ‘find an empty cardboard box’.  Hell, that’s not hard. I’ll admit I save boxes, and sure, I can recycle a few. Today’s instruction: “Look through your spices. Find the one you haven’t used for years and toss it out. Don’t Like Cajun seasoning? Toss it too! BONUS: Throw away a recipe you cut out from a magazine (10 years ago?) and never made.”

Linda assists hoarders and people downsizing for a living and has even more stories than I do. I remember one client I referred to her several years ago who had a beautiful mansion near Pepperwood-a large, newer and expensive home. The owner told me before arriving that the basement was unfinished, but when I got there, I had to catch my breath as the basement was full of clothing racks with massive amounts of dresses, coats, blouses, etc. that had never been worn and still had their tags on them.  It took almost a month for Linda to help the owner patiently and carefully go through every item and although it cost them a lot for the service (Linda probably spent 100 hours over there), the home was ready to sell and of course, sold quickly.

If you think you’re a hoarder, Google “Swedish Death Cleaning” for suggestions as to how to start your process of cleaning out and cleaning up.